Early detection of occlusal caries in children is challenging for the dentists, because of the morphology of pit and fissures. The aim of this study was to compare in vitro the diagnostic performance of low-powered magnification with light-emitting diode headlight (LPMLED) using ICDAS-II criteria and AC Impedance Spectroscopy (ACIS) device, on occlusal surfaces of primary molars. The occlusal surfaces of 18 extracted primary molars were examined blindly by two examiners. The teeth were sectioned and examined under light microscopy using Downer's histological criteria as gold standard. Good to excellent inter- and intraexaminer reproducibility, higher sensitivity, specificity, and AUC values were achieved by LPMLED at D1 threshold. Also the relationship between histology and LPMLED was statistically significant. In conclusion visual aids have the potential to improve the performance of early caries detection and clinical diagnostics in children. Despite its potential, ACIS device should be considered as an adjunct method in detecting caries on primary teeth.

Introduction Recommended curricula in Special Care Dentistry (SCD) outline learning objectives that include the domain of attitudes and behaviours, but these are notoriously difficult to measure. The aims of this study were (i) to develop a test battery comprising adapted and new scales to evaluate values, attitudes and intentions of dental students towards people with disability and people in marginalised groups and (ii) to determine reliability (interitem consistency) and validity of the scales within the test battery. Materials and Methods A literature search identified pre‐existing measures and models for the assessment of attitudes in healthcare students. Adaptation of three pre‐existing scales was undertaken, and a new scale was developed based upon the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) using an elicitation survey. These scales underwent a process of content validation. The three adapted scales and the TPB scale were piloted by 130 students at 5 different professional stages, from 4 different countries. Results The scales were adjusted to ensure good internal reliability, variance, distribution, and face and content validity. In addition, the different scales showed good divergent validity. Discussion These results are positive, and the scales now need to be validated in the field. Conclusions It is hoped that these tools will be useful to educators in SCD to evaluate the impact of teaching and clinical exposure on their students.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the dental health status of nursery age children and parents. The use of dental services was assessed. Subjects and Methods: The study was performed in nursery schools located in Poznan, Western Poland. Clinical examination was carried out in 157 children (48.41% males and 51.59% females), aged 10–42 months. Dental health status (the number of teeth with caries, fillings and extracted) of their parents was determined on the basis of data obtained from a questionnaire. The questions also concerned information on child’s and parents’ dental check-ups and opinion on their predisposition to dental caries. Results: Clinical examination revealed that 21.05% of boys and 18.51% of girls had dental caries. Most mothers had from 1 to 5 either carious and/or filled teeth (47.13%) or extracted teeth due to carious process (61.15%); the fathers’ values were similar at 46.50 and 66.24%, respectively. More mothers (84.71%) than fathers (72.62%) had regular dental check-ups (p = 0.02). The analysis of mother-father-child triads showed that when both parents visited the dentist regularly, more children were free of caries (56.68%) in comparison to those with the disease (13.38%; p < 0.001). Conclusions: This study showed that the dental health status, as well as oral care of nursery school children and their parents, is unsatisfactory. Therefore, there is a need to introduce an intensive dental educational program focusing on dental prophylaxis for nursery age children and their parents or caregivers.

Background: Early detection of occlusal caries in children is challenging for the dentists, because of the morphology of pit and fissures. Aim: The aim of the present study was to investigate the use of low-powered magnification (×2.5) and its association with LED headlight illumination for occlusal caries detection in primary and permanent molars using International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS) criteria.Methods: The occlusal surfaces of 36 extracted teeth (n=18 primary molars, n=18 permanent molars) were examined using ICDAS criteria with unaided visual examination, low-powered magnification and low-powered magnification plus LED headlight illumination. Three examiners evaluated one occlusal site per tooth twice independently with one week interval, using all methods. The teeth (n = 36) were sectioned and examined under light microscopy using Downer’s histological criteria as the gold standard. Results: The weighted kappa values for inter- and intraexaminer reproducibility for the ICDAS examinations were almost perfect (Kappa values 0.72–0.96) in all three examination methods. The correlation with histology and overall AUC performance (0.96–0.98) of low-powered magnification plus LED headlight illumination was statistically significant in permanent molars. In primary molars, both low-powered magnification (0.82–0.90) and low-powered magnification plus LED headlight illumination (0.87–0.93) showed statistically significant correlation with histology and good to excellent AUC performance than unaided examination. Conclusion: Visual aids have the potential to improve the performance of early caries detection and clinical diagnostics in children