The PUFA index complements classical caries indices with relevant information for epidemiologists and health care planners.

Arresting Caries Treatment (ACT) has been proposed to manage untreated dental caries in children. This prospective randomized clinical trial investigated the caries-arresting effectiveness of a single spot application of: (1) 38% silver diamine fluoride (SDF) with tannic acid as a reducing agent; (2) 38% SDF alone; (3) 12% SDF alone; and (4) no SDF application in primary teeth of 976 Nepalese schoolchildren. The a priori null hypothesis was that the different treatments have no effect in arresting active cavitated caries. Only the single application of 38% SDF with or without tannic acid was effective in arresting caries after 6 months (4.5 and 4.2 mean number of arrested surfaces; p < 0.001), after 1 year (4.1 and 3.4; p < 0.001), and after 2 years (2.2 and 2.1; p < 0.01). Tannic acid conferred no additional benefit. ACT with 38% SDF provides an alternative when restorative treatment for primary teeth is not an option.

The structure and contents of most oral health care systems and the contents of dental curricula reflect a deep-rooted tradition for attempting to cure oral diseases by refined technological means. However, better oral health conditions for the world's populations necessitate the application of up-to-date scientific knowledge to control the major oral diseases. This review points out that not only should the structure and contents of oral health care delivery systems be based on state-of-the-art knowledge about the biology of the oral diseases; they must also take into account the trends for change in caries and periodontal diseases within and between populations, and acknowledge the impact of changes in treatment philosophies for these trends. The oral disease profiles for populations in low- and high-income countries are briefly described, and it is concluded that the rapidly changing disease profiles observed in high-income countries necessitate re-thinking of the future role and organization of dentistry in such countries. The priorities for low- and middle-income countries must be to avoid repeating the mistakes made in the high-income countries. Instead, these societies might take advantage of setting priorities based on a population-based common risk factor approach. If such an approach is adopted, the training of personnel with oral health care competence must be rethought. The authors suggest three different cadres of dental care providers to be considered for an approach that allows health care planners in different populations around the world to prioritize appropriate oral health care with due respect for the socio-economic conditions prevailing.

A retrospective cohort study on ECC and associated factors was conducted among mothers with 25- to 30-month-old infants in a community where prolonged breastfeeding was common practice. All infants who consumed sugary supplementary food or rice that was pre-chewed by the mother, or who fell asleep with the breast nipple in their mouths, had ECC. Infants without those habits, and who were breastfed up to 12 months, had no ECC. Breastfeeding during the day beyond the age of 12 months was not associated with ECC, but infants who were breastfed at night > 2 times had an OR for ECC of 35 (CI 6-186), and those who were exposed to > 15 min per nocturnal feeding had an OR for ECC of 100 (CI 10-995). The present study indicates that, in this population, besides the consumption of sugars and pre-chewed rice, nocturnal breastfeeding after the age of 12 months poses a risk of developing ECC.

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