Acceptance of Parents to Silver Diamine Fluoride in Pre-cooperative Children: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Aim:To evaluate the acceptance of silver diamine fluoride (SDF) among parents of pre-cooperative children. Materials and methods: This was a questionnaire-based study. Prevalidated questionnaires were distributed to the parents of pre-cooperative children with dental caries. The response rate was 100%. Data were statistically analyzed using Chi-square test. Results: Of 105 parents, 71.42% were mothers, 21.90% were fathers, and 6.66% were other caregivers. In relation to noncooperation of the children in the past, 22.85% of the parents of the children above 36 months chose SDF, whereas only 4.76% of the parents of children 36 months of age and below chose SDF (p = 0.047). Discoloration of front teeth was acceptable to 33.33% of the parents below the income of 25,000 INR and was not acceptable to 14.29% (p = 0.033). For front teeth, 33.33% of the parents above the income of 25,000 INR did not accept SDF treatment when there were behavioral barriers, whereas 13.33% accepted it (p = 0.003). Also, acceptance of SDF for back teeth was 32.38% to the parents below the income of 25,000 INR in contrast to 15.24% of who did not accept it (p = 0.001). Conclusion: SDF is acceptable to parents and potentially useful in patients who are unable to obtain traditional restorative treatments due to cooperation, access, costs, and apprehension of general anesthesia.

Evaluating parental acceptance for silver diamine fluoride therapy – a pilot study

“…In our study, SES of the parents was not associated with their acceptance of SDF therapy. This finding is also contrary to similar studies [1,5,12]. The probable reason for these observations could be a much smaller sample size in our study compared to these studies.…”

“…It was also realized during the survey that the parental acceptability of the discolouration was not consistent and there was increased tolerance to SDF with accompanying uncooperative behaviour of their child during the dental treatment. This observation was also consistent with other similar studies conducted in a different part of the world [2,5,12].…”

“…In terms of site of SDF application, it was observed that the parental acceptance for blackish discolouration by SDF was lower for front teeth in comparison to back teeth. These findings are in corroboration with similar studies in Saudi Arabia [2], United States [5] and western India [12] except one conducted by Alshammari AF et al [1] who found no such difference. The reason for the greater frequency of acceptance for posterior teeth is because of their lower visibility while smiling or talking.…”

“…Few studies had tried to gain an insight about the parental understanding and their acceptance regarding the aesthetics after SDF application. Most of these studies had been conducted in developed countries [1,2,5] except one [12]. Therefore we conducted an exploratory pilot questionnaire survey in a government dental hospital of Delhi to assess the parental acceptance of SDF as a caries management method for their child.…”

Silver diamine fluoride for early childhood caries- A boon for dentists during COVID-19 pandemic

“…29 But the willingness of parents for SDF was increased with the level of uncooperativeness of the child. [29][30][31][32][33] An umbrella review done by Sabbhag et al on 2020, stated that pre-operative instructions could significantly improve parental acceptance of SDF application. 32 The average lethal dose of SDF by oral and subcutaneous administration was 520 mg/kg and 380 mg/kg, respectively.…”