The Assessment of Early Server Childhood Caries Status in Abandoned Institutionalized Children

Abstract

Oral health is a critical indicator of children’s quality of life, which at this early age, depends exclusively on the attention, involvement, and guidance of parents or caregivers. Assessing carious damage and measuring the prevalence of early severe tooth decay in temporary teeth in children is obtained by calculating the dmft index, giving the sum of an individual’s decayed, missing, and filled teeth. The aim of our study was to conduct a clinical examination of the oral status of institutionalized children from Romania. We selected and included in the study 144 children, both boys and girls in equal number, with ages of five or six years old, from which 110 were eligible for the study and met the inclusion criteria. Of all children, 20.90% were five years old girls, 27.27% five years old boys, 26.36% six years old girls, and 25.46% six years old boys. Of all, 10,45% had more than three incisors presenting decays, equally affected by gender. Of the boys’ group, 20% of age six had more de two canines affected, and 26.7% of five years old girls had more than three affected canines. Of the five years boys’ group, 24.3% had more than three affected temporary molars, 44.9% of six years boys had more than five. Of the five years old girls, 33.3% had more than four temporary molars affected and, 56.6% of the six years old girls’ group had more than five molars presenting carious lesions. The dental status and dmft values were similar for five years old and six years old children and similar boys and girls. Due to the vulnerability of young children that consists not only in their inability to identify, express, and address their own needs but also the lack of parental support, lack of an optimal diet for age, and proper hygiene, they reach adolescence with an impaired dental status, inappropriate for their age.

Caries in orphan children: prevalence and determinants—a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Individual studies investigated caries experience in this vulnerable group [ 10 – 13 ]. This concern was adopted by studies since the 1930s [ 17 – 19 ]; and extended to be at the summit of research interest through years to date [ 20 , 21 ]. Besides, it was investigated in a huge number of countries in almost all the continents among which are: the USA [ 17 ], Haiti [ 22 ], Brazil [ 23 ], Mexico [ 16 ], United kingdom [ 24 ], Germany [ 25 , 26 ], Portugal [ 27 ], Hungary [ 28 ], Romania [ 29 ], Russia [ 30 , 31 ], China [ 32 ], India [ 33 – 35 ], Indonesia [ 36 ], Pakistan [ 2 ], Turkey [ 37 ], Yemen [ 12 ], Saudi Arabia [ 38 ], Iraq [ 39 ], Iran [ 40 ], Egypt [ 20 ], South Africa [ 41 ], Tanzania [ 42 ] and Uganda [ 43 ].…”

Changes in Dental Biofilm Proteins’ Secondary Structure in Groups of People with Different Cariogenic Situations in the Oral Cavity and Using Medications by Means of Synchrotron FTIR-Microspectroscopy

“…This is evident from the consistent rise in restorative dental fillings, which are not only part of the treatment process for tooth decay but also indicative of a complex relationship between caries and a number of systemic diseases [3]. The modern hypothesis regarding caries development attributes this disease to the loss of mineral components in hard dental tissue [4]. This loss is caused by changes in the composition and function of the dental biofilm and biological fluids in the oral cavity (oral and gingival crevicular fluids) driven by changes in the microbiome [5][6][7].…”

Clinical and Pathological Manifestation of the Oral Mucosa in Institutionalized Children from Romania

“…At present, the state takes care of the needs of over 56,000 children. Out of these, approximately 18,000 are in foster care, 13,900 are in the care of relatives, 4800 are in the care of other families and 18,500 are in state institutions [ 10 ]. About 3000 of them are adoptable.…”