Effects of personalized oral hygiene management on oral health status of pregnant women

BACKGROUND The Cariostat caries activity test(CAT)was used to evaluate the effectiveness of personalized oral hygiene management combining oral health education and professional mechanical tooth cleaning on the oral health status of pregnant women.AIM To investigate whether personalized oral hygiene management enhances the oral health status of pregnant women.METHODS A total of 114 pregnant women who were examined at Dalian Women’s and Children’s Medical Center were divided into four groups:High-risk experimental group(n=29;CAT score≥2;received personalized oral hygiene management training),low-risk experimental group(n=29;CAT score≤1;received oral health education),high-risk control group(n=28;CAT score≥2),and low-risk control group(n=28;CAT score≤1).No hygiene intervention was provided to control groups.CAT scores at different times were compared using independent samples t-test and least significant difference t-test.RESULTS No significant difference in baseline CAT scores was observed between the experimental and control groups,either in the high-risk or low-risk groups.CAT scores were reduced significantly after 3(1.74±0.47 vs 2.50±0.38,P<0.0001)and 6 months(0.53±0.50 vs 2.45±0.42,P<0.0001)of personalized oral hygiene management intervention but not after oral health education alone(0.43±0.39 vs 0.46±0.33,P>0.05 and 0.45±0.36 vs 0.57±0.32,P>0.05,respectively).Within groups,the decrease in CAT scores was significant(2.43±0.44 vs 1.74±0.47 vs 0.53±0.50,P<0.0001)for only the high-risk experimental group.CONCLUSION Personalized oral hygiene management is effective in improving the oral health of pregnant women and can improve pregnancy outcomes and the oral health of the general population.

Prevalence of dental caries among preschool children in Shanghe County of Shandong Province and relevant prevention and treatment strategies

Background Decayed teeth are harmful to children＇s growth and development and can severely jeopardize their health. This study was set out to investigate and analyze the prevalence of dental caries in preschool children in Shanghe County in Shandong Province, China, and provide new insights into potential prevention and treatment strategies. Methods Based on the random sampling method, we performed dental examinations of children aged 2 to 6 years in kindergartens of Shanghe County. The prevalence of caries, the average number of decayed teeth per capita as well as the constituent rates of decayed, missing and filled teeth were determined retrospectively. SPSS software was used for data analysis. Results Dental caries were found in 1088 out of 2052 children from 56 kindergartens. The total number of decayed teeth was 4487 with a prevalence of 53.02%. The average number of decayed teeth per capita was 2.187, and the filling rate was 0.29%. There was no statistical difference in the prevalence of caries between boys and girls though there were significant differences between different age groups. The prevalence of decayed teeth as well as the mean number of decayed teeth infected per capita increased with age. In addition, urban children had a higher prevalence than those from rural areas （P 〈0.01）. Conclusions The prevalence of decayed caries among kindergarten children in Shanghe County was high, suggesting that more emphasis should be put on improving oral health education with priority given to prevention. Further efforts should be made to increase the decayed caries filling rate.