Neonatal and Pediatric Medicine
Open Access

Pediatric dentists promote the dental health of children as well as serve as educational resources for parents. It is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) that a dental visit occurs after the presence of the first tooth or by a child’s first birthday. The AAPD has said that it is important to establish a comprehensive and accessible ongoing relationship between the dentist and patient referring to this as the patient’s “dental home”. This is because early oral examination aids in the detection of the early stages of tooth decay. Early detection is essential to maintain oral health, modify aberrant habits, and treat as needed and as simply as possible. Additionally, parents are given a program of preventive home care (brushing, flossing and fluorides), a caries risk assessment, information on finger, thumb, and pacifier habits, and may include advice on preventing injuries to the mouth and teeth of children, diet counseling, and information on growth and development.

Pediatric dentistry is one of the ten dental specialties recognized by American Dental Association. Other specialties include dental public health, endodontics, oral and maxillofacial pathology, oral and maxillofacial radiology, oral and maxillofacial surgery, orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics, periodontics, and prosthodontics [1].

The purpose of this cross-sectional experiment was to examine the prevalence and severity of tooth erosion in children aged 8 to 15 years old, as well as the predisposing variables that contribute to tooth erosion. A random sample of 10% of the Maltese population between the ages of 8 and 15 was chosen. Geographic areas, gender, and kind of school attended were all represented in the sample (state, church and independent schools). A total of 439 (8-year-olds) and 555 (15-yearolds) individuals were tested in a systematic manner. The participants were asked to complete a questionnaire on their social, oral hygiene, dietary, and medical histories. The erosion scores were measured using the Basic Erosive Wear Examination Index (BEWE), and the obtained cumulative score values were then categorised into four risk groups according to the risk level guidance to clinical management [2].

The analysis showed a substantial difference in erosion incidence between the two age groups, with the 8-year-old individuals experiencing greater levels of erosion than the 15-year-old subjects. The 8-year-olds also had a higher mean Basic Erosive Wear Examination (BEWE) of 4.6, indicating a higher risk of tooth wear than the 15-yearolds, who had a lower mean Basic Erosive Wear Examination (BEWE) of 3.2. The disparity can be attributed in part to the fact that the 8-year-old group’s deciduous teeth were evaluated, which would have been exposed to acidic hazards for a longer amount of time than the permanent dentition investigated in the 15-year-old patients, as well as differences in tooth structure [3].

Gender was also revealed to be a predisposing factor for erosion in both age groups, according to this investigation. While the difference in erosion scores between 15-year-old male participants (44.6%) and female subjects (43.2%) was minor and not statistically significant, the 8-year-old individuals showed a larger discrepancy. In fact, within the 8-year-old group, the mean BEWE cumulative scores of females and boys revealed a statistically significant difference (Unpaired t-test: p=0.0147) between the gender groups, with males experiencing more erosion (58%) than girls (49.2 percent) [4].

To avoid uncooperative subjects during dental examination, it is recommended that a concise questionnaire with additional completion guidance be drafted; follow-up dental examinations at schools be scheduled to reach unexamined subjects due to school absenteeism on the examination day; and a short informative session about the examination procedure be held prior to the actual examination of subjects [5, 6].

Examining at 15 years may not be suitable because the determinants of erosion have not acted for long and the participants are too young for the aetiological factors to have fully exerted their effects; examining at 8 years may not be ideal because the participants are at a mixed dentition stage, causing the erosion analysis to be incompatible due to the presence of both primary dentition that have been revealed to erosion-contributing factors. Tooth erosion and attrition were apparently present in a substantial proportion of children aged 8 to 15. These findings confirm that tooth wear is a common dental problem for infants, with evident long-term consequences for their dentition and quality of life [7, 8].

According to the findings, self-reporting symptoms are low, hence education on the signs and symptoms of tooth erosion should be implemented. This should be accompanied by enhanced instruction to begin using fluoride-containing adult toothpaste as soon as the permanent teeth sprout. Finally, patient monitoring following tooth wear diagnosis, elimination of causative elements, and uncomplicated dental treatments may allow the patient to avoid major restoration operations. To encourage a healthy lifestyle, more preventative interventions aimed at children and teens are needed [9, 10].

Acknowledgement

I would like to thank my Professor for his support and encouragement.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they are no conflict of interest.

1. Penttilä S, Jokela M, Bouquin H, Saukkonen AM, Toivanen J, et al.(2015) Late onset spinal motor neuronopathy is caused by mutation in CHCHD 10 Ann. Neurol 77: 163-172.

Indexed at , Google Scholar, Crossref

2. Hofmann Y, Lorson CL, Stamm S, Androphy EJ, Wirth B (2000) Htra2-β1 stimulates an exonic splicing enhancer and can restore full-length SMN expression to survival motor neuron 2 (SMN2). Proceedings of the PNAS 97: 9618-9623.

Indexed at , Google Scholar , Crossref

3. Simic G (2008) Pathogenesis of proximal autosomal recessive spinal muscular atrophy. Acta Neuropathol 116: 223-234.

Indexed at , Google Scholar , Crossref

4. Vitali T, Sossi V, Tiziano F, Zappata S, Giuli A et al (1999) Detection of the survival motor neuron (SMN) genes by FISH: further evidence for a role for SMN2 in the modulation of disease severity in SMA patients. Hum. Mol 8: 2525-2532.

Indexed at , Google Scholar , Crossref

5. Vander Steege G, Grootscholten PM, Cobben JM, Zappata S, Scheffer H, et al. (1996) Apparent gene conversions involving the SMN gene in the region of the spinal muscular atrophy locus on chromosome 5. Am J Hum Genet 59: 834-838

Indexed at , Google Scholar

6. Jędrzejowska M, Borkowska J, Zimowsk J, Kostera-Pruszczyk A, Milewski M et al. (2008) Unaffected patients with a homozygous absence of the SMN1 gene Eur. J. Hum. Genet 16: 930-934.

Indexed at , Google Scholar , Crossref

7. Zheleznyakova GY, Kiselev AV, Vakharlovsky V G, Rask-Andersen M, Chavan R et al. (2011) Genetic and expression studies of SMN2 gene in Russian patients with spinal muscular atrophy type II and III. BMC Med Genet 12: 1-9.

Indexed at , Google Scholar , Crossref

8. Prior TW, Swoboda, KJ, Scott HD, & Hejmanowski AQ (2004) Homozygous SMN1 deletions in unaffected family members and modification of the phenotype by SMN2. Am J Med. Genet 130: 307-310.

Indexed at , Google Scholar , Crossref

9. Helmken C, Hofmann Y, Schoenen F, Oprea G., Raschke H, et al. (2003) Evidence for a modifying pathway in SMA discordant families: reduced SMN level decreases the amount of its interacting partners and Htra2-beta1. Hum Genet 114: 11-21.

Indexed at , Google Scholar , Crossref

10. McAndrew PE, Parsons DW, Simard LR, Rochette C, Ray PN, et al. (1997) Identification of proximal spinal muscular atrophy carriers and patients by analysis of SMNT and SMNC gene copy number. The Am J Hum Genet 60: 1411-1422.

Indexed at , Crossref