The Impact of COVID-19 on Individual Oral Health: A Protocol for a Systematic Scoping Review

Poor oral health continues to be one of the most prevalent non-communicable diseases (NCDs) worldwide consuming one-fifth of out-of-pocket health expenditure [1-3]. In 2017, it was estimated that oral diseases affect close to 3.5 billion people worldwide, with caries (dental decay) of permanent teeth being the most common condition [4]. It is estimated that 44% of all people worldwide are suffering from untreated caries in primary and permanent teeth [5]. International data indicates that dental caries is one of the most prevalent health conditions [6-8] and a leading cause of preventable hospitalization [6]. Poor oral health is also associated with a number of other chronic diseases including stroke and cardiovascular disease [9, 10]. People’s ability to look after their oral health is impacted by a range of social, economic, environmental and political determinants [11] and the impact of COVID-19 on oral health is hypothesised to be significant.

What’s new for the clinician – summaries of recently published papers (September 2021)

It is estimated that 621 million children throughout the world have untreated caries on primary teeth. 1 Early childhood caries (ECC), which affects preschool children, progresses rapidly and is associated with pain, difficulty chewing, weight loss, difficulty sleeping, altered behaviour, and a poorer quality of life for affected children and theirfamilies. Children with dental caries have greater treatmentneed, which is expensive and not readily accessible in most developing countries. In South Africa, ECC is a major public health problem with caries rates among children as high as 70% in some provinces.

Automated caries detection with smartphone color photography using machine learning

Untreated caries is significant problem that affected billion people over the world. Therefore, the appropriate method and accuracy of caries detection in clinical decision-making in dental practices as well as in oral epidemiology or caries research, are required urgently. The aim of this study was to introduce a computational algorithm that can automate recognize carious lesions on tooth occlusal surfaces in smartphone images according to International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS). From a group of extracted teeth, 620 unrestored molars/premolars were photographed using smartphone. The obtained images were evaluated for caries diagnosis with the ICDAS II codes, and were labeled into three classes: “No Surface Change” ( NSC); “Visually Non-Cavitated” ( VNC); “Cavitated” ( C). Then, a two steps detection scheme using Support Vector Machine (SVM) has been proposed: “ C versus (VNC + NSC)” classification, and “ VNC versus NSC” classification. The accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of best model were 92.37%, 88.1%, and 96.6% for “ C versus (VNC + NSC),” whereas they were 83.33%, 82.2%, and 66.7% for “ VNC versus NSC.” Although the proposed SVM system required further improvement and verification, with the data only imaged from the smartphone, it performed an auspicious potential for clinical diagnostics with reasonable accuracy and minimal cost.

Do untreated caries influence the school leaving of adolescents? A cohort study

The objective was assess the influence of untreated caries and socioeconomic status (SES) on school dropout among adolescents. A six-year cohort study was conducted with random sample of adolescents (12 years-old) who had been evaluated initially in 2012 from Santa Maria, Brazil. Sex, socioeconomic status (mother’s education and household income), and untreated caries were collected at the baseline. The outcome variable was collected at the follow-up through self-report and was divided into three categories: adolescents who only studied, who studied and employed, and who school dropouts. A multinomial regression model was performed to assess the influence of oral disease and SES on school leaving, through relative risk ratio (RRR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI). From of 1,134 adolescents evaluated at the baseline, 768 participants with a mean age of 17.5 years were re-evaluated at follow-up (67.8% response rate). Male (RRR: 2.31; 95%CI: 1.19-4.48) and adolescents with untreated caries at the baseline had an increment in school-leaving (RRR: 2.26; 95%CI: 1.12-4.56). Mothers with low education (RRR: 2.24; 95%CI: 1.09-4.61) had a higher probability of having children who leave school. Untreated caries and low SES in early adolescence can influence the tendency to school dropouts.

Effects of the intervention of the Multicenter Study IDEFICS on the prevalence of caries in Spanish children

Aim: To evaluate the effects of an intervention for the prevention of obesity on the prevalence of dental caries disease in Spanish children. Methods: Two cities participated intervention study nested in a cohort IDEFICS (Identification and prevention of dietary and lifestyle induced health effects in children and infants): Huesca, where there was a 2-year intervention, which encouraged less sugar consumption; and Zaragoza (control). The prevalence of caries was evaluated by examining the 1st permanent molars in the 7-11 age range, using the ICDAS (International Caries Detection and Assessment System). These teeth erupt at 6 years of age and at the baseline (2007-2008) were free of caries because they were not present in the oral cavity. As outcomes, white spots were selected, combining the ICDAS criteria 1 and 2, and untreated caries, combining criteria 4, 5 and 6. Their association with socioeconomic variables, BMI (Body Mass Index), frequency of sugar intake, sex and parents’ perceptions of their children, was investigated. To do so, the chi-square test was applied (p<0.05). Results: The sample consisted of 281 children. The prevalence of white spots and untreated caries was higher in Huesca, despite the intervention. There was no association between the outcomes and the variables studied (p>0.05). Conclusion: The intervention for the prevention of obesity did not exert any association with the prevalence of caries in Spanish children.