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Association between interdental plaque acidogenicity and caries risk at surface level: a cross sectional study in primary dentition
Author(s) -
Cagetti Maria Grazia,
Campus Guglielmo,
Sale Silvana,
Cocco Fabio,
Strohmenger Laura,
Lingström Peter
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
international journal of paediatric dentistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.183
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1365-263X
pISSN - 0960-7439
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-263x.2010.01099.x
Subject(s) - medicine , dentistry , molar , interdental consonant , dentition , dental plaque , carious lesion , tooth surface , area under the curve , area under curve , orthodontics , pharmacokinetics , enamel paint
Background In schoolchildren the most commonly decayed primary teeth are molars affecting proximal adjacent surfaces especially. Aim To determine whether a more acidic plaque in response to sucrose challenge is detected in children with more carious lesions. Design Plaque pH measurements, using the microtouch technique, were carried out in interproximal spaces between primary molars, in 157 high caries risk children (314 sites and caries status of the 628 proximal surfaces recorded). The area under the curve (AUC 5.7 and AUC 6.2 ) was analyzed. Results The AUC 5.7 and the AUC 6.2 showed a statistically significant difference between plaque adjacent to proximal surfaces with or without caries. Differences for AUC 5.7 and AUC 6.2 were recorded between one decayed surface compared to two decayed surfaces ( P < 0.01) whereas a statistical significant difference was only observed for AUC 5.7 , when the areas under the curve were obtained near one decayed surface compared to two sound surfaces ( P = 0.04). Conclusions The higher acidogenicity of the dental plaque found in presence of a proximal carious lesion in primary maxillary molars represents an additional risk factor for the adjacent surface. This finding may help clinicians in treatment decisions.