Professional flossing as a diagnostic method for gingivitis in the primary dentition.
The aim of this study was to evaluate flossing as a diagnostic method for interproximal gingival bleeding in children. For this crossover study, 23 pre-schoolchildren presenting neither restorations nor approximal carious cavities and with at least 15% of gingival bleeding sites were selected. Examinations were performed at three different moments (3-4 days interval). Examinations comprised repeated measurements of two gingival indices with a 10-minute interval in the following sequences: the Ainamo & Bay Gingival Bleeding Index (GBI) followed by the Carter & Barnes flossing index (CBI); CBI followed by GBI; and GBI followed by GBI. Data analysis was performed only for the interproximal sites, considering the GBI as the gold-standard. Agreement between indices, sensitivity (SE), specificity (SP), positive (PPV) and negative predictive values (NPV) were estimated. Percentage agreements in sequences GBI-CBI, CBI-GBI and GBI-GBI were 70.3%, 76.4% and 84.5%, respectively. Validation of flossing in the first sequence (GBI-CBI) resulted in values of 0.61 (95%CI 0.53 - 0.68), 0.72 (95%CI 0.69 - 0.76), 0.33 (95%CI 0.28 - 0.39) and 0.89 (95%CI 0.86 - 0.92) respectively for SE, SP, PPV and NPV. It can be concluded that professional flossing is a useful tool in the diagnosis of interproximal gingival inflammatory status in children, especially in conditions of gingival health.
Mariath
Adriela Azevedo Souza
AA
Department of Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dentistry, University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil. adriela.mariath@uol.com.br
Bressani
Ana Eliza Lemes
AE
Haas
Alex Nogueira
AN
Araujo
Fernando Borba de
FB
Rösing
Cassiano Kuchenbecker
CK
D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D003742:Dental Devices, Home Care; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005884:Gingival Hemorrhage / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005891:Gingivitis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D010512:Periodontal Index; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014094:Tooth, Deciduous