Comparative effectiveness study to assess two examination modalities used to detect dental caries in preschool urban children.
BACKGROUND
Dental caries affecting the primary dentition of U.S. children continues to be the most prevalent chronic childhood disease. Preventive screening for dental caries in toddlers by dental professionals is labor-intensive and costly. Studies are warranted to examine innovative screening modalities that reduce cost, are less labor-intensive, and have the potential to identify caries in high-risk children.


METHODS
Two hundred ninety-one children were randomized into two groups: Group 1 received a traditional, visual tactile examination initially and follow up-examinations at 6 and 12 months, and Group 2 received a teledentistry examination initially and follow-up examinations at 6 and 12 months. The mean primary tooth decayed and filled surfaces (dfs) scores were calculated for all children at baseline and 6 and 12 months.


RESULTS
At baseline, the mean dfs score for children examined by means of teledentistry was 2.19, and for the children examined by means of the traditional method, the mean was 1.27; the means were not significantly different. At the 12-month examination, the mean dfs score for the children examined by means of teledentistry was 3.02, and for the children examined by means of the clinical method, the mean dfs was 1.70; the means were not significantly different. At 12 months the mean fillings score for the children examined by means of teledentistry was 1.43 and for the children examined by means of the clinical method was 0.51; the means were statistically significantly different (p<0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that the teledentistry examinations were comparable to clinical examinations when screening for early childhood caries in preschool children. The data further showed that color printouts of teeth with cavities provided to parents of children who received teledentistry screenings promoted oral healthcare utilization, as children from the teledentistry study group received more dental care than children from the clinical study group.
Eastman Institute for Oral Health, University of Rochester , Rochester, New York.
Dorota T
DT
Kopycka-Kedzierawski
Ronald J
RJ
Billings
D002675:Child, Preschool; D057186:Comparative Effectiveness Research; D004245:DMF Index; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D009518:New York; D023861:Photography, Dental; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000379:methods*; D014505:Urban Population