The prevalence of overweight and obesity reached 19.7% in 12-year-old French children in the year 2005. Recently, nationwide programs have been broadly implemented in France to reduce the overconsumption of sugars, salt and fat. The aims of this study were to assess the distribution of body mass index (BMI) and D3+4MFT index in a sample of 12-year-old French children, and to compare several regression models in order to analyze the association between these two indices. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Montpellier, France, and the height, weight, D3+4MFT, sugar and soft drink consumption were recorded in a randomly selected sample of 835 schoolchildren. In order to analyze the association between BMI and DMFT, four models of regression were tested: logistic, Poisson, zero-inflated Poisson (ZIP) and zero-inflated negative binomial (ZINB). The mean BMI was 18.9 for the whole sample and the corresponding DMFT value was 1.47. The caries prevalence was 51.7%. The best fitted models for testing the association between BMI and DMFT were ZIP and ZINB models. They showed a significant association between DMFT and sugar consumption, but not with BMI. As a result of the best fitted models (ZIP and ZINB), where BMI was not statistically associated with DMFT, we conclude, within the limits of a cross-sectional survey, that there is no association between these two variables.

Adolescence is closely associated with a high risk of caries. The identification of specific bacteria in an oral microniche, the interdental space of the molars, according to carious risk can facilitate the prediction of future caries and the anticipation of the progression or stabilization of caries in adolescents. A cross-sectional clinical study according to the bacteriological criteria of interdental healthy adolescents and carious risk factors—low and high—using a real-time polymerase chain reaction technique was conducted. The presence of 26 oral pathogens from the interdental microbiota of 50 adolescents aged 15 to 17 years were qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed. Bacteria known to be cariogenic (Bifidobacterium dentium, Lactobacillus spp., Rothia dentocariosa, Streptococcus cristatus, Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus salivarius, Streptococcus sobrinus, and Streptococcus wiggsiae) did not present differences in abundance according to carious risk. Periodontal bacteria from the red complex are positively correlated with carious risk. However, only 3 bacteria—S. sobrinus, E corrodens and T. forsythia—presented a significant increase in the highest group. Estimating the risk of caries associated with bacterial factors in interdental sites of molars in adolescents contributes to the better definition of carious risk status, periodicity and intensity of diagnostic, prevention and restorative services.

Clinical research on herbal-based dentifrice +/− mouth rinse products is very limited compared with the plethora of research on conventional oral care products under normal oral hygiene conditions. The aim of this study was to determine the anti-inflammatory effects of a novel plant Carica papaya leaf extract (CPLE) on interdental bleeding in healthy subjects. In this randomized, single-blind parallel-design study, the eligible subjects were generally healthy non-smokers, aged 18–26, who exhibited healthy periodontal conditions upon study entry. The participants were equally randomized into the following four groups: CPLE dentifrice, CPLE dentifrice and mouthwash, sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS)-free enzyme-containing dentifrice and SLS-free enzyme-containing dentifrice with essential oil (EO) mouthwash. Subjects were instructed to brush their teeth twice a day without changing their other brushing habits. Interdental bleeding (BOIP) was measured from inclusion (T₀) until the fourth week (T₄) of the study. Clinical efficacy was assessed after one, two, three and four weeks of home use. The analyses compared BOIP between groups and were then restricted to participants with ≥70% and then ≥80% bleeding sites at T₀. Pairwise comparisons between groups were performed at T₀ and T₄, and a logistic regression identified correlates of gingival bleeding (T₄). Among 100 subjects (2273 interdental sites), the median percentage of bleeding sites per participant at T₀ was 65%. The bleeding sites dramatically decreased in all groups between T₀ and T₄ (relative variations from −54% to −75%, p < 0.01 for all). Gingival bleeding did not significantly differ between the CPLE dentifrice and the SLS-free dentifrice +/− EO mouthwash groups (from p = 0.05 to p = 0.86), regardless of the baseline risk level. Among the CPLE dentifrice users, fewer bleeding sites were observed when toothpaste and mouthwash were combined compared to bleeding sites in those who used toothpaste alone (21% vs. 32%, p = 0.04). CPLE dentifrice/mouthwash provides an efficacious and natural alternative to SLS-free dentifrice +/−EO-containing mouthwash when used as an adjunct to mechanical oral care to reduce interdental gingival inflammation.

To evaluate the prevalence of palatine tonsilloliths. 150 consecutive CT examinations (75 males and 75 females) were read. Tonsilloliths were found in 37 patients (24.6%; confidence interval 17.7-31.6%), of which 18 (48%) had a bilateral location. No influence of sex or age was observed (p = 0.37 and p = 0.57, respectively). 26 patients (70%) had more than 1 concretion. The largest tonsillolith was 7 mm. None of the tonsilloliths found were involved in the reason for prescribing the CT. The radiographic density of the tonsilloliths was between 216 and 2959 HU. Palatine tonsilloliths could affect approximately one-quarter of the population. This prevalence is likely to be underestimated in daily clinical practice because small concretions do not result in any functional impairment and are not visible on orthopantomographs.