To provide dental practitioners and researchers with a comprehensive review of the historical development, chemical composition, mechanisms of action, advantages, and drawbacks of different chemomechanical caries removal (CMCR) agents. An electronic search was performed for all articles published on CMCR agents in various databases, including the Web of Science, PubMed, Cochrane, Scopus, and Google Scholar bibliographic databases, from January 1, 1975, to July 31, 2022. Records were identified using the following search terms: Brix3000, Carie-Care, Caridex, Carisolv, chemomechanical caries removal, conventional surgical method, and Papacárie. A total of 171 articles were screened based on the titles and abstracts, of which 126 were deemed eligible for inclusion after duplicates were removed. Following a manual search of the reference list, eight articles were added. Articles were then excluded for other reasons, such as being written before 1975, being written in a language other than English, and the non-availability of the full text. Overall, 120 articles were included in the analysis (literature reviews [n = 27], systematic reviews [n = 8], research articles [n = 82], case reports [n = 3]). CMCR is a potential method of caries control in the future as an alternative to the conventional surgical approach in standard dentistry applications. It is more widely accepted, less painful, and has comparable efficacy to the conventional surgical method. A continuous trend among manufacturers has been observed since 1975 to reduce the drawbacks of CMCR agents. Moreover, evidence-based minimally invasive techniques, including CMCR agents that require minimal or no aerosol-generating procedures, are preferred while measures to control the spread of coronavirus disease are in force.

(1) Background: Understanding oral health needs and barriers is important to overcome the oral disease burden, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to assess oral health needs and barriers among Saudi children after the COVID-19 pandemic wave started. (2) Methods: Parents of healthy children aged 3–11 years from five regions of Saudi Arabia were surveyed using an electronically administered validated questionnaire from Febuary-2021 to July-2021. Oral lesions/manifestations during the last 12 months reported by parents included tooth discoloration, ulcers, abscess, swelling of the gingiva, halitosis, gingival bleeding, dry mouth, pain while eating, difficulty in speaking or eating, burning sensation, and white spots. Barriers were assessed according to the WHO Oral Health Questionnaire. (3) Results: Children experiencing toothaches were reported by 1098 (72.4%) respondents. When reported, oral manifestations and lesions were associated with a higher inability to visit a dentist (p < 0.001). Barriers to dental care were more frequent among parents with lower education (p < 0.001; adjusted-odds ratio (AOR), 1.815) and a greater number of children (p < 0.001; AOR, 1.197). (4) Conclusion: Parents reported a high frequency of unmet oral health needs. Education could play an important role in improving oral health care in children and as a predictor of public health concerns.

This study aims to assess whether parents of children who previously received comprehensive dental treatment under general anesthesia (GA) would prefer comprehensive dental treatment under GA over regular dental care if any of their other children required comprehensive dental treatment. In this cross-sectional study, parents of children who met the inclusion criteria were interviewed by a trained pediatric resident about parental-related factors as well as their satisfaction with their previous GA experience. Also, the factors related to the previously treated child were obtained from dental records. Statistical analysis was carried out, and the p value was set to 0.05. A total number of 306 parents were included. Although most parents, 293 (95.8%), showed satisfaction with the previous GA, 170 (58%) of the satisfied parents preferred regular care. Parents of children who were previously treated under GA for medical-related reasons (p = 0.018), fathers working in a governmental sector (p = 0.021), and families with low-average monthly income (p = 0.017) significantly preferred regular care. In conclusion, most parents were satisfied with the previous GA experience. Family income, fathers’ occupation, and medical-related factors can influence parental preference for comprehensive dental treatment under general anesthesia if any of their other children require comprehensive dental treatment.

We assessed the impact of COVID-19 on children’s access to dental care and determine factors associated with problems in accessing dental care. A multi-country cross-sectional survey collected data from caregivers of children from August 2020 to February 2021. The questionnaire was developed guided by the framework of the Andersen’s model of factors (predisposing, enabling and need). Multilevel logistic regression was used to assess the association between access-to-dental care problem and predisposing, enabling and need factors. A total of 4,843 caregivers from 20-countries reported on their children (52.3% males, mean age = 8.4 years) with 29.2% having access to care problem. A significantly greater percentage of caregivers from lower-middle-income countries (LMICs) than low-income countries (LICs), upper-middle-income countries (UMICs) and high-income countries (HICs) reported an access-to-dental care problem (P < .001). Caregivers living in LICS, university-educated caregivers, caregivers with older children and caregivers whose children had more frequent pain during the pandemic had higher odds of reporting an access to dental care problem. The association of the access problem with dental pain and dental insurance was modified by country income, showing a link between macrolevel contextual factors and the utilization of dental care in children that needs to be addressed in future studies.

Journal of Clinical Pediatric Dentistry (JOCPD) is an international, peer-reviewed, open access journal, which is currently indexed in SCIE, etc., aming to provide clinically relevant information to enable the practicing dentist to have access to the state of the art in pediatric dentistry.

Obesity affects children’s physical and psychological well-being. In this study we investigated the associations of obesity with physical activity, socioeconomic factors, and lifestyle among Saudi children and adolescents. A stratified sample of 729 school children and 794 adolescent students was recruited. Waist circumference and body mass index were used to categorize the participants as obese and non-obese, and a structured mixed questionnaire was used to collect socioeconomic, physical activity, and lifestyle data. The results revealed that obese adolescent males (33.5%) were significantly more common than obese adolescent females (13.6%, P < 0.001). Body mass index-based and waist circumference-based obesity was significantly more common in private schools compared to public schools among school children and adolescents (P = 0.013 and P = 0.002, respectively). Student obesity was associated with higher parental education, especially among the school children (P = 0.006). Among adolescents, obesity was strongly associated with family income (P = 0.002) and time spent watching television (P = 0.004). Non-obese children and adolescents were considered subjectively more active than their obese counterparts (P < 0.001 and P = 0.011, respectively). In conclusion, obesity was common among school children and adolescents, and was associated with private schooling, adolescent male sex, parental education, and family income. Physical inactivity and time spent watching television were important risk factors for obesity among Saudi school children and adolescents.