Effectiveness of Silver Diamine Fluoride Application at Various Frequencies for Dental Caries Cessation among Preschool Children in India: Randomized Controlled Trial
Background: Children from marginalized backgrounds show higher susceptibility to early childhood caries which can have serious repercussions. Determining the ideal application frequency of 38% silver diamine fluoride (SDF) is crucial for those with limited access to dental care. Objectives: This stu...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | Contemporary Clinical Dentistry |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/ccd.ccd_535_24 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849703529856368640 |
|---|---|
| author | Induja Devan Chandrashekar Janakiram Venkitachalam Ramanarayanan Balagopal R Varma Sanjeev Vasudevan |
| author_facet | Induja Devan Chandrashekar Janakiram Venkitachalam Ramanarayanan Balagopal R Varma Sanjeev Vasudevan |
| author_sort | Induja Devan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background:
Children from marginalized backgrounds show higher susceptibility to early childhood caries which can have serious repercussions. Determining the ideal application frequency of 38% silver diamine fluoride (SDF) is crucial for those with limited access to dental care.
Objectives:
This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of different frequencies of 38% SDF application in halting the progression of active dentin coronal carious lesions in primary teeth of children aged 2–6 years.
Methods:
A randomized controlled trial with parallel arms was conducted at Amrita Kripa Hospital, Kalpetta, Wayanad, a region with a significant tribal population. Children with cavitated carious lesions were randomly assigned to three groups: (1) annual group (one application per year), (2) biannual group (two applications per year), and (3) four applications per year (at baseline, 2, 4, and 8 weeks). Carrie’s arrest was assessed at 6 and 12 months.
Results:
The study included 80 children and 440 teeth. The four-application group showed the highest caries arrest rate (80.5%), followed by the biannual group (78.2%) and the annual group (58.4%). Statistical analysis revealed significant differences between the groups (χ2 = 21.873, P < 0.001).
Conclusions:
More frequent SDF applications (four times per year) were significantly more effective in halting caries progression compared to biannual or annual applications, particularly evident in tribal children; a high-risk population with limited access to dental care. The study supports the use of SDF as a noninvasive, cost-effective preventive treatment for young children, especially in resource-limited settings, and emphasizes the need for frequent SDF applications in community-based oral health programs with limited dental care access. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-5bdcd9abdbe446c7aa5801ab9c908af8 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 0976-237X 0976-2361 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Contemporary Clinical Dentistry |
| spelling | doaj-art-5bdcd9abdbe446c7aa5801ab9c908af82025-08-20T03:17:14ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsContemporary Clinical Dentistry0976-237X0976-23612025-01-01161283510.4103/ccd.ccd_535_24Effectiveness of Silver Diamine Fluoride Application at Various Frequencies for Dental Caries Cessation among Preschool Children in India: Randomized Controlled TrialInduja DevanChandrashekar JanakiramVenkitachalam RamanarayananBalagopal R VarmaSanjeev VasudevanBackground: Children from marginalized backgrounds show higher susceptibility to early childhood caries which can have serious repercussions. Determining the ideal application frequency of 38% silver diamine fluoride (SDF) is crucial for those with limited access to dental care. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of different frequencies of 38% SDF application in halting the progression of active dentin coronal carious lesions in primary teeth of children aged 2–6 years. Methods: A randomized controlled trial with parallel arms was conducted at Amrita Kripa Hospital, Kalpetta, Wayanad, a region with a significant tribal population. Children with cavitated carious lesions were randomly assigned to three groups: (1) annual group (one application per year), (2) biannual group (two applications per year), and (3) four applications per year (at baseline, 2, 4, and 8 weeks). Carrie’s arrest was assessed at 6 and 12 months. Results: The study included 80 children and 440 teeth. The four-application group showed the highest caries arrest rate (80.5%), followed by the biannual group (78.2%) and the annual group (58.4%). Statistical analysis revealed significant differences between the groups (χ2 = 21.873, P < 0.001). Conclusions: More frequent SDF applications (four times per year) were significantly more effective in halting caries progression compared to biannual or annual applications, particularly evident in tribal children; a high-risk population with limited access to dental care. The study supports the use of SDF as a noninvasive, cost-effective preventive treatment for young children, especially in resource-limited settings, and emphasizes the need for frequent SDF applications in community-based oral health programs with limited dental care access.https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/ccd.ccd_535_24caries arrestearly childhood cariespreventive dentistrysilver diamine fluoridetribal children |
| spellingShingle | Induja Devan Chandrashekar Janakiram Venkitachalam Ramanarayanan Balagopal R Varma Sanjeev Vasudevan Effectiveness of Silver Diamine Fluoride Application at Various Frequencies for Dental Caries Cessation among Preschool Children in India: Randomized Controlled Trial Contemporary Clinical Dentistry caries arrest early childhood caries preventive dentistry silver diamine fluoride tribal children |
| title | Effectiveness of Silver Diamine Fluoride Application at Various Frequencies for Dental Caries Cessation among Preschool Children in India: Randomized Controlled Trial |
| title_full | Effectiveness of Silver Diamine Fluoride Application at Various Frequencies for Dental Caries Cessation among Preschool Children in India: Randomized Controlled Trial |
| title_fullStr | Effectiveness of Silver Diamine Fluoride Application at Various Frequencies for Dental Caries Cessation among Preschool Children in India: Randomized Controlled Trial |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effectiveness of Silver Diamine Fluoride Application at Various Frequencies for Dental Caries Cessation among Preschool Children in India: Randomized Controlled Trial |
| title_short | Effectiveness of Silver Diamine Fluoride Application at Various Frequencies for Dental Caries Cessation among Preschool Children in India: Randomized Controlled Trial |
| title_sort | effectiveness of silver diamine fluoride application at various frequencies for dental caries cessation among preschool children in india randomized controlled trial |
| topic | caries arrest early childhood caries preventive dentistry silver diamine fluoride tribal children |
| url | https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/ccd.ccd_535_24 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT indujadevan effectivenessofsilverdiaminefluorideapplicationatvariousfrequenciesfordentalcariescessationamongpreschoolchildreninindiarandomizedcontrolledtrial AT chandrashekarjanakiram effectivenessofsilverdiaminefluorideapplicationatvariousfrequenciesfordentalcariescessationamongpreschoolchildreninindiarandomizedcontrolledtrial AT venkitachalamramanarayanan effectivenessofsilverdiaminefluorideapplicationatvariousfrequenciesfordentalcariescessationamongpreschoolchildreninindiarandomizedcontrolledtrial AT balagopalrvarma effectivenessofsilverdiaminefluorideapplicationatvariousfrequenciesfordentalcariescessationamongpreschoolchildreninindiarandomizedcontrolledtrial AT sanjeevvasudevan effectivenessofsilverdiaminefluorideapplicationatvariousfrequenciesfordentalcariescessationamongpreschoolchildreninindiarandomizedcontrolledtrial |