Child Caries Management: A Randomized Controlled Trial in Dental Practice

Area of Science:

• Dentistry
• Pediatric Dentistry
• Public Health

Background:

• Dental caries in primary teeth is a common childhood issue.
• Effective management strategies are crucial to prevent pain and infection.
• Comparing different treatment modalities is essential for evidence-based practice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the clinical effectiveness of three strategies for managing dental caries in primary teeth.
• To evaluate the incidence and number of dental pain and/or infection episodes.
• To assess conventional caries management (C+P), biological management (B+P), and prevention alone (PA).

Main Methods:

• A multicenter, 3-arm, parallel-group, patient-randomized controlled trial.
• 1,144 children aged 3-7 years with dentinal carious lesions were randomized.
• Follow-up was conducted over a median of 33.8 months.

Main Results:

• Proportions of participants with at least one episode of pain/infection: C+P (42%), B+P (40%), PA (45%).
• No significant difference in incidence or number of pain/infection episodes between the three groups.
• Adjusted risk difference for B+P vs C+P: -2% (97.5% CI: -10% to 6%).

Conclusions:

• No evidence of a difference in dental pain and/or infection incidence or episodes among the three treatment approaches.
• Conventional, biological, and prevention-only strategies showed similar outcomes for high-risk children.
• Further research may explore long-term cost-effectiveness and patient-reported outcomes.