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How do 3 to 5-year-old children handle a lozenge? A clinical-experimental study
Insights
Preschool children can manage placebo lozenges in their mouths. Larger lozenges dissolve slower and are well-tolerated, suggesting potential for caries prevention in pediatric oral health.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Dentistry
- Oral Health
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Dental caries remains a significant public health issue in preschool children.
- Conventional methods for caries prevention may be challenging for young children to adhere to.
- Lozenges offer a potential alternative delivery system for oral health interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate how 3, 4, and 5-year-old children handle placebo lozenges in their oral cavity.
- To assess the dissolution time and tolerability of different lozenge sizes in young children.
- To explore the feasibility of using lozenges for pediatric oral health applications.
Main Methods:
- Sixty-five healthy preschool children participated across three Stockholm day-care centers.
- Two placebo lozenge sizes were tested: 400 mg (10 mm) and 800 mg (13.5 mm).
- Children were instructed to hold lozenges in their mouths without sucking or biting; remaining tablet mass was weighed at 5, 10, and 15 minutes.
Main Results:
- The larger 800 mg lozenge demonstrated a longer dissolution time compared to the smaller size.
- Children tolerated the larger lozenge well.
- Remarkably, 62% of children retained parts of the lozenge in their mouths for at least 10 minutes.
Conclusions:
- Preschool children can effectively manage placebo lozenges in their oral cavity with simple instructions.
- Larger lozenges exhibit prolonged oral residence time and good tolerability in young children.
- Further research is warranted to investigate the potential benefits of lozenges over conventional tablets for pediatric caries prevention.
Abstract:
The aim was to investigate how 3, 4 and 5-year-old children would handle a placebo lozenge in the oral cavity when given instructions on how to use it. The material consisted of sixty-five healthy pre-school children at three day-care centres in the city of Stockholm. Two lozenge sizes were tested: 400 mg (10 mm in diameter) and 800 mg (13.5 mm in diameter). The children were told to try to keep the lozenge in the mouth without sucking or biting on it until asked to spit out. Any tablet remains were collected and weighed after 5, 10 and 15 minutes, respectively. The results showed that the larger lozenge gave the longest dissolution time. This lozenge was also well tolerated by the children. It was noteworthy that 62% of the children could keep parts of the lozenge in the mouth for at least 10 minutes. The possible benefits of using a lozenge compared with a conventional tablet for preventing caries has to be further investigated.