SDF Treatment and parental satisfaction with aesthetics of child's teeth

Abstract

Objectives: Topical application of silver diamine fluoride (SDF) solution is effective in arresting active dentin caries in primary teeth of children but the arrested caries lesions are usually stained black in color. Objective of this study was to describe parental satisfaction with the aesthetics of their child’s decayed primary anterior teeth regarding whether they had received SDF treatment or not. Methods: In a clinical trial conducted in 9 kindergartens in Hong Kong, children aged 3-4 years who had cavitated dentin caries lesions in their primary teeth were randomly assigned to receive SDF or placebo (tonic water). Two months later before receiving restorative treatment, parents of the children were asked to rate their satisfaction with the aesthetics of their child’s teeth using a 5-point scale (1=very satisfied, 5=very dissatisfied). Results: A total of 211 parental questionnaires were collected, with 105 and 106 in the SDF and placebo groups, respectively. There was no significant difference between the mean (±SD) dft scores of children in the SDF (4.6±3.8) and the placebo (4.2±4.0) groups. Most of the parents in both SDF (74%) and placebo (66%) groups gave a score 4 or 5 for satisfaction with their child’s oral health situation. Parents of SDF group children had a lower level of satisfaction with the appearance of their child’s anterior teeth regarding stain (SDF group, 3.5±1.0; placebo group, 3.2±1.0, p=0.008) but not regarding tooth alignment (SDF group, 2.9±1.0; placebo group, 2.8±1.0, p>0.05). For overall satisfaction with their child’s dental appearance, parents of the SDF group children had a lower level of satisfaction compared with those of the placebo group (3.1±1.0 vs 2.7±1.0; p=0.009). Conclusions: To improve parental satisfaction, efforts should be made to improve the aesthetics of the children’s anterior teeth with arrested caries lesions stained black in color after SDF application.