ISSN : 0376-4672
Purpose: To evaluate reliability of Q-ray view (Aiobio Inc,. Seoul, Korea) for assessing retention status of pit and fissure sealants. Methods: Pit and fissure sealants of 58 permanent molars from 15 third-grade students were examined. Posterior teeth with ≥1 pit and fissure sealants applied to the occlusal surface for >6 months were examined. The teeth were examined using traditional visual-tactile assessments and combined Q-ray view. Pit and fissure sealants were evaluated by assessing marginal plaque, marginal discoloration, marginal integrity, retention, and presence of caries. Fleiss kappa and Cohen's kappa values were calculated to compare inter- and intrarater agreements between visual-tactile and combined Q-ray view assessments. Results: Regarding interrater agreement in visual-tactile assessments, K values of Cohen's kappa for marginal plaque, marginal discoloration, and presence of caries were 0.22–0.57, 0.36–0.57, and 0.43–0.61, respectively, and agreements ranged from slight to moderate. When combined with Q-ray view, the values were 0.81–0.89, 0.69–0.88, and 0.80–0.90, respectively, and agreements ranged from substantial to nearly perfect level, indicating statistical significance. Marginal plaque (0.81–0.83), marginal discoloration (0.57–0.89), and presence of caries (0.69–0.91) showed higher agreements in combined Q-ray view than in visual-tactile assessments, and kappa values of marginal plaques were significantly higher in combined Q-ray view than in visual-tactile assessments. Conclusion: Evaluating retention status of pit and fissure sealants using Q-ray view showed higher reliability than using visual/tactile assessments for marginal plaque, marginal discoloration, and presence of caries. Therefore, Q-ray view may be used to assess the retention status of pit and fissure sealants.
The propensity score matching method is a statistical method used to reduce selection bias in observational studies and to show effects similar to random allocation. There are many observational studies in dentistry research, and differences in baseline covariates between the control and case groups affect the outcome. In order to reduce the bias due to confounding variables, the propensity scores are used by equating groups based on the baseline covariates. This method is effective, especially when there are many covariates or the sample size is small. In this paper, the propensity score matching method was explained in a simple way with a dental example by using R software. This simulated data were obtained from one of retrospective study. The control group and the case group were matched according to the propensity score and compared before and after treatment. The propensity score matching method could be an alternative to compensate for the disadvantage of the observation study by reducing the bias based on the covariates with the propensity score.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the principal reasons for primary teeth extractions and the tooth type extracted in children. 1159 patients were selected in this study. Dental records and radiographs were reviewed and age, gender, medical history, type of tooth extracted and the reasons for extraction were collected. The data were statistically analyzed using Chi-square test. Total 2078 primary teeth were extracted. Central incisors(34.1%) were most frequently extracted. Extractions due to physiological mobility(77.5%) were the most frequent followed by caries(13.8%), orthodontic(3.9%), trauma(1.7%). Reason for the extraction was different according to age (p = 0.000), but there was no difference according to gender (p = 0.109). While extractions due to physiological mobility predominated overall, reason for extraction was different according to the tooth type. There was no previous treatment in 54.6% of primary teeth extracted due to caries. Excluded physiological mobility, caries are the most common reason for extraction of primary teeth. The importance of preventive care should be emphasized in order to preserve primary teeth and improve children's oral health.
