Abstract The Brazilian Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (B-ECOHIS) is an oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) questionnaire. This paper aims to investigate the responsiveness of the B-ECOHIS to dental treatment in individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and determine if dental treatment has an impact on OHRQoL. The survey targeted 27 ASD individuals aged 4 to 14 years attending the Acolher Project of the University Federal Fluminense. This project provides children and adolescents with disabilities with oral health services. A group of randomly selected caregivers self-completed the B-ECOHIS before and 14 days after their children’s dental treatment. The dental treatment included meticulous screening, preventive treatment, and restorative treatment. Responsiveness was assessed by investigating the effect size (ES) and standardized response mean (SRM). Wilcoxon test was used to evaluate internal responsiveness (distribution-based approach). The B-ECOHIS showed significant changes in the total score (p<0.001) and in all domains. The ES of the total B-ECOHIS after treatment was 1.28 and ranged between 0.70 and 1.14 for the domains. The SRM for each of the domains was large, except for the symptom domain. The B-ECOHIS is sensitive and responsive to ASD individuals undergoing dental treatment. Individuals with ASD showed improvement in their OHRQoL score after dental treatment.

Abstract: The oral health status of children with special health care needs (SHCN) can affect their quality of life wich domains of the Brazilian version of the Early Childohood Oral Health Impact Scale (B-ECOHIS). A cross-sectional study was conducted in children with SHCN (aged 1 to 9 years), who underwent an oral examination for the assessment of dental caries severity. Parents/caregivers answered two questionnaires, one on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) - B-ECOHIS, and one on socioeconomic characteristics. Statistical analyses were performed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Mann-Whitney U-test, Poisson regression, Point-biserial correlation coefficient, and Cronbach's alpha. A total of 128 children participated in the study and OHRQoL was affected in 68.75% of them. The function domain in the Child Impact Section (CIS) had a higher mean value. Caries severity was associated with worse quality of life (p=0.001). Severe dental caries was associated with a negative impact on the OHRQoL of disabled children and of their families. The impact of untreated dental caries and severity of dental caries was associated with the CIS domains (except for the self-image/social interaction domain).

Abstract: The study aimed to investigate the effects of bacterial biofilms on changes in the surface microhardness of enamel treated with casein phosphopeptide—amorphous calcium phosphate (CPP-ACP) with and without fluoride. Human enamel blocks with incipient caries-like lesions were divided into four groups of 13: G1: Saliva (Control); G2: fluoride dentifrice (Crest™, 1100 ppm as NaF); G3: CPP-ACP (MI Paste; Recaldent™); and G4: CPP-ACPF (MI Paste Plus; Recaldent™ 900 ppm as NaF). The specimens were soaked in demineralizing solution for 6 h and remineralized in artificial saliva for 18 h alternately for 10 days. The dentifrice was prepared with deionized water in a 1 : 3 ratio (w/w) or applied undiluted in the case of the CPP-ACP group. The surface microhardness (SMH) was evaluated at baseline, after artificial caries, after pH cycling and treatment with dentifrices, and after incubation in media with Streptococcus mutans for biofilm formation. The biofilms were exposed once a day to 2% sucrose and the biofilm viability was measured by MTT reduction. The percentage of change in surface microhardness (%SMHC) was calculated for each block. The data were analyzed by nonparametric test comparisons (α = 0.05). The %SMHC values observed in G2 were different from those of G1, G3, and G4 (p < 0.05). After biofilm formation, %SMHC was positive in G2 and G4 when compared to G1 and G3, but resistance to demineralization after biofilm formation was similar in all groups. In conclusion, the presence of biofilms did not influence the treatment outcomes of anticaries products.