Background: Fear in the children is normal during dental treatment procedures, where the child wants to be with his or her parents during treatment procedures, and parental presence comforts the child in the dental operatory. The objective of this study was to decide compliance in entreating parents to endure silence (noncommunicative) while escorting their child into the dental operatory for restorative care and also to know if any variance in parental compliance occurred once verbal instructions were given to parents vs written instructions only. Materials and methods: Forty parents of aged 4–9 years attending restorative care were selected and divided into two groups. Group I (n = 20) parents were given verbal instructions only, and in group II (n = 20) parents received written instructions only. Results: Of the 40 (72.5%) parents, 29 obeyed the instructions to remain silent. No statistical difference was noted in parental compliance to remain silent compared to the verbal instructions only (85%) vs written instructions only (60%). Conclusion: Parents did comply with instructions to remain a silent as well as acted as a passive observer in the operatory when provided either written or verbal instruction.

Aim and objective: The study aimed to evaluate and compare the quality of obturation in root canals of primary molars using two methods of obturation (lentulo spiral, endodontic pressure syringe), following preparation with either rotary nickel-titanium files or manual nickel-titanium files. Materials and methods: A total of 100 primary molars from children aged 5–9 years were divided into 2 groups; consisting of 50 teeth each. In group I and group II, cleaning and shaping of root canals were done using rotary files and manual Ni-Ti files, respectively. Each group was further subdivided into 2 subgroups comprising 25 teeth each and obturated with zinc oxide eugenol, using either endodontic pressure syringe or lentulo spiral. The quality of obturation was evaluated using digital radiographs, for the length of obturation, presence, and location of voids. Data obtained were subjected to statistical analysis using Student's t-test, Chi-square test, and one-way ANOVA. Results: Rotary preparation of canals with obturation using an endodontic pressure syringe resulted in fewer voids. With manual files, overfilling of canals was comparable with both techniques of obturation. More number of voids were seen in canals obturated using the lentulo spiral technique. Conclusion: Rotary preparation of root canals followed by endodontic pressure syringe obturation gave more dense, uniform, and optimal filling than canals obturated with lentulo spiral files.

Aim and objective: The aim and objective of the study was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices about early childhood caries (ECC) among postgraduates of healthcare professional courses of Belagavi city. Materials and methods: A sample of 400 participants were divided into four groups: dental, medical, homeopathy, and Ayurveda. An 18-item validated questionnaire containing four domains of professional demographic data, knowledge, attitude, and practices was distributed among the participants. The data collected were statistically analyzed. Results: The descriptive analysis was used followed by Chi square for association and one-way ANOVA for comparison followed by the Karl Pearson correlation coefficient for determining the correlation between knowledge, attitude, and practices of postgraduates. The results were found to be highly statistically significant when correlation was done between knowledge, attitude, and practices among the postgraduates of healthcare professional courses (p < 0.0001). Clinical significance: The findings that we get from this study are helpful in gauging the knowledge, attitude, and practices about ECC among postgraduates of healthcare professional courses in Belagavi city, which will help us to recommend the respective governing bodies to include ECC in their curriculum and train them, which will help in reducing the prevalence of ECC. Conclusion: The study concludes that there is a need to increase the level of knowledge, attitude, and practices among postgraduates of healthcare professional courses about ECC.

Aims and objectives: To evaluate and compare virtual reality (VR) glasses vs on-screen audiovisual distraction techniques in managing anxious pediatric patients during dental procedures at sequential dental visits. Materials and methods: This study was conducted in the age group of 4–8 years anxious children who reported to the department. The informed written consent from the parents was taken. The 40 children were divided into two groups: group I—on-screen distraction aid and group II—audiovisual distraction aid (VR glasses) with 20 patients in each group. Each child in all the subgroups had gone through three dental visits. Child anxiety level at each visit was assessed by using a combination of anxiety measuring parameters. Results: Chi-square and Student's t-test (two-tailed, independent) analyses were used to find the significance of study parameters on a categorical scale and continuous scale between two groups (intergroup analysis) on metric parameters. It revealed that VR glasses audiovisual aid group showed a statistically highly significant difference from the on-screen method. Conclusion: Audiovisual distraction aid was found to be a more effective mode of distraction in the management of anxious children when compared to the on-screen distraction method.

Background: Early Childhood Caries (ECC) constitutes a current worldwide oral health problem and pediatricians, as primary healthcare providers for children, play a critical role not only for children's oral health promotion but also for oral health prevention. Aims and objectives: To assess the pediatrician's knowledge about ECC and to examine the current preventive oral health-related practices among Tunisian pediatricians. Materials and methods: The study was designed as a cross-sectional study based on a structured close-ended questionnaire distributed among pediatricians working in private, general, and teaching hospitals selected from four governorates in Tunis, Tunisia. A total of 88 pediatricians participated in the study by filling out the questionnaire which was composed of three main sections; demographic characteristics, assessment of participants’ practice, knowledge, attitude about ECC, and assessment of their teaching in oral health during specialty training. Results: The sample was made up of pediatricians of both genders (73.9% females and 26.1 males), aged between 26 years and 75 years with a mean age of 45.9 ± 1.23 years. About 76% of pediatricians (76%) know ECC, and 71% of them identified bottle-feeding as a risk factor of developing ECC with a higher percentage among private practice pediatricians (p < 0.05). The majority of pediatricians (99%) discouraged breastfeeding but only 49% of them advised against bottle-feeding with a higher percentage among pediatricians practising for >15 years (p < 0.05). Although all the pediatricians (98%) believed that they had a considerable role to play in children's oral diseases prevention, only 67% of them reported they had routinely examined the oral cavity of their young patients. A total of 53% rated the oral health content in their medical education as non-existent and deficient and 94% reported that they would like to have more oral health knowledge. Conclusion: Pediatricians should improve their knowledge of children's oral health, and integrate it more into their daily practice. Oral health information programs should be developed for Tunisian pediatricians and included in Tunisian medical curricula and residency.

The pandemic of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), which originally started in Wuhan city of China, has become a major public health challenge for not only China but also other countries around the globe. The World Health Organization announced that the outbreaks of the novel coronavirus have constituted a public health emergency of international concern. Infection control measures are necessary to prevent the virus from further spreading and to help control the pandemic situation. The risk of cross-infection may be high between dental practitioners and patients because of the unique nature of functioning of dentistry especially pediatric dentistry. Therefore, we require urgent implementation of strict and effective infection control protocols for dental practices and hospitals in nations inflicted with COVID-19. This paper will provide some basic preventive measures required in pediatric dental settings and management protocols for dental practitioners and students to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 nosocomial infection in (potentially) affected areas and maintain a healthy environment for patients and dental team.

Behavior guidance techniques have been the foundation stone behind success in pediatric dental practice involving both nonpharmacological and pharmacological methods. Modern approaches, attitudes, and expectations of parents and society have devised the modifications in old behavior guidance techniques. However, the applicability of these modalities has not been explored currently. These techniques principally emphasize alleviation of dental anxiety or dentophobia among infants, children, adolescents, and children with special health care needs (SHCN) to provide quality oral health care and to instill a positive dental attitude. This review is intended to provide updates in contemporary behavior guidance techniques such as tell-play-do, animal-assisted therapy, virtual reality, etc., which may provide state-of-art dental management in young children benefitting dental health care providers, parents, and other concerned parties.

Avulsed teeth with extraoral dry time for >60 minutes generally undergo replacement root resorption or ankylosis after their replantation. The complications that may arise due to ankylosis are tooth infrapositioning and the local arrest of alveolar bone growth. Removal of an ankylosed tooth is traumatic and may cause bony ridge deformities that interfere with optimal prosthetic treatment. Therefore, the “decoronation” technique gained interest, to remove an ankylosed tooth in such a way that the alveolar ridge is preserved. This article describes a case of a delayed reimplanted avulsed tooth that was managed with decoronation technique.

A clinical case of a 12-year-old girl involving agenesis of multiple permanent maxillary teeth, and presence of a full complement of permanent mandibular teeth, is reported. No such case is previously reported in literature. A prosthetic rehabilitation using a removable maxillary denture was performed to improve the facial profile, have satisfactory intercuspation of teeth, and restore masticatory function along with significant esthetic improvement in smile. Careful monitoring on a long-term basis, educating the parents about growth changes in the child and importance of replacing prostheses according to these changes, is desired.

Accidental ingestion of the preformed zirconia crown may occur if the dental treatment is carried out without using rubber dam in the children. Mishaps are rare in adults, but in pediatric patients foreign body ingestion is a global problem that is potentially harmful to the patients, which may lead to life-threatening condition and it also causes anxiety to the clinician. This paper elaborates a simple technique to tag zirconia crown with the suture thread using resin-modified glass ionomer luting cement to prevent accidental ingestion in the routine pediatric dental practice as a reserved technique for patients who are unable to accept rubber dam.

Palatopharyngeal insufficiency refers to soft palate defects where some or all of soft palate is deficient affecting palatopharyngeal closure. When surgical correction is not possible or failed, prosthetic rehabilitation by means of a speech-aid prosthesis or a speech bulb is the most desirable option to restore the function. In this case report, prosthetic rehabilitation of a pediatric patient with a hard and soft palate defect is described. Emphasis is given to the role of multidisciplinary approach in the management of cleft palate patients, clinical and laboratory procedures involving construction of a speech bulb prosthesis and the role of speech therapy for the improvement of overall outcome of the treatment.

Randomization is one of the highly efficient methods to select the sample for the study. It holds a significant meaning in research and it would be unfair to use the word casually, without understanding its true meaning. This letter has introduced randomization and its types to guide researchers to analyze, optimize, and criticize their work in view of randomization.