Relevance. Mouthwashes occupy a special place among the oral hygiene products range for their wide prevalence and high effectiveness. At the same time, their unreasonable use can lead to an oral microbial imbalance for the pronounced antimicrobial activity of the mouthwashes.

Aim. To evaluate the effect of mouthwashes with various preservative systems on the normal oral microbiota quantity and to assess the possible risk of dysbiotic changes if used regularly for prevention purposes.

Material and methods. The study examined the antimicrobial properties of nine experimental samples of mouth-washes developed for home oral care. The study included 110 healthy volunteers and collected 2 ml of unstimulated saliva from the subjects before toothbrushing and 5, 30, 60 and 180 minutes after rinsing with a test product for 1.5-2 minutes. The microbiological laboratory plated saliva samples and counted the number of colony-forming units. The results were statistically processed.

Results. The analysis of the average microbiota levels for all the products at various time points revealed that the number of viable bacteria in the oral cavity decreased by no more than 1.5 orders of magnitude, except for 0.2% chlorhexidine mouthwash. This decrease is short-term, and for most mouthwashes, there were no statistically significant differences in the number of colony-forming units in 60-180 minutes compared to the baseline.

Conclusion. All the tested samples of mouthwashes do not significantly affect the microbiota and, consequently, can be recommended for daily home oral care practice.

Relevance. Malocclusion prevention in Russian children is an urgent medical and social problem. The results of Russian epidemiological studies show malocclusion prevalence and severity increase in children with age. Postgrowth orthodontic treatment is costly and often inaccessible for the most population. In the current situation, malocclusion prevention organization in children is one of the most important tasks of public healthcare.

Purpose. To propose and substantiate a new model for the prevention of severe malocclusion in children.

Materials and methods. We have created a new conceptual model for the prevention of severe malocclusion in children to develop a methodology that provides unified approaches to malocclusion prevention.

Results. The model involves the construction of a two-level system of pediatric preventive care based in the city, municipal multidisciplinary dental clinics. The model novelty is determined by the new concept of the primary prevention of malocclusion and early orthodontic treatment (EOT) processes to prevent severe malocclusion (secondary prevention) as a single system that provides a positive result in maxillofacial development in children. The introduction of a pediatric dentist as an operator and a coordinator of the prevention program implementation into the structure of preventive care for children's malocclusion determines the novelty of the prevention system conceptual model. The proposed conceptual model prioritizes an orthodontist who provides secondary prevention of severe malocclusion by early orthodontic treatment (EOT) to children during the growth and development of malocclusions. The introduction of a malocclusion assessment to identify the EOT need score also determines the novelty of the malocclusion secondary prevention subsystem. The model places a high value on the management function/ management issues. Severe malocclusion prevention program implementation in children requires changing the paradigm of doctors, namely, pediatric dentists and orthodontists.

Conclusion. The presented concept of the two-level malocclusion prevention organization (primary prevention of malocclusion in toddlers and preschoolers and secondary prevention of severe malocclusion by EOT in children aged 3-12 years) will allow for the reduction of the number of severe malocclusions during dental and facial development and for the need of complex treatment at later stages, will contribute to children health preservation, their social adaptation and the child and family quality of life increase.

Relevance. Caries prevalence and intensity in permanent teeth of children are increasing with age. It is common knowledge that secondary caries causes 57% of restoration replacements in children. Studying the risk of secondary caries onset in the child's permanent teeth is relevant.

Purpose. To study the marginal fit of restorative material (composites and compomers) in per-manent teeth of children with different caries resistance degrees.

Materials and methods. One-hundred-and-three children (167 teeth) aged 6 to 15 y.o. had clinical and labora-tory examinations and treatment. All children had dentine caries of permanent teeth (K02.1) treated. The carious cavities were filled with compomer and composite materi-al. We clinically assessed the restorative marginal integrity in each patient based on the intensity of the carious process by G.Ryge (1998) and laser fluorescence 1 and 2 years after the filling of cavities.

Results. In children with average caries intensity and compomer restorations, the rate of resto-rations with secondary caries signs reached 72%, while the high caries intensity group demonstrated 32%. The group with average carious process intensity and composite restorations did not show any secondary caries signs; in the group with high carious process intensity, inadequate marginal integrity of restorations was in 41% of cases.

Conclusion. Compomers are recommended for caries treatment in permanent teeth of children with high carious process intensity, while composites are for children with average carious process intensity. Laser fluorescence allows for the identification of diagnostically reli-able data detecting the loss of a significant amount of restorative material to the level of dentin-enamel junction.

Relevance. The question of diagnosing tooth decay and, thus, determining treatment methods is still very topical. There is a large number of techniques available for the diagnosis of dental caries in modern dentistry.

Objective. The study aimed to compare different caries diagnosis methods to determine the most effective carious lesion detection.

Material and methods. We examined in total 45 subjects, 1248 permanent teeth and 5700 tooth surfaces. The dental examination included three diagnostic techniques for each patient: visual-tactile, ICDAS II and quantitative light-induced fluorescence (QLF). The data were processed and presented graphically using Statistica 12.0 (Stat-Soft) and Microsoft Office Excel 2017 software.

Results. According to the DMFS index, in the visual-tactile group, the "D" (decayed) was 3.00 ± 0.02 and the "F" (filled) was 1.93 ± 0.02. Caries intensity in this study group was 6.27 ± 0.58. The ICDAS II examination detected the average caries intensity of 6.93 ± 0.56 (p_1-2 < 0.001). There were 3.47 ± 0.02 (p_1-2 < 0.001) carious lesions. The "F" score was 2.13 ± 0.01 (p_1-2 = 0.024). The QLF diagnostic method showed 7.44 ± 0.54 (p_1-3 < 0.001, p_2-3 = 0.006) as the mean intensity of caries in permanent teeth; there were 3.84 ± 0.02 (p_1-3 < 0.001, p_2-3 = 0.015) carious lesions and the "F" was 2.27 ± 0.01 (p_1-3 = 0.018, p_2-3 = 0.520). The "M" score was 0.27 ± 0.01 (p_1-2 = 0.999, p_1-3 = 0.999, p_2-3 = 0.999), according to all applied techniques.

Conclusion. The QLF method had the highest sensitivity and was superior to the visual-tactile method and ICDAS II.

Relevance. The significant increase in the number of children with hearing impairment worldwide and the peculiarity of their dental status demonstrates a need for a specialized approach during preventive care. However, the choice of preventive measures has to consider both the parental perception of the process and its effectiveness.

Aim. The study aimed to assess the level of parental knowledge of primary schoolchildren with hearing impairment associated with neurological pathology on the oral hygiene of children and their readiness for dental preventive care measures to improve their child’s dental status.

Materials and methods. The study involved the parents of 94 primary schoolchildren aged 6-8 y.o. with hearing impairment associated with neurological pathology. The survey received information on different attitudes to preventive measures to improve children’s dental health.

Results. The results demonstrated poor oral hygiene knowledge among parents of primary schoolchildren with hearing impairment associated with neurological pathology and unreadiness for full-scale cooperation with dentists.

Conclusion. The obtained data indicate the need for more comprehensive and thoughtful patient education among parents of primary schoolchildren with hearing impairment associated with neurological pathology to create prerequisites for improving the children’s dental status.

Relevance. Oral hygiene improvement and remineralization stimulation are essential to prevent dental caries in children aged 12-18 y.o.

Purpose: to compare the oral hygiene and enamel resistance levels in children using toothpastes based on calcium glycerophosphate and calcium lactate.

Materials and methods. The study involved 42 children aged from 12 to 18 years. Twenty patients used Novy Zhemchug with Calcium toothpaste as a home oral care product for two months. Twenty-two patients used Toothpaste R.O.C.S.® Active Calcium for two months. The study determined the plaque control record (O’Leary, 1967) and the SHS (Simple Hygiene Score) by quantitative light-induced fluorescence (Qraypen C™) and enamel resistance test (Okushko V.R., 1984). All results were statistically processed.

Results. The study found that the O’Leary plaque control record, SHS and the enamel resistance test results were not statistically significant in both study groups. After two months of observation, the O’Leary plaque control record significantly improved in children of both groups. However, the group using Toothpaste R.O.C.S.® Active Calcium demonstrated significantly better values (59.74 ± 4.12%). The SHS was significantly better after two months of use in the children group using Toothpaste R.O.C.S.® Active Calcium compared to the children group using Novy Zhemchug with Calcium toothpaste. The enamel resistance test score significantly improved in children of both groups over two months. The patients using Toothpaste R.O.C.S.® Active Calcium for two months demonstrated the best enamel resistance score.

Conclusion. Toothpaste containing calcium compounds is quite effective for oral hygiene and enamel resistance improvement in children aged 12-18 y.o. The best scores were in groups of children who used toothpaste containing calcium glycerophosphate compared to the children group who used too thpastes containing calcium lactate.

Relevance. The modern development of practical dentistry and the emergence of new techniques and methods of diagnosis and treatment determine the necessity and expediency of studying the anatomical features of the head, skull, structure of dental arches, and dental segments in general. Knowledge of the patterns and characteristics of the skull structure and their relationship with morphometric, clinical and functional parameters will allow the diagnosis of various forms of maxillofacial disorders based on comorbidity.

Materials and methods. The study examined 30 children aged 6 to 12 y.o. to determine the relationship between the type of face and the state of the chewing muscles in children with cerebral palsy. Maxillofacial anthropometric measurements were made, e.g., the bitragional length (t-t) and the distance between the tragion and subnasale landmarks (t-sn); the gnathic index of the face was calculated, and the mouth opening range was measured. The surface electromyography determined the mean biopotential amplitude of the right and left proper masticatory and temporal muscles using the "bruxism" test.

Results. The anthropometric measurement data indicate the prevalence of a brachygnathic facial type in children with cerebral palsy. The electromyographic study data evidence spasticity of the masticatory muscles.

Conclusion. The obtained data indicate functional overload of the chewing muscles. Masticatory muscles' hypertonicity determined the brachygnathic facial type in children with cerebral palsy.

Relevance. Oral health in children largely depends on parental involvement and the formation of adequate oral care skills. Parental awareness of oral disease prevention and adherence to the recommendation of pediatric dentists or dental hygienists are paramount for dental disease onset. Therefore, the assessment of parental knowledge about oral prevention is relevant.

Aim. To evaluate the oral health education of parents of children under seven y.o. on oral disease prevention.

Materials and methods. The study anonymously surveyed 250 parents of children under seven y.o., living in Barnaul. The survey in Google Forms included questions about parental awareness of dental diseases, the frequency of dental visits, parental knowledge of the child's home oral care and the child's diet. The study results were statistically processed using the MS Excel 2007 program.

Results. The survey of Barnaul parents of children under seven demonstrated that 50% of the children were breastfed, and almost no one used dairy products as the main drink. Despite the knowledge about the importance of caries treatment in children, most parents (68%) visit a dentist when dental disease symptoms appear. The dentist is not always the principal source of information about dental diseases in children and their prevention. The parents selected oral hygiene products and items independently in most cases, without considering the child's individual dental status characteristics. Some parents believe that they may skip brushing their primary teeth brushing at all.

Conclusion. The results evidence the need to increase parental knowledge about dental disease prevention in children.

Relevance. The systematic review aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of topical fluoride in children based on the analysis of modern randomized clinical trial (RCT) data.

Materials and methods. This review was carried out using the PRISMA checklist (the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses). The proposed criteria determined the quality of the studies for inclusion in the review and then during the result summary. A preliminary search was conducted among articles published between 2013 and 2023 where fluoride varnishes were one of the preventive products. The search included MeSH terms, the keywords "fluorides", "fluorine varnish", "caries prevention", "remineralisation", and "children". A preliminary search found 346 studies. After excluding duplicates and irrelevant studies, two independent reviewers analysed nine RCTs based on the PRISMA criteria.

Results. Children aged eight months to five years old participated in five out of nine RCTs on the fluoride varnish application included in the review, and four studies included adolescents aged 14–20 y.o. The duration of the studies ranged from 2 months to 3.5 years. Six studies described the use of fluoride varnish in children, and three studies reported on the application of calcium phosphate gels with fluoride versus fluoride varnish. Various ways determined enamel condition, namely, visual method, digitally processed photography, analysis of radiographs, QLF (quantitative light fluorescence method), and laser fluorescence analysis method (Diagnodent). The dmft, ICDAS indices, caries increment, the WSL (white spot lesion) index, and the assessment of changes in the tooth damage area evaluated the prevalence and intensity of caries. In the control groups, most studies used 1000 to 1500 ppm fluoride toothpastes according to the usual scheme. None of the studies statistically proved the additional preventive effectiveness of the fluoride varnishes.

Conclusions. The analysis of RCTs did not reveal the advantages of fluoride varnishes for caries prevention in children and adolescents compared to standard oral hygiene procedures using fluoride toothpastes.

Relevance. An odontoma is a benign odontogenic tumour that consists of dental tissue elements. Diagnosis and differential diagnosis of odontomas is complicated enough for their high heterogeneity and significant morphological inhomogeneity.

Clinical case description. The article presents the results of studying the morphology and composition of odontoma removed surgically for medical reasons in a 7-year-old patient using a complex of the following research methods: optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray computed microtomography and microprobe analysis. The study established that the odontoma belongs to solid simple odontoma. The odontoma is 0.93 х 0.63 х 0.45 cm in size and formed by dentin covered with an uneven layer of the irregular enamel surface. The microtomography provided the odontoma's internal structure 3D model demonstrating a conical cavity formed by the hard dental tissues. The chemical composition of odontoma contains significant amounts of calcium, phosphorus, sodium, magnesium, and chlorine. The Ca/P-coefficient in dentin is 1.44, and in enamel – 1.66-1.68.

Conclusion. The study results contribute to the odontoma causes and pathogenesis investigation and form the base for the pathology diagnosis and implementation of treatment and preventive measures.