COMPARATIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF METHODS FOR THE PREVENTION OF DENTAL CARIES IN CHILDREN OF EARLY CHILDHOOD
Authors: Romanuyk D. , Godovanets O. , Kitsak T. , Vitkovskyi O. 
Published: November 2024

The high prevalence and intensity of early childhood caries in Ukraine and in the world indicate insuffi cient attention of practical dentistry to the prevention of dental caries in young children. The development of adapted prevention programs considering the risk factors for the development of the disease remains relevant.Aim of the study. To compare the eff ectiveness of methods of pre- and postnatal prevention of early childhood dental caries based on correction of the microbial environment of the oral cavity and macro- and microelemental nutrition.Material and methods. The work was carried out within the framework of the research work of the Department of Pediatric Dentistry of the Bukovinian State Medical University «Development of methods of prevention and treatment of major dental diseases in children, taking into account the risk factors of their development» (DR # 0121U110122). The prenatal method of dental caries prevention was applied to a group of pregnant women (30 persons) whose average age was (25,17±1,05) years. It included the use of Elevit Pronatal and Iodomarin 200, one tablet daily, starting from the second trimester ofpregnancy, and a course of local probiotic therapy with BioGaya ProDentis chewable tablets, used for 20 days in the second trimester of pregnancy and 20 days before delivery. As a method of postnatal prevention of dental caries in children, a preventive complex was used, including the use of the probiotic BioGaya ProDentis and the vitamin and mineral complex Supervit. The course lasted three weeks twice a year. The preventive complex was applied to a group of children aged 2-3 years. The number of children in the control group was 30. The mean age of the group was (2.51±1.30) years. The eff ectiveness of preventive measures was evaluated by the prevalence and intensity of caries of primary teeth («kpv» and «kpppv»), the state of oral hygiene (M. E. Kuzmina index), the content of phosphate ions, inorganic and ionized calcium in the oral fluid of children, the content of mutans streptococci in the oral cavity and the concentration of sIgA in the oral fl uid of children. Statistical processing of the study results was performed using standard methods of variation. The study complied with all bioethical norms (conclusion of the Bioethics Commission of the Bukovinian State Medical University No. 4 dated 15.12.2022).Results of the study. The use of preventive complexes for early childhood caries, based on the supplementation of macro- and microelements and the infl uence on the microbial landscape of the oral cavity, are eff ective methods of prevention of caries of temporary teeth in children, which is confi rmed by a decrease in the prevalence and intensity of dental caries in children in the dynamics of their observation. Prenatal measures are more eff ective in the prevention of early childhood caries in children, as they optimize the processes of primary mineralization of hard dental tissues and thus strengthen them, reducing the risk of dental caries. Postnatal use of the drugs has a slightly lower preventive eff ect on early childhood caries, while it has a positive eff ect on the processes of secondary mineralization of tooth enamel, as it was found that the level of phosphate ions in the oral fl uid of children under these conditions increased by 23.72 % (p<0.05), and the level of total calcium decreased by 15.84 % and its free fraction by 25.86 % (p<0.05).Conclusions. Our results suggest that both methods of prevention of early childhood caries are eff ective, but prenatal prophylaxis is clinically more eff ective with respect to the hard tissues of temporary teeth in children, due to its eff ect on the processes of primary mineralization of enamel. Postnatal prophylactic measures have a positive eff ect on the secondary mineralization of the hard tissues of temporary teeth and the primary mineralization of permanent teeth and will have a clinical result in the long term.