Effect of Dental Treatment on Children's Growth

Severe dental decay affects children physically, emotionally, socially and thereby impacts on their quality of life. Evidence from developed countries showed that children with severe dental decay weighed less than their peers and following dental treatment children's growth and quality of life improved. This suggests that treatment of severe dental decay may enhance growth and wellbeing. A study was carried out in Saudi to test that hypothesis.

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Key information

Conditions

Dental Decay Dental Caries Stomatognathic Diseases Tooth Demineralization Tooth Diseases

Age range

72 month–95 month

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Phase 1 / Phase 2

Who can participate

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

Having dental caries with at least 2 teeth with pulpal involvement.

Exclusion criteria

Children with illness known to adversely affect growth.
Children who required urgent dental treatment.
Children on regular nutritional supplements.
Anaemic children with Hb levels lower than 11.0 g/dl

Treatment and study plan

comprehensive dental treatment

Other

Early treatment children were scheduled for comprehensive dental treatment over a 2-month period (from May to June 2007). All test children had their last dental treatment visit within the last 2 weeks of the second treatment month. The follow-up survey was scheduled for each child to be approximately 6-month after their dental last visit. This step was very important to make sure that all children were examined at exactly the same interval between end of treatment and when re-examined at the follow-up examination.

Only emergency dental treatment

Other

Regular treatment did not receive any dental treatment in the period when the early children were treated unless they had toothache or dental infection. In that case they were treated for the pain but did not have comprehensive dental treatment

Primary outcomes

Children's height and weight (HAZ,WAZ and BAZ)

Time frame: 6 months

children's height and weight were measured pre and 6 months post dental treatment.

Secondary outcomes

Quality of life (pain, sepsis, satisfaction and appetite)

Time frame: 6 months

specific general and oral quality of life health measures were examined before and after dental treatment

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

King Fahad Armed Forces Hospital

Other Gov

Registry information

Important dates

Study start: 2007
Primary completion: 2008
Study completion: 2008
First posted: Nov 19, 2010
Registry last updated: Nov 19, 2010

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.

Completed