Effectiveness of silver diamine fluoride in arresting early childhood caries: a randomised controlled clinical trial

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ABSTRACT

Aim

Evaluate the effectiveness of biannual 38% SDF in arresting early childhood caries (ECC) compared to atraumatic restorative treatment (ART).

Methods

One hundred children (aged 2-5 years) with ECC were (2-5 years) divided equally and randomly into two groups. Test group: 38% SDF biannually; Control group: ART. The primary outcome was caries arrestarrest, which was assessed at the 3,6,9, and 12 months interval. Oral health- related quality of life (OHRQoL) was evaluated at base line and after 12 months using the Parental-Caregiver Perceptions Questionnaire (P-CPQ) and Family Impact Scale (FIS).

Results

After 12 months, SDF and ART groups showed 94.4% and 34.3% overall success, respectively (P<0.0001). Success of anterior teeth was 95.7% for SDF and 28.2% for ART (P<0.0001) while in posterior teeth was 92.9% for SDF and 42.3% for ART (P<0.0001). The mean difference in scores of P-CPQ domains was 3.16±2.71 in the SDF group and 2.98±2.85 in the ART group (P>0.05). The mean difference in scores of FIS domains was 1.84±2.19 in the SDF group and 1.10±1.91 in the ART group (P>0.05).

Conclusion

SDF was considerably more effective in arresting ECC after 12 months compared to ART. An overall significant improvement of OHRQoL was reported for both groups with SDF being faintly superior to ART.

Statistics

Chi-Square and Fisher’s Exact tests were used to compare all qualitative variables. Non-parametric Mann Whitney U test was used for quantitative data.

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