Evaluation of oral and dental health status in children withchromogenic bacterial discoloration

Chromogenic bacterial discoloration is a type of dark external discoloration, frequently localized on the cervical third of teeth, appears as dots, thin lines or extensive bands, following the contour of the gingival margin. This study was conducted to evaluate the prevalence of chromogenic bacterial discoloration, the etiological factors that may be effective in this discoloration, and the various effects of the discoloration on oral health status in children. 23 children with chromogenic bacterial discoloration and 27 children without discoloration, aged 6 to 13 years were included in the study. The socio-demographic characteristics, dental history, oral-dental health status, oral-dental hygiene habits and the nutritional characteristics of the children included in the study were evaluated. To evaluate the oral and dental health status, dmft-dmfs index, DMFT-DMFS index, ICDAS II index, pufa-PUFA index, plaque index, gingival index and Winkel Tongue Coating Index (WTCI) were used, presence of halitosis and salivary pH, salivary buffering capacity, salivary flow rate were evaluated. To evaluate halitosis, volatile sulfur compounds (VSC) were measured by sulfur monitoring method (Halimeter, Interscan, Cahatsworth, CA, USA). A 3-day diet records and food consumption frequency questionnaires were used to evaluate the nutritional characteristics of children. 4.01% of examined children had chromogenic bacterial discoloration. In the study group, 73.9% of chilren were female and 26.1% were male, the mean age of the group was 9.9±2.1 years. In the control group, 48.1% of children were female and 51.9% were male, the mean age of the group was 9.9±2.2. The mean dmft, dmfs, DMFT, DMFS indices of the children with discolouration were 2.6±2.7, 6.2±7.3, 2.6±2.5 and 2.7±2.4 respectively. The mean dmft, dmfs, DMFT, DMFS indices of the children without discolouration were 3.4±4.1, 9.8±11.6, 4.1±3.1 and 5.4±5 respectively. The mean dmft, dmfs, DMFT, DMFS indices were lower in the group with discolouration and morover , the mean DMFS index and the level of cavitated caries lesions presence in permanent teeth were statistically significantly lower compared to the control group (p≤ 0.05). Children in the study group had the highest ICDAS-5 score with 34.9%, and children in the control group had the highest ICDAS-5 score with a percentage of 63.0%. The mean pufa and PUFA index of the children in the discoloration group was 0.2±0.4 and 0.0±0.0, respectively; the mean pufa and PUFA index of the children in the control group was 0.5±1.0 and 0.1±0.4. The mean plaque index in children with chromogenic bacterial discolouration was 1.3±0.3, and 1.7±0.3 in the control group. This difference was statistically significant (p≤ 0.05). The mean gingival index in the discoloration group was 0.7±0.3 and 0.5±0.3 in the control group. The mean salivary pH level, the mean salivary buffering capacity and the mean salivary flow rate were 7.0±0.3, 6.2±0.3, 0.8±0.4 respectively in the discoloration group; 6.8±0.3, 5.8±0.5, 0.8±0.4 respectively in the control group. The mean salivary pH and salivary buffering capacity were statistically significantly higher in the chromogenic bacterial discoloration group (p≤ 0.05). The mean VSC value in the group with chromogenic bacterial discoloration was 130.4±242.7 ppb and 39.2±60.9 ppb in the control group. There are differences between children with and without chromogenic bacterial discoloration in terms of the presence of caries, gingival health status, salivary parameters and nutritional characteristics. The presence of low caries levels in children with chromogenic bacterial discoloration may be associated with their low plaque index values, high salivary pH and saliva buffering capacity.