• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.265-279
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• 1997

The purpose of this study was to do an epidemiological survey of the salivary reductase activity and dental caries prevalence of the large group of preschool children and analyze the validity of the salivary reductase activity test as a caries activity test. One thousand and forty-four preschool children were examined for caries experience and salivary reductase activity by dental survey and the Resazurin Disc Test. 39.8% of children showed low salivary reductase activity, 39.4% showed middle, and 20.8% showed high. Salivary reductase activity increased as age increased. All indexes of caries experience were high when salivary reductase activity was high. There was positive relation between salivary reductase activity and caries experience. The salivary reductase activity of children with no caries experience was lower than that of children with caries experience. The salivary reductase activity of children with low caries experience was lower than that of children with high caries experience. It seemed that the salivary reductase activity test had basic validity as a caries activity test. However, the test's ability to select the small risk group of high caries susceptibility should be enhanced.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.25-31
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• 1999

The purpose of study was to test the hypothesis that preschool children who experienced nursing caries have high dft index and caries activity in primary dentition. One thousand and seventy-five preschool children from 4 to 6 years old were examined for their caries experience and salivary invertase activity by Resazurin Disc Test. Nursing caries group was identified by the criteria of having more decayed and filled teeth among the upper incisors than among the upper molars. The prevalence of nursing caries was 15.8%. The dft index of nursing caries group was significantly higher than that of the other groups except the rampant caries group(P<0.01). The Resazurin Disc Test score of nursing caries group was significantly higher than that of the other groups(P<0.01) and there was no difference between nursing caries group and rampant caries group. Therefore, it is recommended that children who experienced nursing caries should be incorporated in the caries prevention program through the primary and mixed dentition.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.247-264
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• 1997

501 preschool children from 4 to 6 years were examined for their salivary reductase activity and caries experience by Resazurin Disc Test and dental examination respectively. We asked the parents about their children's oral hygiene habits, between-meal eating habits, and physical exercise habits by the questionnaire. Toothbrushing frequency had negative relation to salivary reductase activity and caries experience. Caries experience was low when parents did toothbrushing for children, when teeth were brushed at bedtime, and when fluoride toothpastes were used. Salivary reductase activity and caries experience were high in bread & cookies group, chocolates & candies group, milk & soft drink group, and fruits & vegetables group in order. Caries experience was high in case of irregular between-meal eating. Sweet food eating frequency had positive relation to caries experience. Caries activity was low in case of eating homemade non-sweet between-meals. Salivary reductase activity and caries experience were low when gum-chewing frequency was high. Salivary reductase activity and caries experience were high when the amount of physical exercise was low.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.568-573
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• 2002

The purpose of study was to investigate the caries activity factors of children during orthodontic treatment. Fifty children with fixed or removable intraoral orthodontic appliances were examined for their Cariostat caries activity test scores, gender, age, duration of treatment, appliance type, treatment site, Angle's classification of malocclusion, and the number of teeth with caries experience. The mean age of the high caries activity group was significantly higher than that of the low caries activity group(P<0.01). The duration of treatment of the high caries activity group was longer than that of the low caries activity group, but the difference was not significant(P>0.05). The fixed appliance group showed higher caries activity than the removable appliance group(P<0.01). The caries activity of Angle Class III group was lower than that of Angle Class I group, not significant statistically(P>0.05). The number of teeth with caries experience in the high caries activity group was lower than that in the low caries activity group, not significant statistically(P>0.05).

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.1-13
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• 1999

To study the caries patterns in primary dentition, 719 preschool children, 4-6 years old, were examined for their caries activity(salivary reductase activity) and caries experience of individual teeth. Teeth groups were made by cluster analysis using dft indexes of individual teeth as criteria. The six major teeth groups in the order of dft index from high to low were (1) lower primary molars, (2) upper primary molars, (3) upper central incisor, (4) upper lateral incisor, (5) canines, and (6) lower incisors. There were significant differences in dft index between teeth groups except upper lateral incisor and canines. Upper and lower primary molars showed the highest correlation in dft index, and the next couples were upper central incisors and upper lateral incisors, upper lateral incisor and canines, upper central incisor and canines, upper lateral incisor and upper primary molars, and canines and upper primary molars in descending order. Upper first primary molar showed the greatest differences in dft index between caries activity levels.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.43-53
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• 1998

Dental caries is induced by organic acids produced by oral bacteria. In order to prevent dental caries, therefore, it is essential to maintain neutral pH in the oral cavity. Urea plays a major role in oral pH homeostasis. Urea is hydrolyzed by bacterial ureases to ammonia, causing a pH elevation. Streptococcus salivarius has been shown to be a major contribution to oral ureolysis. Synthesis of urease by S. salivarius appears to be constituitive, but can be greatly enhanced by low pH. It is, therefore, conceivable that ureolytic activity of S. salivarius from a carious lesion is greater than that of the bacterium from a healthy tooth. In the present study, urease activity of S. salivarius isolates from dental plaque of carious lesions was compared with that of the isolates from plaques of the teeth and the dorsum of the tongue; 45 S. salivarius strains were isofated from carious lesions(>C2) of 21 individuals with dental caries and 30 strains from 10 individuals without dental caries. The results were as follows: 1. All the 21 individuals with dental caries harbored ureolytic S. salivarius whereas 3 of 13 individuals without dental caries harbored non-ureolytic strains of S. salivarius. 2. All the 45 S. saliuarius isolates from carious lesions showed urease activity. In contrast, of 30 isolates from individuals without dental caries, 17 isolates(56.7%) did not demonstrate urease activity, or if any, very little(<5${\mu}mol$/min/mg). 3. Urease activity of the isolates from carious lesions was greater than that of the isolates from individuals without dental caries : the urease activity ranged from 42 to $381{\mu}mol$/min/mg and from 0 to $208{\mu}mol$/min/mg, respectively. 4. At acid pH(5.5), the isolates which showed intermediate urease activity at pH 7.0 demonstrated even higher activity whereas the isolate with no or lower urease activity did not show any significant difference in their activity. However, the isolates with the greatest urease activity from both individuals with and without dental caries, exhibited a rather much lower urease activity at pH 5.5. The overall results suggest that isolates may have their own urease activity but the isolates exposed to chronic acidic environment of the carious lesion might elevate urease activity of S. salivarius, which in turn, might influence on survival of S. salivarius itself and other bacteria, establishing a new oral bacterial ecosystem.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.587-598
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• 2000

Urea in the oral cavity is hydrolyzed mainly by bacterial ureases to ammonia, which in turn, raises pH of the oral environment, maintaining oral pH homeostasis, thereby inhibiting dental caries. Streptococcus salivarius has been shown to be a major contribution to oral ureolysis. Synthesis of urease by S. salivarius appears to be constitutive, but can be greatly enhanced in the acidic environment. It has been presumed that ureolytic activity of S. salivarius strains isolated from caries-active site is greater than that of strains from caries-free site. However, no in vivo study has supported the presumption. The present study was performed to observe the ureolytic activity of S. salivarius strains isolated from different environments in the same individual, finding out whether the ureolytic activity is related to dental caries. For the purpose, S. salivarius strains were isolated from caries-active site (>C2), a caries-free site of the tooth, and the dorsum of the tongue of each of 50 patients having decayed teeth. The strains isolated from the patients who harbored S. salivarius in more than two sites were selected and then their ureolytic activities were measured. In order to examine clonal diversity of the strains, their ureC genes were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and then restricted with EcoRV, and the protein profiles of the strains were compared by SDS-PAGE. The results were as follows: 1. Of 50 patients, 13 patients harbored S. salivarius in more than two sites; a total of 61 S. salivarius strain were isolated from the patients and selected for the study. 2. Of 17 isolates from the caries-active site of 9 patients harboring S. salivarius in more than two sites including carious lesion, 10 (58.8%) showed a high ureolytic activity (> 200 ${\mu}mol/min/mg$). While, 19 out of 44 isolates (43.2%) from the caries-free site of the teeth and the dorsum of the tongues of 13 patients were the strains with a high ureolytic activity. 3. Of 9 patients harboring S. salivarius in more than two sites including caries-active site. 6 patients were found to have the strains in the caries-active site showing a lower ureolytic activity than the strains in the other sites. 4. Of 34 isolates with ureolytic activity higher than 40 ${\mu}mol/min/mg$, 32 isolates produced 0.54-Kbp PCR products regardless of the sites of bacterial collection. In contrast, of 27 isolates with ureolytic activity lower than 40${\mu}mol/min/mg$, 26 isolates yielded 1.3-Kbp PCR products or none regardless of the sites. 5. Different clonal types of S. salivarius with relatively higher and lower ureolytic activities were found in the same individuals and even in the same sites. 6. None of strains showing different ureolytic activity appeared to be the same clonal type. The overall results suggest that ureolytic activity of the isolates does not appear to be related to differences of the environments but related to their own genetic traits.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.925-930
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• 1996

The purpose of this study was to know whether the information of caries activity and caries experience of the children can be used to predict the behavior of the children during the dental treatment. The subjects of the study were one hundred and eighty-one preschool children, three to six years old. Salivary reductase activity was tested by the Resazurin Disc Test. Caries experience was examined. The children's behavior was observed using the rating scale of Frankl. Salivary reductase activity of the negative behavior group was slightly higher than that of the positive behavior goup, but the difference was not significant. dt index and ds index of the negative behavior group were significantly higher than those of the positive behavior group. There were no significant differences in ft index and fs index between the two behavior groups. The results suggest that the negative behavior of a child can be predicted when the child has many untreated dental caries.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.706-716
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• 1996

The purpose of this study was to investigate. the effects of the lactation of human or bovine milk and the method of using nursing bottles on the salivary invertase test scores and deciduous caries experience of children. 328 preschool children (boys 178, girls 150) in Iksan city were selected for this study. The parents of the children were asked to answer the questionnaire about the lactation of human or bovine milk and the time of using nursing bottles. The data were obtained from the salvary invertase activity score,(Resazurin Disc Test) deciduous caries experience and the questionnaire. The result were as follows. The invertase activity and caries experience of the human milk higher than that of the bovine milk group(P<0.05). There were significant positive relationships between the lactation period and the invertase activity and between the lactation period and the caries experience(P<0.05). Caries experience had a tendency to increase as the time of using nursing bottles increase (P>0.05).

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.187-200
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• 2002

The purpose of this study was to obtain the basic data provide continuous and active dental treatment for the mental handicapped children. The authors studied on the dental caries experience, oral hygiene slates and caries activity test in the mental handicapped children of 9-11 years old, who are housed by rehabilitation school in Kwang-ju and in the 30 normal children of 9-11 years old as a control group. Correlation coefficiency was calculated among the caries experience, oral hygiene states and caries activity test for every children. The obtained results are as follows. 1. The mental handicapped children showed remarkably high score compared to normal children in DMFT index(The Index score was $2.43{\pm}1.98$ in the normal children and $5.26{\pm}4.11$ in the mental handicapped.). 2. Correlation coefficiency was reveled very high score between DT index and DMFT index of the normal children(P<0.01), and the mental handicapped was also high score(P<0.01) between ft index and dmft index. 3. The PMA Index of the mental handicapped children was comparatively higher than the normal(The Index score was $4.03{\pm}4.44$ in the normal children and $7.87{\pm}7.33$ in the mental handicapped.). 4. In the correlation coefficiency between the caries experience and modified snyder test, DMFT index of the normal children was revealed some high score(P<0.05). DMFT index of the mental handicapped was showed remarkably high score(P<0.01).