Caries
Jenny Jang, DDS
Pediatric Dental Resident
New York University, New York, NY
NYU College of Dentistry
PALISADES PARK, New Jersey, United States
Malvin Janal, PhD
New York University College of Dentistry
Victoria H. Raveis, PhD
NYU College of Dentistry, New York, NY
Yasmi O. Crystal, DMD, MSc, FAAPD
NYU College of Dentistry, New York, NY
Lauren M. Feldman, DMD, MPH
Postdoctoral Program Director
New York University College of Dentistry
New York, New York, United States
Purpose: Silver diamine fluoride (SDF) is used in pediatric dentistry for the arrest of dentinal caries lesions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the satisfaction with SDF treatment provided in our clinic, and to identify factors that may contribute to parental satisfaction.
Methods: We obtained retrospective data of patients who received SDF treatment at our clinic from February 1st, 2019 to February 29th, 2021. Parents were contacted by phone to participate in a survey (English or Spanish) that evaluated their satisfaction with the treatment. Satisfaction was evaluated as a function of age at treatment time, medical status, ease of treatment, outcome of SDF treatment, esthetics, and understanding of the treatment’s goals and side effects using contingency tables and chi-square statistics. Parents’ comments underwent a qualitative analysis.
Results: From 209 patients who received SDF treatment, 89 parents were successfully contacted by phone, and 79 agreed to participate. Of the 79 participants, 23(29%) had special healthcare needs (SHCN), and 72(91%) were mostly satisfied with the treatment. After SDF treatment, 15/79(19%) required restorations, 19/79(24%) crowns, and 22/79(27%) extractions of treated teeth. Parental dissatisfaction was related to the need for further treatment (P= .02) and a lesser understanding of side effects (P= 0.002), but not, importantly, to esthetics.
Conclusion: Most parents seem to be satisfied with the SDF therapy as a treatment choice due to its easy and non-invasive application. Parental understanding of the interim nature of the treatment and staining of the lesions seems to be important to achieve parental satisfaction.