How to fix holes in baby teeth?
Research type
Research Study
Full title
How to fix holes in baby teeth? Silver diamine fluoride for the management of dental caries in children in primary dental care: A feasibility study to determine whether a randomised controlled trial of silver diamine fluoride compared to usual care for the management of caries in children’s primary teeth is feasible in UK primary dental care.
IRAS ID
324432
Contact name
Laura Timms
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 9 months, 31 days
Research summary
Dental decay in primary (baby) teeth in children is common. In England 23%, of 5-year-olds have decay in their primary teeth. Untreated decay can cause pain, difficulty eating and sleeping and can lead to reduced school performance. When teeth are not treated, the decay often progresses, requiring children to have their teeth removed. For young children this frequently necessitates removal of teeth under general anaesthetic (GA). Paediatric dental GAs cost the NHS £50 million in 2015-2016.
Many treatments are available for decayed primary teeth and guidance is provided for dentists. Research has shown that, despite this guidance, many children (43%) still develop pain or infection.
Alternative solutions are required that are effective at stopping tooth decay progressing, and reducing pain and infection. Silver diamine fluoride (SDF) is a treatment that is widely used internationally, but its use is not as common in the UK. It is a quick and non-invasive procedure. SDF has a side effect; it changes the yellow-brown colour of tooth decay to black. Research has shown that it is effective at stopping decay progressing, but it has not been compared to usual care in the UK, so it is unknown which is more effective.
To determine whether a randomised clinical trial can be conducted in dental practice to compare SDF to usual care, there are several important considerations/uncertainties requiring investigation. The proposed research seeks to investigate these uncertainties through a study to assess the feasibility of the definitive trial.
Children aged 2-6 years with dental decay in their primary teeth will be randomly assigned to either have SDF treatment or usual care. This treatment will be provided by eight dentists in different dental practices involving a total of 80 children. Data will be collected and interviews carried out with families and dental professionals to explore the uncertainties.REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Leeds West Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/YH/0053
Date of REC Opinion
17 Mar 2023
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion