RESIN INFILTRATION FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF ENAMEL OPACITY - A CASE SERIES AND LITERATURE REVIEW Resin infiltration (RI) technique was introduced as one of the minimally invasive dentistry techniques for the management of enamel opacity. Six young patients with post-orthodontic white spot lesions, molar incisor hypomineralization, fluorosis, and amelogenesis imperfecta were treated with resin infiltration (RI). RI was used alone or in conjunction with bleaching or microabrasion. The esthetic improvement of lesions is immediately noticeable following treatment, even though some enamel discoloration remained visible. No color changes of the treated teeth noted after 6-month review. The use of RI alone or in combination with the other interventions has been shown to be successfully masking enamel opacities in young patients. Therefore, RI technique can be an option in managing enamel opacity of anterior teeth due to demineralization or developmental defects of enamel.

INTERPRETATION OF EMOJI® IN MALAY LANGUAGE AMONG CHILDREN IN MALAYSIA The existing dental anxiety scales for paediatric patients tend to categorize and label children according to their level of cooperation. However, human emotions are more complex, and each child is unique. Hence, a more dynamic and interactive method should be introduced for a better understanding of the patient’s current state of emotion. The aim of this study was to investigate the interpretation and understanding of children towards frequently used emoji® for the development of an emoji® dental emotional spectrum. Both online and physical surveys were conducted among 147 Malay language-speaking children aged between 4-to-16 years in Malaysia. The children were asked to interpret 30 pre-selected emoji® images in their own words using the Malay Language. The pre-selected emoji® represent happiness, neutral, fear, sadness, and anger. The interpretations were subsequently based on their similar meaning, a process that was validated by two experts in the field of linguistics. The study involved participants with an average age of 9.2 years, with the majority of them being female (61.2%). Of the 30 pre-selected emoji® images used in this study, 13 had respondent agreement exceeding 60% which was the threshold set for suitability for use in evaluating dental emotion. The remaining 17 emoji® images have a remarkable variability in the interpretation which indicates potential misinterpretation by the respondents. The 13 emoji® images range from happiness, neutral, fear, dislike, unhappy, sad, anxious, and angry with the emoji® images which represent “excited” (94.0%), “loudly crying” (97.3%) and “angry” (91.8%) had the highest agreement. Meanwhile, the emoji® images represented “confounded” and “downcast” had the least agreement among respondents (1.3%). Despite the universal meaning imposed by emoji®, the interpretations may vary in different populations and age groups. Emoji® images hold the potential to serve as a valuable tool for identifying and managing children’s behaviour.

IMPACT OF DENTAL CARIES AND PAIN ON CHILDREN’S ORAL HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE: A PRELIMINARY STUDY The Malay language Child Oral Health Impact Profile–Short Form 19 (ML COHIP-SF 19) is a validated self-administered questionnaire designed for a wide age range of children to measure the impact of clinical conditions on the children’s oral health-related quality of life. This study aimed to compare the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) between children with and without dental caries, and between children with and without dental pain among children aged 9-to-16-year-old using the newly validated Malay language COHIP-SF 19 (ML COHIP-SF 19) questionnaire. Children who aged 9-to-16-year-old, attended the Faculty of Dentistry, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) and Al Amin Tropicana School Sungai Buloh, Malaysia, who understood Malay language were invited to participate in this cross-sectional study. Those with low literacy in Malay language or presented with acute dental abscess and/or fistula, cognitively impaired, or had other chronic illnesses were excluded. After informed consent and assent were obtained, the children were invited to complete a questionnaire consisting of demographic details, ML COHIP-SF 19, and Faces Pain Scales-Revised. Subsequently, the children underwent dental examination. Dental caries were documented using the International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS). Data were statistically analysed using an independent t-test, Spearman’s correlation test and multiple regression analysis. Although not statistically significant (p=0.34), children with dental caries were found to have a lower mean total ML COHIP-SF 19 score (52.83±8.74) compared to children without dental caries (55.11 ±11.10). The prevalence of pain experience among the children was 52.9%. Children with dental pain had a significantly (p<0.01) lower mean total ML COHIP-SF 19 score (50.57±9.40) compared to those without dental pain (57.79±9.33). Besides, males (β=-4.65, p=0.03), younger children (β=-1.26, p=0.02, those without previous pain experience (β=-4.64, p=0.03), and children who rated their oral health status more positively (β=4.46, p<0.01) had better OHRQoL. Children who had no previous dental pain demonstrated better OHRQoL compared to those with a history of dental pain. Besides, no significant differences in OHRQoL were observed between children with and without dental caries.

RESIN INFILTRATION – A NARRATIVE REVIEW OF PROPERTIES Resin infiltration ICON® has made it possible to treat initial caries lesions in a novel manner that is consistent with the concept of minimal intervention dentistry. Infiltration of caries lesions is a novel technique for treating non-cavitated lesions on the proximal and smooth surfaces of primary and permanent teeth. The greatest benefit of this method is that it is non-invasive, preserves tooth structure and can be completed in a single visit. This narrative review intends to discuss the properties of the material, its clinical applications and its effectiveness in terms of caries inhibition and esthetics effect, surface roughness, microhardness and penetration ability. There are a number of high-quality studies that support the use of ICON® in arresting non-cavitated proximal caries lesions in primary and permanent teeth. However, the masking ability in managing anterior white spot lesions and fluorosis is still doubtful. Among the material limitations were its questionable long-term color and material stability.