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The subjects consisted of 650 children (American white 245, Chinese 202, Japanese 203) from five to twelve years old, who came to the Department of Growth & Development, University of California, San Francisco. Mandibular first molar development was determined by inspecting panoramic radiographs and assigning a rating according to Kullman's method, which classifies tooth formation into seven stages according to growth and development. The samples in each age-stage were evaluated by their means values. Tooth formation was significantly more advanced in the American white children than in the Chinese or Japanese at all stages. The significance of the difference between Chinese and Japanese children was not identified. Tooth formation was shown to be highly correlated with chronological age, with a coefficient of more than 0.7 in all racial groups.

This study investigated the pharmacodynamic effects and sedative potential of midazolam administered by the intranasal route to adult volunteers. A double-blind, randomized, controlled study was carried out on seventeen healthy, male volunteers to study plasma level changes, sedative effects and variations in vital signs following intranasal administration of 0.2 mg/kg and 0.3 mg/kg doses of midazolam. Eight subjects received 0.2 mg/kg midazolam, seven received 0.3 mg/kg. Each subject rested for 15-20 minutes after placement of vital sign monitors and venipuncture needles before administration of midazolam. Behavior during the rest period was designated as the control so that each subject acted as his own control. Each subject's behavior was assessed on a scale of 1 (asleep) to 8 (excited). Plasma concentrations of midazolam were analyzed using venous blood samples from each of three randomly selected subjects for each of the two doses. Vital signs, monitored continuously, included electrocardiogram, heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate and oxygen saturation (SPO2). Plasma concentration of midazolam in both groups maintained adequate sedation levels with each group sustaining favorable sedation conditions from 15-20 minutes to 55-60 minutes. Individual variations of midazolam plasma concentration within the 0.3 mg/kg group were greater than those of the 0.2 mg/kg group. Normal vital sign variations due to the nasal instillation of midazolam were observed in both groups. Some minor respiratory depression was observed in the 0.2 mg/kg group. One instance of severe respiratory depression was observed in the higher dose group. Although both doses of midazolam were effective, no benefit was observed using a dose of 0.3 mg/kg. Indeed, a 0.3 mg/kg intranasal dose of midazolam may actually produce severe respiratory depression.

It is estimated that approximately 50 percent of infants at one year of age suck a thumb or finger. The number decreases rapidly by ages four to five years. The average age for spontaneous cessation of the habit is 3.8 years of age. Anterior open bite is the most frequent malocclusion reported with digit sucking. In this study the authors investigated the influence of thumb and finger-sucking in the anterior and posterior sections of the primary dentition in three age-groups: three, four, and five years. The study population included 930 subjects. Data for the non-oral-habit group were compared with the data for the thumb and/ or finger-sucking group. At all ages the frequencies of open-bite and maxillary protrusion for the thumb and finger-sucking group were higher than the non-oral-habit group. The frequencies did not appear age-related. There appeared to be an increased tendency to a permanent malocclusion in children who continued after four years of age.

To determine the prevalence of infant caries in low-socioeconomic-status children and to analyze the costs of their treatment, we retrospectively evaluated 357 children, ages eight months to seven years, who were treated during 1992 at a university-associated medical center in Northern California. Infant caries was diagnosed by several different standards, and prevalence varied according to the diagnostic criteria employed: 27 percent by the presence of any labiolingual lesion on the maxillary incisors; 32 percent by the presence of at least two carious maxillary incisors; 27 percent by the presence of at least three carious maxillary incisors; and 36 percent by a dmft > or = 5. Prevalence was higher among boys than girls (37 percent versus 27 percent), and highest in the group ages 3-4 years (43 percent). The cost of dental treatment increased with deft and ranged from $408 for deft 2-5 to $1725 for deft 16-20. Many patients failed to comply with recommended treatment for reasons of cost. Our results showed that (1) the prevalence of infant caries varies depending upon the clinical criteria used for diagnosis; (2) the cost of rehabilitating primary dentition increases in proportion to the number of teeth involved; and (3) low-income patients avoid treatment of infant caries for a variety of reasons related to the cost involved.

This paper reviews the issue of sedation in pediatric dentistry in the light of recent controversies and rapidly increasing legal, professional and governmental regulations. Consideration is given to "Guidelines for safe administration of pharmacologic agents in dental practice". The various avenues of drug administration are reviewed with specific comment on recent approaches. Many of the older pharmacologic agents used for pediatric sedation are falling into disfavor. Chloral hydrate, in particular, would seem to be heading toward its demise. The benzodiazepines appear to have a very promising future as sedative agents. When administered and monitored appropriately, they have a wide margin of safety. Consideration is given to research and development into agents that reverse the action of sedative drugs. It is emphasized that contemporary electronic monitoring equipment in no way diminishes the necessity for sound and expert clinical judgment, supplemented by such simple devices as the precordial stethoscope and observation and communication in the form of simple commands.

From the findings of Case 1 and those cases reviewed in the literature it would appear that overfilling a canal with gutta percha prevents continued root formation after reimplantation of the tooth. The canal should be underfilled, therefore, if gutta percha is used as the obturating medium. Consequently, the authors recommend that calcium hydroxide be used as the root canal filling material of choice after reimplanting immature permanent teeth subsequent to traumatic avulsion. Since, however, calcium hydroxide paste tends to be resorbed, periodic refilling of the canal with the paste is required. Case 2 emphasizes the importance of periodic postoperative radiographic evaluation for several years after traumatic avulsion of immature permanent teeth.

A case is presented of a ten-year-old boy having a tooth inferior to the right second premolar, which appeared to be the unerupted primary mandibular right second molar. These teeth were extracted.