(Press-News.org) Two topical treatments applied to kids’ cavities can stop the majority of them from progressing for years, according to a study led by NYU College of Dentistry and published in JAMA Network Open.
Treating more than 10,000 cavities in New York City elementary school students, the researchers found that both atraumatic restorations (ART) and silver diamine fluoride (SDF) kept most dental decay from worsening, supporting the use of non-surgical approaches for managing cavities.
Children miss an estimated 34 million hours of school each year due to emergency dental care. Bringing cavity prevention programs to schools can improve kids’ oral health and stave off many issues that drive the need for urgent treatment, including extractions due to pain, abscess, or risk of infection.
In school-based dental programs, health professionals often use sealants—thin, protective coatings applied to the surface of children’s back teeth—to safeguard against tooth decay. But few programs address existing cavities. ART can be used to stop the progression of cavities by removing tooth decay with hand instruments and applying the same protective material as sealants. SDF has also emerged as a promising tool for cavity prevention and treatment; originally approved by the FDA for treating tooth sensitivity, the liquid is brushed onto teeth to kill decay-causing bacteria and remineralize teeth to prevent further decay.
To compare the use of SDF and ART, researchers at NYU College of Dentistry led a large clinical trial in New York City elementary schools as part of their CariedAway cavity prevention program. At twice-yearly school visits, health professionals examined children’s teeth and applied either ART or SDF followed by fluoride varnish to any existing cavities, depending on which treatment the school was randomly assigned to receive.
In a previous analysis of the CariedAway study, NYU researchers reported that a single treatment of either ART or SDF kept approximately 50 percent of cavities from worsening over two years.
Their latest analysis, published in JAMA Network Open, focused on more than 1,600 children ages 5 to 13 who had cavities on one or more teeth. SDF or ART were applied to the children’s teeth—including more than 10,000 cavities—during biannual school visits. The students were followed for up to four years to see if their tooth decay worsened or stayed the same.
“This study is our most robust analysis of these different cavity prevention techniques, as we focused on decay on each tooth surface and measured it up to four years,” said Ryan Richard Ruff, PhD, MPH, associate professor of epidemiology & health promotion at NYU College of Dentistry and a principal investigator of CariedAway.
The researchers found that SDF and ART had similar results when applied to cavities: SDF kept 62 percent of decayed surfaces from worsening over four years, while ART controlled 55 percent.
“Offering ART or SDF in schools can help avoid the need for more invasive dental treatment and improve access to preventive care,” said Tamarinda J. Barry Godín, DDS, MPH, a research scientist at NYU College of Dentistry and CariedAway project director.
Additional study authors include Aditi Ashish Gawande and Qianhui Xu of NYU. The research was funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCS-1609-36824).
About NYU College of Dentistry
Founded in 1865, New York University College of Dentistry (NYU Dentistry) is the third oldest and the largest dental school in the US, educating nearly 10 percent of the nation’s dentists. NYU Dentistry has a significant global reach with a highly diverse student body. Visit dental.nyu.edu for more.
END
School dental treatments stop kids’ tooth decay in its tracks
Minimal approaches successfully kept most cavities from worsening when given in a school-based program
2025-06-09
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
How high is your dementia risk? It might depend on where you live
2025-06-09
In one of the largest and most comprehensive studies of its kind, a research team led at UC San Francisco has identified the regions where dementia occurs most often.
What They Discovered
Using the Mid-Atlantic* as the basis for comparison, researchers found that dementia rates were 25% higher in the Southeast.** The Northwest*** and Rocky Mountains**** were both 23% higher, and the South***** was 18% higher. The Southwest, which includes California, was 13% higher; while the Northeast, which includes New York, was 7% higher.
These differences remained when researchers accounted for factors like age, ...
Firearm laws and pediatric mortality in the US
2025-06-09
About The Study: The results of this study demonstrate that permissive firearm laws contributed to thousands of excess firearm deaths among children living in states with permissive policies. Future work should focus on determining which types of laws conferred the most harm and which offered the most protection.
Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Jeremy Samuel Faust, MD, MS, email jsfaust@bwh.harvard.edu.
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/
(doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2025.1363)
Editor’s ...
Use of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at national, regional, and state levels
2025-06-09
About The Study: The findings of this cross-sectional study suggest that although 988 has been contacted more than 16 million times since its launch in July 2022, there remains opportunity to increase 988 use.
Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Jonathan Purtle, DrPH, MSc, email jonathan.purtle@nyu.edu.
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/
(doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.14323)
Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, ...
Location of firearm suicides in the United States
2025-06-09
About The Study: This study found that nearly 1 in 5 firearm suicides in the U.S. occurred outside the home, highlighting the potential to enhance intervention strategies by extending them to broader community settings.
Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Camerin A. Rencken, PhD, ScM, email crencken@uw.edu.
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/
(doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.14423)
Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions ...
Discovery suggests method to offset antibiotic-caused harm to infant immune systems
2025-06-09
In 2017, scientists at Cincinnati Children’s revealed that using antibiotics to protect newborns from dangerous infections often comes with a long-term consequence—a permanently underdeveloped immune system that can make children prone to poor outcomes from future lung infections.
Now a study published June 9, 2025, in Cell, details the mechanisms behind antibiotic-related immune disruptions, which in turn suggests a way to reverse or minimize the risk.
"These remarkable findings indicate that we might be able to protect at-risk infants through targeted supplementation," says senior author Hitesh Deshmukh, MD, PhD, a neonatologist with the Perinatal ...
SNU researchers develop world's first 3D microphone capable of position estimation with a single sensor
2025-06-09
Seoul National University College of Engineering announced that Professor Sung-Hoon Ahn's team from the Department of Mechanical Engineering has developed a novel auditory technology that allows the recognition of human positions using only a single microphone. This technology facilitates sound-based interaction between humans and robots, even in noisy factory environments.
The research team has successfully implemented the world's first 3D auditory sensor that "sees space with ears" through sound source localization and acoustic communication technologies.
The research findings were published on January 27 in the international ...
Cryo-EM structures of isovaleryl-CoA dehydrogenase offers new therapeutic strategies for inherited isovaleric acidemia
2025-06-09
Background
IVD is a key enzyme in leucine catabolism, catalyzing the conversion of isovaleryl-CoA to 3-methylcrotonyl-CoA. Defects in IVD function lead to toxic accumulation of metabolites such as isovaleric acid, resulting in isovaleric acidemia (IVA)—a life-threatening autosomal recessive disorder characterized by vomiting, metabolic acidosis, and neurological damage. Although IVD gene mutations are known to cause IVA, the enzyme's structural dynamics and complex substrate-binding mechanisms have long hindered ...
JMIR Human Factors invites submission on human factors in health care
2025-06-09
(Toronto, June 9, 2025) JMIR Publications invites submissions to a new theme issue titled “Human Factors in Health Care: Education, Management, and Knowledge Translation” in its open access journal JMIR Human Factors. The premier, peer-reviewed journal is indexed in PubMed, PubMed Central (PMC), DOAJ, Sherpa/Romeo, Web of Science Core Collection: Emerging Sources Citation Index and Scopus.
Education, awareness, and knowledge translation in the area of human factors are essential for optimizing the interaction between humans and ...
New book: Machine Learning in Quantum Sciences
2025-06-09
New book: Machine Learning in Quantum Sciences
Cambridge University Press has published a new book Machine Learning in Quantum Science Machine Learning in Quantum Sciences co-authored by researchers from the University of Warsaw, offering both an introduction to machine learning and deep neural networks, and an overview of their applications in quantum physics and chemistry — from reinforcement learning for controlling quantum experiments to neural networks used as representations of many-body quantum states. The book appears at a time when artificial intelligence is becoming an increasingly recognized tool for scientific discovery — a development recently recognized ...
Partnership to support Indigenous researchers, ensure that cancer research reflects the needs of Indigenous groups and that it results in better care
2025-06-09
June 9, 2025, TORONTO – The Canadian Indigenous Nurses Association (CINA) and the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) today announced a new partnership to include Indigenous priorities in cancer research, build capacity for research with and within First Nations, Inuit, and Métis (FNIM) communities, and increase research participation to ultimately reduce the burden of cancers within these populations.
The organizations agree on the need to identify the unique cancer-related priorities of FNIM populations by supporting the training and advancement of Indigenous individuals working in cancer research and addressing ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Brain stimulation can boost math learning in people with weaker neural connections
Inhibiting enzyme could halt cell death in Parkinson’s disease, study finds
Neurotechnology reverses biological disadvantage in maths learning
UNDER EMBARGO: Neurotechnology reverses biological disadvantage in maths learning
Scientists target ‘molecular machine’ in the war against antimicrobial resistance
Extending classical CNOP method for deep-learning atmospheric and oceanic forecasting
Aston University research: Parents should encourage structure and independence around food to support children’s healthy eating
Thunderstorms are a major driver of tree death in tropical forests
Danforth Plant Science Center adds two new faculty members
Robotic eyes mimic human vision for superfast response to extreme lighting
Racial inequities and access to COVID-19 treatment
Residential segregation and lung cancer risk in African American adults
Scientists wipe out aggressive brain cancer tumors by targeting cellular ‘motors’
Capturability distinction analysis of continuous and pulsed guidance laws
CHEST expands Bridging Specialties Initiative to include NTM disease and bronchiectasis on World Bronchiectasis Day
Exposure to air pollution may cause heart damage
SwRI, UTSA selected by NASA to test electrolyzer technology aboard parabolic flight
Prebiotics might be a factor in preventing or treating issues caused by low brain GABA
Youngest in class at higher risk of mental health problems
American Heart Association announces new volunteer leaders for 2025-26
Gut microbiota analysis can help catch gestational diabetes
FAU’s Paulina DeVito awarded prestigious NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
Champions for change – Paid time off initiative just made clinical trials participation easier
Fentanyl detection through packaging
Prof. Eran Meshorer elected to EMBO for pioneering work in epigenetics
New 3D glacier visualizations provide insights into a hotter Earth
Creativity across disciplines
Consequences of low Antarctic sea ice
Hear here: How loudness and acoustic cues help us judge where a speaker is facing
A unique method of rare-earth recycling can strengthen the raw material independence of Europe and America
[Press-News.org] School dental treatments stop kids’ tooth decay in its tracksMinimal approaches successfully kept most cavities from worsening when given in a school-based program