Dental Composite Affects Child Psychosocial Functioning

In children, bisGMA-based dental composite associated with impaired psychosocial functioning

MONDAY, July 16 (HealthDay News) -- Children with greater exposure to bisphenol-A-glycidyl-methacrylate (bisGMA)-based dental composite exhibit impaired psychosocial functioning compared with children exposed to urethane dimethacrylate-based compomer, according to a study published online July 16 in Pediatrics.

Nancy N. Maserejian, Sc.D., of the New England Research Institutes in Watertown, Mass., and colleagues analyzed treatment-level data from 534 children aged 6 to 10 years who participated in the New England Children's Amalgam Trial. Psychosocial function was measured at follow-up for 434 of the participants and was compared for amalgams composed of bisGMA-based composite and those composed of urethane dimethacrylate-based polyacid-modified composite (compomer).

After a five-year follow-up period the researchers found that children with bisGMA-based composites had poorer scores than children with compomers on the emotional symptoms, clinical maladjustment, and personal adjustment global scales of the self-reported Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC-SR), with stronger associations seen for posterior-occlusal (chewing) surfaces, which were subject to more degradation. Children with greater exposure to bisGMA-based dental composite were more likely to exhibit at-risk or clinically significant scores on the parent-reported Child Behavior Checklist Total Problem Behaviors (16.3 versus 11.2 percent) and numerous BASC-SR syndromes. There were no associations observed with compomer or with amalgam exposure.

"These findings indicate that exposure to bisGMA-based dental composite resins may impair psychosocial health in children," the authors write. "With increasing level and duration of exposure to bisGMA-based composite over five years of follow-up, children reported more anxiety, depression, social stress, and interpersonal-relation problems, and were more likely to have clinical-range scores for parent-reported total problem behaviors."

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