CV
Prof. Dr. Senem Selvi Kuvvetli graduated from Istanbul University Faculty of Dentistry in Türkiye in 1995 and completed her specializing and doctorate in Pedodontics PhD Program at the Institute of Health Sciences of the same university in 2002. She has been working as a full-time faculty member and clinical practitioner at Yeditepe University Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Paediatric Dentistry, of which she has been the chair since 2016. She has been the General Secretary of the Turkish Society of Paediatric Dentistry since 2014. She has also been the councillor of Türkiye in the European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry since 2018. She is also an active member of the International Association of Paediatric Dentistry. In 2023, she was assigned as the editor of the Yeditepe University Faculty of Dentistry Journal, Yeditepe Clinic. She has over 50 articles in national and international journals, three book chapters, and more than 100 oral and poster presentations.
A Contemporary Approach to the Clinical Management and Rehabilitation of Severe Early Childhood Caries
Early childhood caries (ECC) is a common, chronic, infectious disease that affects primary teeth in children younger than six years of age, caused by cariogenic bacteria in the oral cavity. Children with this disease experience pain, loss of space in the jaws and dental arches, deterioration in growth and development and quality of life, and an increased risk of new caries lesions in permanent dentition when these caries lesions are left untreated. In severe ECC cases, these caries lesions may cause extensive destruction of dental hard tissues, and pulp-related acute and chronic infections may eventually occur. Minimally invasive approaches with the use of biomimetic dental materials, Atraumatic Restorative Treatment (ART), Interim Therapeutic Restorations (ITR), vital and nonvital pulp treatments, restorations using up-to-date restorative materials and full coronal restorations (prefabricated stainless steel and zirconia crowns) are used in the treatment of these cases. Fixed and removable space maintainer applications follow the extraction of untreatable primary teeth.
Learning objectives
- The consequences of untreated caries lesions for the developing child before the age of six.
- The contemporary approaches to the treatment of severe early childhood caries and their long-term benefit on an individual’s oral and general health.
- The importance of maintaining a healthy primary dentition and promoting oral health-related quality of life in the early years.