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Background: Thumb sucking is the most prevalent oral habits among toddlers infants and children. Children spend considerable amount of time in school. Hence, school teachers, especially primary school teachers can play an important role in developing health habits in their students. There are lack of studies on the assessment of teacher's knowledge and attitude about thumb-sucking habit. Aim: The study was undertaken to determine the knowledge and attitude of school teachers toward thumb-sucking habit in children. Methodology: Pretested questionnaires that involved paper and pen were distributed to the study participants in person and the filled questionnaires were collected on the same day. Then, the completely filled questionnaires were statistically analyzed using descriptive statistics (percentage). Results: Many respondents were unaware of thumb-sucking habit. High percentage of the study participants adopted similar methods to stop thumb-sucking habit in school children. Many teachers indicated that the Internet was the leading source of information about thumb-sucking habit. Furthermore, many teachers were willing to learn more about the prevention and management of the thumb-sucking habit. Most of the study participants felt that counseling of parents and child is very important to stop the habit. Large percentages of teachers were unaware of the role of the dentist in the management of thumb-sucking habit and its associated malocclusion. Conclusion: In this study, the primary school teachers lack the knowledge about thumb-sucking habit in children and their attitude was also found to be unsatisfactory. They need educational programs and symposiums to update their knowledge about the pernicious oral habits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of fixed orthodontic appliances on the epithelial cells of buccal mucosa in patients undergoing orthodontic treatment. Materials and Methods: The study group included 30 healthy patients who were advised orthodontic treatment. Applying sterile cement spatula, scrapping of exfoliated buccal epithelial cells was performed from the middle part of the inner cheeks before starting the orthodontic treatment and at 1st week, 2nd week, 1 month, and 45 days after the treatment, followed by smearing and staining with Papanicolaou stain. Light microscope was used to score micronuclei, and independent two-tailed t-test was used for statistical analysis. Results: Micronuclei were assessed during the various stages of treatment and were recorded accordingly. At 1 week, there was increase in micronuclei number compared to before starting the treatment (day 0) and at 15th day; 30th day showed decrease in number compared to 1 week but increase compared to day 0. The results of day 45 were almost equal to day 0 with a significant P value (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Fixed orthodontic appliances induce increased micronuclei frequency, especially in the first weeks of treatment, however, these genotoxic effects tend to approach baseline levels in later period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dentistry has undergone significant advancement and has seen several changing concepts over a decade. One such novel innovation is piezosurgery. Piezoelectric bone surgery or otherwise known as piezosurgery is a novel technique invented by Professor Vercellotti in 1988 to overcome the limitations of traditional instrumentation in oral bone surgery by modifying and improving conventional ultrasound technology. It is a promising, meticulous, and soft tissue sparing system for bone cutting based on low frequency ultrasonic microvibrations. The absence of macrovibration makes the instrument more manageable and allows greater intraoperative control with a significant increase in cutting safety in the more difficult anatomical cutting zone. The present review compares piezosurgery with the traditional tools and emphasizes on its mechanism of action, instruments, biologic effects, advantages, and limitations, as well as its various applications in the field of dentistry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The influence of subject-based and environmental factors on the balance between the subgingival microbial challenge and the host response in periodontal diseases illustrates the intimate link between oral and systemic health. From this stems the hypothesis that the persistent gram-negative challenge and associated inflammatory sequelae in periodontal disease may have consequences extending beyond the periodontal tissues themselves. This article addresses the design of a case-control study to examine the relationship between preterm low birth weight and maternal periodontal disease. Materials and Method: A case control study design was chosen including postpartum women between the age group of 18-35 years of age. Cases were mothers delivering an infant weighing < 2,500g before 37 weeks' gestation and controls as mothers delivering an infant > 2,500g after 37 weeks. A full mouth periodontal examination was performed and corroborated by one examiner. The clinical parameters measured included plaque index, gingival index, pocket probing depth and clinical attachment level. Data was analyzed with Chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, Student t-test and Mann Whitney U test. Results: There was statistically no significant difference in the mean age between the case group and the control group. There was a strong association between the socioeconomic status, gingival status, plaque levels, pocket probing depth, clinical attachment level and the incidence of preterm low birth weight. Conclusion: The data from the present study, thus, shows an association between maternal periodontal disease and the risk of preterm low birth weight infant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Rejection of dental treatment could be attributed due to dental fear and anxiety in many patients. Health sciences students are educational resources for the general population. Their reaction to dental treatment is very important to know their dental behavior. This study was designed to evaluate dental anxiety levels among medical, dental, and nursing students and its correlation between faculties. Materials and Methods: A total of 500 undergraduate students from the faculties of medicine, nursing, and dentistry were recruited into the study. Dental anxiety among study group was measured using modified dental anxiety scale. Results: Around 425 complete questionnaires were returned, which accounts for a response rate of 82% (425/500). The mean anxiety scores were the following: Dental students, 28.6% (40/140); medical students, 35.4% (70/198), and nursing students, 46.0% (40/87). Women exhibited higher anxiety level but the difference was not statistically significant. Most of the participants were anxious about local anesthetic injection (P < 0.0001). Conclusion: Most of the medical and nursing students exhibited high dental anxiety. Inadequate knowledge about dental health education may result in a high level of dental anxiety among non-dental students. Further studies are required to identify the correlation of dental anxiety among health sciences students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]