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Purpose: The aim of the present study was to investigate the malocclusion status and treatment needs of adolescents with cleft lip and/or palate aged between 12 and 18 years, and to compare them with those of non-cleft subjects.Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted at the Outpatient Department, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, KLE's Hospital and Medical Research Centre, Belgaum, India, during the period March to September 2004. The sample comprised 56 cleft lip and/or palate subjects aged between 12 and 18 years who were matched with 168 non-cleft subjects (controls) selected from the general population. The clinical examination was conducted using methods recommended by the World Health Organization oral health surveys. The Dental Aesthetic Index (DAI) was used to record the data.Results: About 37.5% of cleft lip and/or palate subjects and 60.71% of controls scored a DAI ≤ 25 (no abnormality or minor malocclusion). About 51.78% of cleft lip and/or palate subjects and approximately one-third of controls (35.71%) scored a DAI of 26 to 30 (definite malocclusion). Subjects with cleft lip and/or palate disorder (8.92%) and controls (2.97%) scored a DAI of 31 to 35 (severe malocclusion, P = 0.06). Subjects with cleft lip and/or palate disorder (1.78%) and controls (< 1%) scored a DAI ≥ 36 (handicapping malocclusion).Conclusions: A majority of the cleft lip and/or palate subjects exhibited severe malocclusion, and treatment was highly desirable when compared to non-cleft subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genetic disorders are showing an upward trend. The social and economic impact of genetic disorders on individual, family and society is enormous. There is an urgent need to explore alternate strategies to mitigate the burden of genetic disorders. This is especially true with regard to developing countries such as India where there is a shortage of health personnel adequately trained in genetic counseling at present. Dental professionals have a unique opportunity to observe the development of preadolescent and adolescent patients during periods when important growth and development changes occur. The objective of this study was to review the existing literature on the role of dentist in genetic counseling with a critical appraisal on the current practices among dentists on genetic services in India, the need, scope, and future requirements. The literature on genetic services and genetic counseling was identified by searching the biomedical databases for primary research material by one investigator over a period of 8 weeks. The articles related to dentist's role in genetic counseling were assessed and discussed in the present review. A total of 239 resource materials were retrieved in the initial search. The literature from these sources was thoroughly scrutinized by the authors, and the literature (review articles, descriptive studies, or any form of study) focusing on role of dentist in genetic counseling was finally considered for critical appraisal in the present review. The role of genetics in health and oral health care has not received due attention of the dental practitioners who otherwise are in a crucial position in identifying the patients with genetic disorders and offer requisite counseling and referral to designated genetic centers. The short training courses for practicing dentists, faculty members, and a small change in dental curriculum to make provision for teaching genetics to undergraduate students may go a long way in filling the void created by these obstacles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Dental schools cater to a large section of population in need of dental care. As the dental care delivery system followed in dental schools differ from that of private practices a cross sectional survey was conducted to assess the level of satisfaction among patients attending dental treatment at a dental school in Vadodara, India. Method: A total of 654 adults between the age group of 18 years to 85 years were interviewed during the three month study period using a dental satisfaction questionnaire2 which was used in the Dental Satisfaction Survey conducted in Australia by the AIHW Dental Statistics and Research Unit, University of Adelaide. Results: The findings show acceptable levels of patient satisfaction at the dental school hospital with the mean satisfaction scores ranging from 2.61 to 4.06. There was no statistical significance in the satisfaction scores between sexes however females consistently recorded higher scores than males except for content sub-scale. Statistically significant difference at P<0.05 was seen in the facilities sub-scale, context sub-scale and overall satisfaction scale between age groups. Statistically significant difference at was seen in the sub-scales of facilities, context, cost and overall satisfaction scale between the departments which were visited by the patient for their treatment. Conclusion: As patient satisfaction is an integral part of health care evaluation, the authors feel that this area needs to be researched further. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: There are various plants, which are used as chewing sticks in different parts of the world. Several studies have been reported on the antimicrobial effects of chewing sticks on oral bacteria. This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of traditionally used neem and babool chewing sticks (datun) extracts on Streptococcus mutans. Materials and Methods: The present invitro study was conducted to assess effectiveness of 5%, 10%, and 50% neem and babool extract on Streptococcus mutans. The ditch plate method was used to test the antimicrobial activity. Ditches were prepared on blood agar plates with the help of punch having 6mm diameter. The plates were left for 1h at room temperature and then incubated at 37°C for 48h and examined for zone of inhibition. Results: There was no zone of inhibition observed with 5% babool and neem aqueous extract. There was significant difference in mean diameter of zone of inhibition of 10% neem and babool extract (p-value 0.001 < 0.05). Similarly the mean difference in 50% neem and babool extract was found to be significant (p-value < 0.001). Conclusion: Both neem and babool extracts had antimicrobial activity against Streptococcus mutans, while antimicrobial activity was significantly higher in neem aqueous extract than babool aqueous extract. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Toothbrushes may play a significant role in plaque control. Toothbrushes should be correctly stored, disinfected and changed at regular intervals., Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of 0.2% chlorhexidine (CHX) gluconate solution and ultra violet (UV) toothbrush-sanitizer for toothbrush disinfection., Materials and Methods: Fresh tooth brushes were distributed to fifteen study subjects, who were selected randomly and who met the study criteria. All the study participants were asked to brush their teeth with the tooth brush provided. No special instructions were given regarding the brushing techniques. Toothbrushes were collected after 7 days. All tooth brushes were randomly allocated to three groups. Tooth brushes were subjected to microbial analysis and total bacterial count was assessed. Tooth brushes allocated to Group I were soaked in 2% CHX mouthwash for 12 h, Group II were kept in UV-light toothbrush holder for 7 min, and Group III were soaked in normal saline for 12 h. All the toothbrushes were subjected for microbial analysis and mean bacterial count was determined., Results: There was a statistically significant difference between mean colony-forming unit count pre-sanitization and post-sanitization in all the groups, using 0.2% CHX gluconate, UV rays and normal saline (P < 0.007). However, the mean bacterial count reduced drastically after the treatment with UV rays (P = 0.001)., Conclusions: CHX, UV rays and normal saline are effective in a reduction of bacterial count on toothbrushes. UV rays treatment was more effective, when compared to CHX and normal saline.

Background: Nuclear localization of cyclin B1 is an indicator for cells undergoing mitotic division, and the overexpression has shown promising results as a good prognostic predictor for patients of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Cyclin B1 overexpression among histological grades of conventional oral squamous cell carcinoma (COSCC), as well as comparison with verrucous carcinoma (VC) has been less investigated., Study Design: Immunohistochemical expression of cyclin B1 was compared with various clinicopathological features in 30 primary COSCC and 31 primary VC cases., Result: Cyclin B1 showed significant overexpression for some clinical features for both the variants of oral squamous cell carcinoma. In histopathological variants, statistical significance was observed among grades of COSCC, as well as COSCC and its grades with VC. The concomitant increase in cyclin B1 overexpression from VC to grades COSCC was observed., Conclusion: Our study findings draw attention to cyclin B1 overexpression is involved in early carcinogenesis, cell differentiation and tumor proliferation.