Traumatic dental injuries (TDIs) frequently occur in society and may occur at home. The ultimate prognosis of an avulsed tooth occurring in a child may depend on the parents' knowledge of appropriate emergency measures. Therefore this study aimed at evaluating the knowledge level of a sample of Egyptian parents in the management of a case of tooth avulsion in a child. A total of 985 parents attending a Pediatric Dental Clinic formed the sample of the study. A questionnaire comprising 13 questions in simple Arabic language was used. The parents were categorized into two groups according to their education level. The tabulated data were statistically analyzed using the Chi-square test. Markedly low knowledge levels were noted in both groups. This was evidenced in replanting the avulsed primary teeth, brushing and using antiseptics to clean the roots, holding the root instead of the crown, dry storage of the avulsed permanent teeth, and neglect over time from most of the parents. However, 24.3% of group 1 and 15.6% of group 2 chose milk as a transport medium. Therefore, educational programs would be necessary to improve awareness of the immediate management of avulsed teeth.

The Enamel Defects Index (EDI) was created based on three innovative principles: (i) a basic level of the three major categories of defects; (ii) more detailed subcategories of each major category; and (iii) each category scored independently as present [1] or absent [0], simplifying decision making. The aim of this investigation was to further test the index in a number of applications and to expand it to record defect subtype and treatment need. Testing was undertaken by operators with different levels of clinical experience. A computer-assisted learning (CAL) package was developed for operator training and calibration. The index was also used on clinical photographs and high-resolution digital images of exfoliated and extracted teeth. Scoring of photographs revealed substantial intra-operator agreement. Training using the CAL package resulted in significant improvement in index use. Intra-operator reproducibility was good to excellent, and interoperator reproducibility was good for buccal surfaces on digital images. Index expansion allowed information on defect subtype, location, and treatment need to be gathered readily. The EDI has high reproducibility and allows more rapid and accurate data collection from clinical and in vitro studies than the Fédération Dentaire Internationale Developmental Defects of Enamel index.

This study was performed to investigate differences in the shape of the individual palatal rugae in two population samples of Arabian children from Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and develop discriminant function to identify the populations based on rugae shape. A total of 152 stone casts (80 from Egyptian and 72 from Saudi children), equally distributed between genders aged 6-8 years were examined for rugae shape (straight, wavy, curved, circular, unification and cross-link) and their incidence was recorded. Association between rugae shape and gender as well as rugae shape and population were tested using chi-square and discriminant function analyses using SPSS 13 statistical package. Curved and wavy were the most prevalent rugae shape in both groups, followed by straight rugae. Circular, converged and diverged unifications were few in number, while cross-link rugae were not observed in Saudi children. No significant gender differences were observed. Chi-square analysis for association between rugae shape and population groups showed significant differences in curved, wavy, cross-link, converged and diverged unification. Three rugae shapes; wavy, diverging unification and cross-link contributed to the discriminant function which enabled population identification. It was concluded that palatal rugae shape revealed significant differences between the two Egyptian and Saudi populations and also confirmed previous reports of lack of gender dimorphism. Discriminant function analysis allowed differentiation of the populations and it is inferred that discrete variables such as rugae shape are better suited for that purpose than continuous variables such as rugae length. addition, rugae pattern may be specific to racial groups facilitating population identification, which may be required in different events 1,4,5) .Palatine rugae are irregular, asymmetric ridges of mucous membrane extending laterally from the incisive papilla and the anterior part of the median palatal raphe 5) . Physiologically the palatal rugae are involved in the oral swallowing and help to improve the relationship between food and the taste receptors in the dorsal surface of the tongue 6) , also participated in speech and suction in children 7) .Palatal rugae pattern, shape and characteristics are not affected by the eruption of the teeth or their loss, but sometimes their lateral parts adjacent

AimsTo enhance the phenotypic description and quantification of enamel defects from a North Sweden sample of extracted and exfoliated teeth originating from families with Amelogenesis Imperfecta by use of the extended enamel defects index (EDI) and image analysis to demonstrate the comparable reliability and value of the additional measurements.Methods and resultsThe sample comprised 109 deciduous and 7 permanent teeth from 32 individuals of 19 families with Amelogenesis Imperfecta in Northern Sweden. A special holder for individual teeth was designed and the whole sample was examined using the extended EDI and an image analysis system. In addition to the extended EDI definitions, the calibrated images were measured for tooth surface area, defect area and percentage of surface affected using image analysis techniques. The extended EDI was assessed using weighted and unweighted Kappa statistics. The reliability of imaging and measurement was determined using Fleiss’ intra-class correlation coefficient (ICCC). Kappa values indicated good or excellent intra-operator repeatability and inter-operator reproducibility for the extended EDI. The Fleiss ICCC values indicated excellent repeatability for the image analysis measurements. Hypoplastic pits on the occlusal surfaces were the most frequent defect in this sample (82.6%). The occlusal surface displayed the most post-eruptive breakdown (39.13%) whilst the incisal portion of the buccal surfaces showed most diffuse opacities (53.4%). Image analysis methods demonstrated the largest mean hypoplastic pit areas were on the lingual surfaces. The largest mean post-eruptive breakdown areas were on the lingual surfaces of posterior teeth. The largest mean demarcated opacity areas were found on the labial surfaces.ConclusionsThe extended EDI and the standardised image acquisition and analysis system provided additional information to conventional measurement techniques. Additional phenotypic variables were described.

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