Xylitol is a sugar alcohol having the properties that reduce levels of mutans streptococci (MS) in the plaque and saliva. To assess the role of xylitol in preventing dental caries. Systematic review and meta-analysis developed by Cochrane cooperation were adapted. Electronic search was carried out in PubMed through the period up to 2014. Included clinical studies were done on (1) humans (2) participants include both individuals and as pairs (mother-child) (3) participants using orthodontic appliances (4) xylitol dispensed in any form (5) compare the effect of xylitol on dental caries and on other phenotype that determines the preventive effect on dental caries, such as decayed, missing, and filled (DMF/dmf) and salivary or plaque MS level. Twenty articles of the 477 articles initially identified. Among 20 studies indexed, 16 articles were accessed, systematically reviewed, and the meta-analysis was carried out. The evaluation of quality of the studies was done using risk of bias assessment tool. The quality of the studies was high risk and unclear risk for six and five trials. The meta-analysis shows a reduction in DMF/dmf with the standard mean (SM) of −1.09 (95% confidence interval [95% CI], −1.34, −0.83) comparing xylitol to all controls. The effect of DMF/dmf reduction by xylitol to fluoride varnish was with the SM of −1.87 (95% CI, −2.89, −0.84). The subgroup analysis, there was a reduction in MS count with SM of 0.30 (95% CI, 0.05, 0.56) when compared with all other caries preventive strategies; however, it was insignificant. Xylitol was found to be an effective strategy as self-applied caries preventive agent.

Background:Oral conditions are known to affect various aspects of quality of life. Similarly, the social consequence of the quality of life in the day to day living is also equally important. Several studies have quantified the social consequences of diseases through activity limitations in people's daily living. The instruments which cover a broad spectrum of life are proposed to be compared with the clinical oral hygiene status of people from different social classes.Aim:To assess the validity of dental impact on daily living (DIDL) questionnaire measuring subjective dental problems and their impact in the day to day life among tribes of Wayanad.Study Design:Cross-sectional.Materials and Methods:DIDL questionnaire developed by Leao and Sheiham was used. We recorded the clinical oral health status using decayed, missing, filled, simplified oral hygiene index, and community periodontal index indices, to correlate the subjective findings of dental impact tribe to obtain construct validity of the questionnaire.Analysis:Descriptive statistics and Spearman's correlation using IBM SPSS software version 20.Results:In the study population of 250 participants, the majority of the participants were from the age group between 36 and 50 years (40%) and females were in the majority (64%). The clinical status of the participants was poor in the majority while their perceived impact in their day to day living was found to be relatively satisfied. The study results show the DIDL tool had weak validity in relation to the clinical status with relevance to the social status of Indian tribal population.Conclusion:The study result shows that there was insignificant and weak validity between the DIDL tool and the oral health status among these tribes who were from a low social class. This might be because their priority in life which is different from what a person from high social class. So the dental problem is ignored at the level of individual depending on his/her priority and at the community level by the policy makers.

No abstract

Background of Study: Forensic dentistry, which is also referred to as forensic odontology, is a dental field that deals with the correct management, examination, evaluation and presentation of dental evidence in criminal or civil legal proceedings in the interest of justice. Aim of the Study: To identify the prevalence of usage of forensic odontology findings in solving crime investigation & identifying individuals in Pondicherry city, India. Methodology: A retrospective study was done during the month of April 2012. Out of32 police stations in Pondicherry, 3 police stations were selected using simple random sampling. The FIR and forensic reports were retrieved for the 3 years (2009-2011) in these police stations. The individual case files were examined and data like FIR number, age, sex, type of crime and type of forensic report were retrieved. Result: A total of 450 forensic reports were examined. The majority of death reports belonged to males (85.8%). No case had used forensic odontology method to solve the crime. About 34.5 % of total forensic reports has unknown individual and unknown reason for death. Conclusion: Forensic odontology is not being used to solve crimes in Pondicherry city, India.