No abstract

Background:To assess the prevalence of malocclusion and to determine the different occlusal characteristics in primary dentition of 4 to 6 years old children in India.Materials and Methods:The target population comprised 4 to 6 years old children attending different nursery, kindergarten and primary schools of Bagalkot city. Stratified cluster random sampling procedure was executed to collect the representative sample. Each subject was assessed for various occlusal characteristics.Results:Occlusal characteristic found were flush terminal plane (52.5%), class I canine relationship (84%), maxillary developmental spaces (35.4%), primate spaces in maxilla (47.6%), mandibular crowding (4.6%), mandibular midline shift (5.6%), anterior multiple tooth crossbite (1.3%), scissors bite (0.6%), anterior open bite (1%), over bite of 0-2 mm (81.6%) and overjet of 0-2 mm (84.5%). The age wise difference for the occlusal characteristics was statistically significant.Conclusions:The data revealed that most of the children had malocclusion. This highlights the importance of identifying children who are in need of orthodontic treatment for dental health or aesthetic reasons.

There was an increase in prevalence of dental fluorosis with a corresponding increase in water fluoride content from 0.8 ppm to 4.1 ppm. A significantly strong positive correlation was found between CFI and fluoride concentration in drinking water.

Purpose:The purpose of vitro study was to assessment of the bacterial contamination on daily twice-used toothbrushes in different conditions after 1-month and 3 months.Materials and Methods:Forty children aged between 6 and 12 years were selected for this study. Toothbrushes and toothpaste were distributed among those children. Among those children, 20 children brushed their teeth for 1-month and 20 brushed their teeth for 3 months twice a day. Among those, 10 were kept in same brush box with a family member and 10 were kept in separate brush box after the use. Toothbrush from every child was recollected to investigate the contamination of microorganisms. Head of the toothbrushes transferred to a tube containing 10 ml of tryptone soy broth. This was followed by vortex mixing for 1 min to dislodge suspected adherent bacteria. The bacterial suspension was serially diluted to obtain dilution factors of up to 10−3. 1 ml each of the dilution factors was obtained using a sterile pipette and plated on plate count agar. Petri dishes containing agar media were incubated and examined using a compound microscope.Results:There was high mean difference between 1-month and 3 months, twice a day used toothbrush those kept with family members and those kept separate.Conclusions:Toothbrush should keep in a separate box. Moreover, toothbrush should to be change after 3-4 weeks.

Aim:The aim of this study was to relate the salivary electrolyte levels with dental caries in children with Down syndrome and to compare salivary electrolyte levels and dental caries of these children with their siblings.Materials and Methods:Study population consisted of 30 Down syndrome children (study group) and their 30 healthy siblings (control group). Caries status was determined by dental caries indices in deciduous and permanent dentitions. Un-stimulated saliva from both groups was collected for salivary electrolyte examination.Results:In the study group, mean caries experience in primary dentition was 1.00 ± 0.79 and in the control group it was 2.33 ± 1.42, the difference being statistically significant. Mean caries experience in the permanent dentition of the study group (0. 97 ± 0.76) was significantly lower than the control group (2.47 ± 1.25). Salivary electrolyte levels in the study group were significantly higher than the control group.Conclusion:There was a significant decrease in dental caries in primary as well as permanent dentition of Down syndrome patients with increase in their salivary electrolyte levels.

The physio-chemical properties of saliva like pH, buffering capacity, salivary flow rate, concentration of various components like proteins, calcium and antioxidant defense system play a major role in the development of caries. Hence, more clinical and laboratory studies are needed to determine the exact relationship between these physio-chemical properties of saliva and dental caries.

OBJECTIVE: This article aims to analyze the difference in stresses generated in the bracket-cement-tooth system by means of a peel load in single and double-mesh bracket bases using a three-dimensional finite element computer model. MATERIAL AND METHODS:A three-dimensional finite element model of the bracket-cement-tooth system was constructed and consisted of 40,536 bonds and 49,201 finite elements using a commercial mesh generating programmer (ANSYS 7.0). Both single and double-mesh bracket bases were modified by varying the diameter from 100-400 µm progressively, and the spacing between the mesh wires was kept at 300 µm for each diameter of wire. A peel load was applied on the model to study the stresses generated in different layers. RESULTS: In case of double-mesh bracket base, there was reduction in stress generation at the enamel in comparison to single-mesh bracket base. There was no difference in stress generated at the bracket layer between single and double-mesh bracket bases. At the impregnated wire mesh (IWM), layer stresses increased as the wire diameter of the mesh increased. CONCLUSION: Results show that bracket design modification can improve bonding abilities and simultaneously reduce enamel damage while debonding. These facts may be used in bringing about the new innovative bracket designs for clinical use.

Aims and Objective: To compare the antimicrobial properties of three endodontic sealers such as Sealapex (calcium hydroxide based), Endoflas FS (zinc oxide eugenol based) and AH Plus (resin based) against Enterococcus faecalis. Materials and Methods: The materials required for the study were sealers like Sealapex, AH plus and Endoflass FS, incubator, tweezer, scale and autoclave. The study was conducted on agar plates. Three wells were made by removal of agar at equidistant points and filled with root canal sealers and inoculated with Enterococcus faecalis. The plates were maintained at room temperature for 2 hours for prediffusion of materials and then incubated at 37ºc for 24 hours, 48 hours and 72 hours. After incubation, the diameter of zones of inhibition around the plates was measured. The readings obtained were statistically analysed using ANOVA and Bonferroni test. Results: In all determined intervals, the antibacterial activity of Endoflas FS was significantly greater than other test materials (P<0.001). AH Plus sealer had moderate effect , whilst Sealapex showed the lowest antibacterial activity against Enterococcus faecalis. Conclusion: The antibacterial activity of Endoflas FS was highest followed by AH Plus and Sealapex.