The aim of this study was to test the reliability and validity of the Tamil version of the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS). One hundred and forty-six patients attending the Outpatient Department of SRM Dental College, Chennai, India consented to participate in the study. The assessment tools consisted of a history form, Tamil version of the MDAS questionnaire and a form for Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). The Tamil version of MDAS had a good internal consistency of 0.839. The mean total score decreased with age. Females were more anxious than males (10.16 and 9.43, respectively). Uneducated, unemployed and low income subjects were more anxious than their counterparts who were educated, employed and from a higher income group. Persons who perceived their oral health as poor were more anxious. Independent t-test showed a highly significant difference in the mean total score of the respondents who had postponed their dental visit due to anxiety (t-test 6.494, P < 0.001). VAS and MDAS scores showed a highly significant correlation (r = 0.827, P < 0.001).This supported the convergent validity of MDAS. The Tamil version of MDAS showed acceptable psychometric properties. (J Oral Sci 54, 313-320, 2012)

Objective:Oxidative stress (OS) refers to the disequilibrium between free radicals and antioxidant defense mechanisms and is significantly implicated in the pathogenesis of chronic degenerative and inflammatory diseases such as chronic periodontal disease (CP) and diabetes mellitus (DM). This study aimed to evaluate the total antioxidants capacity (TAOC) and total oxidants status (TOS) in the gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) in CP participants with type II DM.Materials and Methods:A total of 80 participants were allotted into four groups as follows: Group 1: Generalized CP (GCP) without type II DM (n = 20); Group 2: GCP with type II DM (n = 20); Group 3: Type II DM without CP (n = 20); and Group 4: Systemically and periodontally healthy (PH) (n = 20). Clinical parameters such as plaque index, gingival index, probing pocket depth, and clinical attachment level were recorded. Pooled GCF was collected followed by the estimation of TAOC, TOS, and OS index (OSI) using Erel O Colorimetric analysis.Results:The clinical parameters recorded showed the statistically significant difference (P < 0.001) between the groups. The mean TAOC value was the highest in PH group. The mean TOS and OSI were higher in Group 1, 2, and 3 participants when compared to the PH participants. All the biochemical parameters evaluated showed a statistically significant difference (P < 0.001) between groups.Conclusions:The study further validates the use of OSI as a marker for periodontal disease activity and emphasizes the role of OS in the pathogenesis of Type II diabetic patients with the chronic periodontal disease.

Objective The present study was a randomized controlled clinical trial with the aim of evaluating the increase in papillary height and reduction in black triangle height obtained by the novel papillary augmentation access with either connective tissue graft (CTG) or platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) as matrix from baseline to 6 months. Materials and Methods A total number of 20 sites with Nordland and Tarnow’s Class I, I-II and II interdental papillary loss were recruited into the study. The sites were randomly allocated with 10 sites per group into either: Group A (control group) or Group B (test group) which utilizes the same technique with CTG or PRF as matrix, respectively. The clinical parameters such as PPD (probing pocket depth) and CAL (clinical attachment level) at the surgical site, plaque score (FMPS), bleeding scores (FMBS), interdental papillary height (PH) and black triangle height (BTH), along with visual analog score by dentist (VAS-D) and by patient (VAS-P) were evaluated at baseline and at 6 months. Results In both CTG and PRF groups, all the primary and secondary outcome variables such as PH, BTH, VAS-D and VAS-P showed statistically significant improvement from baseline to 6 months (p ≤0.05) within the group. On comparison at 6 months, there were no differences in the papillary height between the groups. However, the BTH has significantly reduced in the CTG group than the PRF group. Similarly, the VAS-D significantly improved in the CTG group than the PRF group (p = 0.010) at 6 months. Conclusion The study demonstrates that the proposed papillary augmentation access with CTG and PRF was successful in managing the unaesthetic interdental papillary loss, with CTG showing better results in terms of reduction of black triangle than PRF.

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Objective:Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the promoter region of interleukin (IL)-10 gene, which codes for the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10, have been associated with its level of production in chronic periodontitis. The prevalence of promoter SNP genotypes is known in other populations with chronic periodontitis, while its association in the Indian population is not known. Hence, the present study was designed to investigate the prevalence of IL-10 promoter polymorphism in a racially defined group of Indians with severe chronic periodontitis as the Indian population is known to be genetically diverse.Materials and Methods:Genomic deoxyribonucleic acid was extracted from 46 nonsmoking patients with severe chronic periodontitis and 45 subjects with healthy periodontium. A SNP locus at −1087 of IL-10 was chosen, as this locus has been frequently associated with chronic periodontitis in other population. Genotyping was carried out using allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (AS-PCR), and the frequencies of genotype were analyzed between the groups.Results:The distribution of genotype and allele frequencies showed significant differences between the study groups. The prevalence of genotype AA alleles at −1087 locus of IL-10 was significantly higher in severe chronic periodontitis patients compared to the healthy controls (P = 0.05).Conclusion:The study has identified a positive association between the occurrence of AA allele at −1087 locus of IL-10 gene and severe chronic periodontitis in nonsmoking patients.