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Background: Lack of knowledge and awareness about oral cancer, its risk factors and negligence of the early warning signs play crucial role in raising the incidence of the disease. The present study was carried out to evaluate the awareness of oral cancer among patients visiting Kantipur Dental College, Kathmandu, Nepal. Methods: The cross-sectional study was done in 471 patients from 15-85 years. Self administered questionnaire was prepared which comprised of knowledge of oral cancer, source of information, its early signs and symptoms along with the awareness of its risk factors. Results: Most of the participants (41.80%) had not heard of oral cancer. 31.60% recognized tobacco smoking and tobacco chewing as the chief risk factor with 15.50% and 10.80% of participants who identified white patch and red patch as early sign of oral cancer respectively. Pearson's chi square test was used which showed statistically significant association of total mean knowledge score and awareness score with age, education level and occupation (p<0.05). Conclusions: This study done in dental patients showed lack of knowledge and awareness in general public about oral cancer. There seem to be a need for more planned awareness programs through newspapers, radio, television and health campaigns regarding the association of habits in the development of oral cancer and benefits of detecting oral cancer at early stage for better prognosis. 248 5), Lower secondary (up to grade 8), Higher secondary (up to grade 10) and college/ university. Likewise, the occupation was categorized as Professionals, Service, Skilled workers, Laborers and related, Student, Trades and related, Unemployed and Retired.

BACKGROUND: Obesity has been suggested as a risk factor for periodontal disease. Despite the high prevalence of obesity and over-weight among Saudi population, no study has assessed whether there is an association between periodontal health status and body mass index (BMI).OBJECTIVES: Assess the association between BMI and other variables with periodontal health status among young Saudi adults.DESIGN: Analytical, hospital-based cross-sectional study.SETTING: University dental hospital, Riyadh.PATIENTS AND METHODS: All dental students aged 21-35 years who met inclusion criteria were invited to participate in the study. Periodontal health status was assessed by the plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI) and community periodontal index (CPI) scores. Biometric measurements included weight, height and BMI. Multiple logistic regression was used to assess the association of independent variables with periodontal disease (CPI>2 vs CPI ≤2) and multiple linear regression models to assess associations with PI and GI.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Periodontal health by BMI and other variables.SAMPLE SIZE: 308.RESULTS: Of 700 participants invited, 380 participated for a response rate of 54.2%. Slightly more than half of the obese subjects 54 (52%) did not brush their teeth regularly. The mean (standard deviation) PI and GI scores were significantly higher among the obese (PI score: 1.54 [0.45]); GI score: 1.52 [0.51]) and overweight (PI score: 1.36 [0.47]) and (GI score: 1.42 [0.57]) subjects when compared with subjects with normal weight (PI score: 1.27 [0.51]); (GI score: 1.31 [0.48]); (P<.05). No significant differences were seen between BMI groups in CPI scores. There were also no significant differences in the mean number and percentage of sextants between different BMI groups. The only signficant factor for periodontal disease in the multivariable analysis was toothbrushing.CONCLUSION: The present study shows a significant positive correlation between BMI and PI and GI scores. However, no statistically significant association was found between BMI and periodontal health status.LIMITATION: Cross-sectional, so not possible to assess the association of oral health and BMI over time.CONFLICT OF INTEREST: None.

The dental health and toothbrushing behaviors of Sana'a University students are unsatisfactory, and influenced unequally by different factors.

BACKGROUND: The development of periodontal diseases depends on the presence of causative microorganisms, host immunity and risk factors. Although variability present among the types of periodontal diseases, all are represented to a shared interaction between host and bacteria. ABO blood groups are the most investigated erythrocyte antigen system. However, limited investigations have been conducted to explore the alliance between ABO blood groups and periodontal diseases. AIM: Our purpose was to explore any possible association between the severity of chronic periodontitis with ABO blood groups and Rh factor. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out on 205 patients out of 1126 generalised chronic periodontitis patients (GCP) who were referred to Al-Farabi Colleges, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. They were categorized into; group I (mild), group II (moderate) and group III (sever). RESULTS: The patients with blood group O were at a greater risk to develop GCP irrespective of its severity, followed by those with blood group A, B, and AB. The dispensation of the Rh factor in all groups exhibited a significantly greater distribution of Rh positive. CONCLUSION: Genetic factors such as ABO blood group antigens may act as a risk influencer that affects the progression and severity of the chronic periodontitis.

BackgroundKhat (Catha edulis) chewing is a highly prevalent habit in the Arabian Peninsula and East Africa, and has recently spread to Western countries. The association between khat chewing and oral mucosal lesions is well documented in the literature. However, there is no concrete evidence on the association between khat chewing and periodontal disease. The purpose of this systematic review was to analyze the influence of khat chewing on periodontal health.Material and MethodsA literature search of PubMed, Scopus and Web of Sciences databases was carried out to identify relevant articles published from 1990 to May 2017. The inclusion criteria were all clinical studies that assessed the relationship between khat chewing and periodontal disease.ResultsThe search yielded 122 articles, of which 10 were included in this systematic review. Most of the studies exhibited a positive correlation between khat chewing and periodontal disease.ConclusionsAltogether, the analysis of the current evidence reveals that khat chewing is destructive to the periodontium and enhances the risk of periodontal disease progression. However, due to variability of studies, more longitudinal case-controlled studies are highly warranted to establish a causal relation between khat chewing and periodontal disease. Key words:Khat chewing, periodontal health, periodontal disease, risk factor.

Objective: Impacted maxillary and mandibular canine is a frequently encountered clinical problem. The objective of the present study was to determine the prevalence of impacted canine in patients visiting an Orthodontic Clinic in Sana'a city, Yemen. Materials and methods: Patients were examined in order to detect the impacted canines by radiographs. This study comprises data from randomly selected 5287 patients. Panoramic radiographs of 5287 were selected irrespective of sex, caste, nutritional and socio-economic status Angulation and depth of impacted canine were also assessed. Results: Out of 5287 surveyed subjects, 188 patients (3.55%) were determined to have canine impactions of whom 123 female and 65 male (Chi-square = 18.667, df = 1, P = 0.00001). Of those determined with canine impaction, 168 presents with impacted maxillary canines, 8 presents with the impacted mandibular canine and 12 present with impacted canine in both maxillary and mandibular arch. The difference was statistically significant (Chi-square = 157.362, df = 1, P = 0.0000). 138 subjects present with unilateral impaction, while the rest of the sample (50 subjects) present with bilateral impaction. Mesioangular impaction was found in 137subjects (68.5 %) and only 3 subjects (1.5 %) demonstrated distoangular impaction. Conclusion: Based on the study results, the canine impaction was reported in (3.55%) of Yemeni population included in the survey. Most of the canine impaction occurs in maxillary arch being more prevalent in female and unilateral in mesioangular direction.

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