Background: Down Syndrome (DS) is a genetic disorder responsible for mental and development retardation. DS occurs when a person has an extra chromosome (47 instead of 46), the third copy of the Trisomy 21 chromosome. This causes structural and functional anomalies in the human body and some degree of intellectual disability. Children with DS have poor oral hygiene as they are unable to understand and are unaware of its importance. Oral hygiene problems commonly found in children with DS are gingivitis, periodontal problems, pain, infection, and problems with the masticatory system. This study explored the relationship between parents' knowledge and maintenance of the oral hygiene of children with DS through the OHI-S (Oral Hygiene Index Simplified) Index Score. Method: This study was conducted by distributing 25 questions via Google Form to 100 subjects that belong to POTADS (Down Syndrome Parents Association. The participants were children diagnosed with Down Syndrome and their parents. Questionnaires were used to assess parents' knowledge about their child's oral hygiene. To assess the children’s oral hygiene, dental exams were performed with the OHI-S on six tooth surfaces. To calculate the OHI-S score for each individual, the debris and calculus scores from the 6 surfaces of the teeth were totalled and divided by six. Results: The relationship between parents' knowledge and the maintenance of oral hygiene of children with DS was found by conducting a linear regression analysis and hypothetical test. The equation of Y = 77.734 + (-7.377) X was achieved through linear regression analysis, and indicated that a 1% increase in parents' knowledge caused a reduction in OHI-S score to 7.377. The hypothetical test showed that parents' knowledge affected their children's OHI-S score significantly. Conclusion: There was a significant contradictive relationship between parents' knowledge and the maintenance of oral hygiene of children with DS.

Background: One cause of pulpitis is mechanical trauma such as pulp perforation. The emergency treatment of pulpitis in a clinic uses eugenol. Eugenol in a high concentration causes cytotoxicity, which causes local necrosis and inhibits the recovery process, while in lower doses it can cause oral mucosal hypersensitivity. Due to these side effects, it is worth considering other biocompatible materials with minimal side effects, such as epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) which is found in green tea. As a polyphenol, EGCG has a radical scavenging ability, which has an effect on reducing the number of neutrophils. The application of EGCG is expected to reduce neutrophils on the second day after injury so the rehabilitation process is completed more quickly and ongoing inflammation and pulp necrosis is prevented. Purpose: To analyse the efficacy of topical hydrogel EGCG in reducing the number of neutrophils after 48 hours in the perforated dental pulp of Wistar rats. Method: 20 Wistar rats were divided equally into four groups, which were designated control (C) and treatment groups (T1, T2, T3). The upper first molar teeth of each rat were perforated and then T1, T2, and T3 were given 60 ppm, 90 ppm and 120 ppm hydrogel EGCG respectively. On the second day, the rats were sacrificed. HPA preparations were made to calculate the number of neutrophils in each group. Data was analysed using Kolmogorov–Smirnov, Levene’s, one-way ANOVA and Tukey HSD test (p<0.05). Results: There were significant differences between T2 and T3 compared with C and T1 (p<0.05), but no significant differences in the comparison of T1 with C and of T2 with T3 (p>0.05). Conclusion: 90 ppm hydrogel EGCG is effective in reducing the number of neutrophils in the perforated dental pulp of Wistar rats.

<p><strong><em>Background:</em></strong><em> Traumatic ulcer is one of the most common oral wounds. Chitosan has mucoadhesive characteristic while Aloe vera containing lignin which is able to penetrate the skin. It is expected that the combined gel of chitosan and Aloe vera will function as wound healing accelerator in traumatic ulcer. Molecular weight is one of the characteristics of chitosan quality. <strong>Purpose:</strong> the aim of this experiment was to know the density of collagen fibers in wound healing of traumatic ulcer using the combined gel of chitosan with different molecular weight and Aloe vera. <strong>Materials and method: </strong>30 Male Rattus Norvegicus were divided into 3 groups. Group I was control group (without chitosan and Aloe vera), group II was given low molecular weight chitosan and Aloe vera, group III was given high molecular weight chitosan and Aloe vera. The groups were given traumatic ulcer making with 4 mm diameter and 2 mm depth. Rats were sacrificed by decapitation on day 3 and 7 then they were examined histopatologically to see the density of collagen fibers. <strong>Result:</strong> Statistical analysis with Kruskall Wallis and Mann-Whitney U test showed that there were significant difference p&lt;0,05 between high and low molecular weight chitosan with Aloe vera group on day 3 and 7. <strong>Conclusion:</strong> Chitosan with high molecular weight and Aloe vera were more effective in wound healing of traumatic ulcer b</em><em>ecause they increase</em><em> the density of collagen fibers.</em><em></em></p><p><strong><em> </em></strong></p><p><strong><em>Keywords:</em></strong><em>  Combined gel of chitosan and Aloe vera, density of collagen fibers, wound healing.</em><em></em></p><p><strong><em> </em></strong></p><strong><em>Korespondensi:</em></strong><em> Sularsih, Bagian Ilmu Biomaterial Kedokteran Gigi, Fakultas Kedokteran Gigi, Universitas Hang Tuah, Arif Rahman Hakim 150, Telepon 031-5912191.</em>

Background: Down Syndrome (DS) is a genetic disorder that causes structural, functional anomalies, and intellectual disability. The common oral hygiene problems found in DS children are gingivitis, periodontal problems, pain, infection, and problems with the masticatory system. This study explored the relationship between parents' oral hygiene knowledge and oral hygiene of children with DS.   Method: This was an observational analytical study. To assess parents' oral hygiene knowledge, a questionnaire consisting of 25 questions was distributed to 100 parents whose DS children in POTADS (Down Syndrome Parents Association) Surabaya. To assess the DS children's oral hygiene, dental exams were performed to calculate the individual Oral Hygiene Index-Simplified (OHI-S) scores by dividing the sum of the individual debris and calculus scores by six (the number of teeth examined). The data were analysed using regression analysis. Results: There was a significant and strong inverse relationship between parents’ oral hygiene knowledge and DS children’s oral hygiene. Parents’ oral hygiene knowledge affected DS children’s oral hygiene. The results of the regression analysis indicated that a 1% increase in parents' knowledge caused a reduction in the OHI-S score to 7.377. Conclusion: A significant inverse relationship between parents’ oral hygiene knowledge and DS children’s oral hygiene was observed in this study. Further studies could be conducted to determine other variables that my influence both parents’ oral hygiene knowledge and DS children’s oral hygiene.