Background:Periodontitis is a group of inflammatory diseases affecting the supporting tissues of the tooth. Both aggressive periodontitis (AP) and chronic periodontitis (CP) have a multifactorial etiology, with dental plaque as the initiating factor. However, the initiation and progression of periodontitis are influenced by other factors including microbiologic, social and behavioral and systemic and genetic factors. The prevalence of periodontal diseases varies in different regions of the world according to the definition of periodontitis and the study population, and there are indications that they may be more prevalent in developing than in developed countries.Materials and Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted among the adolescents of 15-18 years of age in Mangalore City. One thousand one hundred students aged 15-18 years were selected for the study from the schools and colleges in Mangalore City using a convenient sampling method. The prevalence of AP and CP were assessed in the study using a community periodontal index. Students who were diagnosed clinically and radiographically were subjected to microbiological examination to confirm AP.Results:A high prevalence of gingivitis and periodontitis was found in students belonging to the lower socioeconomic status group compared with the higher socioeconomic groups, which were associated with poor oral hygiene habits. The prevalence of AP was found to be 0.36% and that of CP was found to be 1.5%.Conclusion:Oral diseases have a significant impact on the social and psychological aspects of an individual's life. Exposure to risk factors, such as age, low socio-economic status, poor education, low dental care utilization, poor oral hygiene levels, smoking, psychosocial stress and genetic factors are significantly associated with an increased risk of periodontitis among adolescents. Although genetic factors play a major role in periodontitis, the treatment outcome will still be influenced by environmental and behavioral factors.

Background: Atherosclerosis refers to combination of changes in the intima of arteries, consisting of focal accumulation of lipids, complex carbohydrates, blood and blood products, fibrous tissue, calcium deposits and associated medical changes. Ischemic heart disease (IHD) refers to a group of closely related syndromes that is caused by an imbalance between myocardial oxygen demand and blood supply.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 63 patients, aged 30-65 years, with known coronary artery disease. Estimation of serum and salivary cortisol levels were assessed with specific ELISA kit for cortisol (R&D Systems) and their comparison was performed in patients with and without periodontitis. Statistical analysis was done using Mann-Whitney U test and Pearson Correlation test.Results: The clinical parameters showed statistically significant association (p<0.001) between coronary artery disease and periodontitis and comparative levels of serum and salivary cortisol displayed varying degrees of positive correlation.Conclusions:Saliva along with serum has great potential as a diagnostic fluid and it showed good correlation with cortisol levels in coronary artery disease patients with and without periodontitis.

Background: Radiographs in periodontics will provide a two-dimensional image of a three-dimensional object and this leads to problems in terms of validity, accuracy and precision. Hence, the study was conducted with an aim to assess the accuracy of IOPA And CBCT for Maxillary Molar Furcation involvement by clinical and radiological methods.Methods: The study sample consisted of 17 subjects from the Out patient Department of A.J. Institute of Dental Science, Manglore belonging to both sexes and with age ranging from 35-55 years. The selected patients were those having presence of periodontal pockets of >5-6mm and advanced periodontal disease requiring surgical intervention. For the purpose of standardization, 3 sites of the maxillary first molars were assessed-Mid-buccal, Mesio-buccal, Disto-buccal. Iopa and CBCT measurements were taken which was followed by surgical intervention during which probing measurements were recorded. Statistical analysis was done using ‘unpaired t test’.Results: There was no statistically significant difference between CBCT measurements and surgical measurements (p≤0.05).Conclusions: CBCT accurately reproduced the clinical measurement of periodontal bone defects.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a type of staphylococcus bacteria that is resistant to certain antibiotics, including methicillin, penicillin and amoxicillin. For decades, MRSA primarily has affected people who are immunocompromised, such as patients in hospitals and long-term care facilities. Recently, it has been detected in otherwise healthy people. These infections typically show up as skin infections, like abscesses or boils. Less often, these infections can be more severe, causing pneumonia, sepsis or other potentially life-threatening infections. Most of the MRSA infections are of skin origin in the community. Its main mode of transmission is through the hands i.e., of the health care workers. So, hand washing is the most crucial factor in preventing the spread of infection. In a treatment area, the dental chair including the seat and arm rest, floor beneath the chair, sink, towel dispenser, counter top, and suction chamber remain the sources of infection. These usually are not directly contacted with the patient. Other routes of transmission of MRSA include body fluid exposure to non-intact skin of health care personnel, mucous membranes, or through the sharp or percutaneous injuries. In dentistry, MRSA is known to colonize the saliva and so considered as potentially infected material and often contains blood. The present case report is to create awareness about MRSA transmission, as well as infection prevention and control measures for dental practitioners.

Miller's class III gingival recession is a common entity observed in individuals, posing a difficult situation for the clinicians to treat. Large fenestration defects with cervical abrasion compromise the esthetics resulting in poor prognosis. Obtaining predictable and esthetic root coverage has become an integral part of periodontal therapy. The present case report describes a situation where class III gingival recession with cervical abrasion was seen in the lower central incisors. The patient was successfully treated with a combination of restorations (Filtek Z350® composite resin) to fill the defect, followed by fenestration procedure to increase the vestibular depth and subsequently with grafting procedure (soft tissue autograft with bovine-derived xenograft collagen [Bio-oss]). Though the results were not tangible esthetically, it was functionally successful as evidenced during the follow-up period.

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Background: Periodontitis is a chronic inflammatory disease of periodontal tissue, characterized by persistent inflammation of the connective tissue and alveolar bone destruction. Patients with periodontal disease show the differences in the composition of saliva. Newer diagnostic tools based on analysis of body fluids such as saliva, GCF and serum are found to be useful for diagnosis as well as monitoring the disease activity. Thus, aim of the study was to estimate the concentration of salivary glycoconjugates (sialic acid, total protein) and salivary ROS in unstimulated whole saliva of subjects with chronic periodontitis and to compare the concentration with healthy/gingivitis subjects.Methods: The study sample consisted of 60 subjects (33 males and 27 females) with age ranging from 30-60 years. A detailed case history was taken from all the subjects and periodontal disease parameters (bleeding on probing, probing pocket depth and clinical attachment levels) were recorded at baseline and subjects were divided into 2 groups. Group I- control group (healthy/gingivitis subjects) and Group II -test group (chronic periodontitis). Saliva samples were collected from the subjects and stored at -700 ºC.  Periodate Resorcinol Assay was done to estimate the levels of sialic acid, Biuret test was done to assess the levels of total protein and  d-ROMs test was done to assess the level of ROS. Statistical analysis was done using students unpaired ‘t’ test and Pearsons correlation test. Results: It was found that the levels of salivary glycoconjugates and ROS are increased in subjects with chronic periodontitis when compared to healthy/gingivitis subjects. Thus it can reflect the clinical status of gingival and periodontal tissues.Conclusions: Estimation of the levels of glycoconjugates and ROS may be used as one of the reliable biomarkers to assess the severity of periodontal disease and to monitor the disease progression.

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