AIM: The aim of this study was to report the reliability of this assessment tool with regard to the primary and permanent dentition of school children and adults belonging to a south Indian district.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out by two trained and calibrated examiners by examining 192 school children in the age-group between 4 and 6 years and 262 adults between 19 and 69 years. The study sample was reexamined by the same examiners after a gap of 4 weeks. The κ coefficient values and percent of agreement were calculated for the data recorded from the study subjects.
RESULTS: The analyzed data showed moderate intra-examiner and inter-examiner reproducibility for either of the dentition as revealed by κ coefficient values (0.80-0.89). Inter- or intra-examiner agreement was found to be substantial to almost perfect (percent agreement above 90%) with respect to both the age-groups.
CONCLUSION: The CAST tool seems quite promising to be the future for quantifying caries spectrum for a community or an individual.
Materials and Methods: GCF of 160 individuals (4-15 years of age) was collected by the extracrevicular method. They were categorized into four groups (40 per each group). Group I: subjects with primary dentition (4-5 years of age), Group II: 40 subjects in early transition period (6-8 years), Group III: 40 individuals in the late transition period (9-11 years), and Group IV: 40 individuals with permanent dentition (12-15 years). MIP-lα and MIP-1β levels were determined in the samples of GCF by ELISA method. Data were analyzed by software SPSS Version 20 (IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, IBM Corp., Armonk, NY: USA).
Results: MIP-1α and MIP-1β were detected in all samples. The highest mean MIP-1α and MIP-1β concentrations in GCF were detected in the early transition period, while the lowest concentrations were seen in primary dentition group. The chemokine levels were higher in girls than in boys in Group III. There was a substantial rise of MIP-1α and MIP-1β levels during eruption.
Conclusions: Since levels of MIP-1α and MIP-1β in GCF are positively associated with tooth eruption, they may perhaps be deemed as novel biomarkers in the eruption process.
Materials and Methods: A total of 400 south Indian children in the age group of 6-12 years who had visited Dental College and Hospital were recruited in the study. Dental anxiety was measured before dental treatment using MDAS. Statistical analysis was performed using Wilcoxon signed rank test.
Results: Of the 400 children, 240 (61.5%) had severe dental anxiety, 92 (23%) had mild anxiety, and 78 (17%) had no anxiety. Females had higher anxiety level compared to males. Many study subjects answered that local anesthesia (LA) injection was considered most fearful. Dental anxiety was highest in smaller age groups.
Conclusion: In our research, high percentage of children had dental anxiety, so counseling before dental visits is very important to reduce the dental anxiety among these 6- to 12-year-old children.
Materials and Methods: The OHQoL-UK questionnaire consists of 16 variables within four domains made up of symptoms, psychological, social dimensions, and physical dimensions. Summing up the responses produce overall OHQoL-UK scores ranging from 16 to 80. Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach's reliability coefficient. Each patient underwent a periodontal examination including periodontal attachment levels with Williams' periodontal probe as part of his or her routine assessment by one clinician collaborating on the study.
Results: Within 200 patients participating in this study, 51% were < diploma, 32% were < bachelor's degree, and 17% were bachelor's degree and higher. Patients with higher educational level have a higher mean QoL score (P = 0.0001) which was statistically significant in regard to all aspects.
Conclusion: The mean QoL score was significantly lower in patients with severe periodontitis when compared to patients with mild periodontitis, patients with better academic qualification have higher mean QoL score. According to the effect of severity of periodontal condition and educational level on QoL, required intervention should be done for treatment to improve QoL as a result.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty-three freshly extracted human maxillary central incisors were used for the study. The teeth were instrumented with K-flex files and obturated using lateral condensation technique with GP and AH Plus sealer. The teeth were divided into three retreatment groups, each group consisting of 21 teeth. Group I: D-RaCe desobturation files (D-RaCe); group II: ProTaper Universal retreatment files (PTUR); group III: Hedstrom files (H-file). After removal of GP, the teeth were split longitudinally and divided into three equal parts: Cervical, middle, and apical third. The middle and apical thirds of all root halves were examined using scanning electron microscope (SEM). The total surface area covered by the residual debris was evaluated using Motic Image plus 2.0 software. Statistical analysis was done by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test with a p-value <0.05 used to determine significance and Tukey's multiple post hoc tests used for comparison between the groups, and 't' test was done for comparison between the thirds within the same group.
RESULTS: The PTUR retreatment files showed overall better performance compared with D-RaCe files and H-files. The PTUR files performed better at middle third compared with others. The PTUR files and D-RaCe files performed equally at apical third better than H-files.
CONCLUSION: ProTaper retreatment files are better compared with D-RaCe files and H-files for the retreatment of the previously endodontically treated teeth.
CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Highest efficacy for the removal of GP was shown by ProTaper Universal System followed by D-RaCe and H-file.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Subgingival plaque samples were collected with sterile curette and subjected to deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) extraction and subsequent PCR for detection of P. gingivalis.
RESULTS: Porphyromonas gingivalis was detected in 60% of patients of group II (pocket depth up to 5 mm), and in 93.33% of patients of group III (pocket depth more than 5 mm). One periodontally healthy subject in group I (probing depth < 3 mm) showed the presence of P. gingivalis.
CONCLUSION: Detection frequency of bacterium increased significantly with increase in probing pocket depth (PPD), loss of attachment (LOA), and gingival index (GI).
CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Porphyromonas gingivalis is strongly associated with chronic periodontitis and its detection frequency positively correlates with the severity of periodontal destruction.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: After obtaining consent from the parents and screening the children against the inclusion cum exclusion criteria, 90 school children whose mandibular first molars were caries free and with a well-defined pit and fissure system were recruited for this spilt mouth trial. The respective molars were allocated either to the ART sealant or the embrace group after the randomization process. The sealants were applied according to the manufacturer's instructions and followed up at the end of 3rd, 6th, and 12th month, respectively. The outcome measures assessed were the retention and the caries preventive effects of the materials.
RESULTS: At the end of the 6th month, about one-fourth of the sealants in either group remained totally intact, without evidence of caries. No significant differences were seen between the sealants either in terms of retention or caries preventive benefits at the end of 12 months.
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: The chi-squared test was used to check differences in proportions. The significance value was set at <0.05. Kappa test was performed to assess the intraexaminer reproducibility with respect to retention and caries status.
CONCLUSION: The moisture-tolerant resin sealant could not replicate the physical properties usually associated with conventional resin sealants. The usage of ART sealants was deemed to be less cumbersome in an outreach setting as observed in this trial.