BACKGROUND: Caregivers play an important role in the oral health care of elders in nursing homes.
METHODS: This study employed a qualitative approach using the nominal group technique (NGT) to obtain caregivers' feedback in nursing homes in Malaysia. Data were manually transcribed, summarised into keywords/key phrases, and ranked using weighted scores.
RESULTS: In total, 36 caregivers (21 from government and 15 from private nursing homes) participated in the NGT sessions. Overall, caregivers were satisfied with the low treatment cost, the quality of treatment, and the availability of dental visits to nursing homes. Caregivers were dissatisfied with the frequency of dental visits, long waiting times at government dental clinics, and inadequate denture hygiene education for elders in nursing homes. The challenges faced by caregivers were elders' poor oral health knowledge and attitude and lack of elders' trust of caregivers to look after their oral health. Suggestions for improvement were to increase the frequency of dental visits to nursing homes, provide oral health education to elders and caregivers, and give treatment priority to elders at dental clinics.
CONCLUSION: Despite being satisfied with the basic oral healthcare services received by elders in Malaysian nursing homes, caregivers raised some issues that required further attention. Suggestions for improvement include policy changes in nursing home dental visits and treatment priority for elders at government dental clinics.
Methods: The experiment was carried out in Azra Naheed Center for Research and Development (ANCRD), Superior University, Lahore, Pakistan from September 2018 till May 2019. Biofilms and planktonic cells of C. albicans alone and in combination with streptococci were subjected to chlorhexidine, allium sativum and bakuchiol individually and to allium-bakuchiol combination. Kirby-Bauer test, antifungal susceptibility testing, CFU count and drug synergy assessment was done on planktonic cells. Dynamic biofilms were formed to mimic conditions similar to oral cavity and CFU was determined.
Results: MIC of all three agents was higher against mixed species when compared to single species planktonic cells and biofilm. Allium sativum and bakuchiol demonstrated synergistic effects. The decrease in CFU count and minimum biofilm reduction to salivary pellicle caused by allium sativum-bakuchiol was comparable to that of chlorhexidine.
Conclusion: Thus, allium sativum-bakuchiol combination demonstrated antimicrobial effects similar to chlorhexidine against planktonic cells and dynamic biofilm. It could serve as a possible natural, economical alternative to chlorhexidine mouthrinses usually recommended in dental clinics. However, in vivo studies are required to determine the correct dosage of these agents.
Materials and Methods: CBCT images which show MFPMs recorded in HUSM Dental Clinic between January 2015 and June 2016 was obtained and analyzed for their number of roots and canals. A total of 208 CBCT images of MFPMs were collected; 118 patients had unilateral molars and 90 patients had bilateral molars. The following observations were made: (1) root number; (2) number of canals per root; and (3) comparisons of number of roots and canals according to gender, ethnicity, and position.
Results: The majority of cases of bilateral MFPM had the same number of roots (95.6%, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 89.01%, 98.78%) on both the right and left side and only 4 cases (4.4%, 95% CI: 1.22%, 10.99%) had 3 roots on the right and 2 roots on the left sides. The majority of cases had the same number of canals on both sides (66.7%, 95% CI: 55.95, 76.26%) and 33.3% (95% CI: 23.74%, 44.05%) with unequal number of canals. The occurrence of the number of canals was not independent of the sides of the arch (P < 0.001) and there was statistically significantly greater proportion of cases who had greater number of canals on the right side than the left (P = 0.03). The prevalence of right single-rooted MFPM was very small at 0.3% (n = 1) in a Malay male (95% CI: 0.00, 1.83) and the most prevalent was two roots first molar (88.4%). The number of roots was not associated with sex or ethnic group (P > 0.05). The MFPM with a single root was found to have only one mesial canal. For two rooted MFPM, the most prevalent occurrence was two canals at the mesial and one canal at the distal roots (59%); followed by single canals in each mesial and distal (21%) and double canals per root (18%). Three roots MFPM have either single or double canals in the mesial root and double canals in the distal root.
Conclusions: The majority of population in the East Coast region of Malaysia has two roots and three root canals in their MFPMs. There was no difference in the number of roots between gender and ethnic and canals between ethnic.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 370 orthodontic records including their pre-treatment orthopantomographs (OPG) and study models of orthodontic patients in permanent dentition who attended dental clinic were assessed for impaction, hypodontia, supernumerary, supraocclusion, infraocclusion, and any other anomalies excluding the third molars. The association of anomalies with gender status and racial status was analyzed using Pearson's Chi-square test. A P value of <0.05 is considered as significant. The confidence interval at 95% (CI) was set.
RESULTS: Among the 370 subjects, 105 (28.4%) presented with at least one anomaly. Eighty-five (23%) demonstrated a single anomaly and 20 (5.4%) with more than one anomaly. The most prevalent anomaly was impaction (14.32%), followed by hypodontia (7.03%). The less common anomalies were microdontia (1.08%), dilacerations (0.27%), and generalised enamel hypoplasia (0.27%). Maxillary right lateral incisors and canines were the most common affected teeth and these are located on the maxillary right quadrant. It was evident that dental anomalies were statistically dependant on race (P = 0.025), but independent of gender. The most common treatment planned for these patients was fixed appliance.
CONCLUSIONS: Impaction was predominant among 28.4% subjects observed with anomaly and most patients with anomaly are treated with fixed appliances (49%).
CLINICAL RELEVANCE: These anomalies play a great role in occlusion and alignment in treatment planning and relapse for orthodontic treatment.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This questionnaire-based study consisted of convenience samples of 174 patients of Chinese, Indian and Malay ethnicity. Importance-performance analysis for 20 attributes were compared using Likert's scale. The data obtained were statistically analysed using the Kruskal-Wallis test.
RESULTS: Chinese and Indians both emphasised low performance on the interpersonal relationship attribute in terms of the receptionist's courtesy, whereas the Malay participants were concerned with convenience attributes. All the ethnic groups favoured maintaining existing major attributes towards technical competency, interpersonal relationship and facility factors. This study demonstrated priority differences between the ethnic groups' perception of the quality of dental services, where ethnic Chinese showed the highest gap (measure of dissatisfaction) between importance and performance compared to ethnic Malays, followed by ethnic Indians.
CONCLUSION: The patients from the three major ethnic groups of Malaysia were generally well satisfied. Perhaps more priority should be placed on improving the interpersonal relationship attribute, especially with the receptionists.