Materials and Methods: Extracted human teeth were biomechanically prepared, vertically sectioned, placed in the tissue culture wells exposing the root canal surface to E. faecalis to form a biofilm. At the end of the third week, all groups were treated for 15 min with the test solutions and the control. The results were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively.
Results: Statistical analysis was performed by using one-way analysis of variance and compared by the Mann-Whitney test using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software, version 20.0. The qualitative assay with the 3-week biofilm on the canal portion showed complete inhibition of bacterial growth for NaOCl, whereas samples treated with herbal solutions showed significant reduction of bacterial growth compared to control group, which showed 139.9 × 109 CFU/mL among the experimental herbal solutions groups. P. amarus has shown maximum bacterial count followed by C. longa and T. indica.
Conclusion: NaOCl 5% showed maximum antibacterial activity against 3-week biofilm on tooth substrate. T. indica, P. amarus, and C. longa showed statistically significant antibacterial activity against 3-week biofilm. The use of herbal alternatives might prove to be advantageous considering the several undesirable characteristics of NaOCl.
Objective: To evaluate the peripapillary RNFL thickness and optic nerve functions in fellow eye of NMO with unilateral optic neuritis.
Materials and Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted in 2 tertiary hospitals from August 2017 to May 2019. RNFL thickness and optic nerve functions were evaluated. Statistical analysis was performed using Statistical Package for Social Science version 24.
Results: A total of 26 NMO patients and 26 controls were involved in this study. The median age (IQR) of NMO patients was 32.5 (12) years old. The RNFL thickness was significantly reduced in NMO patients with non-ON eyes as compared to control group. Best corrected visual acuity between the 2 groups were comparable (0.20 vs 0.00, p=0.071). Contrast sensitivity was also reduced in NMO patients (non-ON eyes) at all 5 spatial frequencies. In NMO group, 34.6% have normal colour vision. The mean deviation (MD) of Humphrey visual field (HVF) was higher in NMO group (p<0.001). There was a moderate correlation between RNFL thickness and contrast sensitivity. Weak correlation was found between the RNFL thickness with visual acuity and mean deviation of visual field test.
Conclusion: Our study showed that the fellow eye of NMO patients with unilateral ON revealed a significant reduction in RNFL thickness and all the optic nerve functions have subtle early changes that signify a subclinical retinal damage.
Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional study conducted in two different cities of Malaysia. A convenience sampling approach was adopted. A total of 787 participants agreed to participate in the current research. A validated questionnaire translated into national language was used for data collection.
Statistical Analysis Used: Data analysis was performed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 20.
Results: About 302 respondents were in the age range of 18 - 25 years old (38.4%). There were marginally more females (55.7%) than males (44.3%). Although 99.9% of the participants used a toothbrush, a significant majority (n = 590, 75%) used more than a single device to maintain their oral hygiene. Only 311 respondents knew that toothpicks were inappropriate to use to remove food between teeth and gums, while a majority (n = 592, 75.2%) did not realize that some mouthwashes can stain the teeth. Less than half (42.1%) knew that improper use of miswak might harm the teeth.
Conclusions: Although their oral hygiene behaviors are relatively at a higher level, their perceived oral health benefits did not compare well.
METHODS: A prospective case-control study was carried out among 100 GDM cases and 273 matched controls, attending regular antenatal clinic at two private hospitals of Karnataka. Data was collected by personal interviews using a standard questionnaire. Perceived stress was assessed using the Cohen 10-item Perceived Stress Scale. Score of ≥20 was identified as high stress. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 15 was used for analysis.
RESULTS: Exposure rates for high maternal perceived stress among cases during pregnancy were noted. The odds of GDM were 13 folds higher among those with high antenatal stress (≥20) compared to those with low (<20) (p
Materials and Methods: In two tertiary care selected hospitals, the included diabetic patients were randomly divided into two study arms. In the control group, 200 patients who were receiving usual treatment from hospitals were included. However, in the intervention group, those 200 patients who were receiving usual treatment along with counseling sessions from pharmacists under the Diabetes Medication Therapy Adherence Clinic (DMTAC) program were included. The study continued for 1 year, and there were four follow-up visits for both study arms. A prevalidated data collection form was used to measure the improvement in predictors of diabetic foot in included patients. Data were analyzed by using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software program, version 24.0.
Results: With the average decrease of 1.97% of HbA1c values in the control group and 3.43% in the intervention group, the univariate and multivariate analysis showed a statistically significant difference between both of the study arms in the improvement of predictors belonging to the diabetic foot (P < 0.05). The proportion of patients without any signs and symptoms of the diabetic foot in the intervention group was 91.7%, which increased from 42.3% at baseline (P < 0.05). However, this proportion in the control group was 76.9% at the fourth follow-up, from 48.3% at baseline (P < 0.05).
Conclusion: A statistically significant reduction in the signs and symptoms of diabetic foot was observed in the intervention group at the end of 1 year. The progression of diabetic foot was significantly decreased in the pharmacist intervention group.
Materials and Methods: A self-administered questionnaire constructed in local Malay language consisting of 13 questions on sociodemographic details and 10 questions on the knowledge domain was distributed to eligible respondents while they were waiting for their consultation in the periodontal clinic waiting hall. There were 330 study participants aged 16 years old and above, who participated in this study from all 12 dental clinics in the state of Perlis, Malaysia. Data were entered into Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 20.0 for analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the sociodemographic data, whereas association between potential factor and the knowledge of awareness was found using the Pearson Chi-square test of independence or a Fisher's exact test, depending on the eligibility criteria.
Results: Our study showed that 4.5% (n = 15) of the respondents were not aware that smoking did add risk for oral cancer, 14.5% (n = 48) were not aware that smoking could cause gum disease. Smoking status was significantly associated with the awareness of smoking effect on gum disease (P = 0.002). The proportion of the active smokers being aware that smoking could potentially cause gum disease was considerably less as compared to the nonsmokers (62.7% vs. 83.3%).
Conclusions: Continuous dental health campaigns and awareness program are crucial to instil awareness and health-seeking behavior as well as to enforce public's knowledge.