Evaluation of Anti-plaque and Anti-inflammatory Effects of Oral Curcumin Gel as Adjunct to Scaling and Root Planing: A Clinical Study.

CONTEXT: The adverse effects associated with traditional adjunctive chemical agents in the management of gingivitis has stimulated research into search for alternate molecules including herbal products. Aims-To compare the effects of oral curcumin gel as an adjunct to scaling and root planing (SRP) with the effects achieved by SRP alone by assessing their effects on plaque, gingival inflammation and gingival bleeding. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty patients in the age group of 20-60 years were recruited employing inclusion and exclusion criteria. Study population was randomly divided into two groups. Group A-test group was instructed to use twice daily the experimental curcumin gel after initial SRP. Group B-control group received only SRP. Parameters recorded were plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI) and sulcus bleeding index (SBI) on day 0 (baseline), days 7, 14, and 21 along with subjective assessment of any reported untoward side effect. Data was analyzed statistically. RESULTS: The PI, GI and SBI decreased in both the test group and control group from day 0 to day 21 consecutively. Intergroup comparison shows that all the parameters were statistically significant in Group A (P < 0.001) as compared to Group B. CONCLUSION: Curcumin gel has significant antiplaque and anti-inflammatory effect in the treatment of gingivitis and can be effectively employed as an adjunct to SRP.

Effect of Acidic Beverages on Color Stability and Microhardness of Various Esthetic Restorative Materials: A Comparative Study.

AIM: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of acidic beverages on color stability and microhardness of various esthetic restorative materials. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 60 samples were included in the present study. Group I: Microhybrid composite resin, Group II: Nanoceramic, Group III: ORMOCER (Organically Modified Ceramics). 10 mm internal diameter and 5 mm depth of cylindrical aluminum mold of were utilized to prepare the samples. All the esthetic restorative samples were submerged for 10 min in 25 ml of acidic drink (Coca-Cola) each day up to 15 days. Vickers diamond intender was used to measure the microhardness of each sample. These values were calculated with baseline, 7th, and 15th days for final microhardness values. RESULTS: The mean surface microhardness of 63.20 ± 0.46 was shown by Group III which was slightly more than that in Group II (60.08 ± 0.34) and Group I (58.10 ± 1.76). Analysis of covariance did not show any statistically significant difference between the groups. The samples in Group I showed the highest reduction in surface microhardness value after immersion into acidic drink, followed by Group II and Group III on 7th day and 15th day. A statistically significant difference (P < 0.001) was found on the 7th day. CONCLUSION: The present study concludes that the Organically Modified Ceramics esthetic restorative material showed the finest behavior after being dipped in the acidic drink followed next by Nanoceramic and Microhybrid composite resin.

To Evaluate the Marginal Adaptation of Porcelain Fused to Metal Crown with Different Base Metal Alloys.

INTRODUCTION: The success of any restoration depends on the marginal seal. The adaptation of castings, luting cement, and the surface structures of the margins are all important factors in achieving marginal seal. AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate the vertical marginal discrepancy of cast copings obtained by employing conventional casting technique with two different base metal alloys with two different finish lines before and after porcelain firing. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of forty wax copings were fabricated with stainless steel die assembly and divided into four groups with ten specimens for each metal and each finish line. Measurements were recorded from coping margin to the stainless steel die margin for vertical marginal gap recordings. Each metal coping was finished, and porcelain application was completed. Copings with porcelain were placed on their respective dies, again subjected to the same measuring microscope for checking the vertical marginal discrepancy by the same operator and results. RESULTS: The results of the present study showed that the mean vertical marginal gaps of all the cast copings obtained in each group (G1-G8) were within clinically acceptable limits. The mean vertical marginal gap of G1 was 135.36 ± 2.30 µm, G2 was 67.22 ± 4.25 µm, G3: 39.47 ± 2.98 µm, G4: 71.00 ± 3.97 µm, G5: 109.57 ± 2.98 µm, G6: 109.57 ± 2.98 µm, and G8: 114.58 ± 2.40 µm. CONCLUSION: The difference in the vertical marginal gap of cast copings obtained in different groups was statistically highly significant at 0.005 level, while the difference in the vertical marginal gap of cast copings obtained at different points was statistically nonsignificant.

A Scanning Electron Microscope Evaluation of the Efficacy of Different Fluoride-releasing Dental Restorative Materials to Prevent Enamel Demineralization: An In Vitro Study.

AIM: Aim of the present research was to investigate the effectiveness of various fluoride-releasing dental restorative agents in preventing demineralization of enamel. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eighty human mandibular permanent molar teeth constituted the study group. All samples were subjected to storage in thymol, after which they were taken out to prepare alike proximal box in each. Inductions of artificial enamel surface lesions were done by placing the teeth in demineralizing solution for 96 hours. Subsequently, all 80 molars were randomly assigned to any of the four groups (i.e., 20 in every individual group) according to the restoration as group A: giomer (composite resin containing surface pre-reacted glass-ionomer fillers), group B: compomer (polyacid-modified composite resin), group C: resin-modified glass-ionomer cement (RMGIC), group D: fluoride-releasing composite. After this, the pH cycling was performed, and the samples were subjected to examination beneath scanning electron microscope (SEM). RESULTS: Higher mean areas of remineralization were noted when RMGIC (96.34 ± 0.06) was used followed by the compomer (109.52 ± 0.17), giomer (118.39 ± 0.82), and the fluoride-releasing composite group (129.27 ± 0.31) in that order. A statistically significant difference was seen amid the investigational groups that utilized different restorative agents (p <0.001). A pairwise evaluation that was performed revealed that except for the giomer group and the compomer group, a statistically significant difference (p <0.001) was found among the experimental groups. CONCLUSION: This research infers that the RMGIC-treated samples exhibited significantly superior performance in preventing enamel demineralization in comparison to compomer, giomer as well as fluoride-releasing composites. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: One among the highly frequently employed anticariogenic materials is fluorides. Owing to this characteristic, they are integrated into numerous restorative substances. Nevertheless, the quantity and speed of fluoride release differ in different agents, which translates to the efficacy of the restorative agent in avoiding demineralization about the restoration.

Intergenerational paternal effect of adult density in Drosophila melanogaster.

Notwithstanding recent evidences, paternal environment is thought to be a potential but unlikely source of fitness variation that can affect trait evolution. Here we studied intergenerational effects of males' exposure to varying adult density in Drosophila melanogasterlaboratory populations.We held sires at normal (N), medium (M) and high (H) adult densities for 2 days before allowing them to mate with virgin females. This treatment did not introduce selection through differential mortality. Further, we randomly paired males and females and allowed a single round of mating between the sires and the dams. We then collected eggs from the dams and measured the egg size. Finally, we investigated the effect of the paternal treatment on juvenile and adult (male) fitness components.We found a significant treatment effect on juvenile competitive ability where the progeny sired by the H-males had higher competitive ability. Since we did not find the treatment to affect egg size, this effect is unlikely to be mediated through variation in female provisioning.Male fitness components were also found to have a significant treatment effect: M-sons had lower dry weight at eclosion, higher mating latency, and lower competitive mating success.While being the first study to show both adaptive and non-adaptive effect of the paternal density in Drosophila, our results highlight the importance of considering paternal environment as important source of fitness variation.

In Vitro Analysis of Different Polishing Systems on the Color Stability and Surface Roughness of Nanocomposite Resins.

AIM: To assess the different polishing systems on the color stability and surface roughness of nanocomposite resins. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 60 composite resin samples were fabricated. The Tetric N Ceram composite was compacted into the custom-made cylindrical metallic mold of internal diameter 6 × 6 mm. Based on the polishing system used, sixty samples were divided into three groups. Group I: Sof-Lex, group II: Shofu super-snap polishing disks, and group III: Astropol. The samples in each group were immersed in beverage, that is tea. Spectrophotometer was used to measure the color of the samples after staining period. And surface profilometer was used to measure all surface roughness. RESULTS: Of the three groups, Sof-Lex polishing group reported the least mean value of 0.458 ± 0.118 succeeded by Astropol polishing group (0.494 ± 0.121) and Shofu super-snap polishing group (0.540 ± 0.031) having the higher mean value. Statistically significant difference was found between the different polishing systems calculated by analysis of variance. And color change between the groups was not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: We conclude that a composite polished with Sof-Lex was a superior polish compared to Astropol polishing group and Shofu super-snap polishing group. There was only a minimal difference in the color stability of the composite between the groups. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Excellent finishing and polishing are the critical steps to enhance the esthetics and longevity of the composite restorations. High strength, fracture toughness, surface hardness, optimum polishability, and gloss are the functional properties which need assessment while a resin composite is used for restoration. How to cite this article: Dhananjaya KM, Vadavadagi SV, Almalki SA, et al. In Vitro Analysis of Different Polishing Systems on the Color Stability and Surface Roughness of Nanocomposite Resins. J Contemp Dent Pract 2019;20(11):1335-1338.

Effect of respiration on the B0 field in the human spinal cord at 3T.

PURPOSE: Respiration affects the bulk magnetic susceptibility, causing frequency shifts as shown in the brain at 7T. Due to the close proximity of the spine to the lungs, this effect is expected to be even larger in the spinal cord, resulting in detrimental B0 offset. The goal of this study was to quantify the effect of respiration on B0 variation in the spinal cord. METHODS: Seven healthy subjects were scanned at 3T. Field maps were acquired during inspired and expired conditions. Frequency shift was quantified in the brain, brainstem, and cervico-thoracic spinal cord. A skewed Gaussian function with linear term was fitted to the frequency shift as a function of z-location along the spine. RESULTS: Large frequency shifts were measured along the cord, with a maximum of 74 Hz at C7 (P < 0.05), corresponding to 0.58 ppm. The proposed model was adequately fitted to the respiratory-induced frequency-shifts (adjusted R(2) = 0.9954). The morphology of subjects (weight and height) seemed to have an impact on the amplitude of frequency shift, although correlations were not significant. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides a deeper understanding of the contribution of respiration to B0 shift in the spinal cord. The proposed model can be useful for designing future hardware or software strategies to compensate for these B0 variations dynamically.