Prevalence of Oral Habits and its Association with Malocclusion in Primary Dentition among School Going Children of Nepal.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to: (1) study the prevalence of oral habits among school going children with primary dentition; (2) determine the association of oral habits with malocclusion in primary dentition; and (3) compare the prevalence of oral habits based on gender, race, age and grade. STUDY DESIGN: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted among 625 school going children with a complete set of primary dentitions. A closed-ended questionnaire was developed to gather information about oral habits followed by clinical examination. RESULTS: The prevalence of oral habits was 42.7%. Finger nail biting (19.5%) was the most prevalent oral habit, whereas self-destructive oral habits (0.7%) were the least prevalent. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed significant association of (P<0.05): digit sucking habit with distal step molar relationship, class II canine relationship and increased overjet; pacifier sucking habit with presence of distal step molar relationship, class II canine relationship, crossbite and increased overjet; and finger nail biting habit with absence of primate spaces. CONCLUSIONS: Nearly half of the participating children indulged in one or more oral habits. There was significant association between some oral habits and malocclusion traits, indicating the requirement of timely screening and interception.

Prevalence of Oral Habits of Schoolchildren in the Mixed Dentition in Dharan, Nepal.

Purpose: To determine the prevalence of oral habits in the mixed dentition of schoolchildren in Dharan, Nepal and compare this prevalence between sexes, races, and age.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 830 schoolchildren of 10 randomly selected schools in Dharan. The presence or absence of oral habits was determined using a structured questionnaire, and an oral examination of the children was carried out under natural light. A chi-square test was used to compare the association of oral habits with age, sex and race.
Results: The most prevalent oral habit was tongue thrusting (39.6 percent), while the habit of biting objects was the least prevalent (0.8 percent). Mouth-breathing was statistically significant for sex (P = 0.010), whereas biting objects (P = 0.035) and self-inflicting habits (P = 0.005) were statistically significant for race. Lip sucking (P ≤0.001) and lip-biting habits (P = 0.001) were statistically significant for age.
Conclusion: These findings highlight the importance of periodic screenings and timely referral for the early detection of oral habits and its associated effect on the developing occlusion.

Histopathological Review of Diagnostic Categories of the Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology - An Institutional Experience of 5 Years.

CONTEXT: Fine needle aspiration (FNA) plays a crucial role in the evaluation of patients with thyroid lesions. The Bethesda system for reporting thyroid cytopathology (TBSRTC) was designed with a mission to standardize the process of diagnosis and management of thyroid lesions by FNA cytology (FNAC). AIM: We aim to see the benefits of adopting TBSRTC, seek the cytological pitfalls in the diagnosis of thyroid FNAC, and identify the spectrum of thyroid lesions in our setup. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: This is a hospital-based cross-sectional study conducted from June 2009 to June 2014 of all thyroid FNACs with available histopathology reports. Cases were designated a specific diagnostic category according to TBSRTC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 109 cases were included in the study. Sixty-eight cases had been reported without using TBSRTC and were reviewed and reclassified according to TBSRTC seeking the common reasons for interpretative errors. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Data were analyzed using SPSS ver. 11.5. RESULTS: In both pre- and post-TBSRTC era, benign neoplasms constituted the major bulk. After the use of TBSRTC, there was increased ability to look for follicular neoplasms, improvement in making definitive diagnosis of the cases, decline in the suspicious category, and an improvement in diagnostic accuracy, and we were in line with the implied risk outlined by TBSRTC in most of the cases except the nondiagnostic or unsatisfactory category. CONCLUSION: Application of TBSRTC results in uniformity in reporting among pathologists and better interdisciplinary communication and patient management.