Oral Hygiene practices and Oral Health Related Quality of Life observed in patients reporting to Dental Institution in North India during COVID-19 Pandemic.

Objective: The purpose of the study was to ascertain Oral Health Related Quality of Life (OHRQOL) and evaluate oralhygiene practices in patients visiting a dental institution during COVID-19 time. Materials and methods: Face-to face interviews were conducted using a semi-structured close-ended questionnaire,assessing oral hygiene practices and self-reported oral problems perceived in last 6 months, using both Hindi and English version of Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) Questionnaire. Frequency distribution of oral hygiene practices were obtained, and Descriptive statistics computed the scores of OHIP-14. Kruskal-wallis test and Independent t-test were used to match the association of OHIP-14 with demographic variables. Multiple linear regression analysis was utilized to compute the association of OHIP-14 with independent variables, age and gender. Results: Subjective evaluation of OHRQOL (Oral Health Related Quality of Life) using OHIP-14 Porforma resulted in high score for physical pain and psychological discomfort but subjects expressed less discomfort in connection to functional limitation, physical disability, psychological discomfort, social disability and handicap domains of OHIP-14. With progressive increase in age OHRQOL worsened. Females had poor OHRQOL, with significant difference as compared to males. Gender and marital status observed variance in OHIP-14 with statistically significant difference (P <0.000). Conclusion: More than two-third subjects preferred cleaning their teeth using toothbrush and toothpaste. Therefore, COVID-19 consequently impacted OHRQOL of the general population.

Saliva as a Potential Diagnostic Tool to Evaluate Relationship between Oral Microbiome and Potentially Malignant Disorders for Prevention of Malignant Transformation.

OBJECTIVE: The current research was conducted with an aim to assess the association of oral microbiome with Potentially malignant disorders (PMDs) because usage of tobacco in any form alters the normal microbiome and shifts it towards dysbiosis. Thus, our definitive knowledge of the oral commensal bacteria and oral cancer link can definitely be used as a potential adjunct to early diagnosis and management of PMDs and prevent it's malignant transformation. STUDY DESIGN: A total of 100 individuals of minimum 18 years of age were included in the study which, were classified into 2 groups of tobacco users (50) and non-tobacco users (50). The tobacco users had a history of tobacco consumption for at least 5 years. RESULTS: The present study, showed highest percentage (72%) of anaerobic bacteria, followed by aerobic (22%) and lowest count of yeast (4%). CONCLUSION: The ecological shift to dysbiosis is a significant finding in oral carcinogenesis. Further investigation on a larger group of altered microbiomes will definitely help in establishing relationship of altered microbiome and PMDs, which can help in appropriate treatment and better prognosis.

Oral Health Status of Middle-Aged (45-55 Years) Rural Women: A Cross-Sectional Study from North India.

AIM: This study aimed to assess the oral hygiene practices and oral health status of middle aged (45-55 years) women residing in rural areas of Ambala district (Haryana). MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 79 villages were selected using simple random sampling technique through an online randomizer. The study participants (780) were selected through convenience sampling and oral health status was (dental caries, periodontal status, prosthetic needs, and dental fluorosis) recorded on a self-structured format based on World Health Organization Criteria (WHO, 1997). Group comparisons were done by using Chi-square test for categorical data. RESULTS: In the present study, 69.2% of the study participants used toothbrush and toothpaste for cleaning teeth. Women in the age group of 45-50 years had lower mean Decayed, Missing and Filled Teeth (7.80 ± 5.21) when compared with the age group of 51-55 years (9.77 ± 6.16). Ninety-eight percentage of the women were in need of dental prosthesis. Among the study participants, 56.5% had 4-5 mm loss of attachment (LOA) and 23.2% had 6-8 mm of LOA. Difference between the need for multiunit dental prosthesis among the age groups (45-50 years) and (51-55 years) was statistically significant (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Thus middle-aged women residing in rural area have high oral care need; however, there is quite a gap between the need for dental care and the amount of dental care utilized.