Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Parents toward Their Children's Oral Health and its Influence on the Dental Caries Status of 5-10-year-old Schoolchildren in Nashik, Maharashtra: A Cross-sectional Study.

Aim: The aim of the present study is to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices of parents toward their children's oral health and its influence on the dental caries status of 5-10 years old schoolchildren in Nashik, Maharashtra. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted among parents of 5-10 years old school children who visited our hospital. A total of 504 children and their parents were included in the study. Clinical examination of children was done using DMFT and deft index. A self-designed questionnaire was given to the parents to assess their knowledge, attitude and practices toward their children's oral health. Statistical analysis was performed using EPI INFO version 6.04. ANOVA test was used to test the association between dental caries status and KAP. p -value < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: The mean DMFT was 1.6 ± 1.5 and mean deft was 6.6 ± 3.4. Majority of the parents (64.9%) showed fair knowledge, attitude, and practices. There was no significant difference between mean DMFT/deft and parental KAP. Conclusion: Overall the parents in the present study had reasonable KAP about oral health of their children. Deficient areas of oral health awareness include importance of milk teeth and their treatment, regular dental visits, and dietary practices. Clinical significance: Oral health awareness programs should be directed toward parents and should emphasize on topics such as importance of milk teeth and their treatment, regular dental visits, and dietary practices. How to cite this article: Patil AN, Karkare S, Jadhav HS, et al. Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Parents toward Their Children's Oral Health and its Influence on the Dental Caries Status of 5-10-year-old School-children in Nashik, Maharashtra: A Cross-sectional Study. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2022;15(S-2):S126-S130.

Reinforcing the cervical dentin with bonded materials to improve fracture resistance of endodontically treated roots.

Introduction: Endodontic procedure leads to the loss of tooth structure resulting in fractures. Intraorifice barriers of bonded restorative materials placed in the cervical third of tooth may help in increasing fracture resistance. Materials and Methods: Human mandibular premolars (n = 75) underwent decoronation to adjust working length at 14 mm and prepared up to F3. They were obturated using gutta-percha and resin sealer AH-Plus and randomly divided into five groups (n = 15), Group 1: Control obturated with gutta-percha only. Groups 2, 3, 4, and 5 had placement of intraorifice barriers after the removal of 3 mm coronal gutta-percha such that Group 2: RMGI, Group 3: Self-adhering flowable composite, Group 4: Bulkfill Flowable Composite, and Group 5: mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA). Mounting of specimens was done in acrylic resin to expose coronal 3 mm and tested using the universal testing machine. Results: Group 1 (control) showed least fracture strength among all groups. Among those with intraorifice barriers, Group 2 Resin-modified glass ionomer cement showed maximum fracture resistance followed by Group 4 (Bulkfill composite) and Group 5 (self-adhering flowable composite) and least by Group 5 (MTA). Conclusion: The type of intraorifice barrier had a significant impact on root fracture resistance.

Comparing Sterilization of Endodontic Hand Files by Four Different Methods: An In Vitro Study.

Aim and objective: The aim and objective of this study is to compare the efficacy of four various approaches of sterilizing endodontic hand files via Autoclave, Glass-bead sterilizer, Glutaraldehyde solution, and Diode laser. Materials and methods: Fifty-two k-files of size #25 and length 21 mm were taken for the study. All the 52 files were presterilized in an endodontic instrument box via autoclave. Bacillus stearothermophilus spore suspension was prepared and all the presterilized files were contaminated with stearothermophilus spore suspension in a sterile Petri dish under vacuum hood safety. Later, the test files were randomly divided into four groups of 13 each and subjected to four different methods of sterilization- Autoclave, Glass-bead sterilizer, Glutaraldehyde solution, and Diode laser. Files were then be placed in thioglycollate media containing test tubes and incubated in an incubator at 55°C and checked for turbidity at 3 days and 21 days. Result: The result revealed that there was no Turbidity present in test tubes on both the 3rd and 21st day for autoclave. In all the remaining sterilization procedures there was some amount of turbidity present. In terms of sterilization provided autoclave provides complete sterilization and glutaraldehyde solution is the least effective.The specificity of Bacillus stearothermophilus was then confirmed with a sugar test viz., starch hydrolysis test which gave a positive result confirming the presence of Bacillus stearothermophilus. Conclusion: We can conclude that autoclave is the perfect process of sterilization providing 100% sterility and although Glass-bead didn't provide 100% sterility, it can be used as an alternative if autoclave is not available. How to cite this article: Ameer B, Khatib MS, Peerzade SM, et al. Comparing Sterilization of Endodontic Hand Files by Four Different Methods: An In Vitro Study. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2022;15(2):149-152.

Psychological Distress during COVID-19 Lockdown among Dental Students and Practitioners in India: A Cross-Sectional Survey.

OBJECTIVE: In response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the Indian Government imposed a countrywide lockdown of 21 days from March 25 to April 14, 2020, which was further extended to 60 days. The sudden draconian measures changed the delivery of dental education and practice throughout the country. The study aimed to screen for depression during the COVID-19 lockdown and the factors associated with it among dental students and practitioners in highly COVID-19 infected states of India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The current study is an online cross-sectional survey performed in Delhi NCR, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu during May 2020. The participants were recruited by convenience sampling. The main outcome measure was the screening of depression using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), which was categorized as mild, moderate, and severe depression. The data analysis was performed with IBM SPSS Version 23.0. A multivariable logistic regression model was fitted to identify the independent predictors of depression. RESULTS: In total, 335 dental students and practitioners participated in the survey. Among this, a significant number of the dental students (54%) and practitioners (44%) scored moderate to severe depression in terms of depression severity according to the PHQ-9 scores. Those who were screened depressed were likely to be males and younger than 30 years old. The results of correlation analysis indicated that worry about the professional growth, concerns regarding setbacks in clinical and research experiences, previous history of mental health issues, and fear of contracting COVID-19 from patients were positively related to higher depression scores in students. Moreover, for practitioners, fear of contracting COVID-19 from the patients scored higher levels of depression. The practitioners who reported less concern about their practice/job post COVID-19 lockdown and those who were able to meet their financial expenses during the lockdown were the least likely to be depressed. CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate a high level of depression among a significant number of dental students and practitioners. It is important to monitor and address the mental health needs of dental students and practitioners during and after the lockdown.

Root canal debridement efficacy of heated sodium hypochlorite in conjunction with passive ultrasonic agitation: An ex vivo study.

Background. This study aimed to investigate the endodontic debridement efficacy of different sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) irrigation regimens with and without ultrasonic agitation, followed by ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) via scanning electron microscopy (SEM) after using a rotary instrumentation system. Methods. Mandibular premolars (n=50) were randomly divided into five experimental groups (n=10) for root canal instrumentation with ProTaper Universal rotary system up to F3. The root canal system was treated with intracanal-heated NaOCl (100°C) or preheated NaOCl (55°C), followed by ultrasonic agitation and EDTA treatment. Samples irrigated with conventional needle irrigation (CNI) using normal saline solution were used as controls. Debridement efficacy was analyzed by SEM. A five-point scale was used to estimate the presence/absence of debris for each canal segment (coronal, middle, and apical). The results were analyzed using one-way ANOVA and post hoc Tukey tests (P<0.05). Results. The experimental groups exhibited less debris compared to CNI with saline (P<0.05). The amount of debris decreased significantly for the group with NaOCl intracanal heating compared to extraoral heating. Ultrasonic agitation further enhanced the root canal debridement efficacy of NaOCl. Conclusion. In summary, intracanal heating of NaOCl with and without ultrasonic agitation followed by EDTA appears to be a promising method to flush debris from the root canal system.