Prosthetic rehabilitation of intraoral defects in patients with rhino-orbital-cerebral-mucormycosis: A systematic review.

AIM: This study aimed to systematically review the frequency and type of intraoral prosthetic rehabilitation in patients with rhino-orbital-cerebral-mucormycosis (ROCM). SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Systematic review following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An electronic search was conducted in databases including PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Case reports that documented prosthetic rehabilitation following surgery in patients with ROCM were included. This review was registered under the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews CRD42021262284. Assessment of the quality of the included studies was done using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist for Case reports, which comprised of an eight-item checklist. The recorded observations were organized and subjected to analysis. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Qualitative analysis was used. RESULTS: Among the 25 case reports, type IId defect was the most common. Three types of prosthetic treatments were rendered, with the obturator being the most common choice of rehabilitation, followed by implant-retained obturator overdenture and fixed implant-supported prosthesis. Patients undergoing implant-based rehabilitation exhibited a 100% survival rate for implants, with follow-up periods spanning from 6 months to 3 years. No prosthetic complications were reported in any of the included case reports. CONCLUSIONS: The prevailing defect type identified was IId (48%), while the treatment of choice most frequently employed was an obturator (84%). However, with limited evidence available at present, further research is required to draw more definitive conclusions.

Dental Caries and Brushing Techniques Attitude in School Students: An Original Research.

Introduction: Oral health plays an important role in the overall wellness of an individual. Hence in our study, we aim to evaluate the awareness and knowledge about dental caries and pattern of brushing among secondary school students. Materials and Methods: We conducted a questionnaire-based survey among 200 secondary school students to estimate their awareness and knowledge about dental caries and brushing pattern. Only those students with at least one filled, missing, or decayed tooth were considered. The data was presented as percentages. Results: We observed that knowledge regarding dental caries among students was 72.5%. 75.5% students had good knowledge of brushing teeth; nonetheless 30% brushed their teeth twice. Only 21.5% students visited the dental clinic. Conclusion: Though good knowledge about dental caries and brushing was appreciated among the students, very few students practiced good oral hygiene habits. Promotion of oral hygiene habits should be motivated at the school level.

Evaluation of the efficacy of different intracanal medicaments against Candida albicans and Enterococcus faecalis - An In-Vitro study.

Aim: This study aims to evaluate the antimicrobial efficacy of certain intracanal medicaments against Candida albicans and Enterococcus faecalis. Methods: Freshly extracted 120 single rooted mandibular premolars were selected for the study. Teeth were decoronated and cleaning and shaping was done up to F3 universal protaper system and were divided mainly into two groups: Candida albicans (C. albicans) (n = 60) and Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis) (n = 60). The medicaments include: G1: chlorhexidine + calcium hydroxide, G2: sodium hypochlorite + calcium hydroxide, G3: 2% chlorhexidine gel, G4: octenisept, G5: 0.1% octenisept solution + calcium hydroxide, and G6: physiologic saline (n = 5). Teeth were contaminated with Enterococcus faecalis and Candida albicans which were cultured, respectively, in brain heart infusion and Sabouraud's dextrose agar for 21 days followed by intracanal medication and colony forming units were counted on the second and seventh day. Statistical analysis was done using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Tukey's post hoc test. Results: Against C. albicans, CHX + CH, 2% CHX gel, 0.1% octenidine (OCT) gel and OCT + CH showed statistically significant differences on the 2nd and 7th day. But against Enterococcus faecalis, only 0.1% OCT gel and 2% CHX gel showed statistically significant differences on the 2nd and 7th day. Among all the groups, 0.1% OCT gel and 2% CHX gel showed predominant antimicrobial efficacy. Conclusion: From the limitations of the current study, all the medicaments showed antimicrobial effect against Candida albicans and Enterococcus faecalis on the 2nd and 7th day with higher microbial inhibition on the 7th day.

Meta-Analyses of Microarray Datasets Identifies ANO1 and FADD as Prognostic Markers of Head and Neck Cancer.

The head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) transcriptome has been profiled extensively, nevertheless, identifying biomarkers that are clinically relevant and thereby with translational benefit, has been a major challenge. The objective of this study was to use a meta-analysis based approach to catalog candidate biomarkers with high potential for clinical application in HNSCC. Data from publically available microarray series (N = 20) profiled using Agilent (4X44K G4112F) and Affymetrix (HGU133A, U133A_2, U133Plus 2) platforms was downloaded and analyzed in a platform/chip-specific manner (GeneSpring software v12.5, Agilent, USA). Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and clustering analysis was carried out iteratively for segregating outliers; 140 normal and 277 tumor samples from 15 series were included in the final analysis. The analyses identified 181 differentially expressed, concordant and statistically significant genes; STRING analysis revealed interactions between 122 of them, with two major gene clusters connected by multiple nodes (MYC, FOS and HSPA4). Validation in the HNSCC-specific database (N = 528) in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) identified a panel (ECT2, ANO1, TP63, FADD, EXT1, NCBP2) that was altered in 30% of the samples. Validation in treatment naïve (Group I; N = 12) and post treatment (Group II; N = 12) patients identified 8 genes significantly associated with the disease (Area under curve>0.6). Correlation with recurrence/re-recurrence showed ANO1 had highest efficacy (sensitivity: 0.8, specificity: 0.6) to predict failure in Group I. UBE2V2, PLAC8, FADD and TTK showed high sensitivity (1.00) in Group I while UBE2V2 and CRYM were highly sensitive (>0.8) in predicting re-recurrence in Group II. Further, TCGA analysis showed that ANO1 and FADD, located at 11q13, were co-expressed at transcript level and significantly associated with overall and disease-free survival (p<0.05). The meta-analysis approach adopted in this study has identified candidate markers correlated with disease outcome in HNSCC; further validation in a larger cohort of patients will establish their clinical relevance.