Evaluation of nitrous oxide-oxygen and triclofos sodium as conscious sedative agents.

BACKGROUND: Conscious sedation is used in the pediatric dentistry to reduce fear and anxiety in children and promote favorable treatment outcomes. To achieve them, the primary clinical need is for a well-tolerated, effective, and expedient analgesic and sedative agent that is safe to use. AIM: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of nitrous oxide-oxygen and triclofos sodium as conscious sedative agents in 5-10-year-old children. METHODOLOGY: Sixty children aged 5-10 years showing anxious, uncooperative, and apprehensive behavior were randomly divided and assigned into two groups (Groups A and B) such that Group A received 40% nitrous oxide-60% oxygen and Group B received triclofos sodium in the dose of 70 mg/kg body weight, given 30 min before the treatment procedure. During the whole course of sedation procedure, the response of the child was assessed using Houpt's behavior rating scale. The acceptance of route of drug administration by the patient and parent was also assessed. Data obtained were statistically evaluated using the Mann-Whitney U-test and Chi-square test. RESULTS: Children sedated with triclofos sodium were significantly more drowsy and disoriented compared to those sedated with nitrous oxide. The overall behavior of children in both the groups was similar. Good parental acceptance was observed for both the routes of administration. Patients accepted the oral route significantly better than inhalation route. CONCLUSION: Both nitrous oxide-oxygen and triclofos sodium were observed to be effective sedative agents, for successful and safe use in 5-10-year-old dental patients. Patients showed a good acceptance of the oral route compared to the inhalation route for sedation.

Congenital Insensitivity to Pain and Anhydrosis: Diagnostic and Therapeutic Dilemmas revisited.

First described in 1932 by Dearborn as 'congenital pure analgesia', congenital insensitivity to pain and anhydrosis (CIPA) or hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathy (HSAN) type IV is an extremely rare autosomal recessive disorder. A 7-year-old female child who is an established case of congenital insensitivity to pain and anhydrosis visited the department of pediatric medicine with osteoarthritic neuropathy. A multidisciplinary team approach was utilized to treat the child under general anesthesia. This article also discusses the diagnostic and therapeutic dilemmas involved in treating this type of children. How to cite this article: Ravichandra KS, Kandregula CR, Koya S, Lakhotia D. Congenital Insensitivity to Pain and Anhydrosis: Diagnostic and Therapeutic Dilemmas revisited. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2015;8(1):75-81.

Emotional Intelligence among Dental Undergraduate Students: An Indispensable and Ignored Aspect in Dentistry.

BACKGROUND: Emotional intelligence (EI) is a measure of pure intelligence of cognitive ability that translates psychological knowledge into terms that are useable by people not professionally trained in psychology, like dentists. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional, self-administered, structured questionnaire survey in English was distributed among 186 undergraduate students to assess their EI. It consisted of 30 questions, 5 each to assess the self-awareness, empathy, self-confidence, motivation, social control, and self-competency. All the participants were asked to answer each question, anything between virtually never to virtually always using the rating scale 1-5. RESULTS: The collected data were analyzed using statistical software SPSS version 20 (Chicago, Inc.). The mean, median, and mode for various responses between the groups were compared. Only 11.55% of the participants had good EI with scores above 20 in all domains, while a majority of 54.02% proved to have average EI. A mere 2.05% showed to have very poor EI and 28.84% demonstrated poor EI. CONCLUSIONS: The study showed that only 11.55% had a good EI and a major percentage of the students require immediate intervention to improve their EI.

Evaluation of penetration depth of a commercially available resin infiltrate into artificially created enamel lesions: An in vitro study.

BACKGROUND: Early enamel lesions have a potential to re-mineralize and prevent caries progress. AIM: The aim of the following study is to determine the depth of penetration of low viscosity resin into artificially created enamel lesions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A sample of 20 sound premolars, indicated for orthodontic extraction, formed the study group. The teeth were coated with a nail varnish, leaving a window of 4 mm × 4 mm, on buccal surfaces of sound, intact enamel. Each tooth was subsequently immersed in demineralizing solution for 4 days to produce artificial enamel lesions. The demineralized area was then infiltrated with low viscosity resin (Icon Infiltrant, DMG, Hamburg, Germany) as per the manufacturer's instructions. All the restored teeth were then immersed in methylene blue dye for 24 h at 37°C. Teeth were then sectioned longitudinally through the lesion into two halves. The sections were observed under stereomicroscope at ×80 magnification and depth of penetration of the material was measured quantitatively using Motic software. RESULTS: The maximum depth of penetration of the resin material was 6.06 ± 3.31 µm. CONCLUSIONS: Resin infiltration technique appears to be effective in sealing enamel lesions and has great potential for arresting white spot lesions.