Evaluation of palatal donor site haemostasis and wound healing after free gingival graft surgery.

AIM: Evaluating effectiveness of a medicinal plant extract (MPE) in achieving haemostasis and early wound healing at free gingival graft (FGG) donor site in a randomized controlled fashion. METHODS: Forty patients requiring FGG at lower anterior area were randomly assigned into two groups. FGG was performed to all patients and following graft procurement; wet gauze (WG) was applied alone (control: WG group) or with MPE (test: MPE + WG group) for haemostasis. Donor site working time, bleeding (BLE), colour match (CM), pain, epithelization (EP) and sensation loss (SL) were evaluated. RESULTS: Thirty-three participants completed a 6-month period study. In the test group, primary BLE was shorter (p < 0.001) and fewer individuals showed secondary BLE during 3 days (p < 0.001). During the 6 days, pain scores were higher in WG patients (p < 0.05). Later on, no inter-group difference was observed. EP was relatively faster (p < 0.001) and CM was slightly better (p < 0.05) in MPE + WG group. CONCLUSION: MPE provided faster and continuous haemostasis that made a positive contribution to the early soft tissue healing to some extent but due to limitations; further trials are needed to demonstrate the efficiency of this material.

One-year clinical evaluation of Quixfil and Gradia Direct composite restorative materials in posterior teeth.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the 12 month clinical performances of two different posterior composites in Class I and Class II restorations. METHODS: Class I and class II cavities of 62 patients, 74 Quixfil (Dentsply/ Xeno V) and 68 Gradia Direct (GC America/G bond) composite restorations were placed by two dentists. Only small and medium-sized cavities were included in the study. Independent evaluations were performed at baseline (one week), after three months, six months, and one year, by one trained examiner using the modified U.S. Public Health Service rating criteria. Color match, marginal integrity, anatomical form, surface roughness, marginal or interfacial staining, postoperative sensitivity, and secondary caries were evaluated. RESULTS: Both restorative materials showed only minor changes, and no differences were detected between their performance at baseline and after 12 months. Postoperative sensitivity was observed in only one Quixfil restoration. In regard to the clinical performance, there was no statistically significant difference between the materials used. CONCLUSIONS: Both materials showed good clinical results with dominant alpha scores at the end of 12 months.

Halitosis: From diagnosis to management.

Halitosis is formed by volatile molecules which are caused because of pathological or nonpathological reasons and it originates from an oral or a non-oral source. It is very common in general population and nearly more than 50% of the general population have halitosis. Although halitosis has multifactorial origins, the source of 90% cases is oral cavity such as poor oral hygiene, periodontal disease, tongue coat, food impaction, unclean dentures, faulty restorations, oral carcinomas, and throat infections. Halitosis affects a person's daily life negatively, most of people who complain about halitosis refer to the clinic for treatment but in some of the people who can suffer from halitosis, there is no measurable halitosis. There are several methods to determine halitosis. Halitosis can be treated if its etiology can be detected rightly. The most important issue for treatment of halitosis is detection etiology or determination its source by detailed clinical examination. Management may include simple measures such as scaling and root planning, instructions for oral hygiene, tongue cleaning, and mouth rinsing. The aim of this review was to describe the etiological factors, prevalence data, diagnosis, and the therapeutic mechanical and chemical approaches related to halitosis.

Human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome knowledge among high school students in Kirikkale province of Turkey.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of the present study was to assess the existing level of knowledge of high school children about human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) and the sources of their information. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in two high schools in Kirikkale, Turkey and data were collected by a self-administered questionnaire. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to obtain a representative sample. RESULTS: Four hundred and seventy three participants; 230 males and 243 females were analyzed. Their ages ranged from 15 to 19 years with a mean age of 16.81 ± 1.27. 92.2% of the students claimed to have heard about HIV/AIDS prior to the study with slightly more females than males. Although with some misconceptions, majority of the participants knew that HIV is not transmitted by sharing meals, casual contact, and sleeping in the same room and using the same bathroom. 93.4% identified HIV/AIDS as a life-threatening disease and 27% believe that there is a cure for AIDS. 64% and 22.8% respectively believed that the people can protect themselves by using condoms and by avoiding sexual contact. Internet was preponderantly claimed as the most important source of information about HIV/AIDS. CONCLUSION: Empirical evidence from this study suggests that the students have a fairly high knowledge of HIV/AIDS. This is not without some misconceptions about the prognosis of the disease. Internet was the major source of HIV/AIDS information.

Dens evaginatus on maxillary first premolar: Report of a rare clinical case.

Dens evaginatus (DE) is an odontogenic developmental anomaly that can be defined as a tubercle or protuberance from the involved surface of the affected tooth consisting of an outer layer of enamel, a core of dentin, and may contain a slender extension of pulp tissue. Early diagnosis and management of DE is important in order to prevent occlusal interference, compromised esthetics, carious developmental grooves, periodontal problems due to excessive occlusal forces, or irritation of the tongue during speech and mastication. DE usually affects the mandibular second premolars as an accessory cusp or a protuberance between the buccal and lingual cusps. Reports of DE on maxillary premolar are rare in the literature. We report one such extremely rare case of DE on maxillary first premolar.

Radiographic study of the prevalence of dens invaginatus in a sample set of Turkish dental patients.

AIM: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of dens invaginatus in a sample of Turkish dental patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The sample included 6, 912 panoramic radiographs from different Turkish dental patients. The ages of the patients ranged from 18 to 50 years. A tooth was considered having dens invaginatus if an infolding of a radiopaque ribbon-like structure equal in density to enamel was seen extending from the cingulum into the root canal. Maxillary and mandibular teeth were evaluated on panoramic radiographs to determine the type of dens invaginatus using Oehlers' classification. RESULTS: The overall incidence of patients with dens invaginatus was 0.17%. Dens invaginatus were detected in 15 teeth of a total of 192 150 teeth to give a tooth prevalence of 0.008%. Maxillary lateral incisors were most commonly affected teeth in the mouth (80% of cases), followed by maxillary canine teeth (20% of cases). The bilateral incidence of a symmetrical distribution was 25%. CONCLUSION: The occurrence of dens invaginatus among this Turkish population was rare. Attention should be paid to the presence of dens invaginatus and the treatment problems associated with it.