Radiographic evaluation of bone density in dentulous and edentulous patients in Riyadh, KSA.

BACKGROUND: The Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) is currently being used as the most common diagnostic method to evaluate the bone density of the maxilla and the mandible for planning dental implant. Aim: The aim of the study is to check the quantitative alveolar bone density in complete or partial edentulous and dentulous male and female patients among Riyadh sample population in Saudi Arabia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study involved a cross-sectional analysis of 231 consecutive CBCT images of 231 different patients (115 males and 116 females). The scans were of Saudi National patients who were partially or completely edentulous without any bone infections in the maxilla and the mandible. The findings are presented as descriptive statistics and inferential statistics: student -t-test for two group means, ANOVA for three groups, Post-hoc LSD test for multiple comparisons, Levene statistics for testing the homogeneity of variances and a statistical significance at 5% level. RESULTS: Comparison of mean alveolar bone density in maxillae of dentulous male smokers showed a statistically significant difference for bucco-cortical plate and cancellous bone among different regions. In dentulous male nonsmokers, no significant difference was observed for maxillary regions, while in mandibular areas, a statistically significant difference was seen for buccal cortex, palatal cortex, and cancellous bone among different regions. While studying the scans of female dentulous patients, a statistically significant difference was observed in alveolar bone density for all the areas. CONCLUSION: Evaluation of bone density is an important step in treatment planning and this study was aimed to provide insight into bone density patterns of population in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Further similar studies in different populations can help in planning for more efficient treatment outcomes.

Comparison of efficacy among various topical anesthetics: An approach towards painless injections in periodontal surgery.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Local anesthetics (LAs) are most commonly used agents in dentistry. They are used to prevent the pain and nociception generated during dental procedures. Since pain associated at the time of injection of LA is uncomfortable, most of the dentists are on pursuit of painless administration of LA injection and use of topical anesthetics prior to the injection has proven effective in reducing anxiety and pain to the patient. The aim of this study is to compare pain responses after application of three types of topical anesthetics with control in the patients referred for periodontal full mouth flap surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 83 patients (42 males and 41 females) participated in the study with age group ranging from 30 to 50 years. The present study is to evaluate the efficacy of three topical anesthetics (Precaine gel, Benzocaine topical paste and Lignocaine spray) before infiltration in altering visual analog scale (VAS) scores of pain during LA injection. The statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 15.0 software. Repeated analysis of variance was performed to know the effect of each variable and reveal statistical significance. RESULTS: Results revealed that Precaine gel had least VAS score compared with other topical anesthetics. CONCLUSION: From the present study, it can be concluded that procaine gel is a better than other topical LA agents, as the number of studies on this subject is rare and clinical results are mixed, further studies are required with a larger sample before its routine application in our field.

Efficacy of curcumin in treating palatal changes associated with reverse smoking / Eficácia da curcumina no tratamento de alterações do palato associadas ao fumo reverso

Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of curcumin preparation on the palatal changes associated with reversesmoking. Materials and methods: The study sample was divided into two groups with ten reverse smokingpatients each. Group A patients were advised to use curcumin oral gel on an acrylic palatal plate whereasgroup B patients were instructed about the benefits of smoking cessation. Clinical and cytological smearexaminations were performed at the first visit and at the end of the third visit. Data obtained was subjectedto statistical analysis. Results: Evident improvement with reduction in size and severity of the clinical lesionwas observed among the study group at both first and third visits (p < 0.001, significant). However, thecytological appearances remained the same in all the cases, except for three cases from the study group,which demonstrated a transition from moderate dysplastic features to milder dysplastic features (p = 0.28,not significant). Conclusion: Due to its diverse array of molecular targets, curcumin affords great potentialas a therapeutic agent for precancerous and cancerous conditions. Results from our pilot study have clearlyshown that curcumin is effective in the treatment of the palatal changes associated with reverse smoking.

Objetivos: Avaliar a eficácia da curcumina sobre as alterações palatais associadas ao fumo reverso. Materiaise métodos: A amostra foi dividida em dois grupos com dez pacientes fumantes cada. No grupo A os pacientesforam aconselhados a usar o gel de curcumina oral em uma placa de acrílico palatina, enquanto os pacientesdo grupo B foram instruídos sobre os benefícios da cessação tabágica. Exames de esfregaço citológico e examesclínicos foram realizados na primeira visita e no fim da terceira visita. Os dados obtidos foram submetidosà análise estatística. Resultados: Observou-se evidente melhora na redução do tamanho e na gravidadeda lesão clínica no grupo de estudo em ambas as visitas (p < 0,001, significativo). No entanto, a aparênciacitológica permaneceu a mesma em todos os casos, exceto em três casos do grupo de estudo, os quais demonstraramuma transição de características displásicas moderadas para leves (p = 0,28; não significativo).Conclusão: A curcumina, em virtude de seu conjunto diversificado de alvos moleculares, proporciona umgrande potencial como agente terapêutico para as condições cancerosas e pré-cancerosas. Os resultados donosso estudo piloto mostraram claramente que a curcumina é eficaz no tratamento das alterações palataisassociadas ao fumo reverso.

Van der Woude syndrome- a syndromic form of orofacial clefting.

Van der Woude Syndrome is the most common form of syndromic orofacial clefting, accounting for 2% of all cases, and has the phenotype that most closely resembles the more common non-syndromic forms. The syndrome has an autosomal dominant hereditary pattern with variable expressivity and a high degree of penetrance with cardinal clinical features of lip pits with a cleft lip, cleft palate, or both. This case report describes van der Woude syndrome in a 19 year old male patient with a specific reference to the various aspects of this condition, as clinical appearance, etiological factors (genetic aspects), differential diagnosis, investigative procedures and management. Key words:Cleft palate, cleft lip, lip pits, van der Woude syndrome, syndromic clefting.

Knowledge, attitude and practice on hepatitis B prevention among dental professionals in India

Aim: To obtain comprehensive information about the knowledge, attitude and practices towardshepatitis B infection by dental health care professionals, and their effort to prevent the transmissionamong the patients. Methods: A cross sectional survey conducted among 540 dental health careworkers in a dental college and private practitioners in and around Bhimavarm, India. A selfassessmentquestionnaire with queries on levels, namely knowledge and practices, and protectivemeasures to prevent transmission of hepatitis B was recorded and statistically analyzed. Results:Frequency distribution scores of knowledge, attitude and practice in relation to hepatitis B infectionrevealed that the faculty members, the students under training along with, nurses, hygienists andlab technicians were relatively aware of hepatitis B vaccination, precautions and principles dropletisolation procedures to prevent transmission of hepatitis B infection. Conclusions: The resultsshowed that the dental professionals had good knowledge and attitude regarding hepatitis B andits transmission, but that the infection control measures among the health care professionals aremoderately poor and an educational program on isolation precautions can further enhance theselevels and thereby, reducing the risk of infection transmission.