Effectiveness of a mouthrinse containing active ingredients in addition to chlorhexidine and triclosan compared with chlorhexidine and triclosan rinses on plaque, gingivitis, supragingival calculus and extrinsic staining.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the effectiveness of three different mouthrinses--chlorhexidine, triclosan + sodium fluoride and chlorhexidine + triclosan + sodium fluoride + zinc chloride--on plaque, calculus, gingivitis and stains and to evaluate the occurrence of adverse effects with these three treatments. METHODS: Forty-eight healthy subjects participated in a double-blind, randomized, parallel experiment and were randomly allocated to any one of the three experimental mouthrinses: group A (0.2% chlorhexidine (CHX) gluconate), group B (0.03% triclosan + 0.025% sodium fluoride (NaF) + 12% ethyl alcohol) or group C (0.2% CHX + 0.3% triclosan + 0.3% NaF + 0.09% Zn chloride (ZnCl(2)). All the subjects were assessed for gingivitis, plaque, supragingival calculus and extrinsic stains at baseline and at the end of the 21-day experimental period. RESULTS: There was a significant difference (P = 0.046) in the effectiveness for the prevention of gingivitis and plaque, with subjects of group A and group C presenting least and highest gingival and plaque scores, respectively. Significant differences (P = 0.03) were observed for the accumulation of supragingival calculus where the deposition of calculus in group A was nearly double that of the group B, and group B was most effective in the prevention of supragingival calculus. Highest deposition of extrinsic stains was in the group A followed by group C and group B. There was no significant difference between the three treatments for adverse events' occurrence. CONCLUSIONS: CHX mouthrinse was most effective in controlling plaque and gingivitis but caused greatest deposition of extrinsic stains. Supragingival calculus deposition was least in triclosan + NaF group followed by CHX + triclosan + NaF + ZnCl(2) and CHX. More than half of the subjects reported adverse events during the experimental phase.

Oral health related quality of life among children with parents and those with no parents.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL) and caries status between school children living with their parents and orphan children, and to assess the factors that influence the oral health related quality of life. METHODS: Study sample consisted of 279 school children living with their parents and 257 orphan children thus making a total sample of 536 school children. Sampling frame comprised of 12-15 year old children attending two upper primary public schools and two special schools for orphan children at Udaipur city, India. Clinical examination for caries status and personal interviews for oral health related quality of life were conducted by a single investigator. RESULTS: Children without parents presented poor scores for OHRQoL compared to those having parents. Caries status was significantly related to OHRQoL and its domains. Subjects with no caries reported good OHRQoL which deteriorated as the caries score increased. Children who never visited dentist reported poorer OHRQoL than regular visitors and males experienced better oral health quality of life than females. All the four variables (gender, group, dental visits and DMFT) entered the step wise linear regression analysis when the effect of each independent variable was adjusted for all others and were responsible for a variance of 21.6% for OHRQoL; however DMFT constituted the first best predictor which solely explained a variance 15.8%. CONCLUSIONS: Oral health related quality of life along with its domains differed significantly between children with and without parents. Furthermore, gender, dental visiting habits and caries status significantly influenced the OHRQoL.

Tooth cleaning frequency in relation to socio-demographic variables and personal hygiene measures among school children of Udaipur district, India.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to determine if frequency of tooth cleaning varies with social group, family size, bedtime and other personal hygiene habits among school children. METHODS: Target population comprised schoolchildren aged 8-16 years of Udaipur district attending public schools. A two stage cluster random sampling procedure was executed to collect the representative sample, consequently final sample size accounted to 852 children. Data were collected by means of structured questionnaires which consisted of questions related to oral hygiene habits including a few general hygiene habits, bed time, family size, family income and dental visiting habits. RESULTS: The results show that 30.5% of the total sample cleaned their teeth twice or more daily and there was no significant difference between the genders for tooth cleaning frequency. Logistic regression analysis revealed that older children and those having less than two siblings were more likely to clean their teeth twice a day than the younger ones and children with more than two siblings. Furthermore, frequency of tooth cleaning was significantly lower among children of parents with low level of education and less annual income as compared with those of high education and more annual income. In addition, tooth cleaning habits were more regular in children using tooth paste and regularly visiting to the dentist. CONCLUSIONS: This study observed that tooth cleaning is not an isolated behaviour, but is a part of multifarious pattern of various social and behavioural factors.

Dental health behaviour in relation to caries status among medical and dental undergraduate students of Udaipur district, India.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the caries status and oral hygiene behaviour of dental and medical students and to assess the influence of oral hygiene behaviour on the caries status. METHODS: A questionnaire survey was conducted to assess the knowledge, attitudes and behaviour along with clinical examination to asses the caries status. A total of 403 dental and medical students enrolled with Rajasthan University of Health Sciences of Udaipur district, India were recruited in the study. RESULTS: 56.4% of dental students brushed their teeth twice daily compared to 38.5% of medical students. There was no significant difference between the mean decayed components of males and females of dental stream, whereas among medical subjects, males had a higher decayed score than females (P = 0.012). The mean behaviour score obtained by dental students (19.38) was greater than that of medical students (18.34). Moreover, medical students presented a higher decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT) score (1.96) than dental students (1.16). Subjects who had a habit of brushing after every meal showed lower DMFT score (1.4) than those who brushed only once a day (1.64). Step-wise linear regression analysis revealed that course of education and final behaviour score were the best predictors for the DMFT status. CONCLUSION: This study revealed significant differences between the oral hygiene behaviour and caries status of dental and medical students; furthermore, caries status was significantly influenced by the oral hygiene behaviour.

Factors that effect dental caries status of medical students in Udaipur city, India.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of oral hygiene behaviour, dental anxiety, self assessed dental status and treatment necessity on dental caries status of medical students. METHODS: The study was conducted among 345 medical students of Udaipur city, India who had provision for free dental services and the study was based on a questionnaire which consisted of two parts, first part containing questions regarding self assessment of dental status and treatment necessity along with oral hygiene behaviour and the later part comprised of Corah Dental Anxiety scale (DAS). Clinical examination was based on the WHO caries diagnostic criteria. RESULTS: Females perceived greater dental anxiety than males. Individuals claiming poor dental status had higher mean decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT) score (6.67) than good (2.89) and fair (4.44). The mean decayed component among the anxious students (5.4) was almost twice that of less anxious (2.77) student population. DAS constituted the first major contributor for missing component followed by smoking status which alone explained a variance of 7.1%. The cumulative variance explained by all the independent variables on the DMFT status accounted to 56.4% with self assessed dental status alone contributing a variance of 44.9%. The most significant (P < 0.001) contributor for filled component was self assessed dental status (14.5%). CONCLUSIONS: Oral hygiene behaviour, dental anxiety, self assessed dental status and treatment necessity significantly affected the dental caries status of medical students.

Dental unit waterlines: source of contamination and cross-infection.

Dental chair units (DCUs) are used in the treatment of many patients throughout each day and microbial contamination of specific component parts is an important potential source of cross-infection. The quality of dental unit water is of considerable importance since patients and dental staff are regularly exposed to water and aerosols generated from the dental unit. This water hosts a diverse microflora of bacteria, yeasts, fungi, viruses, protozoa, unicellular algae and nematodes which may be contaminated with micro-organisms found in the biofilm formed due to water stagnation in the narrow-bore dental unit waterline (DUWL) tubings. The water thus contaminated, when used for various treatment procedures through dental handpieces, air/water/three-in-one syringe, etc., produces aerosols that can cause infection. The present review emphasises the risks of infection from DUWL and various water treatment procedures available to disinfect the DUWLs.

Determinants for oral hygiene and periodontal status among mentally disabled children and adolescents.

AIM: To assess the impact of socio-demographic and clinical variables on the oral hygiene and periodontal status in a sample of mentally disabled subjects. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Study sample comprised of 171 mentally disabled subjects attending a special school in Udaipur, India. Oral hygiene status was assessed by Simplified Oral Hygiene Index (OHI-S) and periodontal status by Community Periodontal Index. RESULTS: Stepwise linear regression analysis revealed that the best predictors in the descending order for oral hygiene index were disabled sibling, medical diagnosis, IQ level, education of mother and father. Having Down syndrome, less educated parents, poor economic status and a disabled sibling were the most important predictors for poor periodontal status. CONCLUSIONS: The present study highlighted that the oral hygiene and periodontal status of the present study population is poor and was influenced by medical diagnosis, IQ level, disabled sibling, parent's level of education and economic status.

Does dental anxiety influence oral health-related quality of life? Observations from a cross-sectional study among adults in Udaipur district, India

El artículo investiga el efecto de la ansiedad dental y hábitos de visitas al odontólogo, así como diversas variables sociodemográficas en calidad de vida relacionada con la salud oral. El estudio se realizó en sujetos de 15 a 54 años que viven en Udaipur, distrito de India.Los mejores predictores de ansiedad dental resultaron en orden descendente: ocupación, género, y educación. La ocupación (Profesionales) fue el mejor predictor para la ansiedad dental con una varianza de 6.8 porciento.