Clinical and psychological impact of lip repositioning surgery in the management of excessive gingival display.

Background: Excessive gingival display (EGD), also known as a gummy smile, is characterized by overexposure of the maxillary gingiva on smiling. EGD can cause embarrassment and reduce patient satisfaction. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical and psychological effects of lip repositioning surgery on the management of EGD. Methodology: This experimental study enrolled 14 patients with EGD who had undergone a modified lip repositioning technique, which comprised moving two strips of mucosa bilaterally to the maxillary labial frenum and repositioning the new mucosal margin coronally. The extent of gingival display (GD), lip mobility (LM), total lip length (TLL), lip length (LL), and internal lip length (ILL) was measured at baseline and 6 months postoperatively. The pre-operative psychological assessment was conducted using the social appearance anxiety scale (SAAS) scores, whereas the postoperative assessment was conducted using SAAS and visual analog scale (VAS) scores at 1 week, 3 months, and 6 months postoperatively. Results: Among the clinical parameters, TLL increased by 2.0 ± 1.038, LL increased by 2.28 ± 0.99, ILL reduced by 2.78 ± 1.36, LM reduced by 3.21 ± 1.12, and GD reduced by 3.14 ± 0.77 at 6 months postoperatively. Among the psychological parameters, SAAS reduced by 31.42 ± 1.907 from the baseline to 6 months, whereas the VAS score reduced to 3.14 ± 0.27 at 6 months postoperatively. Conclusion: A significant reduction in GD, which is largely dependent on strict case selection, pain, and social anxiety was observed in this study, indicating that lip repositioning surgery is effective in managing EGD.

Prevalence of Maxillary and Mandibular Frenal Attachment and Its Association with Age, Gender, and Oral Hygiene Status in Nepalese Population Seeking Dental Treatment.

Objective: Frenum attachments are folds of mucous membrane that connect the lips to the alveolar mucosa and underlying periosteum. Aberrant positioning of the maxillary and mandibular labial frenum can lead to various clinical issues, including mucogingival problems and midline diastema. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of maxillary and mandibular frenal attachments and their association with age, gender, and oral hygiene status in the Nepalese population seeking dental treatment. Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted over a period of 6 months, from February 2023 to August 2023, among patients visiting the Department of Periodontology and Oral Implantology, aged 6 years and above, after obtaining official permission from the Institutional Review Committee (IRC-KUSMS Approval No. 8/23). The study collected data on morphological variations of frenal attachment and various periodontal parameters such as Oral Hygiene Index-Simplified (OHI-S), pocket depth, recession, and midline diastema in both arches. Descriptive statistics, including frequency and percentage, were used to analyze the data. The χ2-test was employed to determine the correlation between gender and types of frenulum attachment, while analysis of variance was used to assess the association of frenal attachments with oral hygiene status. Results: Among 380 patients, the prevalence of frenal attachment was as follows: gingival 248 (65.30%), mucosal 71 (18.70%), papillary 42 (11.10%), and papillary penetrating 19 (5.00%) in the maxilla, and mucosal 225 (59.20%) and gingival 155 (40.78%) in mandible. Among the different morphological variations of frenal attachments, normal frenum was the most common, accounting for 231 cases (60.80%), followed by frenum with a nodule, with 101 cases (26.60%). Conclusions: The study found significant associations between frenal attachment and gender, as well as oral hygiene status. The prevalence of frenal attachments in this study was comparable to findings from previous research.

Early Implant Placement with Immediate Loading in the Mandibular Anterior Region: A Rapid Solution to Edentulism.

The aim of this article is to present the case of an early implant placement with immediate loading in the mandibular anterior region as a rapid solution to edentulism. A 40-year-old healthy male patient reported with a chief complaint of loosening of tooth in the lower front region of the jaw. On intraoral examination, there was a mobile tooth with respect to 41. The mobile tooth was extracted, and early implant placement was done along with Bio-Oss bone grafts to fill the jumping distance with no barrier membrane. Immediate provisionalisation was done on early-placed dental implants. After 5 months of the healing period, the final implant-level impressions were made, and the provisional crown was replaced with the final zirconia crown. This case report demonstrates satisfactory esthetic and functional outcomes along with various other advantages.

Peri-implantitis Update: Risk Indicators, Diagnosis, and Treatment.

Despite the success rates of dental implants, peri-implantitis presents as the most common complication in implant dentistry. This review discusses various factors associated with peri-implantitis and various available treatments, highlighting their advantages and disadvantages. Relevant articles on peri-implantitis published in English were reviewed from August 2010 to April 2020 in MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus, and ScienceDirect. The identified risk indicators of peri-implant diseases are plaque, smoking, history of periodontitis, surface roughness, residual cement, emergence angle >30 degrees, radiation therapy, keratinized tissue width, and function time of the implant, sex, and diabetes. Peri-implantitis treatments can be divided into nonsurgical (mechanical, antiseptic, and antibiotics), surface decontamination (chemical and laser), and surgical (air powder abrasive, resective, and regenerative). However, mechanical debridement alone may fail to eliminate the causative bacteria, and this treatment should be combined with other treatments (antiseptics and surgical treatment). Surface decontamination using chemical agents may be used as an adjuvant treatment; however, the definitive clinical benefit is yet not proven. Laser treatment may result in a short-term decrease in periodontal pocket depth, while air powder abrasive is effective in cleaning a previously contaminated implant surface. Surgical elimination of a pocket, bone recontouring and plaque control are also effective for treating peri-implantitis. The current evidence indicates that regenerative approaches to treat peri-implant defects are unpredictable.

Quackery in Dental Practice in Nepal.

Quackery and fraud in dental practice, seen in many countries, is also rampant in Nepal, and they are unethical practices. There is a growing need for strict enforcement of government policy measures to eliminate quackery and fraudulent dental practice in Nepal. The government should mobilize all dental workforce (dental specialists, dentists, and dental auxiliaries) and aware of their responsibilities and limitations. This article presents a brief review showing some cases of malpractice in dentistry in Nepal.

Dental Practice during COVID-19 in Nepal: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study.

INTRODUCTION: Currently, coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has become pandemic and spread globally. In Nepal, the number of COVID-19 is increasing day-by-day. This research was done to find out the impact of COVID-19 on dentists, patients, and dental practice in Nepal. METHODS: This study is a cross-sectional study conducted using an online survey from May 10 to17, 2020. A questionnaire was designed and uploaded in Freeonlinesurveys.com. Following ethical approval, the questionnaire was distributed among 500 dentists, and 406 dentists participated in the study. The survey link was dispersed to the Nepali dentists through social media and e-mail, and the results of the responses were received online. The questionnaire consisted of a total of 34 closed-ended questions containing three parts; demographic details, knowledge of dentists on COVID-19, and the impact of COVID-19 on dentists, patients, and dental treatments. RESULTS: It showed that majority of the participants were females 243 (60%) of the age group 25-29 years with the clinic as the workplace. Patients receive dental treatments only from 40 (10%) of the dentist. A high number of dentists: 284 (70%) were severely affected by the financial burden and were not receiving a salary during this lockdown. About 349(86%) of the dentist think they should do regular dental treatments, but only 101 (25%) think the dentist should do only dental emergency treatments for COVID-19 infected cases. CONCLUSIONS: Dentists, patients, and dental practice are severely affected by the COVID-19.The majority of the dentists have faced financial burdens. The dental treatments should be done with high standards of care and infection control following proper recommendations.

Influence of dental caries on oral health-related quality of life, school absenteeism and school performance among Nepalese schoolchildren.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the impact of untreated dental caries and its consequences on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL), school absenteeism and school performance in Nepal. METHODS: This is a population-based, national cross-sectional study. This study was conducted among three WHO index age groups (5-6, 12- and 15-year-olds) of schoolchildren from 18/75 randomly selected districts of Nepal. Clinical findings on untreated dental caries lesions (decay in primary and permanent dentition, dt/DT) and its consequences (pufa/PUFA) were recorded, and the participants were graded into four categories based on the severity of untreated dental caries (GUDC). The Nepali version of Child-Oral Impacts on Daily Performances (C-OIDP) was used to assess the information on OHRQoL. Similarly, school-related information (school absenteeism and school performance) was collected from the school registry. Generalized linear mixed models with random effects were used to evaluate the association between dental caries and OHRQoL, school absenteeism and school performance. RESULTS: Among the study sample, the mean (SD) C-OIDP score was 2.4 (5.0). It was observed that the 15-year-olds, those belonging to the Newari ethnic group, and children with high GUDC grades had poor OHRQoL. After adjusting for confounding factors, high dt + DT or pufa + PUFA was associated with higher impact on OHRQoL. Similarly, lower grades of GUDC (Grade 1 and Grade 2) also had less impact on OHRQoL than the most severe Grade 4. High dt + DT or pufa + PUFA were associated with maximum school absenteeism. Furthermore, high C-OIDP and a grade of GUDC ≥2 score were associated with poor school performance. CONCLUSION: Untreated dental caries and its consequences have a considerable impact on OHRQoL. These conditions may contribute to high school absenteeism and poor school performance.

Body mass index and dental caries experience in Nepalese schoolchildren.

OBJECTIVES: The aim was to investigate the severity of untreated dental caries among Nepalese schoolchildren and its association with their body mass index (BMI) using IOTF, WHO and Nepalese growth reference systems. METHODS: This school-based clinical cross-sectional study was conducted with three WHO index age groups (5- to 6-, 12- and 15-year-olds) in 18 out of 75 districts of Nepal, selected using stratified random sampling. A total of 1135 schoolchildren were included in the study. A validated structured questionnaire was used to assess the children's oral hygiene practices and dietary habits. Clinical oral examinations investigated the status of untreated dental caries in primary and permanent teeth (dt/DT) along with its consequences (pufa/PUFA). Later, the grade of severity of untreated dental caries (GUDC) was determined using both dt/DT and pufa/PUFA. Height (cm), weight (kg), waist circumference (cm) and hip circumference (cm) were measured, and the body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) were calculated. The findings were presented as proportions, and the chi-square test was performed to compare differences between groups. Generalized linear mixed models with random effects assessed the association between the severity of untreated dental caries and the BMI. RESULTS: According to the IOTF, WHO and Nepalese growth reference systems, the overall proportions of children with a low BMI were 38.6%, 15.4% and 12.8%, and those with a high BMI were 7.9%, 4.6% and 8.4%, respectively. Untreated dental caries was common among the youngest age group and those with infrequent tooth brushing habits or frequent consumption of sweet bakery products, sweets or candy, or tea with sugar. Neither a low nor a high BMI was associated either with dt + DT or with pufa + PUFA, after adjusting for confounders. However, both a low and a high BMI (all three references) were associated with the severity of dental caries or GUDC. CONCLUSION: Regardless of the growth reference system used, children with either low or high BMI may be at risk of developing untreated dental caries lesions and related consequences. Both underweight and overweight/obese and dental caries share common risk factors, mostly dietary. Preventive and intervention approaches/strategies such as behavioural and dietary modifications should be implemented to improve both children's oral health and their nutrition in Nepal.

Maxillary Anterior Teeth Proportions for Creating Esthetically Pleasuring Smile in Nepalese Patients.

NA.

Oral health status associated with sociodemographic factors of Nepalese schoolchildren: a population-based study.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the oral health of Nepalese schoolchildren relative to their sociodemographic characteristics. METHODS: This school-based, cross-sectional study was conducted among 5-6-, 12- and 15-year-old Nepalese children in 18 randomly selected districts of the 75 in Nepal. Clinical parameters were recorded according to the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. Results were presented as mean (SD) and proportions; the chi-square test, t-test and one way-ANOVA were also performed. The risk of dental caries in association with the place of residence was presented according to the outcome of a binary logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The mean d-value for the 5-6-year-old children was 5.0 (4.22), which was higher than the mean D-values for the 12- and 15-year-old subjects, of 1.3 (1.77) and 1.9 (2.28), respectively. The youngest children, as well as children from the Kathmandu Valley, were likely to have more untreated caries lesions than children in the other age groups. The mean number of teeth with severe consequences of dental caries (pulpitis/ulceration/fistula/abscess or pufa/PUFA) was 1.3 (1.91) for the 5-6-year-old children, 0.1 (0.35) for the 12-year-old children and 0.3 (0.75) for the 15-year-old children. All age groups had gingival bleeding on probing in more than 15% of teeth. Children from rural locations had significantly more gingival bleeding than urban children. The same was true for 15-year-old girls compared with boys of the same age. CONCLUSIONS: Among Nepalese children, oral diseases are common, and geographical variation is prevalent. The health policy should address the alarming oral health situation and need for urgent treatment and population-based preventive programmes that is evident in Nepal.

A clinical evaluation of bioactive glass particulate in the treatment of mandibular class II furcation defects

Bioactive glass particulate has been applied to dentistry in the treatmentof bone defects, ridge preservation and periodontal bone defectsincluding the furcation defects. The aim of this study was to comparethe clinical attachment gain and vertical and horizontal bone fillobtained with open flap debridement (OFD) alone and OFD withbioactive glass particulate in the treatment of mandibular Class IIfurcation defects. Twenty mandibular class II furcation defects wereselected in 16 systemically healthy patients out of which 10 defectswere treated with OFD alone (Group I) and other 10 defects weretreated with OFD and bioactive glass particulate (Group II). Eachdefect was randomly assigned to Group I and Group II. The softtissue and hard tissue measurements including vertical probing depth,horizontal probing depth, clinical attachment level, gingival recession,vertical depth of the furcation defects, and horizontal depth of thefurcation defects were recorded at baseline and six months post surgery.At 6 months evaluation, both treatment procedures resulted insignificant improvement in soft tissue and hard tissue parameterswhen compared to the baseline. There was no significant differencebetween the two groups with respect to soft tissue changes (p>0.05)like probing depth reduction (3.30 mm versus 2.90 mm), clinicalattachment level gain (2.90 mm Vs 2.80 mm) and gingival recession.Vertical defect fill were significantly greater in the bioactive glass sites(1.50 mm) compared to control sites (0.80 mm). There was highlysignificant reduction in horizontal probing depth of the defect (1.80mm Vs 1.10 mm, p< 0.05) after 6 months post surgery. In conclusion,bioactive glass showed significant improvement in clinical parameterslike vertical and horizontal defect fill in mandibular class II furcationdefects when compared to OFD.