Probiotics: A New Era of Biotherapy.

Probiotics or health-beneficial bacteria have only recently been introduced in dentistry after years of successful use in mainly gastrointestinal disorders. The concept of bacteriotherapy was first introduced in the beginning of 20th century. They are administered in different quantities that allow for colon colonization. These products help in stimulating health promoting flora and also suppressing the pathologic colonization and disease spread. The use of probiotic plays an important aspect in dentistry too, ever since the oral infections occupied the prime spot among the other infections affecting the humans. Probiotics strengthen the immune system to combat allergies, stress, exposure to toxic substances, and other diseases. This review is an attempt to discuss briefly the role of probiotics in oral health.

Curcumin - Pharmacological Actions And its Role in Oral Submucous Fibrosis: A Review.

Turmeric has been in use for thousands of years as a dye, flavouring and a medicinal herb. Ancient Indian medicine has touted turmeric as an herb with the ability to provide glow and lustre to the skin as well as vigour and vitality to the entire body. Since curcumin has antimicrobial, antioxidant, astringents and other useful properties, it is quite useful in dentistry also. Curcumin, the most active polyphenolic constituent, is the active ingredient in the traditional herbal remedy and dietary spice turmeric. In gel form it is a component in local drugs delivery system. The objective of this article is to review the pharmacological action of turmeric and its use in treating oral submucous fibrosis.

Prevalence of Zygomatic Air Cell Defect using Orthopantomogram.

AIM: To determine the prevalence, radiographic appearance, variations, characteristics and establishing dominant location and type of zygomatic air cell defect (ZACD) among the North Indian population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The panoramic radiographs of 2500 dental clinic outpatients were examined for the presence of ZACD for estimating the prevalence and characteristics of the ZACD. RESULTS: ZACD was found in 63 patients with a prevalence of 2.5% with male predominance. Unilateral (70%) and unilocular appearance (78%) of ZACD were the dominant patterns. Patients with ZACD had a mean age of 37.4 years and a range of 19-78 years. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of ZACD among the Indian population is in accordance with the other studies carried out in other populations of the world. So it is important for surgeons to assess location of ZACD before planning any surgical procedure in order to avoid intraoperative complications.

Ameloblastic Carcinoma: A Case Report.

Ameloblastic carcinoma is a rare malignant lesion with characteristic histologic features and behavior that dictates more aggressive surgical approach than that of a simple ameloblastoma. Here we present a case of ameloblastic carcinoma of the mandible in a 30-year-old male patient with a clinical course of typical aggressiveness and extensive local destruction.

Evidence based dental care: integrating clinical expertise with systematic research.

Clinical dentistry is becoming increasingly complex and our patients more knowledgeable. Evidence-based care is now regarded as the "gold standard" in health care delivery worldwide. The basis of evidence based dentistry is the published reports of research projects. They are, brought together and analyzed systematically in meta analysis, the source for evidence based decisions. Activities in the field of evidence-based dentistry has increased tremendously in the 21(st) century, more and more practitioners are joining the train, more education on the subject is being provided to elucidate the knotty areas and there is increasing advocacy for the emergence of the field into a specialty discipline. Evidence-Based Dentistry (EBD), if endorsed by the dental profession, including the research community, may well- influence the extent to which society values dental research. Hence, dental researchers should understand the precepts of EBD, and should also recognize the challenges it presents to the research community to strengthen the available evidence and improve the processes of summarizing the evidence and translating it into practice This paper examines the concept of evidence-based dentistry (EBD), including some of the barriers and will discuss about clinical practice guidelines.

Hypohidrotic Ectodermal Dysplasia (ED): A Case Series.

ECTODERMAL DYSPLASIA (ED) IS A RARE DISORDER WITH DEFECTS IN TWO OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING STRUCTURES: the teeth and the skin and its appendages including hair, nails, eccrine, and sebaceous glands. Dental manifestations include hypodontia, complete anodontia or malformed teeth. The most common form of the ED syndrome is hypohidrotic ED and is usually inherited as an X-linked recessive trait. Female carriers may have a variable degree of clinical manifestations. The condition is thought to occur in approximately 1 in every 100,000 live births. Dental treatment for these patients varies on an individual basis. Children with ED are often treated dentally with conventional adult appearing prosthesis which are focused only on the oral manifestations of the syndrome. We are here reporting two classical cases of hypohidrotic ED with a review of the literature.

Oral diagnostics: an integral component to geriatric health care.

Aging is inevitable, every day we live we age. The mouth is referred to as a mirror of overall health, reinforcing that oral health is an integral part of general health. Oral health reflects overall well being for the elderly population. Compromised oral health may be a risk factor for systemic diseases commonly occurring in age. Diagnosis and proper treatment is essential for healthy aging. Timely diagnosis, appropriate treatment and regular follow-up of both oral and systemic diseases are a prerequisite for active aging. Oral diagnostics is a revolutionary development with high potential to replace other investigative modalities. Changing demographics, including the increase in life expectancy and the growing numbers of elderly, has focused attention on the need for dental research activities to be expanded for geriatric dentistry. This paper is aimed to shed light on the growing elderly population and their ailments. It also aims to create awareness among health care providers about oral diagnostics and their application in geriatrics.