The Effects of Lavender Essential Oil and its Clinical Implications in Dentistry: A Review.

Essential oils have been known to have many medicinal properties. They have been utilized by medical practitioners since the medieval ages. Lavender essential oil is known to be rich in medicinal properties like antimicrobial activity, anxiolytic, anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive, and antioxidant properties. Utilization of herbal products like lavender essential oils will benefit the patients in many ways. Incorporation of these properties in the field of dentistry has ample advantages. The purpose of this review article is to enlist the current and prospective uses of lavender essential oils in the field of dentistry and to identify the lacunae using which research regarding this topic can be taken one step closer to clinical practice. How to cite this article: Kajjari S, Joshi RS, Hugar SM, et al. The Effects of Lavender Essential Oil and its Clinical Implications in Dentistry: A Review. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2022;15(3):385-388.

Evaluation of the Effect of Probiotic Yogurt Consumption on Salivary pH, Buffering Capacity and Calcium Level in 6-12-year-old Children: An In Vivo Study.

Introduction: Dental caries is a preventable disease that can be prevented by suppressing any one of the factors of the Keyes triad. Aim and objective: To investigate the effect of probiotic yogurt on salivary pH, calcium level, and buffering capacity. Materials and methods: A total of 60 children were randomly selected and were divided into 2 groups. The test group consumed 200 mL of probiotic yogurt and the control group consumed 200 mL of regular curd everyday for 30 days. A base-line nonstimulated salivary sample (2 mL) was collected. The salivary pH, buffering capacity, and calcium level was assessed at baseline, after 15 and 30 days. The data were statistically analyzed. Result: The mean pH levels of the probiotic group were 7.03 and salivary buffering capacity was found to be 2.000. Salivary calcium levels increased with the use of probiotic yogurt at the end of 30 days (mean of 4.79) compared to the control group. Conclusion: Consumption of probiotic yogurt for a short period of time can prevent dental caries by increasing salivary calcium level. How to cite this article: Malavalli PL, Shetty SB, Thimmaiah C, et al. Evaluation of the Effect of Probiotic Yogurt Consumption on Salivary pH, Buffering Capacity and Calcium Level in 6-12-year-old Children: An In Vivo Study. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2022;15(2):194-198.

Infected Radicular Cyst of Deciduous Second Molar Mimicking Dentigerous Cyst of Second Premolar in a Young Child: A Rare Entity.

Radicular cysts are the most common cystic lesions in the oral cavity. Radicular cysts have a rare occurrence in the primary dentition. Radicular cysts arising from deciduous teeth are reported to occur in the age range of 3-19 years with a male predominance. The etiological factor is long-standing dental caries and dental trauma. The present case report describes the inflammatory radicular cyst involving the deciduous mandibular second molar. Surgical management includes enucleation of the cyst along with mandibular second premolar in a 5-year-old female patient. The surgical cavity was closed by an obturator appliance to maintain the patency. Eventful healing was seen after 3 months of follow-up. How to cite this article: Kajjari S, Gowtham A, Meharwade P, et al. Infected Radicular Cyst of Deciduous Second Molar Mimicking Dentigerous Cyst of Second Premolar in a Young Child: A Rare Entity. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2021;14(3):434-437.

Bridging the communication gap in autistic children, one picture at a time.

One of the main domains of paediatric dentistry is providing oral health care, especially to the children with special needs, like those affected with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Such children exhibit poor oral hygiene primarily due to their limited communication ability, lack of joint attention, oversensitivity to sensory stimuli and motor coordination deficits. In such cases, multiple studies suggest and emphasize on the importance of early use of interventional services. Children affected with ASD tend to be visual learners, and therefore, are better suited for visual interventional methods. Amongst which, picture exchange communication system (PECS), originally developed by Bondy-Frost, is gaining rapid momentum. It is suggested to help individuals to initiate requests and communicate their needs via picture cards; hence aid in acquiring functional communication and speech, improve socio-communicative impairments, and decrease the behavioural problems. This scoping review aims to raise awareness on PECS amongst the dental fraternity, by emphasizing its usage pertaining to dentistry. PECS though rated hard, has proved to be beneficial in improving oral hygiene practices among autistic children.