A Subjective Assessment of Chemotherapy Drug-Induced Taste and Smell Alteration in Non-head and Neck Cancer Patients: A Questionnaire-Based Cross-Sectional Study.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate alterations in taste and smell perceptions among non-head and neck cancer patients receiving chemotherapy, aiming to identify factors influencing these changes. METHODS: A cohort of 70 non-head and neck cancer patients undergoing one to four cycles or more than four cycles, over a six-month period, from oncology outpatient clinics was recruited. Participants completed structured taste and smell questionnaires with assistance from interviewers. Demographic data, recurrence history, chemotherapy cycles, drug regimens, and taste and smell perceptions were analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square tests. RESULTS: The mean age of participants was 46.5 years, with a predominance of females (81.4%) and breast cancer cases (42.9%). Taste changes were more prevalent (62.9%) than smell changes (32.9%) post chemotherapy, particularly among those on combination drug regimens. Salty taste alterations were the most common (30.0%), followed by sweet taste (22.9%) and sour/bitter tastes (14.3%). Moreover, 38.57% of patients reported experiencing dysgeusia, while 30% noted the occurrence of parosmia post chemotherapy. CONCLUSION: Chemotherapy-induced alterations in taste and smell significantly impact the quality of life and nutritional status of cancer patients. Despite often being overlooked, these changes warrant increased attention in oncological practice to inform treatment decisions and enhance symptom management, particularly in palliative care settings. Further research is needed to explore the implications of chemosensory alterations on patient outcomes and treatment strategies.

Influence of Windowing and Evaluation of Metal Artifact Reduction Algorithm on Five Different Restorative Materials by Using Different Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) Scanners: A CBCT Study.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the influence of windowing, and to evaluate, and compare the effect of the metal artifact reduction (MAR) and non-metal artifact reduction (non-MAR) algorithms on different high-density restorative dental materials using different cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) devices. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Height and diameter of all cylindrical shape metals including amalgam, cobalt-chromium, composite, gutta-percha, and titanium were measured using a digital caliper device. Polymethylmethacrylate block and arch phantom with a cylindrical-shaped perforation containing five different metals were submitted to tomographic acquisition with six different cone beam computed tomographic devices in small fields of view with their MAR enabled and disabled. Windowing was done using ITK-SNAP software (3.8.2) which was used as a contrast medial tool for window level and window width. The data was analyzed for probability distribution using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, where a p-value of <0.05 indicated that the data were not normally distributed. The comparison of length and width was done using the Wilcoxon sign rank test. Comparison of categorical variables was done using the Chi-square test where a p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Length and width of all these metals measured using MAR and non-MAR CBCT were found to be statistically non-significant (p-value of >0.05). MAR algorithm significantly reduces metals artifact produced by high-density restorative materials (p-value of <0.05). CONCLUSION: Amalgam and cobalt-chromium produced more artifacts while composite and gutta-percha did not produce enough artifacts to be reduced by the MAR algorithm. Large window width and high window level would be beneficial to reduce the metal artifact.

An Insight Into the Effect of Odontogenic Keratocysts on Surrounding Structures: Cone-Beam Computed Tomography-Based Analysis of Cases.

Introduction  An odontogenic keratocyst (OKC) is a benign intraosseous lesion with potential to demonstrate aggressive and invasive behavior. The aim of this retrospective study was to analyze the imaging features of the OKC using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) and to evaluate the association between the internal structure of the lesion and the effect of the lesion on surrounding structures. Methods Overall, 32 CBCT scans of histopathologically diagnosed cases of OKC were analyzed retrospectively. The following variables were analyzed: anatomic location of the lesions (mandible body (right/left), ramus (right/left), mandible body+ramus (right/left), maxilla (right/left), and both jaws), the internal structure of the lesion (unilocular/multilocular), and the effect of the lesion on the surrounding anatomical structures (involvement of the inferior alveolar nerve canal (IANC), displacement of the IANC, cortical expansion, displacement of the tooth, resorption of the root, associated impacted tooth, associated missing tooth). We also looked for the association between the internal structure and the effect of the lesion on anatomic structures. Results Out of 32 cases, 29 (90.6%) cases involved the mandible alone. Statistically significant association (p-value 0.005) was present between the internal structure and mean age of presentation as well as between the internal structure and impacted tooth (p-value 0.027). The association between the internal structure and other variables was statistically not significant. Conclusions The radiographic features of OKCs can be variable, and these lesions have a considerable effect on the tooth, IANC, and cortical bone. Significant association was found between the internal structure, age, and impacted tooth. Since OKCs have a high recurrence rate, CBCT is advised for evaluating the extent and location of any cortical perforations.

Evaluation of Relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI) and Dental Development in the Children in Age-group of 6-13 years of Malwa Region: A Cross-sectional Study.

Aim: To evaluate the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and dental development in the children in age-group of 6-13 years of Malwa region. Materials and methods: A total of 250 orthopantomograms (OPGs) of children aged 6-13 years (130 males and 120 females) collected from the Department of Paediatric and Preventive Dentistry, Government College of Dentistry, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India, who came for their routine dental treatment. The chronological age, height, and weight were recorded, followed by calculating the BMI of each patient using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) growth charts. The dental age was calculated using Cameriere's method. The comparison of the dental and chronological age was done using Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results: The dental age of underweight patients was significantly lesser than that of the normal, overweight, and obese patients (p-value of <0.05). The dental age of the obese patients were greatest and significantly greater than that of the underweight, normal, and overweight patients (p-value of <0.05). Conclusion: Dental age is significantly associated with the BMI of children aged 6-13 years. The dental age of obese and overweight children is significantly greater than the chronological age. Clinical significance: Predicting the stage of dental development and eruption periods in children with mixed dentition can help with the sequencing and timing of orthodontic, prosthodontic, and surgical procedures. How to cite this article: Selkari V, Saxena A, Parihar A, et al. Evaluation of Relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI) and Dental Development in the Children in Age-group of 6-13 years of Malwa Region: A Cross-sectional Study. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2023;16(2):333-337.

Evaluation of efficacy of artificial intelligence in orthopantomogram in detecting and classifying radiolucent lesions.

Aim and Objective: The objective of our study was to build a convolutional neural network (CNN) model and detection and classification of benign and malignant radiolucent lesions in orthopantomogram (OPG) by implementing CNN. Method: Two basic CNN models were implemented on Anaconda with Python 3 on 64-bit, CNN-I for detection of radiolucency and CNN-II for classification of radiolucency into benign and malignant lesions. One hundred fifty eight OPG with radiolucency and 115 OPG without radiolucency was used for training and validation of CNN models. Data augmentation was performed for the training and validation dataset. The evaluation of the performance of both CNN by new data consisting (60 OPG images) 30 benign and 30 malignant lesions. Statistical Analysis: Performed using SPSS (Statistical package for social science) 20.0 version. The descriptive statistics was performed. The Cohen kappa correlation coefficient was used for assessment of reliability of the diagnostic methods. P < .05 was considered statistically significant. Determination of sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value was also performed. Result: CNN-I showing sensitivity for detection of the benign lesion is 76.6% and sensitivity for the malignant lesion is 63.3% with overall sensitivity is 70%. CNN-II showing sensitivity for classification of the benign lesion is 70% and for classification of the malignant lesion is 63.3% with overall classification sensitivity is 66.6%. The kappa correlation coefficient value for diagnosis made by CNN-II is 0.333 and P < .05. Conclusion: Both CNN showed statistically significant and satisfactory results in detecting and classifying radiolucency in OPG.

Diode Laser in the Management of Leukoplakia - A Retrospective Study.

Introduction: Leukoplakia is among the most common potentially malignant disorders encountered in clinical dental practice. The treatment of leukoplakia includes nonsurgical and surgical management. The surgical treatment includes excision, electrocauterisation, laser surgery or cryosurgery. This retrospective study aimed to analyse the efficacy of diode lasers in the management of leukoplakia. Methods: The sample consists of 56 cases with 77 leukoplakia sites treated with diode laser between January 2018 and December 2020 with a minimum of six months follow-up. For each patient, personal data was collected along with site of lesions, leukoplakia phase, type of treatment performed (laser ablation or laser excision), side effects, recurrences and malignant transformation. Inferential statistical analysis was then conducted. Results: After applying exclusion criteria, 56 cases with 77 leukoplakia sites were included in this study. Males aged >45 years were predominantly affected. Homogeneous leukoplakia (48.1%) was the most common phase. Recurrences were noted in 19.48% of the cases. Compared to laser excision, laser ablation had more recurrences. Gingival lesions showed a higher recurrence rate than other sites in the oral cavity. None of the cases showed malignant transformation. Discussion: Laser offers many advantages over other conventional methods including lesser postoperative pain and swelling, bloodless dry operating field and increased patient comfort and requires minimal local anaesthesia. The study concluded that diode laser is an effective surgical treatment modality for treating leukoplakia. Furthermore, the laser excision technique was found to be superior to laser ablation due to lesser recurrence.

Facial Nerve Palsy as Complication in COVID-19 Associated Mucormycosis: A Case Series.

Mucormycosis is an opportunistic fungal infection indicating a high mortality rate. Among six varieties of involved sites, rhino cerebral mucormycosis (RCM) is not the most uncommon. During the COVID-19 pandemic, with the increase, in predisposing conditions incidence rate of mucormycosis progressed. For aggressive treatment, an early diagnosis can be armored to reduce morbidity and mortality. Clinically RCM poses non-specific symptoms and signs delaying diagnosis. This is associated with orbital cellulitis and sinusitis, one-sided headache behind the eye, diplopia, blurring of visions, nasal congestion, rhinorrhea, epistaxis, nasal hypoesthesia, facial pain and numbness, and a history of black nasal discharge. Not commonly the complications of cranial nerve involvement have been reported. In the present case series, three presentations of facial nerve palsy in COVID-19 associated with mucormycosis are added to the literature database.

Prevalence of Developmental Dental Anomalies of Number and Size in Indian Population According to Age and Gender.

INTRODUCTION: Dental anomalies arise due to genetic and environmental factors in the morphodifferentiation stage of odontogenesis lead to alteration in the number and size of the tooth as well as the root.1-3 The knowledge of their prevalence and the extent of involvement can provide valuable information for phylogenic and genetic studies and also help in the understanding of differences among the population and between various population groups.4 We aim to identify the prevalence and distribution of such anomalies according to age and gender. The acquired details of cases will further help the dental clinicians to understand their etiology which can further facilitate their diagnosis and effective management. Also, timely intervention can be achieved. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective study of 4,000 subjects (equal proportion of males and female) of age range from 10 to 40 years were studied. Their radiographs, dental casts, and clinical findings were evaluated for number and size developmental dental anomaly. RESULTS: Incidence of overall 331 cases (8.27%) of number and size developmental dental anomalies were recorded with 173 (8.6%) males and 158 (7.9%) females. Hypodontia was the most frequently found dental anomaly in both males (4.9%) and females (4.4%) followed by hyperdontia and supernumerary roots. Microdontia was the most frequently found size anomaly in both males (1.6%) and females (1.9%). CONCLUSION: Hypodontia (4.7%) is the most frequently found numeral anomaly in both males and females. Intergroup study shows a significant statistical difference in cases of hypodontia in the 10-25 years of age-group (6.2%) with a p value ≤ 0.00001. HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE: Jain A, Saxena A, Jain S, et al. Prevalence of Developmental Dental Anomalies of Number and Size in Indian Population According to Age and Gender. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2021;14(4):531-536.

Oral histoplasmosis masquerading as acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis: A rare case report.

Histoplasmosis also called as "Darling's Disease" is a community-acquired primary pulmonary disease caused by inhalation of dust containing spores of soil-dwelling dimorphic fungi, Histoplasma capsulatum. Presentation of fungi in the oral cavity is usually rare and is generally associated with an immunocompromised state. Here, we present a rare case of histoplasmosis in an immunocompetent patient, with discrete oral presentation, that initially mimicked acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis. Gingival biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of histoplasmosis, which responded favorably to the initial treatment with intravenous amphotericin and later to oral itraconazole. Thus, a vigilant approach is paramount in reducing the fatality due to disease.

Regular oral screening and vigilance: can it be a potential lifesaver?

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a malignant neoplasm of myeloid series defined by the presence of immature blast cells (>30%) in peripheral circulation. Oral manifestations are the potential indicators of systemic health and disease. Oral cavity is the frequently and early involved sites in AML. Gingival overgrowth due to leukemia is one such condition encountered by periodontists. Hence, understanding, identifying, and correlating oral manifestations with systemic diseases are the ultimate responsibility of every dental clinician because of its lethal and unpredictable course. In the present case, we are discussing an undiagnosed case of AML who presented to us with oral complaints.

Incidental findings on cone beam computed tomography and reasons for referral by dental practitioners in indore city (m.p).

INTRODUCTION: Cone beam computed tomography is a new diagnostic innovation to dental imaging. Despite the use of CBCT in oral and maxillofacial imaging, reports on its use either by individual practitioners or referral patterns to CBCT centers is lacking. Hence, a study was conducted to determine incidental findings on CBCT and reasons for referral by dental practitioners in Indore city. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis of 795 records that were referred for CBCT imaging at Institutional and Oracal CBCT Centre, Indore was undertaken. Referrals from both within and outside institution, as well as from private practitioners were considered. The reason for CBCT referral, provision diagnosis, final diagnosis and any incidental diagnosis were recorded. RESULTS: This retrospective chart audit revealed that 56.7 % were male and 43.3% were females. Greatest source of patients was referred by oral surgeons (21.9%) followed by oral and maxillofacial radiologist (14.2%) and prosthodontist (9.3%). The most common reason for referral was for implant analysis (24.2%) and the most common incidental finding diagnosed by CBCT was oral malignancies. CONCLUSION: In Institutional set-up, CBCT referrals were mostly for the reason of planning implant placement followed by trauma whereas private practitioners used CBCT mostly for implant placement followed by impaction. CBCT was being utilized more by Oral surgeons in private sector whereas it in an Institutional setup majority of referrals from Department of Oral Diagnosis and Radiology. Findings that were most commonly diagnosed incidentally on CBCT were Orofacial malignancies followed maxillary sinus pathologies.

Management of polyostotic eosinophilic granuloma.

Eosinophilic granuloma is a rare disease which is difficult to diagnose clinically and radiographically. Localized Langerhans' cell histiocytosis, previously known as eosinophilic granuloma, mainly affects the skull, mandible, vertebrae, pelvis and ribs in children and the long bones of adults. We present a case report of a female who developed pain and swelling over the left mandibular region, and was later diagnosed as eosinophilic granuloma, which after administration of intralesional corticosteroid with surgical enucleation showed positive response. This disease is of importance to dental professionals because early clinical signs can occur in the jaw and can cause extensive destruction of the periodontal tissues and bone. The purpose of this case report is to describe a case of eosinophilic granuloma with emphasis on conservative approach for the treatment and the radiographic changes observed during and after the treatment.

Progress in the CFD modeling of flow instabilities in anatomical total cavopulmonary connections.

Intrinsic flow instability has recently been reported in the blood flow pathways of the surgically created total-cavopulmonary connection. Besides its contribution to the hydrodynamic power loss and hepatic blood mixing, this flow unsteadiness causes enormous challenges in its computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling. This paper investigates the applicability of hybrid unstructured meshing and solver options of a commercially available CFD package (FLUENT, ANSYS Inc., NH) to model such complex flows. Two patient-specific anatomies with radically different transient flow dynamics are studied both numerically and experimentally (via unsteady particle image velocimetry and flow visualization). A new unstructured hybrid mesh layout consisting of an internal core of hexahedral elements surrounded by transition layers of tetrahedral elements is employed to mesh the flow domain. The numerical simulations are carried out using the parallelized second-order accurate upwind scheme of FLUENT. The numerical validation is conducted in two stages: first, by comparing the overall flow structures and velocity magnitudes of the numerical and experimental flow fields, and then by comparing the spectral content at different points in the connection. The numerical approach showed good quantitative agreement with experiment, and total simulation time was well within a clinically relevant time-scale of our surgical planning application. It also further establishes the ability to conduct accurate numerical simulations using hybrid unstructured meshes, a format that is attractive if one ever wants to pursue automated flow analysis in a large number of complex (patient-specific) geometries.