Telemedicine Awareness Among Chennai-Based Dentists: A Web-Based Questionnaire Survey.

OBJECTIVES: Teledentistry has emerged as a crucial tool to address oral health needs amidst social distancing measures and lockdowns. Teledentistry during COVID-19 underscores its potential as an adaptive solution, transforming the delivery of dental care and providing a platform for maintaining oral health while prioritizing public safety. The purpose of this study is to investigate the views of Chennai dental professionals on teledentistry, which may serve as a foundation for advancements in patient care and virtual dentistry in the future, and to evaluate awareness, usefulness, and data security regarding telemedicine among Chennai dental professionals using a pretested questionnaire. METHODS: By distributing a pretested web-based questionnaire to licensed dental professionals in Chennai, a descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted. The results were statistically analyzed and evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 90 dentists in Chennai responded to the questionnaire, out of which 65 (72.2%) were aware of teledentistry and 32 (35.6%) practiced teledentistry. Around 25 to 29 (30%-37%) dentists were very much concerned about obtaining patients' consent, digital forgery, confidentiality, and hardware reliability in teledentistry. CONCLUSION: This is the first kind of study ever done among dentists in Chennai, which shows enormous work is required to create awareness and knowledge among dental professionals. To inform dentists and the general public about teledentistry, targeted advertisements pertaining to the same are required.

Role of the solvent polarity on the optical and electronic characteristics of 1-iodoadamantane.

The natural absorbance caused by the chromophore and chemical behavior of 1-iodoadamantane is highly influenced by the polarity of different solvent environments. This gives rise to the solvatochromatic shifts in the optical absorption and electronic structure and the experimentally measured UV-vis absorption spectra show significant solvatochromic shifts with respect to the solvent polarity. The absorption shift for both σ to σ*and n to σ* electronic transitions are more dominant in polar solvents than in nonpolar solvents. To obtain a better understanding of the impact of solvent polarity on the 1-iodoadamantane at the molecular level, computational calculations were carried out through implicit solvation. According to this, changes in the HOMO and LUMO energies and electron density distributions of various solvent continuums demonstrate the influence of solvent polarity on the HOMO and LUMO energy levels of the chemical system. This also shows an increment in the HOMO-LUMO gap with respect to the polarity of the solvent.

Therapeutic Signature of Stem Cell Derivative Exosomes in Oral Cancer: A Scoping Review.

Oral cancer poses a serious health challenge to the nations worldwide. India, among all the nations reported, has the largest number of oral cancer cases, which accounts for one-third of the entire population of oral cancer globally. As oral cancer is well-known for delayed diagnosis until an advanced stage, poor outcomes, and a lack of specific biomarkers for the disease and high-budget therapeutic alternatives. Stem cell derivative exosomes gained significant attention as therapeutic agents and diagnostic biomarkers in cancer biology. It's a type of extracellular vesicle, which are lipid-bilayer-enclosed vesicles of endosomal origin. They are nanosized membrane vesicles that are capable of self-renewal, unlimited proliferation, and multi-directional differential potential. Thus, they act salient in the occurrence and development of tumors. Exosomal micro-RNAs (miRNAs) are functionally related to the advancement of cancer, metastasis, and the aggressive nature of tumors with high recurrence rates. It has also been highlighted that exosomes have the potential to serve as diagnostic markers. A quick, easy, high-clarity, and confined rehabilitation method is the basic specification for large-scale usage of exosomes. The constitution of the composite transporters of exosomes is easily available by sampling biological fluids (liquid biopsies) from samples such as saliva. A liquid biopsy based on exosomes focuses on their probable usage in cancer patients' diagnosis and the determination of the outcome or course of the disease. This review explores the therapeutic prospect of stem cell-derived exosomes as intending to offer new ideas for clinical management and institute a new era of therapeutic agents for oral cancer.

Analysis of Oral Leukoplakia and Tobacco-Related Habits in Population of Chengalpattu District- An Institution-Based Retrospective Study.

Objective The study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of oral leukoplakia and to assess the risk of developing oral leukoplakia in patients with tobacco-related habits among the populations of Chengalpattu district, Tamil Nadu, India.  Materials and Methods Incidence and prevalence of oral leukoplakia differ among different populations in India due to cultural and demographic diversities. The results obtained from this study can be used as a reference in future research and policy-making for tobacco control. Data for this study were manually ascertained from the Department of Oral Pathology and Microbiology, SRM Kattankulathur Dental College and Hospital, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Potheri, Chengalpet district, Tamil Nadu, India. The medical records of the patients diagnosed with the abnormalities and diseases of the oral mucosa, especially the white lesions of the oral cavity, between January 2011- March 2021 (10 years). The basic inclusion criteria for this study were to include the histopathology reports of the white lesions with no malignant changes during clinical diagnosis. The data was analyzed based on age, gender, tobacco-related habits, and histopathological diagnosis. The exclusion criteria for the study were the cases reported as carcinoma, patients associated with syndromes, biopsies outside the mentioned period, and those patients with incomplete clinical or histopathological details. Results Among 141 white lesions, about 85 cases [60.2%] were confirmed as oral leukoplakia, of which the study population had 55 (64.7%) males and 30 (35.3%) females. The age group which was commonly seen was 41-60 years. About 80% of the population with oral leukoplakia had the habit of tobacco consumption. The use of tobacco products was seen more commonly in the male population than the female, and consumption of tobacco and alcohol was seen in 6% of the population. In our study, we found the study population had the habit of using smokeless tobacco rather than smoking cigarettes and bidis. About 20% of the population diagnosed with leukoplakia did not have any habits. The most commonly affected site was buccal mucosa (67%), followed by the tongue (12%). Conclusion Our study shows a statistical association between oral leukoplakia and tobacco product consumption among the population of Chengalpattu district. The oral health care providers must take utmost care and vigilance to diagnose the lesion at its earliest stage and give appropriate treatment modalities and effective tobacco interventions.

Correction: Handling and managing bleeding wounds using tissue adhesive hydrogel: a comparative assessment on two different hydrogels.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1039/C6RA00284F.].

Adenoid cystic carcinoma of the buccal mucosa: a case report with review of literature.

Minor salivary gland neoplasms of the buccal mucosa are relatively uncommon. Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC), a well-defined entity, occurs most of the times in the parotid, submandibular glands and palate, as far as the intraoral site is concerned. Adenoid cystic carcinoma tends to have an indolent, extended clinical course with wide local infiltration and late distant metastases. We are presenting a case of an adenoid cystic carcinoma of the buccal mucosa in a 48-year-old female patient.