Lip print patterns: Similarities among the parents and their children.

Background: The wrinkles and grooves visible on the lips form the characteristic pattern of an individual and imprints produced is termed as "lip print." The study of these prints is known as "cheiloscopy." Variations in patterns among males and females could help in sex determination. Lip prints, therefore, can constitute material evidence left at a crime spot, equivalent to fingerprints. These patterns are heritable and are believed to be unique and permanent. The lip prints of parents and children and those of siblings have been shown to have some similarities. The influence of inherited lip print patterns among family members is still a new concept and studies are scanty in literature. Objectives: The objectives are to determine the most common patterns and gender-wise distribution among the study population and to analyze the inherited lip print patterns from parents to their offspring. Materials and Methods: Lip prints of 30 families were obtained using lipstick and cellophane tape. Based on criteria given by Suzuki and Tsuchihashi, patterns were recorded and analyzed from four quadrants of the lips using a magnifying lens. Results: The positive resemblance of lip print patterns from parents to their offsprings showed statistically significant resemblance in one quadrant and rest of the three quadrants showed no significant association between parents and offspring. Conclusion: Positive resemblance among the family members can be attributed to the genetics and inheritance. Lip print can be considered as an auxiliary method of identification.

Dental caries: Impact of tobacco product among tobacco chewers and tobacco smokers.

Objective: Tobacco is the most significant social burden and the leading cause of death. Tobacco is derived from "Nicotiana tabacum" which has nicotine as the main component. There are various disadvantages from tobacco on health which are reported in the medical literature. But the risk of caries among these tobacco users, such as chewers and smokers, is still debatable. Hence, the present study aims to determine the prevalence of dental caries among tobacco chewers and smokers. Materials and methods: In this study, 389 individuals were included. Out of 389 individuals, 304 were men and 85 were women aged between 18 and 60 years. They were classified into two groups. Group A had 207 individuals with habitual tobacco chewing, and Group B had 182 individuals with habitual tobacco smoking and provided a 6 months history. The DMFT index (Decayed, Missing, and filled teeth index-WHO modification 1997) was used to assess caries. Results: The study revealed a higher prevalence of dental caries among tobacco chewers compared to tobacco smokers. The DMFT scores were higher among gutka chewers compared to other types of tobacco use. The lower posterior tooth region showed higher dental caries in tobacco chewers compared to smokers. Conclusion: The higher presence of caries in the tobacco chewing group is due to the presence of sweeteners, which act as cariogenic agents. Similarly, smokers have a thiocyanate component that acts as an anticariogenic agent; therefore, the prevalence of caries was lower in tobacco smokers.

Evaluation of the antifungal efficacy of different concentrations of Curcuma longa on Candida albicans: An in vitro study.

BACKGROUND: Candidal infections have increased significantly in denture wearers, especially in immunocompromised patients. The increase in resistance to existing antifungal drugs and number of patients at risk, in conjunction with the restricted number of commercially available antifungal drugs that still present many side effects, are the cause for this problem. These limitations emphasize the need to develop new and more effective antifungal agents with lesser side effects. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present study was undertaken to investigate the possible antifungal action of the alcoholic extract of different concentrations of Curcuma longa on four dilutions of Candida albicans (1:10, 1:20, 1:40 and 1:80) and to determine its minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum fungicidal concentration using Sabouraud's agar medium. RESULTS: There was complete inhibition of the growth of all four dilutions of Candida at a concentration of 800 µl which is considered as the MIC of alcoholic extract of turmeric on C. albicans, and the minimum fungicidal concentration was at 1600 µl. CONCLUSION: This study indicates a potent antifungal action of C. longa against C. albicans.

Estimation of silver nucleolar organizer regions in oral lichen planus, oral lichenoid reactions and oral lichenoid dysplasia.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVE: (1) To study the clinical and histological features of oral lichen planus, oral lichenoid reaction (OLR) and oral lichenoid dysplasia (OLD). (2) To estimate and compare the silver nucleolar organizer regions in OLR and OLD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 40 biopsies were studied; sections were divided as study group, which consists of OLP, OLR and OLD each of 10 cases and 10 biopsies of normal oral mucosa as control group. Sections were stained by silver staining technique and total number of silver stained nucleolar organizer regions (AgNORs) were counted in nucleoli of 100 cells in each section under x100 objective (oil immersion). RESULTS: Our study revealed that the difference between the (AgNOR) count of OLP (2.272 ± 0.09) and OLR (2.27 ± 0.073) is not statistically significant (P = 0.81). The mean AgNOR count of OLD (2.388 ± 0.043) compared to that of OLP (2.272 ± 0.09) and OLR (2.27 ± 0.073) showed an increase and it is statistically highly significant (P = 0.002 and P = 0.003, respectively). CONCLUSION: AgNOR count is an objective test, which has stronger biological basis for diagnosing epithelial dysplasia. It is easy to perform, inexpensive and is performed on biopsied specimen. However, this technique cannot differentiate OLP and OLR, as there is no much difference in the proliferative activity of cells in these two lesions. It is reasonable to suggest that all biopsy tissues from lichenoid lesions where dysplastic features are observed in routine histopathological sections should be additionally stained by silver technique to ascertain dysplastic status of the lesion. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: This is an improved diagnostic parameter, which will help pathologists to formulate more definitive final histopathological diagnosis and will in turn facilitate the formulation of patient treatment and follow-up care by clinicians.