An in vitro assessment of teething gels' effects on human gingival mesenchymal stem cells.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study is to examine the cytotoxic effects of dental gels with different contents, which are frequently used during teething, on gingival mesenchymal stem cells (G-MSCs). METHOD: The teething gels used in this study were Dentinox, Gengigel, Osanite, and Jack and Jill. The human gingival mesenchimal stem cells (hG-MSCs) were incubated with these teething gel solutions (0.1%, 50% and 80% concentrations). Reproductive behavior of G-MSCs was monitored in real time for 72 h using the xCELLigence real-time cell analyzer (RTCA) system. Two-way repeated Anova test and post hoc Bonferroni test were used to evaluate the effect of concentration and dental gel on 0-hour and 72-hour viability. Significance was evaluated at p < 0.05 level. RESULTS: Teething gels prepared at 50% concentration are added to the G-MSC culture, the "cell index" value of G-MSCs to which Dentinox brand gel is added is significantly lower than all other groups (p = 0.05). There is a statistically significant difference between the concentrations in terms of cell index values at the 72nd hour compared to the 0th hour (p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The local anesthetic dental gels used in children have a more negative effect on cell viability as concentration increases.

Parents' perspective towards dental radiography for children.

Background/purpose: Radiographs provide critical information on developmental and eruption problems, detection of interface caries, pulpal and periapical pathologies in clinical examination. This study aimed to evaluate parents' knowledge, attitudes and behaviors towards dental radiographs. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on the parents of 396 children who visited to the Pediatric Dentistry clinics. All participants were asked to answer a total of 26 questions. A questionnaire was developed to assess participants' attitudue, behavior and knowledge toward pediatric dental radiographies and provided information on their demographic characteristics. The number of positive attitudes and correct answers was scored based on items asked to the participants. In order to analyze the effect of demographic data on the obtained scores, a multivariate linear regression model was created. The significance level was accepted as 0.05 in all analyzes. Results: Children's dental radiography experience affects parents' attitude score towards dental radiographs (t = 4.375, P < 0.001). Parents' level of knowledge about dental radiography has a positive effect on their attitudes (t = 5.510, P = 0.005). The education level of the parents and the frequency of visits to the dentist have a significant effect on the knowledge level of the parents about dental radiography (P < 0.05). When the correlation between knowledge and attitude scores is analyzed, it is observed that there is a statistically significant, weak and positive correlation between the two variables (r = 0.34, P < 0.001). Conclusion: In conclusion, parents who did not had dental radiographs before have a more negative attitude towards dental radiographs than those who have had dental radiographs.

Investigating the Level of Knowledge of the Community about Oral and Dental Health.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to determine the knowledge and approaches of the participants about oral and dental health. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a questionnaire-based cross-sectional survey. Participants' demographic characteristics, tooth brushing habits, selection of toothpaste, and reasons for visiting the dentist were examined in this study. Participants' knowledge levels of fluoride and their attitudes toward the most common fluoride applications among preventive treatments were also evaluated. Data entry and analyses were performed using SPSS statistical software. Descriptive and inferential statistics and chi-square test were used for analyzes. RESULTS: A total of 2,744 voluntary participants including 1,938 (70.6%) females and 806 (29.4%) males responded; 1,391 (50.7%) participants know the contents of their toothpaste; 1,680 (61.2%) participants point out that fluoride is effective in preventing dental caries. Female participants reported a statistically significant difference in their knowledge of what is fluoride when compared with male participants (p = 0.0001). The knowledge level of participants who had higher levels of education were statistically significantly different when compared with the participants who had lower education levels about fluoride and fluoride applications (p = 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study indicate that participants' attitudes toward oral health and dental care need to be improved.