Introduction: Oral health has great impact on the overall health and well-being of an individual. The Disability Discrimination Act, 1995 states that there is need to ensure removal of all the barriers to dental care for this group of individuals and provide equal access for all. Hence, the present study aimed to create awareness on the importance of the oral health care needs among visually impaired children. Objectives: To assess the oral health knowledge, attitude and awareness using Braille-scripted questionnaire and to evaluate and correlate the influence on oral hygiene practices following oral health education using Braille-formatted material. Materials and methods: A total of 100 visually impaired children were selected randomly from two residential blind institutes. Twenty open-ended Braille-formatted questions were scripted in regional language (Kannada) and were distributed to all the children. At baseline, simplified oral hygiene index (OHI-S) was recorded. Children were provided with oral hygiene instructions verbally and in Braille-formatted material individually. At the end of 2 months, the OHI-S index was rerecorded. Data collected were statistically analyzed. Results: Basic oral health knowledge was fair as evidenced by many children. The study revealed that 67% of children were aware of the importance of health of mouth and teeth over the health of body. In the present study, 78% of children cited that mother was the one who takes care of teeth. These dental visits were mostly reported either as attending the dentist whenever they had dental problems (38%) or as never having visited dentist 36%. The OHI-S scores before and after intervention showed highly statistically significant results (p = 0.001). Conclusion: Visually impaired children showed acceptable improvement following Braille-scripted oral hygiene instructions with the key factor being the repetition and reinforcement of those instructions.

The prevalence of malnutrition increases with age because of many factors. Presence of edentulous jaws leads to avoidance of many types of food. Shifts in food selection patterns result from impairments in masticatory ability. In most of the instances, prosthodontic treatment alone, such as complete dentures, implant overdentures, or other prosthetic treatment for elderly patients in the absence of proper dietary instructions, is inadequate to attain a significant progress in nutritional levels. Thus, to achieve a successful therapy, most researchers imply on giving a dietary instruction as a part of treatment procedure. An attempt has been made to review the dietary requirements for geriatric denture wearers which would benefit them from untoward consequences of malnutrition.

Objective: To describe the prevalence of medication used by patients of a community-based dental clinic and the prevalence of their various medical conditions. Materials and methods: Hundred patients attending a community-based dental clinic were invited to participate in this study. Data were collected via a self-administered questionnaire which was distributed to a convenience sample. Descriptive data, such as age, gender, medical conditions, and medication used were recorded. The patients’ medical conditions were then classified into general groups and analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22. Results: The participants had a mean age of 42. The majority (58%) were female. Most (49%) participants were Afro-Trinidadians. The vast majority (83%) did not have a dentist. Some (17%) participants had been hospitalized for either illness and/or surgery in the past. Most (56%) participants were not taking any form of medication, while 44% of participants displayed a wide range of medication use. Some (30%) had only one medical condition present, and 14% were on a combination of medical drugs, in order to treat multiple medical conditions. The medical conditions with the highest prevalence were hypertension (14%), diabetes (11%), and ophthalmic disease (7%). Conclusion: These findings emphasize the array of medical conditions which must be taken into consideration in the dental setting as systemic health issues and their associated medications play an important role in treatment planning.

Introduction: The greater palatine foramen (GPF) and incisive canal foramen (ICF) play an important role in administering the local anesthetics. Aim: To evaluate the anatomic and morphologic variability of GPF and ICF in relation to age and gender of Saudi dental patients using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans. Materials and methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study evaluated the 182 CBCT scans of Saudi dental patients who were examined for GPF (n = 364) and ICF (n = 182) who had attended a private dental school. The relationship of GPF and ICF to the surrounding structures, midline maxillary suture (MMS) to the posterior border of the maxilla, dimensions and opening direction of ICF, and the dimensions of the canals were evaluated. Chi-square test, independent Student's t-test, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests were applied to elicit statistical significance. Results: Findings revealed that the gender variations were significant in lateral to medial diameter GPF, GPF distance to midline, GPF distance to posterior maxilla, and distance between ICF to GPF. Similarly, age groups showed differences in GPF distance to midline, and distance between ICF and GPF. A significant positive correlation between age and distance of IC to GPF was observed (r = 0.14, p = 0.007). Age showed a significant positive correlation with IC length (r = 0.151, p = 0.041). Conclusion: Age and gender differences were obvious with regard to dimension and morphology of the GPF, ICF, and other adjacent structures among Saudi dental patients as revealed by CBCT scans.

Introduction: Occupational hazards are disorders which are induced due to work-related conditions. Oral healthcare providers are continuously getting exposed to a number occupation-related disorders. This may cause various occupation-related disorders which then develop and increase with years. Unawareness or ignorance makes oral healthcare professionals more vulnerable to occupationrelated disorders. So health of oral healthcare professionals, especially effect of dental activities on it, is important in the present day, and as a matter of fact, not a well-documented subject also. Aim: To summarize the important side of occupation-related disorders influencing oral healthcare professionals and to present its preventive measures. Results: Previous literature suggests evidence of high vulnerability of oral healthcare professionals to certain work-related disorders. Conclusion: It is therefore, important that all the oral healthcare professionals remain constantly informed regarding occupational hazards and implementation of preventive strategies to provide a safe working environment. Continuous education and appropriate interventions are needed to reduce the complications of these hazards.

The innate fissure of lip and hard palate represents the most common inborn craniofacial oddity originated by unusual facial development through gestation. It varies in form and severity. The rehabilitation amounts to a committed approach of care for the afflicted child since its detection. The craniofacial team works together to arrange the complex surgical and nonsurgical treatment plan. The diverse stratagem has been endeavored to lessen the cleft space and achieve esthetic results postsurgically. The presurgical nasoalveolar molding (PNAM) technique represents an essential part of the treatment of child with orofacial split. It ameliorates the orientation of the palatal ridges and decreases the distance between the cleft lip segments, provides symmetry to severely disfigure nasal gristle. The case report presents a concise insight concerning PNAM approach in unilateral cleft lip and palate (CLCP) patient with excellent presurgical outcome.