Edentulism is both, disabling and handicapping. Despite improvements in prosthetic treatment and geriatric epidemiology, complete removable dentures remain the standard of care. Implant-retained overdentures were proposed as a practical alternative, however, with limitations as is highlighted in this briefing, aiming to shed more light on the urgent need for their inclusion in our day-to-day professional practices.

Therapeutic mouthwashes are often recommended as an adjunct to mechanical plaque control for prevention of plaque formation and maintain gingival health. The present clinical study was for the duration of four weeks and focused on two specific mouthwashes: HEXIDINE (0.2% chlorhexidine) and SEFDENT (a dual action mouthrinse with clove oil and sorbitol, sol isopropyl myristate, sodium saccharin) both claims to be effective in the treatment of gingivitis. HEXIDINE (Chlorhexidine) has long-standing research to substantiate its safety and efficacy whereas the SEFDENT mouthwash used in this study is a new mouthwash with many components in it. Subjects were randomly allocated into either the test group (n = 10,Sefdent) or the control group (n= 10,Hexidine) Plaque levels were measured using the Turesky's modification of the Quigley & Hein Plaque Index (PI), and gingivitis was evaluated and recorded with the Gingival Index (Loe and Silness 1963) (GI) at 0 day, 15th days and 30th day. All Subjects were instructed with oral hygiene instructions. First scaling and root planning was performed on all subjects and then they were asked to rinse twice daily with one of the mouthwashes (HEXIDINE or SEFDENT). Both the mouth-rinses studies turned out to be statistically significant but control group (HEXIDINE) showed significant improvement in plaque index, gingival scores, when compared to test group (SEFDENT). This shows that chlorhexidine remains a gold standard in improving the gingival status.

To compare the Lip Print Patterns of males and females, and to find out quadrant wise and sex wise predilection of lip print patterns.

A total of 200 dental students who satisfied the eligibility criteria were selected. Lip impressions of all these subjects were recorded. Suzuki's classification of Lip Prints was used and the results were analyzed.

Type II pattern was dominant in males in the Third and Fourth quadrants. Type III pattern did not occur in Third and Fourth quadrants at all. It has occurred in First/ Second quadrant exclusively in males. The results were found to be statistically significant.

With these results it can be concluded that Lip Prints are characteristic of an individual and behold a potential in individual identification like the Finger Prints. Further longitudinal investigations with larger sample size should be carried out to know more about this science.

The present study was conducted to document the ethnomedicinal practices followed for oral health and diseases by people of Dakshina Kannada (DK) district, and to suggest that the traditional knowledge should be integrated with modern dental care practices to formulate their sustainable utilization.

An ethnomedicinal survey was conducted using specific questionnaire subsequent to personal interview to collect information from traditional healers, local inhabitants, ayurvedic practitioners and botanists on the use of medicinal plants in oral care practices.

This study identified 32 species belonging to 29 genera and 20 families, commonly used by the people of DK region to maintain oral health and hygiene and as remedy for dental diseases.

Valuable ethnomedicinal practices are fast disappearing from rural population. New generation is ignorant of this traditional knowledge. So measures should be taken to document them and to increase the awareness among youngsters. This study will also be useful for the pharmacologists to isolate the active principles of these plants and incorporate it into the modern healthcare practices for easier and cheaper oral health treatments.

Restoration failure due to secondary caries is a continuing problem in restorative dentistry.

The present study is undertaken to see whether various fluoridated dentifrices recharge fluoride releasing restorative materials and, comparatively evaluate their recharging capabilities.

Materials used in the study are Fuji II LC, Compomer, Teethmate F1, Alfadent sealant. Dentifrices used are Sodiumflouride and Sodiummonoflurophasphate releasing. All restorative materials were mixed according to manufacturer's instruction and standardized test pellets were made using autoclaved instruments in sterile Teflon moulds. These test pellets were divided in various groups and brushed with various fluoridated and nonfluoridated dentifrices accordingly . Results were evaluated stastically using ANOVA, t-test and correlation coefficient for which regression lines were drawn. It was concluded that Sodiumfluoride containing dentifrices recharged fluoride releasing restorative material more than Sodium monoflurophasphate containing dentifrices

To evaluate the attitudes and perceptions of adults towards orthodontic treatment. To determine the motivating factor behind orthodontic treatment and the discomfort caused by fixed orthodontic appliances.

A cross sectional questionnaire based survey was conducted among 220 adult orthodontic patients from orthodontic outpatient visiting dental clinics. Ten items questionnaires were used to collect the data. Chi square test was applied by using S.P.S.S. software version 11.

Maintaining oral hygiene with 41% emerged as a major perception towards orthodontic treatment, next problem faced is duration of treatment with 37.3% subjects reported. 86% subjects reported teeth as a major feature for facial aesthetics. Only 4.5 % of subjects reported orthodontic treatment expensive. There are 12% subjects feel that there is lack of information towards orthodontic treatment still prevailing.

The principal conclusion reported in present study is that people consider smile as a major factor for aesthetics. Reason for other patients not opting for ortho treatment is not because this being too expensive but lack of information. There has to be a special campaign towards educating school children towards treatment modalities present and what difference they can bring in someone's life.

The close relationship among oral, systemic and psychologic health requires that oral health be evaluated thoroughly as part of health maintenance supervision. An understanding of normal sequence and patterns of tooth eruption is the foundation for identifying and treating children with abnormal dental development. Distinguishing normal from pathological dental development requires careful evaluation of the patient, including medical, dental and family history, clinical examination, radiographic evaluation and possibly special laboratory tests. Developmental anomalies of teeth are marked deviations from the normal standards in color, contour, size, number, and degree of development of the teeth. Systemic as well as local factors may operate to produce these developmental disturbances. These developmental anomalies have multiple, complex problems as they affect both form and function and can have significant psychological impact. These conditions may present early in life and require both immediate intervention and management of a protracted nature, including coordination of multi-disciplinary carealongwith accurate diagnosis, timely intervention with a comprehensive treatment plan. This paper presents a clinical update on the various dental anomalies alongwith their management options and consequences.

Endodontically treated teeth often require a post-and-core build-up for restoring the teeth to optimum health and function. The removal of gutta percha from the root canal filling, to prepare the post space is most critical in success of the endodontic and prosthodontic treatment. A 4 mm remaining length of root canal filling, after post space preparation, is commonly assumed to maintain sealing ability similar to that of the intact filling. Post space may be prepared either immediately using hot pluggers, or later, using mechanical drills, thermal or chemical means. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of immediate and delayed post space preparation on the integrity of the apical seal along with the techniques of obturation of root canal and the method of gutta percha removal for post space preparation.

Profound pulpal anaesthesia in endodontics is doorway to successful root canal treatment. It increases patient's cooperation and faith in operator as well as reduces stress on dentist's mind. Anaesthetising a tooth is sometimes challenging and more so in patients with painful pulpal conditions such as acute reversible and irreversible pulpitis, acute exacerbations of pulpal pathologies. This article emphasizes on various anaesthetic strategies which an endodontist can adopt in treating painful pulps.

The term “probiotic” was first used in 1965, by Lilly and Stillwell, to describe substances secreted by one organism which stimulate the growth of another. The number of products containing probiotics, viable bacteria with proven health benefits, entering the market is increasing. The use of antibiotics, immunosuppressive therapy and irradiation, amongst other means of treatment, may cause alterations in the composition and have an effect on the GIT flora. Therefore, the introduction of beneficial bacterial species to GI tract may be a very attractive option to re-establish the microbial equilibrium and prevent disease. Traditionally, probiotics have been associated with gut health, and most clinical interest has been focused on their use for prevention or treatment of gastrointestinal infections and diseases; however, during the last decade several investigators have also suggested the use of probiotics for oral health purposes.

This article provides dentists with the information they need to properly dispose of mercury and amalgam waste, and provides suggestions for managing the other wastes that result from the day-to-day activities of a dental office such as used X-ray fixers and developers; cleaners for X-ray developer systems; lead foils, shields and aprons; chemiclave/chemical sterilant solutions; disinfectants, cleaners, and other chemicals; and, general office waste.

The mouth is the major portal of entry to the body and is equipped with formidable mechanisms for sensing the environment and defending against toxins or invading pathogens. The oral cavity can be considered as a window to the body because many important systemic disorders manifest in the oral cavity. The dentist is frequently the first medical person to encounter such disorders. These oral manifestations must be properly recognized if the patient is to receive appropriate diagnosis and referral for treatment.

The fact that dentists are prone to commit suicide has been repeated so many times both in the specialist press and in the mass media that by carrying out a search on the internet, we found that large amount of news considered it to be true. The high suicide rate associated with our profession is treated in diverse ways in the scientific literature myth for few, generally dentists, and statistical data which need further studies for others. In this review we will try to analyse the scientific weight of the studies, searching for factors that may allow us to discover the relationship of the profession to the risk of suicide, analyzing the factors that are linked with dental activities.

Gingival bleeding is a hallmark of chronic periodontal disease; it is likely that the bacteria associated with this disease may produce a low level bacteraemia over extended time periods and the periodontal bacteria enter the bloodstream and travel to major organs like the heart. Microbial infections associated with periodontal disease contribute to cardiovascular disease via transient bacteraemia. Inflammatory and immunological mechanisms which may link periodontal infection and athermanous diseases may be numerous and diverse, potentially involving various cellular and molecular components, direct effects of bacteremia and indirect effects of periodontal tissue inflammation.

The most important objective of successful root canal treatment is thorough biomechanical preparation of root canal. Elimination of infected pulp and dentine, adequate root canal preparation and three dimensional obturation constitute the basic principle of root canal treatment. Ideally, the filling material along with sealer should be confined to the root canal without extending to periapical tissue or other neighboring structures. Endodontic filling material and sealer, beyond the apical foramen may give rise to clinical manifestations as a result of the toxicity of the product. When the extruded material is either close to or in intimate contact with nerve structures, anesthesia, hypoaesthia, paraesthasia, or dysaesthesia may occur. The purpose of this paper is to discuss few cases of apical extrusion of sealer during obturation and its effects on periapical tissue and the success of treatment.