This study explored the parental awareness of the importance of the potential health benefits of harvesting stem cells located in the pulp chambers of the pediatric dentition.

The study population comprised of 107 mothers of pediatric patients seeking dental treatment at a health center in New Jersey. The mothers of the pediatric patients completed a questionnaire assessing their knowledge about stem cells in the pediatric dentition.

104 (97.2%) of the 107 mothers that completed the questionnaire had no knowledge about stem cells. The three study subjects that did have insight about stem cells learned about stem cells from either the television or the internet and no study subjects learned about stem cells from neither dental providers nor pediatricians.

Our results suggest that health care providers need to not only treat patient symptoms but educate patients about the potential health benefits of harvesting stem cells from extracted/exfoliated pediatric teeth. Further analytical research is called for.

To evaluate the efficacy of Soluneem (a water soluble formulation from the neem seed kernel from Azadirachta Indica containing Azadirachtin) as an antimicrobial agent and the effective concentration of Soluneem required to inhibit periodontopathic bacteria and to compare it with a known antiplaque agent chlorhexidine (0.2%) in vitro.

The subgingival plaque samples from a total of 20 sites from 5 patients (4 sites per patient) was taken with a probing pocket depth of >”5mm. Subgingival plaque samples were collected, cultivated, and incubated anaerobically as per the standard procedure. Further subculturing was done to obtain pure growth. Various biochemical tests were used for identifying each organism as per the standard protocol. The sensitivity to the varying concentrations of neem like 100%, 50%, 25%, 12.5%, 6.25%, 3.125% and 1.5625% and 0.2% Chlorhexidine solution was tested using the Modified Disc diffusion method. The sensitivity was tested by measuring the zones of inhibition comparing with the known standard diameter.

The organisms isolated and percentage of identification rate from total of five patients was 60% for Bacteroids fragilis, 40% for Bacteroids distasonis, 20% for Prevotella corporis, 20% for Prevotella melaninogenica, and 20% for Peptostreptococus species. Chlorhexidine 0.2 % was effective against micro organisms cultivated and isolated in this study. However Soluneem was not effective against the organisms cultivated in this study.

Soluneem had no effect on the growth of any of the isolated organisms. Further studies testing soluneem against other putative periodontal pathogens with Azadirachtin are warranted.

The aim of this study is to assess the periodontal health status and its determinants among a group of mentally disabled children in Khartoum State and to compare it with a control group of children of normal intelligence.

Thirty seven mentally disabled children aged 8-10 years were examined at five centres of mentally disabled children in Khartoum State. A control group with normal intelligence quotient of a similar age and socioeconomic status was selected from schools nearby the centres visited. Both mentally disabled children and the children in the control group were examined for their plaque index, gingival index and periodontal pocket depth. A comparison was made between the mentally disabled children and the healthy children as well as between the subgroups of the mentally disabled children (mild, moderate, and severe). Questionnaires concerning the degree of mental disability, level of parent education, role of parents toward child oral health, were also used.

The results revealed that the mentally disabled children showed higher scores of plaque and gingival index (1.9, 1.7 respectively) when compared with the plaque and gingival index of the control group (0.6, 0.6 respectively). No increase in gingival sulcus depth in both study and control group was found. According to the degree of mental disability there was statistically significant difference in plaque and gingival index among the mild, moderate and severe subgroups (P=0.001), the plaque and gingival index tend to increase with the severity of mental retardation. Conclusion. Mentally disabled children showed more plaque when compared with healthy controls. Periodontal disease was more prevalent among mentally disabled children as presented in the form of gingivitis and the degree of severity depends on the degree of mental disability.

History is evident that correct assessment of Sagittal Jaw Relationship has always remained the perennial problem in orthodontics. The present study is undertaken to use Sagittal methods for assessing individuals and classifying for Skeletal Class I, Class II and Class III based on Jaw Relationship and to evaluate the reliability of sagittal methods. 200 subjects in the age group of 12 to 18 yrs were selected and were subjected to cephalometric radiography and traced. The sample was divided into skeletal Class I, Class II and Class III on the basis of AXD angle, FABA angle and MM Bisector. Subsequently following angles and linear measurements were measured; Beta angle; AB plane angle; JYD angle; ANB angle; AXB angle; AF - BF and App - Bpp. Result - Consistency could be demonstrated by all the methods assessed by Antero-Posterior jaw relationship. Insignificant difference on influence of growth, age and sex was noted. Angular methods used for assessing jaw relationship such as FABA, AXD, Beta and linear measurements such as App-Bpp, MM Bisector could demonstrate superiority for assessing Antero-Posterior jaw relationship over other methods such as AXB, AB plane, ANB and AF-BF which showed more variability.

Barodontalgia is the oral pain caused by the changes in the pressure caused due to altitude changes either on deep sea diving or inflight conditions. Barodontalgia is one of the important clinical entities which present with such overlapping signs and symptoms, that in normal clinical setup the pain due to barodontalgia goes unnoticed. Also the literature available in textbooks is also less informative and revealing of the nature of pain caused due to barodontalgia. Hence this article focuses on those untouched aspects of barodontalgia which are to be paid attention.

In such a diverse and vast country like India, a large variation in prevalence of malocclusion exists in varying regions of our country. This can be due to variations in ethnicity, nutritional status, religious beliefs, and dietary habits. Various studies have been conducted among diverse Indian regional populations. In this article, a summary of the epidemiological studies is given below.

DentaScan is a unique new computer software program which provides computed tomographic (CT) imaging of the mandible and maxilla in three planes of reference: axial, panoramic, and oblique sagittal (or cross-sectional). The clarity and identical scale between the various views permits uniformity of measurements and cross-referencing of anatomic structures through all three planes. Unlike previous imaging techniques, the oblique sagittal view permits the evaluation of distinct buccal and lingual cortical bone margins, as well as clear visualization of internal structures, such as the incisive and inferior alveolar canals.

The current clinical diagnostic criterias which were introduced almost half a century ago continue to function as the basis of oral diagnosis in today's clinical practice. Evolvement with time is now brought us to the era of biomarkers. It's a new paradigm for periodontal diagnosis which is of immense benefit in managing periodontitis patients. Biomarkers are tell – tale molecules that can be used to monitor health status, disease onset, treatment response and outcome.

These biomarkers can be obtained from blood components such as: serum or plasma. However because of it's being an invasive procedure other body fluids such as saliva and GCF are being considered for potential source of biomarkers. The simple and non-invasive nature of saliva collection and its high sensitivity assay development has led to the salivary biomarkers being a promising future for periodontal diagnosis.

Gingival overgrowth is a well recognized, unwanted side-effect associated with three major drugs/drug groups – phenytoin, cyclosporine and the calcium channel blockers. Cyclosporine is a potent immunosuppressive compound that has been used increasingly in conjunction with kidney, heart and other transplants. Calcium channel blockers are widely used in medical practice for the management of cardiovascular disorders. Due to their wide range of use, gingival overgrowth is now a recognized side-effect associated with them. Here we discuss a case report dealing with severe gingival overgrowth induced by cyclosporine and amlodipine. A 36-year-old man who underwent renal transplant came with a chief complaint of generalized gingival swelling. He had very severe gingival overgrowth in both arches and required thorough scaling and oral hygiene instructions, followed by supportive periodontal therapy for 4 months, after which radical gingivectomy using electrocautery and CO₂ laser was performed. The post operative results were excellent and there was no recurrence at 1 year follow-up.

Odontoma is the most common type of benign odontogenic tumor, and often causes disturbances in the eruption of its associated tooth. This case report documents a twelve -year-old-child with a compound odontoma located in the anterior maxilla, which caused the impaction of the maxillary central incisor. Spontaneous eruption of the involved tooth occurred once the odontoma was surgically removed.