Biomedical waste management in dental practice during the COVID-19: A questionnaire survey and a narrative review

Background: Environmental hazards have been a highly debated topic worldwide for a considerable time. During the pandemic, the benefits of environmental cleanliness in terms of increased water quality, air quality, has been reported oftentimes. However, the generation of biomedical waste comprising health care worker utilities such as masks, and gloves, has increased and this increase is calculated in terms of alarming statistics which shows 10 fold higher prediction of Biomedical waste than before. Recent studies by researchers support a cleaner environment; however, an equally increasing amount of biomedical waste generated needs to be monitored strictly alongside stringent regulations for safe disposal of biomedical waste which to be instilled in the mind of the general public. Materials and Methods: Databases like Pubmed and Google scholar were systematically searched for articles with the specific keywords “biomedical waste management in dental practice” which identified 17 articles on 13/09.2020 where filters were applied and restricted to 2020. A detailed analysis of the 17 articles was done and few articles were considered in this narrative review. Results: Our survey results show that the generation of biomedical waste and the awareness of the dental fraternity is very less, almost 41% don’t know the amount of waste generated in India. Conclusion: Amid growing COVID-19 disease incidence, a day-to-day assessment of biomedical waste generation with individual social responsibility is a dire need of the hour to combat and overcome the disease

The Effect of Laser Micro Grooved Platform Switched Implants and Abutments on Early Crestal Bone Levels and Peri-Implant Soft Tissues Post 1 Year Loading among Diabetic Patients—A Controlled Clinical Trial

Background and Objectives: The study aimed to compare the mean crestal bone level (CBL) and peri-implant soft tissue parameters in laser micro-grooved (LMG) platform switched implants and abutments (I&A) post 1 year of functional loading among non-diabetic and type II diabetic individuals. Materials and methods: Patients with an edentulous site having minimum bone height and width of ≥13 mm and ≥6 mm, respectively, were divided into two groups: (i) Non-diabetic-8 (control) and (ii) diabetic-8 (test). LMG Implants were placed and loaded immediately with a provisional prosthesis. Mean crestal bone level (MCBL) was evaluated radiographically at baseline and at 1 year. Peri-implant attachment level (PIAL) and relative position of the gingival margin (R-PGM) were recorded. Implant stability quotient (ISQ) level and implant survival rate (ISR) were evaluated at 1 year. Results: Early MCBL within the groups 1 year postloading was similar both mesially and distally (control—0.00 to 0.16 mm and 0.00 to 0.17 mm, respectively; test—0.00 to 0.21 mm and 0.00 to 0.22 mm, respectively) with statistical significance (p ≤ 0.003, p ≤ 0.001 and p ≤ 0.001, p ≤ 0.001, respectively). However, intergroup comparison showed no significant difference statistically in the MCBL in 1 year post functional loading. The peri-implant soft tissue parameters showed no significant difference between the groups. ISQ level between both groups did not reveal any significant changes (p ≤ 0.92), and ISR was 100%. Conclusions: LMG Implants resulted in minimal and comparable early crestal bone loss and soft tissue changes post 1 year of functional loading in moderately controlled diabetic and non-diabetic individuals, suggesting that this could be a reliable system for use in systemically compromised individuals