Integrated case scripts to enhance diagnostic competency

Background: The overwhelmingly high burden of disease and disorder especially in developing countries requires oral physicians to provide optimal dental treatment without complicating individuals’ general health. The opportunity for learners to extract the multiple aspects of a systemic condition and to relate them with the presenting complaint in order to devise an appropriate dental treatment plan is limited by time in chair- side teaching. To overcome the necessity of exposing students to real patients with varying degrees of underlying disease, those in medical and nursing education unanimously employ imaginary scenarios similar to real cases. However, such clinical scripts are seldom practiced in dental education, and the prospect of structured integration is almost never addressed. Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of applying systematic and integrated case-based discussion in dental education in terms of enhancing five essential skills to novice Indian dental students. Methods: A mixed- methods study was carried out with thirty graduating third-year students in 5focus groups. The integrated case-based focused group training occurred in 6 weeks and lasted approximately 90 minutes per discussion. Ten case scripts of hypothetical situations were discussed and five integrated modules were organized as a part of this program. Revised Bloom’s taxonomy was adopted to achieve the expected level of competency. Results: Students performance following integrated case-based discussions was improved and their acceptance to this practice is positive. Conclusions: The present study supports the need for course specific, basic science integrated seminars with concurrent case scripts discussion to enhance students’ competencies

Ultrasonography - a New Paradigm Shift in Endodontics Literature Review

Diagnostic imaging is an integral and essential component of Endodontics, especially for periapical lesions.nbsp Recent research has seen an increase in the development and testing of new and improved techniques. Ultrasonography (US) has the advantage of being a non-invasive, painless, rapid and radiation free method. It is also capable of revealing considerable amount of details on soft tissues and differentiates various periapical pathologies like cysts, granulomas, abscesses and surgical scars with their size and dimensions in the anteroposterior, superoinferior, and mesiodistal planes. Evaluation of imaging techniques is important to ensure optimal monitoring of the outcomes of surgical and conventional endodontic treatment and to diagnose periapical lesions accurately. The present literature review focuses on the principles and rationale behind the USAge of US in the field of Endodontics.nbsp nbs

Comparative evaluation of maintenance of cell viability of an experimental transport media “coconut water” with Hank's balanced salt solution and milk, for transportation of an avulsed tooth: An in vitro cell culture study

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of a new storage medium, coconut water, in comparison with other traditional storage media like Hank's balanced salt solution (HBBS) and milk, in maintaining the viability of an established cell line BHK-21/C13 (baby hamster kidney fibroblasts) using the direct suspension cell culture technique

Endodontic management of patients with systemic complications

Successful endodontic practice requires complete knowledge about the various medical conditions and appropriateness in planning treatment as per the need with effective safety measures. This review focuses on a number of systemic complications encountered in endodontic practice and directions to be followed for avoiding potential complications. A detailed PubMed search was carried out using specific keywords, and 25 articles were referred for finalizing the content

A novel simplified numbering system for dental burs

A universally accepted standardization is of great value for any material or equipment that is used globally. A single number or name should represent the particular material or instrument throughout the world. Since the dental burs are used worldwide, a single standard numbering system, which gives a unique specification for each bur in any part of the world, is mandatory. Though the existing systems have tried to attain this goal, they have their own advantages and limitations that are explained in detail in this article. So, the idea of proposing a novel system is to formulate a simple way of mentioning each bur with its dimension and composition without the need for memorizing the numbers

Effect of smokeless tobacco on vascular changes following flap surgery - a doppler study

Background Very little attention has been paid to the association of smokeless tobacco and the health of gingival and periodontal tissues. Recent studies suggests the role of tobacco chewing in deterioration of gingival and periodontal tissues. Capillary units in the crestal gingiva are affected by inflammation and gingival blood flow may serve as a prognostic marker for inflammation. The study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of vascular flow following periodontal surgery amongst smokeless tobacco chewers and non tobacco chewers using ultrasound doppler flowmetry. Methods Based on an inclusion and exclusion criteria, two group of subjects with chronic periodontitis were randomly selected for the study. The control group consisted of subjects without tobacco chewing habit while the test group consisted of subjects with the habit of tobacco chewing. Necessary blood and radiographic investigations were taken and subjects were treated with flap surgeries in both the group of patients. Following the surgery , vascular blood flow was analysed on the second and seventh post operative days using laser doppler flowmetry. Results Smokeless tobacco chewers demonstrated decreased vascular flow following periodontal flap surgery compared to non chewers. Conclusions A positive correlation was observed between Laser Doppler Flowmetry readings and clinical signs of inflammation. After surgery, there was a decrease in blood flow, among tobacco chewers, when compared with non chewers, on second & seventh post - operative days in doppler study