Aplicaciones para celulares: un enfoque de vanguardia para la educación en salud bucal.

While there is an ever increasing use of smartphones in recent times, cellular phone based mobile applications (apps) are hardly used by the public to improve oral health. Hence, this cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the features of the current oral health education smart phone apps pertaining to dental patients. Materials and Methods: Oral health terms were queried in the online app stores. Among the apps found, all patient-related apps were listed and categorized. The apps were assessed for type, cost, rating, average number of downloads, involvement of dental professional in their development, target group, local or global applicability, the benefits and drawbacks of the apps and user reviews. Results: A total of 146 oral health apps for patient use were found, with the most common being about techniques for oral hygiene (33.5%) and tooth brushing timers (25.3%). The majority of apps (69.2%) were available for downloading for no cost. ‘Happy teeth, healthy kids app’, ‘Disney Magic timer’ and ‘Happy Kids timer’ were the most downloaded apps. Conclusion: A considerable number of mobile apps are currently available for patients to help them in maintaining oral health, though most of them are brushing timers or demonstrate oral hygiene techniques.Objetivos: Si bien existe un uso cada vez mayor de teléfonos celulares inteligentes en los últimos tiempos, el público apenas utiliza las aplicaciones móviles (aplicaciones) para teléfonos celulares para mejorar la salud bucal. Por lo tanto, este estudio transversal se realizó para evaluar las características de las aplicaciones actuales para teléfonos celulares inteligentes de educación sobre salud bucal desarrollada para el uso de pacientes. Materiales y métodos: se consultaron los términos de salud oral en las tiendas de aplicaciones en línea. Entre las aplicaciones encontradas, todas las aplicaciones relacionadas con el paciente se enumeraron y categorizaron. Las aplicaciones se evaluaron por tipo, costo, calificación, número promedio de descargas, participación de un profesional dental en su desarrollo, grupo objetivo, aplicabilidad local o global, los beneficios y desventajas de las aplicaciones y las revisiones de los usuarios. Resultados: se encontraron un total de 146 aplicaciones de salud bucal para uso de los pacientes, siendo las más comunes sobre técnicas para la higiene bucal (33.5%) y los temporizadores para cepillarse los dientes (25.3%). La mayoría de las aplicaciones (69.2%) estaban disponibles para descargar sin costo. ‘Happy teeth, healthy kids app’, ‘Disney Magic timer’ y ‘Happy Kids timer’ fueron las aplicaciones más descargadas. Conclusión: actualmente hay un número considerable de aplicaciones móviles disponibles para ayudar a mantener la salud bucal de los pacientes, aunque la mayoría de ellas son temporizadores de cepillado dental, o demuestran técnicas de higiene bucal

Smartphone apps: A state-of-the-art approach for oral health education.

While there is an ever increasing use of smartphones in recent times, cellular phone based mobile applications (apps) are hardly used by the public to improve oral health. Hence, this cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the features of the current oral health education smart phone apps pertaining to dental patients. Materials and Methods: Oral health terms were queried in the online app stores. Among the apps found, all patient-related apps were listed and categorized. The apps were assessed for type, cost, rating, average number of downloads, involvement of dental professional in their development, target group, local or global applicability, the benefits and drawbacks of the apps and user reviews. Results: A total of 146 oral health apps for patient use were found, with the most common being about techniques for oral hygiene (33.5%) and tooth brushing timers (25.3%). The majority of apps (69.2%) were available for downloading for no cost. ‘Happy teeth, healthy kids app’, ‘Disney Magic timer’ and ‘Happy Kids timer’ were the most downloaded apps. Conclusion: A considerable number of mobile apps are currently available for patients to help them in maintaining oral health, though most of them are brushing timers or demonstrate oral hygiene techniques.Objetivos: Si bien existe un uso cada vez mayor de teléfonos celulares inteligentes en los últimos tiempos, el público apenas utiliza las aplicaciones móviles (aplicaciones) para teléfonos celulares para mejorar la salud bucal. Por lo tanto, este estudio transversal se realizó para evaluar las características de las aplicaciones actuales para teléfonos celulares inteligentes de educación sobre salud bucal desarrollada para el uso de pacientes. Materiales y métodos: se consultaron los términos de salud oral en las tiendas de aplicaciones en línea. Entre las aplicaciones encontradas, todas las aplicaciones relacionadas con el paciente se enumeraron y categorizaron. Las aplicaciones se evaluaron por tipo, costo, calificación, número promedio de descargas, participación de un profesional dental en su desarrollo, grupo objetivo, aplicabilidad local o global, los beneficios y desventajas de las aplicaciones y las revisiones de los usuarios. Resultados: se encontraron un total de 146 aplicaciones de salud bucal para uso de los pacientes, siendo las más comunes sobre técnicas para la higiene bucal (33.5%) y los temporizadores para cepillarse los dientes (25.3%). La mayoría de las aplicaciones (69.2%) estaban disponibles para descargar sin costo. ‘Happy teeth, healthy kids app’, ‘Disney Magic timer’ y ‘Happy Kids timer’ fueron las aplicaciones más descargadas. Conclusión: actualmente hay un número considerable de aplicaciones móviles disponibles para ayudar a mantener la salud bucal de los pacientes, aunque la mayoría de ellas son temporizadores de cepillado dental, o demuestran técnicas de higiene bucal

Perception and knowledge of dental interns toward interdepartmental coordination for successful prosthodontic treatment: A pilot study

Background: The graduating dentist should be trained in providing treatment utilizing the interdisciplinary approach because of the rapid advancements and increase in patient expectations, which demands for collaboration between the different specialists. Purpose: A pilot study was undertaken with an aim to assess the perception and knowledge of dental interns toward interdepartmental coordination for successful prosthodontic treatment. Subjects and Methods: Dental interns from two dental colleges in Sangli (India) participated in the study. A 24-item self-administered, structured closed-ended questionnaire was used to collect the data. Four questions assessed the perception and 20 questions assessed the knowledge, which were based on the four domains viz.: General, Endodontics, Orthodontics, and Prosthodontics. They were framed from case scenarios reporting to the Department of Prosthodontics, which required interdepartmental consultation. The questionnaire was validated before its application and reliability were also assessed. The final score for each question was calculated based on the correct responses. Descriptive analysis was calculated using the frequencies, percentages, and mean values by using SPSS 16 software. Results: Among 117 interns who participated in the study, 79.5% reported that they lacked training in an interdisciplinary approach. Approximately, 96% reported that the curriculum should be designed to include interdisciplinary training. Nearly, 88% reported that specialist from different specialty should be posted in one interdisciplinary department. Around 60% reported that they did not have the confidence of treating the patient as a whole. When the overall mean scores were considered, the highest scores were obtained for the general domain (95.3) and the lowest for the prosthodontic domain (83.6). Conclusion: The dental interns perceived that they lacked training in interdisciplinary approach, and the curriculum should include interdisciplinary training

Case-based learning: A study to ascertain the effectiveness in enhancing the knowledge among interns of an Indian dental institute

Objective: Time and again, it has been shown that active learning promotes critical thinking, and this environment has to be fostered in dental education too. Therefore, the present study was carried out with an aim to know the effectiveness of case-based learning (CBL) in enhancing the knowledge of dental interns of a dental institute in India. Materials and Methods: This pre-post single-blinded, experimental study was conducted in two sessions on a purposive sample of 45 dental interns who gave informed consent. The interns answered a pretest questionnaire comprising questions related to their knowledge of hyperplastic tissue in complete denture patients. The interns were randomly allocated into three subgroups for thorough discussion. Each group viewed all three parts of a case related to hyperplastic tissue and presented the case in the presence of a facilitator. The facilitator discussed the subject with the three subgroups. A post-test was conducted immediately, and the results were compared with the pretest. The facilitator explained about hyperplastic tissue with an audio-visual aid after the post-test was administered. The perception of interns toward CBL was assessed by a standard questionnaire. Results: On analysis, the comparison of the overall knowledge scores pre- and post-CBL showed a statistically significant increase from 9.8 ± 2.14 to 12.6 ± 1.37 (P < 0.001). Conclusion: CBL proved to be effective in enhancing the knowledge of dental interns

Assessment of total antioxidant capacity and antimicrobial activity of Glycyrrhiza glabra in saliva of HIV-infected patients

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to evaluate the antimicrobial activity and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of licorice in Saliva of HIV/AIDS patients. Materials and Methods: Saliva specimens were collected from 20 people living with HIV infection, with CD4 count <500 cells/mm3 from people infected with HIV/AIDS in Mangalore city, India. A combination of amoxicillin-clavulanic acid and nystatin was taken as the positive control and normal saline as negative control. Results were compared using one-way analysis of variance followed by Tukey's post hoc analysis in SPSS 19. Results: The TAC was evaluated spectrophotometrically at 695nm using the phosphomolybdenum method. Glycyrrhiza glabra showed a statistically significant reduction (P < 0.05) in total Candida count. The TAC of G. glabra was found to be 4.467 mM/L. Conclusions: G. glabra extracts showed good anticandidal activity and also high antioxidant property which reduces the oxidative stress of HIV-infected people