Herbal anti-edematous agents for certain cases of facial cellulitis of odontogenic origin. Clinical recommendation.

Literature from different parts of the world reported that antibiotic abuse is evident in dental practice. One aspect of this abuse is prescribing antibiotics for non-indicated orofacial infections. The use of some herbal anti-edematous agents has been recommended for reducing post-operative swelling/edema in certain oral and maxillofacial surgical procedures. In this review we describe the possible benefits of using these agents for certain cases of facial cellulitis in order to reduce the number of antibiotic prescriptions for this particular clinical situation

The role of antifungal drugs in the management of denture-associated stomatitis

Background: Denture-associated stomatitis is a chronic infection of the oral cavitythat may be associated with a number of bacterial and candidal organisms aswell as some predisposing factors. Its management may prove to be difficult if thetreatment plan was not comprehensive in addressing all the factors involved in itsetiology. The aim of this review is to underline the effectiveness of antifungal drugsin the management of denture-associated stomatitis according to our personalexperience and the recently published literature.Methods: Articles were obtained from pubmed as well as by a hand search.Denture stomatitis and antifungal were used as keywords. Only articles writtenin English and which were published starting from the year 1990 were included.Conclusions: Antifungal drugs certainly have a place in the management ofdenture-associated stomatitis. However, their use should be called upon after thecontrol of factors known to cause this infection. Denture and oral hygiene, andmanagement of adverse medical conditions should be the primary goal of treatment.This should go hand in hand with the application of topical antifungal agentsparticularly those in the cream or gel form for better patients’ compliance

Prescribing Antibiotics for pediatric dental patients in Jordan; knowledge and attitudes of dentists

Objective: The inappropriate use of antibiotic in treating children has been observedin the treatment of dental infections. Recent surveys reported that dentistsin several countries have modest knowledge about antibiotic prescribing. The aimof this study was to investigate the knowledge and attitude of a group of Jordaniandentists treating children towards antibiotic prescribing.Methods: A written questionnaire was distributed during a meeting of the JordanianSociety of Paediatric Dentistry. The questionnaire included questions aboutthe knowledge and attitudes of dentists toward dental antibiotic prescribing tochildren.Results: Amoxicillin was the most popular antibiotic (62.9%) to be prescribed bydentists treating children. A lesser percentage (29.7%) prescribe combination ofantibiotics, and around 37% prescribe antibiotics for duration longer than 5 days.Erythromycin was the most popular alternative to amoxicillin (77.8%) followed byclindamycin (22.2%). A number of antibiotics were prescribed for non-indicatedclinical conditions like pulpitis and gingivitis. More than 50% of the sample prescribedantibiotics for non-scientific reasons like the “need to delay treatment†and“sterilization not guaranteedâ€.Conclusion: There is a need to improve awareness of Jordanian dentists regardingantibiotic prescribing to children particularly in the aspects of type of antibiotic tobe used for patients allergic and non-allergic to penicillin, duration of prescribing,and clinical indications. Dentists also should be discouraged to prescribe antibioticsbased on non-scientific/social factors

Anticancer effects of punicalagin and 5-fluorouracil on laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma: an <i>in vitro</i> study

The purpose of this study was to assess the apoptotic effects of punicalagin alone and in combination with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) on laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (Hep-2) cell line. Hep-2 cells were cultured and divided into four groups: Group 1 received no therapy and served as control, Group 2 received 5-FU only, Group 3 received punicalagin only, and Group 4 received a combination of 5-FU and punicalagin. After 48 hours of incubation, cellular changes were examined under an inverted microscope. The methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium assay, caspase-3 gene level, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) level were assessed. The control group showed the highest mean value of cancer cell proliferation rate (1.595±0.58), followed by the punicalagin group (1.263±0.447), then the 5-FU group (0.827±0.256), while the combination group showed the lowest proliferation rate (0.253±0.111). The combination group showed the highest mean value of caspase-3 concentration (3.177±0.736), followed by the 5-FU group (1.830±0.646), and punicalagin group (0.741±0.302), while the control group showed the lowest mean value (0.359±0.117). Regarding VEGF levels, the control group had a statistically significant higher mean value, followed by the punicalagin and 5-FU groups, and finally, the combination group which showed the lowest value. Punicalagin exerts an anticancer effect through anti-proliferative action and induction of apoptosis on Hep-2 cell line. Combining punicalagin with 5-FU potentiates its anti-proliferative, apoptotic, and anti-angiogenic actions. It, further, helps in mitigating the putative side effects of 5-FU by reducing the dose required for its therapeutic effects

Narghile (water pipe) smoking among university students in Jordan: prevalence, pattern and beliefs

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background and objectives</p> <p>Narghile is becoming the favorite form of tobacco use by youth globally. This problem has received more attention in recent years. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and pattern of narghile use among students in three public Jordanian universities; to assess their beliefs about narghile's adverse health consequences; and to evaluate their awareness of oral health and oral hygiene.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study was a cross-sectional survey of university students. A self-administered, anonymous questionnaire was distributed randomly to university students in three public Jordanian universities during December, 2008. The questionnaire was designed to ask specific questions that are related to smoking in general, and to narghile smoking in specific. There were also questions about oral health awareness and oral hygiene practices.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>36.8% of the surveyed sample indicated they were smokers comprising 61.9% of the male students and 10.7% of the female students in the study sample. Cigarettes and narghile were the preferred smoking methods among male students (42%). On the other hand, female students preferred narghile only (53%). Parental smoking status but not their educational level was associated with the students smoking status. Smokers had also significantly poor dental attendance and poor oral hygiene habits.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study confirmed the spreading narghile epidemic among young people in Jordan like the neighboring countries of the Eastern Mediterranean region. Alarming signs were the poor oral health awareness among students particularly smokers.</p

The changing trends in tobacco smoking for young Arab women; narghile, an old habit with a liberal attitude

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Narghile smoking by young females is becoming more acceptable than cigarettes in the conservative societies of Arab countries. Lack of social constraints on narghile smoking has resulted in an increased prevalence of narghile smoking among young Arab females and an earlier age of onset of this habit when compared to cigarette smoking.</p> <p>Documented health hazards of narghile smoking including pulmonary, cardiovascular and neoplastic ailments are consequently expected to affect this vulnerable sector of the population together with their offspring. In this commentary, we shed some light on the changing trend of tobacco use among young Arabic women as shown by an increasing number of studies investigating habits of tobacco use in young people.</p

Predicting recurrent aphthous ulceration using genetic algorithms-optimized neural networks

Najla S Dar-Odeh1, Othman M Alsmadi2, Faris Bakri3, Zaer Abu-Hammour2, Asem A Shehabi3, Mahmoud K Al-Omiri1, Shatha M K Abu-Hammad4, Hamzeh Al-Mashni4, Mohammad B Saeed4, Wael Muqbil4, Osama A Abu-Hammad1 1Faculty of Dentistry, 2Faculty of Engineering and Technology, 3Faculty of Medicine, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan; 4Dental Department, University of Jordan Hospital, Amman, JordanObjective: To construct and optimize a neural network that is capable of predicting the occurrence of recurrent aphthous ulceration (RAU) based on a set of appropriate input data.Participants and methods: Artificial neural networks (ANN) software employing genetic algorithms to optimize the architecture neural networks was used. Input and output data of 86 participants (predisposing factors and status of the participants with regards to recurrent aphthous ulceration) were used to construct and train the neural networks. The optimized neural networks were then tested using untrained data of a further 10 participants.Results: The optimized neural network, which produced the most accurate predictions for the presence or absence of recurrent aphthous ulceration was found to employ: gender, hematological (with or without ferritin) and mycological data of the participants, frequency of tooth brushing, and consumption of vegetables and fruits.Conclusions: Factors appearing to be related to recurrent aphthous ulceration and appropriate for use as input data to construct ANNs that predict recurrent aphthous ulceration were found to include the following: gender, hemoglobin, serum vitamin B12, serum ferritin, red cell folate, salivary candidal colony count, frequency of tooth brushing, and the number of fruits or vegetables consumed daily.Keywords: artifical neural networks, recurrent, aphthous ulceration, ulce