Anti-plaque and anti-gingivitis effect of Papain, Bromelain, Miswak and Neem containing dentifrice : a randomized controlled trial

Patients undergoing fixed orthodontic therapy may have difficulty in maintaining a good oral hygiene due to the difficulty posed by the appliances in accessing such areas. This study aimed to compare anti-plaque and anti-gingivitis efficacy of dentifrice containing Papain, Bromelain, Miswak and Neem with a standard dentifrice among patient?s undergoing fixed orthodontic treatment. Single center, single blind, parallel arm, randomized controlled clinical trial with an allocation ratio of 1:1 was conducted. Evaluation of plaque and gingivitis was done using Williams modification of Silness and Loe Plaque Index (PI) for use in orthodontic subjects and Loe and Silness?s Gingival Index (GI) at baseline and one month. Inter-group comparison showed there was significantly lower mean plaque index in test (0.88 ±0.05) than in control group (1.17 ±0.05) after adjusting for the baseline plaque index (p<0.001). Similarly, there was significantly lower mean gingival index in test (0.87 ±0.04) than in control group (1.14 ±0.04) after adjusting for the baseline gingival index (p<0.001). The efficacy of the test dentifrice in limiting plaque and gingivitis suggests that it can be used as a home based adjunct to clinical therapy in orthodontic patients

Relationship of salivary CD14 concentration with dental caries in young children

Dental caries is a chronic disease among children and there is need for studies assessing the caries risk factors using saliva. This study aimed to evaluate the association of salivary soluble CD14 and dental caries in young children. A cross-sectional study was done among 300, 3-6 year old school children of Udupi district. A total of 40 children who were caries free, with no past systemic illness or craniofacial anomalies and 40 children with dental caries with no history of dental treatment for caries, with no past systemic illness or craniofacial anomalies were included in control and test groups respectively. Salivary CD14 was evaluated using ELISA test. The mean salivary soluble CD14 concentration was significantly higher in caries free (1.34±0.35 µg/ml) children than caries experienced (0.54±0.36 µg/ml) (p<0.001). There was significant strong negative correlation between number of decayed teeth and soluble salivary CD14 (r = -0.868, P< 0.001) among all the children. Similarly, sub-group analysis of caries experienced children also showed significant strong negative correlation between number of decayed teeth and soluble salivary CD14 (r = -0.774, P<0.001). Results obtained in our study suggested that salivary CD14 can be a indicator of dental caries in young children

Clinical pain evaluation with intraoral vibration device during local anesthetic injections

Objectives: To evaluate the clinical pain during local anesthetic injection using such intra-oral device. Study Design: A comparative split-mouth clinical study to evaluate clinical pain was conducted among the subjects who required bilateral local anesthetic intra-oral injections. Results: A total of 99 subjects participated in the study out of which 39 were female. A total of 256 local anesthetic injections were administered to all the subjects with at least one pair of similar local anesthetic injections. Comparison of mean VAS score for anticipated pain in without vibration group was significantly higher in all types of nerve blocks when compared to that of with vibration. Similarly, the comparison of mean VAS score for actual pain in without vibration group was significantly higher in all types of nerve blocks when compared to that of with vibration. No significant difference in the mean VAS score was seen between anticipated and actual pain in without vibration group with respect to inferior alveolar ( p =0.673), infra-orbital ( p =0.175) and palatal ( p =0.343) local anesthetic injections. The mean VAS score was significantly lower for actual pain when compared to anticipated pain in vibration group with respect to inferior alveolar ( p <0.001) and infra-orbital ( p =0.002) local anesthetic injections. Conclusions: There was significant reduction in the pain encountered during local anesthetic injection with the use of intra-oral vibration device

Estimation of salivary cortisol among subjects undergoing dental extraction

Dental procedures can be stressful and studies have shown that salivary cortisol is elevated during such procedures. Our study aimed to evaluate saliva cortisol levels among the subjects who underwent dental extractions and to compare it with that of the controls. The secondary objective of the study was to evaluate any correlation between salivary cortisol and hemodynamic parameters. We conducted this clinical study among subjects, who were indicated for dental extraction. Saliva samples from the subjects in the study group were collected before and after (10 mins) the dental extraction. Hemodynamic parameters like heart rate, systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and oxygen saturation (Sp O2) were measured 10 minutes prior to the dental extraction and after completion of the extraction by a single trained examiner. Salivary cortisol was estimated by solid phase enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). A total of 31 subjects in the study group and 24 subjects in control group have participated in this study. The mean salivary cortisol concentration was significantly higher after extraction (27.94±7.94) than before extraction (24.67±8.31) in the study group (P<0.001). No significant correlations were seen between salivary cortisol concentration and hemodynamic parameters except for diastolic blood pressure after extraction. Dental extractions and local anaesthetic procedures can induce stress in subjects. Dental care providers should try to minimise the subject?s anxiety and stress to the maximum extent