Laser Gingivectomy in a Patient Undergoing Orthodontic Treatment: A Case Report

ABSTRACT The benefits of using a laser in soft tissue treatment include less oedema, reduced inflammation, and quicker recovery. Nowadays, soft-tissue interventions, including periodontal recontouring, operculectomy, or frenectomy, are possible thanks to the introduction of diode lasers that are strongly absorbable melanin and haemoglobin. In this case, a 17-year-old patient at the near end of her orthodontic treatment was concerned about her gummy smile. She also had a gingival swelling in the lower anterior segment. Furthermore, she had a high labial frenum attachment. It was decided to go for a gingivectomy and frenectomy with the help of a laser (Diode Lasotronix 980nm).

Association of Sociodemographic Factors with Trends of Self-Medication Practice and Its Hazard Perception for Oral Health Problems among Patient

OBJECTIVES: To assess the impact of sociodemographic factors with the trends of self-medication practice and its hazard perception among patients METHODOLOGY: A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted on the patients visiting Sharif Medical and Dental College from June 2019 to June 2020. Data was collected using a validated questionnaire from 142 patients. Chi-square and fisher exact tests were used to find the association of trends of self-medication practice and hazard perception with sociodemographic factors. RESULTS: The patients in the age range of 18 to 29 years practiced self-medication the most. The triggering factor for use of medication was toothache among all ages. The most commonly used drug was reported to be analgesics. The main reason for self-medication was lack of time to visit the doctor. The females practiced self-medication more than the males. The triggering factor for both the genders was toothache and analgesics were mostly used. The patients with tertiary level education and those who were unemployed practiced self- medication the most. The triggering factor was toothache across all levels of education and employed as well as unemployed patients. Drug resistance was stated the main hazard. CONCLUSION: The triggering factor for use of medication was toothache, most commonly used drugs were analgesics and the main reason for self-medication was lack of time across all ages, both the gender, married and unmarried patients, levels of education and employment. Un-employed patients and those with tertiary level of education-practiced self- medicated themselves the most. The highest percentage of patients considered drug resistance to be the biggest hazard

Knowledge and Practices Regarding Informed Consent among Dental Practitioners

  To assess the knowledge and practices of dental practitioners regarding informed consent. METHODOLOGY: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 150 dentists at the College of Dentistry, Sharif Medical and Dental College, Lahore from June 2019 to June 2020. A pre-validated questionnaire was used. Mann Whitney U test was performed to find the statistical difference in the knowledge and practice scores across the gender and place of practice of dentists and the Kruskal Wallis test for scores across the years of clinical experience and qualification of dentists. RESULTS: The mean practice score was significantly different across levels of qualification (p=0.032) but not across years of practice (0.366). There was no significant difference in the mean knowledge score across years of practice (p=0.744) and levels of qualification (p=0.366). The highest mean score among knowledge questions was seen for the questions which inquired if informed consent should be taken before treatment. The highest mean score among practice questions was seen for the question which inquired if dentists obtained informed consent from parents before treating children.   CONCLUSION: The mean knowledge score for females was higher in comparison to males and was the highest in dentists with an experience of greater than 10 years. Most dentists were aware of the concepts, types and processes of informed consent and the importance of taking the patient`s consent before treatment. Taking informed consent from patients before treatment, keeping it as part of their record and taking parents’ consent before treating children were practiced

Excision of a Chronic Inflammatory Mass Using Diode Lasers: A Case Report

Photobiomodulation (PBM), also known as low level laser therapy (LLLT) or cold laser therapy uses light energy to elicit biological responses from the cell and help regulate cell function. From a clinical point of view PBM offers dental practitioners a non-invasive treatment modality that can be used as an adjunct to the traditional therapies or as a therapeutic tool on its own. This is a case of surgical excision of a fluctuant mass using a scalpel and diode laser 980nm wavelength

Frenectomy Using Diode Lasers: A Case Report

OBJECTIVES Lasers are used in almost every aspect of dentistry, be it surgeries, restorations, periodontal procedures, and even aesthetic dentistry. One certain area that requires extra emphasis and importance is the laser-assisted frenectomy. Frenectomy, as the name suggests, is the excision of frenum attachment to the underlying bone. Frenectomy is carried out in the mandible as well as the maxilla. This is a case of a patient undergoing orthodontic treatment who also required a frenectomy, and to minimize the postoperative pain and swelling, the procedure was carried out using a diode laser rather than the conventional surgical procedure

Impact of Personality Trait of Emotional Stability on Oral Parafunctional Habits

OBJECTIVES To find the impact of emotional stability on oral parafunctional habits. METHODOLOGY A Cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted at the College of Dentistry, Sharif Medical and Dental College, Lahore, over five months, from July to November 2021. Data was collected using a medical questionnaire and a ten-item personality inventory scale (TIPI). The medical questionnaire comprised two sections with 11 items. The first section had six demographic statements, including age, gender, marital status, occupation, educational level and medical condition. The second section consisted of a pre-validated parafunctional habits questionnaire. RESULTSThere was a non-significant difference in the scores of the personality trait of emotional stability across categories of oral parafunctional habits of nail-biting (p=0.093), tooth grinding (p=0.192), tooth clenching (p=0.055), biting on hard objects (p=0.17) and chewing gum (p=0.116). CONCLUSION Emotional stability was most prevalent in individuals who denied having the habit of nail-biting, teeth grinding, tooth clenching and biting hard objects but neither agreed nor disagreed with having the habit of chewing gum

Oral Parafunctional Habits in Individuals with The Extravert Personality Type

OBJECTIVES:  To find the association of extraversion personality traits with oral parafunctional habits. METHODOLOGY: A Cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 200 individuals in the College of Dentistry, Sharif Medical and Dental College, Lahore, over 5 months from July to November 2021. Data was collected using a pre-validated medical questionnaire and a ten-item personality inventory scale (TIPI). The sampling technique used was Convenience sampling. A sample size of 200 was calculated with the help of WHO sample size determination software. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant difference in the scores of extraversion personality traits across the oral parafunctional habit group of nail-biting (p= 0.007). In contrast, that for tooth grinding (0.114), tooth clenching (0.076), biting hard objects (0.74) and chewing gum (p= 0.659) was non-significant. The highest mean rank score for the personality trait of extraversion was found in individuals who strongly agreed to have a habit of nail-biting (129.23), tooth grinding (153.63), and tooth clenching (142.61) and biting hard objects (12.07). The highest mean rank score for the parafunctional habit of chewing gum (107.28) was found in individuals who strongly disagreed with having the habit. CONCLUSION: The highest mean rank score for the personality trait of extraversion was found in individuals who strongly agreed to have a habit of nail-biting, tooth grinding, tooth clenching and biting hard objects. The highest mean rank score for the parafunctional habit of chewing gum was found in individuals who strongly disagreed with having the habit

Coagulation Profile in Diabetes and Its Association with Diabetic Microvascular Complications

Objective: To investigate the hemostatic parameters and to assess their relationship with microvascular complications in patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus. Study Design: Comparative cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Armed Forces Institute of Ophthalmology, Rawalpindi Pakistan, from Jul to Dec 2020. Methodology: Patients with type-2 diabetes aged 40-70 years of both genders were included. We included sixty subjects with diabetes and sixty healthy individuals. HBA1c, prothrombin time, activated partial thrombin time, and fibrinogen levels were measured in both groups, and retinal photographs were taken. Results: The platelet count was in the normal range for both groups but significantly lower in cases compared to controls (177.5±18.3 vs 231.2±18.1, p<0.001). Similarly, the mean fibrinogen level was significantly higher among cases compared to controls (298.2±11.4 vs 256.6±6.5, p<0.001). No significant difference was found between mean prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time among the groups. Most complicated cases belonged to the group with more than 7% glycosylated haemoglobin compared to non-complicated cases (p<0.001). A significant association between the level of HBA1c and diabetic retinopathy was found. Conclusion: The study showed that with a rise in glycemic index, the coagulation profile derangement occurs, with an increase in fibrinogen levels, decrease in platelets count and increase in microvascular complications

Cultivating a greener future:Exploiting trichoderma derived secondary metabolites for fusarium wilt management in peas

This study aimed to identify efficient Trichoderma isolate(s) for the management of Fusarium wilt in peas. Four different pea germplasms (Sarsabz, Pea-09, Meteor and Supreme) were evaluated for resistance against Fusarium oxysporum in pot assay. Resistant germplasm exhibits a varying range of disease severity (23%) and percent disease index (21%), whereas susceptible and highly susceptible germplasm exhibit maximum disease severity (44–79%) and percent disease index (47–82%). The susceptible germplasm Meteor was selected for in vivo experiment. Five different Trichoderma spp. (Trichoderma koningii, T. hamatum, T. longibrachiatum, T. viride, and T. harzianum) were screened for the production of hydrolytic extracellular enzymes under in vitro. In-vitro biocontrol potential of Trichoderma spp. was assayed by percentage inhibition of dry mass of Fusarium oxysporum pisi (FOP) with Trichoderma spp. metabolite filtrate concentrations. Maximum growth inhibition was observed by T. harzianum (50–89%). T. harzianum metabolites in filtrate conc. (40%, 50%, and 60%) exhibited maximum reduction in biomass and were thus used for in vivo management of the disease. The pot experiment for in-vivo management also confirmed the maximum inhibition of FOP by T. harzianum metabolites filtrate at 60% by reducing disease parameters and enhancing growth, yield, and physiochemical and stress markers. Trichoderma strains led to an increase in chlorophyll and carotenoids (34-26%), Total phenolic 55%, Total protein content 60%, Total Flavonoid content 36%, and the increasing order of enzyme activities were as follows: CAT &gt; POX &gt; PPO &gt; PAL in all treatments. These strains demonstrate excellent bio-control of Fusarium wilt in pea via induction of defense-related enzymes. The present work will help use Trichoderma species in disease management programme as an effective biocontrol agent against plant pathogens