Female Genital Mutilation (International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation Editorial Comment)

International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation Editorial Comment by Dr. Ravneet Malh

Prevalence of Oral Leukoplakia among Small Scale Factory Workers of Panchkula District, Haryana, India: A Descriptive Study

INTRODUCTION: Leukoplakia is described as a non scrappable whitish lesion and finds its prevalence high in the south Asian continent.AIM: To assess the prevalence of leukoplakia among small scale factory workers of district Panchkula, Haryana, IndiaMATERIALS AND METHODS: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was carried among 522 small scale factory workers in district Panchkula, Haryana, India. The diagnosis of presence of oral leukoplakia was evaluated and documented by the two examiners, using ADA type III examination and using the WHO standard recording form for oral mucosal diseases with clinical diagnosis based on the criteria as provided by the WHO and modified by Axell. Descriptive statistics were applied to describe the results.RESULTS: The study subjects had male predominance(73.9%). The mean age was reported as 56±5.2, and the prevalence of oral leukoplakia was seen among 7.1% (37) of the total population. Of the 37 people diagnosed, homogeneous leukoplakia was seen in 22 (59.5%)workers, while non-homogeneous leukoplakia was seen among 15 (40.5%) workers with buccal mucosa (18, 48.7%) as the most frequent site for occurrence of leukoplakia.CONCLUSION: Public health education programs are advised among the small scale workers of Panchkula district so as to prevent the high occurrence of leukoplakia and other tobacco related lesions among them

Evidence Based Decision Making: A Review

In today’s era, many of the decisions are based upon gut feeling, intuition, or instinct rather than relied on actual scientific data and facts. It’s important and essential to do the needful based on facts and not feelings for the best possible outcomes. Evidence based decision making in the field of healthcare describes the integration of basic rules of evidence as they evolve into implementation in daily practices. In dentistry, the principles of evidence-based decision making as well as a very common clinical dilemma to make a decision on whether to save and preserve the natural tooth or to extract and replace it with an implant or any sort of prosthesis is often experienced by a clinician easily. The need of evidence plays a very important role in making decisions. It helps provide a better outcome which will result in fewer casualties

Ageing and Health– A Review

Dental care is vital to maintain natural teeth and enhance the quality of life for elderly people. Preserving good oral health starts early in life by developing healthy lifestyles, practicing appropriate self-care, and regularly using oral health services when available. The overall objective of dental therapy is to preserve dentition by preventing the progression of dental diseases. It should be integrated into overall health management of all geriatric patients and its maintenance is crucial to stability and functional health of the tissues. This review is intended to provide brief layout on diseases seen in older population, so as to render a professional service

A Survey to Estimate the Prevalence of Tooth Loss and Denture Wearers in Subjects of Different Age Groups of South Coastal Karnataka Region

INTRODUCTION: Advancement in age brings into countless new health problems along with the exacerbation of existing ones. Dental awareness has led to decrease in edentulousness in elderly people. The reasons of tooth loss also differs in different age groups.AIM & OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to estimate the prevalence of tooth loss and denture wearers in various age groups along with the evaluation of the reasons for tooth loss.MATERIALS & METHOD: This questionnaire based study was conducted in the patients visiting the department of Prosthodontics Crown and Bridge & Implantology. Subjects were interviewed and examined clinically by a single examiner. A representative convenience sample of 150 patients in age groups of 40-50, 50-60 and 60-70 years were included in the study. Descriptive statistics were applied and the Chi-square test was used to analyse the findings using SPSS version 17.0.RESULTS: Tooth loss was found to be maximum in age group of 60-70 years and almost 64% wore complete dentures. The patients in age group of 40-50 years had maximum percentage of natural teeth (60%). The poor periodontal support was the main cause of tooth loss in almost 74% patients in age group of 60-70 years. Caries was the predominant cause of tooth loss in age group of 40-50 years.CONCLUSION: Prevalence of tooth loss and denture wearers is maximum in bigger age groups. Loss of periodontal support is the main cause of tooth loss as age advances while caries being the major cause in young individuals

Atraumatic Restorative Treatment: Review and a Case Report

Atraumatic Restorative Treatment (ART), which was introduced as field trials, have gained popularity among clinicians for their ease, minimal use of instrumentation and hence can be done in remote areas with little or no resources and can be used in patients with special needs, anxious and apprehensive patients in the dental setting. The present paper presents a case of modified ART (ARTm) with full patient satisfaction after a 3 month follow up, with a review of the same and the differences between ART and ARTm

Utilization of Stem Cells in Dentistry: A Review

For centuries, scientists have known that certain animals can regenerate missing parts of their bodies. Humans actually share this ability with animals such as starfish which has the ability to regenerate lost arms and can grow an entire new limb. Researchers define stem cells as the clonogenic cells with the capability of self renewal and multi-lineage differentiation and also have the capabilities of generating complex tissues and various organs

Incidence of Impacted Mandibular Third Molars with Their Pattern and Associated Complications in Nepalese Population

INTRODUCTION: Impaction may be defined as the failure of complete eruption into a normal functional position of one tooth within normal time due to lack of space in the dental arch, caused by obstruction by another tooth or development in an abnormal position.MATERIAL AND METHODS: A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted on 945 patients (males=591, females=354) aged between 18- 50 years of age who had mandibular third molars impacted. The difficulty index for mandibular third molar for angulation and depth was based on Winter’s classification (1926).RESULTS: The most common type of impaction seen was Mesio- angular with (32%) followed by horizontal 264 (27.8%), then followed by other types. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0CONCLUSION: Impacted third molars are a common observation in routine dental practice. The impaction rate of third molars is higher as compared to other teeth in the dentition. The high prevalence found in the present study, with more than half of these Nepalese adult patients having at least one impacted third molar

Patient satisfaction in outreach dental programs of a Dental Teaching Hospital in Modinagar (India)

Introduction: Patient satisfaction with dental services has received minimal attention in India. The perceptions of satisfaction of the oral health care service among patients in outreach dental programs and their level of satisfaction are an important factor toward improving the service provided. Aim: To assess patient satisfaction at outreach dental programs of a Dental Teaching Hospital in Modinagar India. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among patients attending community dental outreach programs organized by the Dental Teaching Hospital over a period of 1-month. A total of 4 weekly and 1 monthly camp were included, and all the subjects who attended these camps were administered the pretested structured questionnaire. The questions were related to the satisfaction level of the patient in outreach dental camps and answers were recorded using a four-point "Likert" scale with Chi-square and independent t-test were used for statistical analysis. Results: The results showed that level of satisfaction among patients were higher in weekly camps (95.2%) as compared to monthly camps that is (80%). The response rate for the weekly camps was 95.2%, whereas for the monthly camp was 80%. Overall patient satisfaction scores with the care received ranged from the poor (1) to excellent (4). The highest reported levels of satisfaction were for the aspects of explanation of dental treatment by the doctor followed by meeting of perceived need of the patient with the treatment. Conclusion: Patient satisfaction with the community dental outreach programs was high, reflecting the delivery of quality treatment and positive attitude of the dental team during the camps. The overall high level of patient satisfaction reflected the dental team′s approach of responsibility and accountability toward the target population

Effectiveness of mind mapping as a learning tool among dental students

Introduction: The foremost goal of our education system is to develop the students' skills to reach information rather than transferring the present information. Instead of understanding and applying the concepts (meaningful learning), students used to memorize the facts. Therefore, long-term independent learning process is required for the students. Aim: This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of mind mapping as a learning tool and to assess its information retrieval potential among dental students over conventional system of learning. Materials and Methods: An interventional study was conducted among 90 students of BDS 3rd year students. A questionnaire consisting of questions related to oral hygiene index (OHI) and OHI-simplified (OHI-S) was distributed to them. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 18.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) and descriptive and analytical tests including mean, standard deviation, and Chi-square test. Results: Of the 90 students, only 82 students responded to the questionnaire generating a response rate of 89.5%. The mean score of students in the mind map (MM) group was significantly higher than the conventional group (posttest – 13.60 ± 0.99 vs 8.73 ± 2.13, P = 0.001). Gain in knowledge score was 7.74 vs. 3.43; statistically significant difference was found between the two groups for the gain in knowledge score as well as in mean percentage gain in knowledge score. Conclusion: Specific and prudent thinking with self-efficacy should be the purpose of education system rather than making the students literate only. This requires shifting of traditional teaching method with innovative method, and MM is one of the innovative as well as attractive processes of teaching which further help the students to learn the subject more effectively in a creative way