Effectiveness of chitosan mouthwash on plaque formation and levels of salivary Streptococcus and Lactobacillus count: an in vivo study

Background: The objectives of the present study were to clinically evaluate the effectiveness of chitosan mouthwash on Plaque formation and to evaluate the antimicrobial activity against salivary Streptococcus mutans (SM) and Lactobacillus (LB).Methods: A total of 20 participants with decay-missing-filled index ≥4 and simplified oral hygiene index score >1.3 were recruited for the study after taking informed consent. All the participants were provided a bottle of chitosan mouthwash in addition to their usual oral hygiene procedure. Baseline salivary SM and LB levels were determined, using chair-side CRT® bacteria test prior giving chitosan mouthwash and after 14 days, during which children are advised to use 10 ml of mouthwash for 60 seconds two times daily. Plaque index score recorded using Silness and Loe plaque index. Paired t-test (or corresponding non-parametric) and percentage comparison method using cross tables were used for statistical analysis.Results: The baseline plaque index score of 0.758 and after 14 days of mouthwash use, it reduced to 0.434. The mean difference in the plaque index showed significant reduction in the plaque score (i.e., with the difference of 0.324). The results showed the antiplaque effects with a short duration of 14 days use of chitosan (CH) mouthwash. The antibacterial activity demonstrated a range of inhibitory effect on salivary SM and LB.Conclusions: CH showed an evident strong effect against salivary SM and LB levels and controlling the plaque biofilm formation. So water soluble CH can be used in new formulations for oral applications not only as antimicrobial agent but also for plaque biofilm control

A 9 year follow-up of a fractured tooth fragment reattachment

Coronal fractures of the anterior teeth are a common form of dental trauma that mainly affects children and adolescents. One of the options for managing coronal tooth fractures, when the tooth fragment is available, is reattachment of the dental fragment. Reattachment of fractured fragment can provide good and long lasting esthetics. This is a report of a 9 -year follow-up of a oronal fracture case successfully treated using tooth fragment reattachment

Influence of infant feeding patterns on the deciduous second molar relationship

Background: Pediatricians and pediatric dentists coincide in the great importance of breastfeeding during the first 6 months of life for the correct development of the mouth and for occlusion, breathing and swallowing during childhood. Lower prevalence and severity of malocclusions in breastfed children, in comparison with those that were bottle fed, have been reported. There exists substantial documentation that further credits breastfeeding with enhanced oral development and the formation of proper swallowing technique. Aim: The aim of the study was to evaluate the influence of infant feeding patterns on the deciduous second molar relationship in 3-5-year-old children of selected preschools in and around Mangalore. Materials and Methods: Semi-structured questionnaires were given to parents of children between the ages of 3 and 5 years. Clinical examination was performed with the children comfortably seated, and the molar relationship was checked in maximal habitual intercuspation. Results: The results were statistically analyzed using Chi-square. There was a significant difference between children who were breastfed (84.09% mesial step) and those who were bottle fed (22.2% mesial step). Among the bottle-fed children, the conventional nipple group showed 23.52% of mesial step occlusion while in the physiologic nipple group, 55.26% had a mesial step occlusion. Conclusion: This study supports a correlation between infant feeding methods and primary molar relationship. Exclusively breastfed children showed better development of dental arches with a higher incidence of mesial step occlusion when compared to bottle-fed children

GC Tooth Mousse Plus: A potential storage media for avulsed teeth

Context: Avulsion injury is a severe form of dental trauma. Due to the complexity of this injury, the neurovascular supply is severely compromised and usually results in the loss of pulp vitality. A variety of factors can influence the success of replantation especially the storage media and storage period. Casein phosphopeptides are derived from casein which accounts for 80% of the total protein in bovine milk. They can function as carriers for several minerals especially calcium and also have known to have antibacterial properties. Aim: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of GC Tooth Mousse Plus in comparison with chilled Homogenous pasteurized whole milk as a storage media. Materials and Methods: Thirty healthy premolars that are extracted for orthodontic purpose will be divided into three groups: (1) Group A: Control (Saline), (2) Group B: Positive control (Chilled Homogenous milk), (3) Group C: Experimental (GC Tooth Mouse Plus). These groups were further divided into two subgroups, each indicating storage period of 30 min and 60 min. The periodontal ligament (PDL) cell viability will be checked using tryphan blue staining. Results: Data were analyzed using Student's t-test. Conclusion: GC Tooth Mousse Plus can be used as a storage media to prevent desiccation of PDL cells up to the duration of 60 min

Effectiveness of precooling the injection site using tetrafluorethane on pain perception in children

Background: Injection of local anesthesia is one of the most important reasons for avoidance behavior in children. Applying a topical anesthetic before injection is the most popular way to control pain; however, topical anesthetics have some shortcomings such as longer duration of action, displeasing taste, and spread of the anesthetic agent to noninjection site areas. Cryoanesthesia using refrigerant as a topical anesthesia is being studied as an alternative to overcome the shortcomings of topical anesthetics and has shown promising results. Materials and Methods: In this split-mouth design study, 50 children of aged 8–10 years who required bilateral mandibular local anesthesia administration were selected. In the first visit, application of topical anesthetic spray (lidocaine) on one side and during the second appointment cryoanesthetic tetrafluorethane on the other side was used before local anesthetic administration. Patients were asked to report their discomfort and pain using visual analog scale (VAS) (subjective method). Patients' pain perception during injection is assessed by sound, eye, and motor (SEM) scale by the dentist (objective method). Results: The results were statistically analyzed using paired Wilcoxon signed-rank test and Mann–Whitney tests. In VAS scale (subjective method), pain scores were significantly lower in tetrafluorethane group when compared with lidocaine group. In SEM scale (objective method), pain scores were lower in tetrafluorethane group when compared with lidocaine group, but it was statistically insignificant. Conclusion: Precooling the injection site using refrigerant tetrafluorethane spray has shown to be effective in eliminating pain before local anesthesia administration in children when compared with topical anesthetic lidocaine spray

Remineralizing Potential of Natural Nano-Hydroxyapatite Obtained from Epinephelus chlorostigma in Artificially Induced Early Enamel Lesion: An In Vitro Study

Dental caries is a common problem in adolescents, leading to permanent loss of teeth or cavitation. Caries is a continuous process wherein demineralization and remineralization occur regularly. Hydroxyapatite (HA) is one of the most biocompatible and bioactive materials, as it closely resembles the mineral composition of teeth. The present study deals with isolating hydroxyapatite from fish bone (Epinephelus chlorostigma) by alkaline hydrolysis and thermal calcination. The isolated nano HA was characterized using FT-IR, XRD, TGA, FE-SEM-EDX, and HR-TEM analysis. The nano HA isolated by alkaline hydrolysis is nontoxic, and the cells are viable. The isolated HA enhances the proliferation of L929 cells. The remineralization potential of the extracted nano HA was evaluated in healthy premolars by DIAGNOdent/laser fluorescence quantification, surface microhardness test, and SEM-EDX analysis. Surface morphological observations in SEM and EDX analyses show that thermally calcined HA and alkali-treated HA can induce mineralization and deposit minerals. Therefore, HA obtained from Epinephelus chlorostigma could be a potential biomaterial for treating early caries