CURCUMIN- PHARMACOLOGICAL ACTIONS AND ITS ROLE IN DENTISTRY

Turmeric (Curcuma longa) is an ancient dye, flavouring and medical herb, widely used in Asian countries. It is a herb that has been widely used in Indian medicine, cookery, and cosmetics. The main component of turmeric is curcumin. Curcumin has a surprisingly wide range of beneficial properties includes anti inflammatory, antioxidant, chemopreventive, chemotherapeutic activity etc.  The activity of curcumin derived from its complex chemistry as well as its ability to influence the multiple signalling pathways. This review article is to highlight the pharmacological action and its therapeutic role in dentistry. 

Antibiofilm efficacy of photoactivated curcumin, triple and double antibiotic paste, 2% chlorhexidine and calcium hydroxide against Enterococcus fecalis in vitro

Root canal disinfection is one of the most important factors governing success of root canal treatment, especially when regenerative strategies are used. This study evaluated the efficacy of 5 intracanal medicaments against mature biofilms of Enterococcus fecalis in vitro: Light activated curcumin, triple antibiotic paste (TAP), double antibiotic paste (DAP), chlorhexidine, calcium hydroxide. Untreated teeth with biofilms served as controls. Confocal microscopy was used to analyse the biofilm mass and percentage of live/dead bacteria within the root canal as well as dentinal tubules. Dentinal shavings obtained from the root canal walls (at 200 and 400 microns depth) were used to quantify the colony forming units/mL. The results showed that light activated curcumin and triple antibiotic paste brought about complete disruption of the biofilm structure (P 0.05). Light activated curcumin brought about the highest percentage of dead cells at both depths, but this was not significantly different from triple antibiotic paste (P > 0.05). Curcumin, TAP and DAP brought about a significant reduction of CFU/mL at both depths compared to the control and other groups (P < 0.05). Light activated curcumin brought about a 7 log reduction of bacteria at both depths.Link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Prevalence of burnout and Its associated factors among medical students in a public university in Selangor, Malaysia: a cross-sectional study

Introduction: Burnout is a growing trend among medical students worldwide. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and factors associated with burnout among medical students at a public university in Malaysia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1st through 5th year medical students at a public university using a simple random sampling method in recruiting participants. In this study, The Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey for Student (MBI-SS) was used and burnout is defined as severely emotionally exhausted and severely depersonalised. Results: A total of 328 medical students were recruited with a with response rate of 88.6%. The burnout prevalence was 10.1%. Based on multivariate logistic regression, presence of smartphone addiction with adjusted (odds ratio (OR) 7.37, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.67, 32.49), course choice not based on personal interest or due to family pressure (OR 2.72, 95% CI = 1.08, 6.85) and the presence of family relationship problems (OR = 3.58, 95% CI = 1.27, 10.04) are more likely to be associated with burnout among the medical students. Conclusion: Our study has shown that every tenth medical students suffers from burnout. Medical students who are addicted to smartphone, have chosen medical course against individual interest or because of family pressure and have family relationship problems are at risk of getting burnout. Intervention is required to address this issue for the future well-being of medical students

Curcumin- Pharmacological actions and its role in dentistry

Turmeric (Curcuma longa) is an ancient dye, flavouring and medical herb, widely used in Asian countries. It is a herb that has been widely used in Indian medicine, cookery, and cosmetics. The main component of turmeric is curcumin. Curcumin has a surprisingly wide range of beneficial properties includes anti inflammatory, antioxidant, chemopreventive, chemotherapeutic activity etc. The activity of curcumin derived from its complex chemistry as well as its ability to influence the multiple signalling pathways. This review article is to highlight the pharmacological action and its therapeutic role in dentistry.Link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Histologic Assessment of Debridement of the Root Canal Isthmus of Mandibular Molars by Irrigant Activation Techniques Ex Vivo

© 2016 American Association of EndodontistsIntroduction This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a new irrigation system (EndoIrrigator Plus; Innovations Endo, Nasik, India) using a histologic method ex vivo. Methods Mandibular molars with a normal pulp extracted for periodontal reasons (N = 68) were assessed for the presence of an isthmus using cone-beam computed tomographic imaging. Root canals of the included molars (n = 40) were instrumented up to a ProTaper F2 instrument (Dentsply Maillefer, Baillagues, Switzerland) using 3% sodium hypochlorite as irrigant in a closed apical design. Final irrigation delivery/activation was performed as follows (n = 10): group 1, syringe irrigation; group 2, apical negative pressure delivery with continuous warm activated irrigation and evacuation system (CWAIS); group 3, manual dynamic agitation (MDA); and group 4, passive ultrasonic irrigation (PUI). Untreated teeth (n = 5) served as histologic controls. The isthmus regions (1, 3, and 5 mm from the apex) were analyzed by hematoxylin-eosin stain to calculate the percentage of remaining pulp tissue (RPT) relative to the area of the isthmus. Results were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test (P = .05). Results CWAIS showed significantly less RPT than the other groups at all 3 root levels (P .05). Conclusions None of the methods could completely clean the isthmus. CWAIS left behind the least amount of RPT.Link_to_subscribed_fulltex