Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Dental Perspective

PURPOSE: The present review was conducted to elaborate Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) and the role of dentist in its diagnoses and management. METHODS: A comprehensive literature search was performed in the electronic databases of PubMed, ScienceDirect and Google scholar. A total of 94 relevant peer reviewed articles were retrieved and 42 were included in the present review. RESULTS: OSA can be fairly diagnosed by dentists while the patient has come for dental check-up. But insufficient knowledge and awareness among dentists about the diagnostic and treatment protocol of this under-diagnosed condition. It has also proven to be one of the underlying cause of many like diseases like cardiovascular problems, diabetes mellitus and hypertension. To the rescue, dental sleep medicine is gaining enormous attention. In the lieu of the above context ‘American Dental Association (ADA)’ has adopted a policy that focuses on outlines various diagnostic procedures and treatment modalities that can be carried out by dentist for management of OSA. CONCLUSION: It can be concluded since there is no sufficient evidence for the prevalence of OSA in developing countries like India, it is needed to create awareness and implement appropriate diagnostic and preventive measures for the same

Prevalence and Severity of Dental Fluorosis in Endemic Fluoride Areas of Haryana, India: An Epidemiologic Study

Fluor se često naziva “dvostranim mačem” zbog pozitivnog učinka u idealnim dozama i štetnoga u slučaju prevelikih količina. Njegov unos sprječava nastanak zubnog karijesa, no ako se pretjera u razdoblju kada se formira caklina može se pojaviti caklinska fluoroza. Ispitanici i postupci: Trideset sela iz dvaju područja Haryane klasificiralo se prema različitim razinama fluora u vodi za piće. Ukupno je bilo pregledano 3007 učenika iz ruralne populacije u dobi između 12 i 16 godina. Endemska koncentracija fluora u tim je područjima varirala u vrijednostima od 0,50 (ispod optimuma), 0,7 i 1,13 (blizu optimuma) te 1,51, 2,45, 5,27 i 8,50 ppm (više od optimuma). Rezultati: Ukupna prevalencija fluoroze iznosila je 54,4 posto i bila je gotovo ista kod muškaraca i žena - kod muškarca 51,9 posto, a kod žena 48,1 posto. Postotak je rastao s porastom sadržaja fluora u vodi i to od 9,35 posto uz sadržaj fluora 0,5 ppm do 100 posto uz 8,5. Zaključak: Čini se da je razina fluora od 1 do 1,2 ppm najprikladnija i da u tom slučaju izaziva minimalnu količinu estetski nepoželjne fluoroze.Introduction: Fluorine is often called as a two-edged sword because of its beneficial effects in optimal doses and harmful effects due to overdoses. Intake of fluorine does prevent dental caries but when there is excessive systemic intake of fluoride during the period of enamel formation enamel fluorosis may occur. Material and Methods: 30 villages from 2 districts of Haryana were classified according to differing levels of fluoride in the drinking water. A total of 3007 students in the age group 12 – 16 years were examined in the rural population. Endemic fluoride concentration in these areas varied from 0.50 (sub optimum), 0.87, 1.13 (near optimum), 1.51, 2.45, 5.27 &8.50 (more than optimum) ppm fluoride level. Results: The overall fluorosis prevalence was 54.4%. The fluorosis for males and females were almost the same, males having 51.9% and females having 48.1% prevalence. The percentage of fluorosis increased with increase in fluoride content in the water. The percentage of fluorosis increased from 9.35 % in 0.5 ppm to 100% in 8.5 ppm. Conclusion: It appears that 1- 1.2 ppm is the most compatible fluoride level to produce minimal amount of esthetically objectionable fluorosis

Electrochemical Ultrasensitive Sensing of Uric Acid on Non-Enzymatic Porous Cobalt Oxide Nanosheets-Based Sensor

Transition metal oxide (TMO)-based nanomaterials are effectively utilized to fabricate clinically useful ultra-sensitive sensors. Different nanostructured nanomaterials of TMO have attracted a lot of interest from researchers for diverse applications. Herein, we utilized a hydrothermal method to develop porous nanosheets of cobalt oxide. This synthesis method is simple and low temperature-based. The morphology of the porous nanosheets like cobalt oxide was investigated in detail using FESEM and TEM. The morphological investigation confirmed the successful formation of the porous nanosheet-like nanostructure. The crystal characteristic of porous cobalt oxide nanosheets was evaluated by XRD analysis, which confirmed the crystallinity of as-synthesized cobalt oxide nanosheets. The uric acid sensor fabrication involves the fixing of porous cobalt oxide nanosheets onto the GCE (glassy carbon electrode). The non-enzymatic electrochemical sensing was measured using CV and DPV analysis. The application of DPV technique during electrochemical testing for uric acid resulted in ultra-high sensitivity (3566.5 µAmM−1cm−2), which is ~7.58 times better than CV-based sensitivity (470.4 µAmM−1cm−2). Additionally, uric acid sensors were tested for their selectivity and storage ability. The applicability of the uric acid sensors was tested in the serum sample through standard addition and recovery of known uric acid concentration. This ultrasensitive nature of porous cobalt oxide nanosheets could be utilized to realize the sensing of other biomolecules