An In-Vitro Analysis of the Mechanical and Anti-Bacterial Properties of Betel Leaf Extract with Chitosan Coating on Orthodontic Aligners

Objective: To aim at the preparation and characterization of a chitosan and betel leaf extract biopolymer followed by an assessment of mechanical and antibacterial properties. Material and Methods: A chitosan-betel leaf stock solution was prepared and dip-coated on thermoformed aligner cubes. The groups (five samples per group) involved were one control (only chitosan coating) and three test groups based on the duration of coating (coating with chitosan and betel extract coated for 5, 10, and 15 minutes, named B5, B10, and B15 respectively). The coating of the samples was confirmed by an FTIR test and anti-microbial properties were assessed by the disc diffusion method. Wear resistance assessment of the coating was carried out by scratch test. Results: Coating of the aligners with the extract was confirmed with FTIR. The zone of inhibition against S. mutans was noted to be the widest for aligners coated for 15 minutes (7± 0.5mm), and the intergroup difference was statistically significant (p<0.05). The samples dip-coated for 15 minutes demonstrated the highest wear resistance (3.2 ±0.17 N) with statistically significant intergroup differences (p<0.05). Conclusion: Betel leaf extract prepared and incorporated with chitosan biopolymer was successfully coated on thermoformed aligners. A higher antibacterial activity and scratch resistance were evident with aligners dip-coated for 15 minutes, owing to the antibacterial activity of Piper betel

Dental caries, oral hygiene status and treatment needs of fishermen and non-fishermen population in South Goa, India

Background: Occupation plays a major role in the well-being of an individual and has an influence on oralhealth. Fishing is one such occupation that entails a lot of physical labour and encourages habits thatlead to poor oral health. Therefore, it is critical to shed light on the oral health of this isolated populationto improve their quality of life by various means. The aim of the study was to assess and compare theprevalence of dental caries, oral hygiene status and treatment needs of fisherman and non-fishermanpopulation in South Goa, India.Materials and methods: Study design was cross-sectional in nature. After a pilot study, multi-stage randomsampling technique was employed and 400 study participants were recruited. World Health OrganizationOral Health Assessment Form (1997) and Oral Hygiene Index-Simplified (OHI-S) were used to record thestudy variables. Inter-examiner reliability assessed using Kappa statistics were found to be 90% and 88%,respectively. The data was analysed using descriptive analysis, Chi-square test, Mann-Whitney U test,Kruskal-Wallis test, and linear and logistic regression analysis.Results: Fishermen had significantly higher caries prevalence (82%) and poor oral hygiene (46%) than non--fishermen. Extraction (42.2%) and pulp care (23.6%) were the highest treatment need among fishermen.They were 2.08 times more prone to dental caries than non-fishermen. Fishermen who used a toothbrushwere 4.5 times less susceptible to caries. The dependence of caries prevalence and OHI-S score on occupation,oral hygiene aid and age were 14% and 25.8%, respectively.Conclusions: Fishermen in South Goa had high caries prevalence, poor oral hygiene status and they requiredextensive dental treatment when compared to non-fishermen