Discriminating Life Forms in Oral Biofilms

The bacteria colonizing the hard and soft tissues of the oral cavity are known to significantly influence oral health and disease. Recent studies of subgingival dental plaque, based on different identification methods, provide direct evidence of substantial diversity of plaque microbiota. Till date only about 280 bacterial species have been isolated by cultivable methods, characterized and formally named out of this enormous microbial diversity of oral biofilms. As a consequence, there is a complete lack of information about the properties of a substantial proportion of the plaque microbiota, apart from their position in the taxonomic hierarchy of bacteria. This limited knowledge about the behavior and properties, combined with recognition of the considerable diversity that exists within individual species, raises serious questions to the foundations on which previous conclusions, concerning the etiology of periodontal diseases, rest. The emerging realization is it is impossible to fully understand oral health and disease without identifying and understanding the pathogenic potential of all of the bacteria that colonize the oral cavity. The current chapter shall provide an update on current status of oral microbiota, ecological significance of their biofilm life style and various methods to study microbes residing in oral biofilms

Gender-Associated Oral and Periodontal Health Based on Retrospective Panoramic Radiographic Analysis of Alveolar Bone Loss

Gender-based heterogeneity in periodontal disease has been witnessed in the recent past with huge mounting evidence. The composite effect of sex-based genetic structure and the sex steroid hormones runs in line with the corresponding gender-related differences in risk for chronic periodontitis. Since estrogens, the predominant sex hormones in women, show immune protective and anti-inflammatory effects in hormonally active premenopausal women, they show better periodontal status compared to age-matched men. Conversely, after menopause with a weakening estrogen signal, women may show an equal or even more serious periodontal status compared to men. Periodontal status of postmenopausal women may be improved by menopausal hormone therapy. Alveolar bone loss, an irreversible sign of past periodontal disease activity can be easily observed on radiographs in an objective manner. Orthopantomographs provide a fairly accurate assessment of the status of alveolar bone in the whole mouth. A cross-sectional retrospective panoramic radiographic analysis has been carried out in a north Indian dental institute to decipher the gender-based distribution of periodontal bone loss. The current chapter shall provide an update on gender-based differences in oral health, underlying mechanisms, differences in patterns and distribution of alveolar bone loss (case study), and potential gender-specific disease protection and management strategies

Literature Review of Omicron: A Grim Reality Amidst COVID-19

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) first emerged in Wuhan city in December 2019, and became a grave global concern due to its highly infectious nature. The Severe Acute Respiratory Coronavirus-2, with its predecessors (i.e., MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV) belong to the family of Coronaviridae. Reportedly, COVID-19 has infected 344,710,576 people around the globe and killed nearly 5,598,511 persons in the short span of two years. On November 24, 2021, B.1.1.529 strain, later named Omicron, was classified as a Variant of Concern (VOC). SARS-CoV-2 has continuously undergone a series of unprecedented mutations and evolved to exhibit varying characteristics. These mutations have largely occurred in the spike (S) protein (site for antibody binding), which attribute high infectivity and transmissibility characteristics to the Omicron strain. Although many studies have attempted to understand this new challenge in the COVID-19 strains race, there is still a lot to be demystified. Therefore, the purpose of this review was to summarize the structural or virologic characteristics, burden, and epidemiology of the Omicron variant and its potential to evade the immune response

Assessing the Compliance of Dental Clinicians towards Regulatory Infection Control Guidelines Using a Newly Developed Survey Tool: A Pilot Cross-Sectional Study in India

Adherence to the dental practice regulatory guidelines instituted during the COVID- 19 pandemic is essential to minimize the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 strains. Given the lack of a valid and reliable survey tool to assess the adherence to dental practice guidelines, this study aims to develop, validate, and test a survey tool on a pilot sample of dental clinicians practicing in India. A survey tool was developed/validated through a sequential phasic approach: Phase Ideveloping survey using conceptual and literature framework; Phase II: ascertaining its validity and reliability; Phase III: pilot testing; and Phase IV: assessing construct validity by exploratory factor analysis (EFA) on the responses collected in Spring 2021. The EFA was achieved using a traditional unweighted least squares extraction method through a varimax rotation with Kaiser normalization. A six-factor solution with 18 items (with the global reliability of 86%) related to screening, regular infection prevention measures, infection control inside the dental operatory, disinfection of the dental unit, disposal, and other COVID-19-specific preventive measures were extracted. Our sample had higher compliance with regard to providing alcohol-based hand scrubs, providing protective gear to attendees, collecting travel/medical history, and screening patients for COVID-19 symptoms. In contrast, less compliance was observed regarding the use of paperless forms of practice and rubber dams in the operatory. The use of a validated survey tool ensures the collection of reliable and valid data, which can serve as baseline data to measure the uptake and effectiveness of dental practice regulatory guidelines in a clinical setting and community dental health clinics

Using a portable sulfide monitor as a motivational tool: A clinical study

Aims and Objectives: Bad breath has a significant impact on daily life of those who suffer from it. Oral malodor may rank only behind dental caries and periodontal disease as the cause of patient′s visit to dentist. An aim of this study was to use a portable sulfide monitor as a motivational tool for encouraging the patients towards the better oral hygiene by correlating the plaque scores with sulfide monitor scores, and comparing the sulfide monitor scores before and after complete prophylaxis and 3 months after patient motivation. Materials and Methods : 30 patients with chronic periodontitis, having chief complaint of oral malodor participated in this study. At first visit, the plaque scores (P1) and sulfide monitor scores before (BCR1) and after complete oral prophylaxis (BCR2) were taken. Then the patients were motivated towards the better oral hygiene. After 3 months, plaque scores (P2) and sulfide monitor scores (BCR3) were recorded again. Statistical Analysis: It was done using SPSS (student package software for statistical analysis). Paired sample test was performed. Results: Statistically significant reduction in sulfide monitor scores was reported after the complete oral prophylaxis and 3 months after patient motivation. Plaque scores were significantly reduced after a period of 3 months. Plaque scores and breathchecker scores were positively correlated. Conclusion : An intensity of the oral malodor was positively correlated with the plaque scores. The portable sulfide monitor was efficacious in motivating the patients towards the better oral hygiene

Exploring association between sleep deprivation and chronic periodontitis: A pilot study

Background: Sleep deprivation has become a global phenomenon, and epidemiologic data indicate that short sleep duration adversely impacts human physical health. Underlying mechanisms involve modulation of immune-inflammatory mechanisms. These changes might contribute to potentiation of destructive periodontal disease. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess if there is an association of sleep deprivation with chronic periodontal diseases. Materials and Methods: Sixty subjects were categorized into 3 groups (n = 20 each) viz. clinically healthy, gingivitis and periodontitis. Periodontal status of subjects was assessed by gingival index and pocket probing depth. All the study subjects were administered Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) questionnaire for the assessment of sleep deprivation. Results: Present investigation revealed that mean PSQI was highest in the periodontitis group as compared to other two groups and the difference among three groups was statistically significant. Conclusion: The present study with preliminary results suggestive of the association of sleep deprivation with severity of periodontal disease, definitely calls on for future studies with larger samples

Using a portable sulfide monitor as a motivational tool: A clinical study

Aims and Objectives: Bad breath has a significant impact on daily life of those who suffer from it. Oral malodor may rank only behind dental caries and periodontal disease as the cause of patient′s visit to dentist. An aim of this study was to use a portable sulfide monitor as a motivational tool for encouraging the patients towards the better oral hygiene by correlating the plaque scores with sulfide monitor scores, and comparing the sulfide monitor scores before and after complete prophylaxis and 3 months after patient motivation. Materials and Methods : 30 patients with chronic periodontitis, having chief complaint of oral malodor participated in this study. At first visit, the plaque scores (P1) and sulfide monitor scores before (BCR1) and after complete oral prophylaxis (BCR2) were taken. Then the patients were motivated towards the better oral hygiene. After 3 months, plaque scores (P2) and sulfide monitor scores (BCR3) were recorded again. Statistical Analysis: It was done using SPSS (student package software for statistical analysis). Paired sample test was performed. Results: Statistically significant reduction in sulfide monitor scores was reported after the complete oral prophylaxis and 3 months after patient motivation. Plaque scores were significantly reduced after a period of 3 months. Plaque scores and breathchecker scores were positively correlated. Conclusion : An intensity of the oral malodor was positively correlated with the plaque scores. The portable sulfide monitor was efficacious in motivating the patients towards the better oral hygiene

Alkaline phosphatase as a periodontal disease marker

<b>Background:</b> The potential of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) as an important diagnostic marker of gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) has been the subject to investigation since 1970. ALP is stored in specific granules and secretory vesicles of the neutrophils and is mainly released during their migration to the site of infection. It is also present in bacteria within dental plaque, osteoblasts and fibroblasts. It has, thus, become important to elucidate whether GCF levels of ALP are potential measures of the inflammatory activity occurring in the adjacent periodontal tissues. <b>Objective:</b> The aim of this study was to assess the total activity of ALP in the GCF collected from healthy sites, sites with gingivitis and with chronic adult periodontitis. An attempt was also made to establish the correlation of ALP activity with plaque index, gingival index, bleeding index and probing depth. <b>Materials and Methods:</b> A total of 18 patients were divided into three groups: viz., healthy sites, Group I; gingivitis, Group II; chronic periodontitis, Group III. Clinical parameters like plaque index, bleeding index, gingival index and probing depth were recorded. The ALP level in GCF of all three groups was determined by spectrophotometric analysis. <b>Results:</b> Total enzyme activity of ALP was significantly higher in periodontitis as compared with that in healthy and gingivitis sites, and was significantly and positively correlated with probing depth. <b>Conclusion:</b> ALP can be considered as a periodontal disease marker as it can distinguish between healthy and inflamed sites. However, to better define its capacity for periodontal diagnosis, additional longitudinal studies are required