Oral health-related quality of life: acrylic versus flexible partial dentures

Background: Teeth lost are usually replaced by all-acrylic removable partial dentures (RPD) because of its affordability and ease of fabrication. The all-acrylic RPD is said to cause significant periodontal injury and consequently affect the oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL) of denture wearers.Objective: To determine and compare OHRQoL of all-acrylic and flexible RPD wearers at baseline and after use of dentures.Design and setting: Study was quasi-experimental using a cross-over design, involving 30 patients with Kennedy class IV and anterior class III arches. Patient recruitment and review were done over an eight-month period in the Prosthetic Unit of a tertiary health facility. OHRQoL was assessed with the oral health impact profile-14 questionnaire. Data were analysed using descriptive and multivariate analysis at asignificant level of p <.05.Results: Mean age of patients was 33.8 ±10.0 years; at baseline, patient reported occasionally, fairly often or very often for 11(78.6%) OHIP items. However, after using the acrylic and flexible partial dentures, 11(36.6%) patients reported having trouble pronouncing words and 9(30.0%) found it uncomfortable to eat respectively. At baseline,there was a difference in mean OHIP scores with age (p=.02); scores reduced from 12.4 ± 9.8 to 4.8±5.3 (CI= 3.3–12.0, p=.001) after using the all-acrylic denture and 3.8±5.6 (CI= 4.3–13.0, p<.001) with the flexible denture.Conclusion: There was improvement in the OHRQoL of patients with use of flexible partial dentures. Therefore, thermoplastic materials are possible alternative RPD base materials in patient management.Keywords: OHIP-14, Removable partial dentures, Quality of Life, acrylic dentures, flexible denturesFunding: None declare

Azadirachta indica Leaf Extract Ameliorates Hyperglycemia and Hepatic Glycogenosis in Streptozotocin-induced Diabetic Wistar Rats

We studied the effects of ethanolic leaf extract of Azadirachta indica (AIE) on hepatic microscopic anatomy and oxidative stress markers in diabetic rats. Seventy-five Wistar rats (8 weeks old) were randomly assigned to five treatment groups: control; diabetic; diabetic+AIE; AIE only; and diabetic+glibenclamide. Hyperglycemia was induced in fasted rats with streptozotocin. AIE was administered orally at 500 mg/kg bw/d and glibenclamide at 600 μg/kg bw/d for 50 days (50 d). Animals were sacrificed on treatment days 7, 21 and 50. The liver was stained with PAS. Hepatic markers of oxidative stress were also estimated. At 50 d, histological study of the liver of diabetic rats showed swollen PAS+ hepatocytes, whose content was confirmed to be glycogen. On the contrary, hepatocytes of AIE-treated diabetic rats lacked glycogen. The major finding in these rats was exacerbated oxidative stress. Our findings in this model showed the beneficial effect of AIE in the amelioration of diabetic hepatic glycogenosis.Keywords: Diabetes, Azadirachta indica, hepatic glycogenosis, oxidative stress, live

Azadirachta indica Leaf Extract Ameliorates Hyperglycemia and Hepatic Glycogenosis in Streptozotocin-induced Diabetic Wistar Rats

We studied the effects of ethanolic leaf extract of Azadirachta indica (AIE) on hepatic microscopic anatomy and oxidative stress markers in diabetic rats. Seventy-five Wistar rats (8 weeks old) were randomly assigned to five treatment groups: control; diabetic; diabetic+AIE; AIE only; and diabetic+glibenclamide. Hyperglycemia was induced in fasted rats with streptozotocin. AIE was administered orally at 500 mg/kg bw/d and glibenclamide at 600 μg/kg bw/d for 50 days (50 d). Animals were sacrificed on treatment days 7, 21 and 50. The liver was stained with PAS. Hepatic markers of oxidative stress were also estimated. At 50 d, histological study of the liver of diabetic rats showed swollen PAS+ hepatocytes, whose content was confirmed to be glycogen. On the contrary, hepatocytes of AIE-treated diabetic rats lacked glycogen. The major finding in these rats was exacerbated oxidative stress. Our findings in this model showed the beneficial effect of AIE in the amelioration of diabetic hepatic glycogenosis.Keywords: Diabetes, Azadirachta indica, hepatic glycogenosis, oxidative stress, live

Gingival Tissue Color Related With Facial Skin and Acrylic Resin Denture Base Color in a Nigerian Population

It is impossible to underestimate the importance of dentures to the wearer , they remain one of the most challenging aspects of modern day dentistry. The patient interprets the success of a denture from two distinct points: function and aesthetics. The objective of this study is to determine the predominant gingival tissue colour in this environment; to assess the association of gingival tissue colour with gender and facial skin colour. Four hundred and thirty subjects that attended the Dental Centre, University College Hospital, Ibadan, who consented to participate in the study were recruited for the study. The Dummett Oral Pigmentation Index (DOPI) was used to evaluate gingival tissue colours of the four upper central and lateral incisors and the colour of the available acrylic denture base material. Categorical modelling with chi square analysis using SPSS statistical package was done (P=. 05). Association between gingival tissue colour and facial skin colour was found to be highly significant (P<. 05). Attached gingival predominant colour was the darker DOPI 3 colour. Colour of processed acrylic denture base material was closely related to the DOPI colour zero while no significant association was found between gingival colour and gender. This study supports the impression that a strong relationship exists between facial skin colour and gingival tissue pigmentation. Research into the degree of epithelial vascularisation, keratinisation and melanin pigmentation of the various zones in the mouth in this environment is required which may explain the reason for the dark colour observed in the attached gingival

Relationship between Tooth Colour, Skin Colour and Age: An Observational Study in Patients at the Ibadan Dental School

There is presently limited scientific knowledge in the literature about the relationship between tooth and skin colour and ability to provide fully edentulous patients with their natural tooth color on their complete dentures has always been a problem for clinicians. This observational study was carried out to investigate the possibility of using facial skin colour, gender or age as a guide for selection of teeth for prosthetic replacement of missing teeth in fully edentulous patients. A total number of 127 patients aged 18-60 years participated in this study. The Vita-Lumin and Cosmopolitan shade guides were used to select the color of the incisal third of both maxillary central incisors while facial skin colour selection was done using the L’Oreal True Illusion make up guide. No significant association was found between tooth shade and skin colour nor between tooth shade and gender (P >.05). It was however observed that facial skin colour related to gender and tooth shade related to age significantly (P<. 05). About 19% of the total participants in this study had lighter (L1) tooth shade than those in the existing stock shade guides. Within the limitations of this study, it may be concluded that facial skin colour does not significantly correlate with tooth color and may not be a reliable guide for artificial tooth color selection. Manufacturers should include lighter shades on the shade guides and acrylic teeth. The selection of artificial teeth should be a matter of individual judgment

Alcohol-induced testicular oxidative stress and cholesterol homeostasis in rats – The therapeutic potential of virgin coconut oil

Objective: To evaluate the possible protective effects of virgin coconut oil on alcohol-induced oxidative stress and serum lipid values in rats. Design: This is an experimental animal study. Method: The animals were gavaged with 30% ethanol (7 ml/kg body weight/day) while 6.67 ml/kg body weight/day of virgin coconut oil (VCNO) was administered for 4 weeks using a cannulated syringe. Results: Animals treated with ethanol alone showed a significant elevation in the level of malondialdehyde (MDA) as measured by thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), which lowered the antioxidant defence system such as reduced glutathione (GSH) and catalase activities when compared with the control. Sperm count, sperm motility and serum testosterone levels were also significantly reduced in this group. Levels of total cholesterol/HDL (TC/HDL) ratio increased significantly in the ethanol-only treated group, while HDL level was significantly reduced. Administration of VCNO improved the antioxidant status by decreasing the levels of MDA and altering lipid profile levels to near normal. Sperm count, motility and serum testosterone levels were also significantly increased when compared with the alcohol-only treated group. Conclusion: Findings of the present study indicate VCNO has antioxidant activities and does not adversely alter serum lipid levels

Acceptability of maxillary major connectors in removable partial dentures

BACKGROUND: The choice of connector lies between plate, a bar or a combination of bars, which may cross the palate in various positions. Many opinions have been expressed concerning the acceptability to the patients of the various forms of palatal connectors but there have been few investigations. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to compare subjective patients' reactions to three maxillary major connectors: metal bar, metal plate, and acrylic connectors and to establish the most acceptable and the least acceptable maxillary major connectors. METHODS: Fifteen consecutive patients attending the prosthetic out-patient clinic of Dental Center, University College Hospital, Ibadan who had never worn dentures were recruited into the study. Three dentures each with a different maxillary major connector design were fabricated for each patient. A questionnaire was administered to ascertain their reactions to each of the three denture designs. RESULTS: Fourteen patients (93.3%) preferred the denture with metal palatal bar major connector whereas only one patient preferred the denture with acrylic plate major connector design. No patient preferred the palatal metal plate connector design. CONCLUSIONS: The metal bar major connector was the most acceptable maxillary major connector while acrylic resin plate was more acceptable than metal plate maxillary major connector. It also confirmed the influence of connector design on patient acceptance of removable partial denture