Different type of periodontitis and gingivitis in patients with major thalassemia comparing to healthy people

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Iran is located on the thalassemia belt and has the highest prevalence rate of patients compared to the general population in the world. This investigation was performed to determine the prevalence of gingivitis and periodontitis in thalassemia patients in comparison to healthy people and evaluate the relationship between periodontal disease and age, gender, splenectomy and dosage of desferal. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 133 thalassemia patients and 133 healthy people were examined. Clinical examination was performed by periodontal probe and age, gender, desferal dosage, smoking, occlusion, dental alignment were recorded. The results were analyzed using ANOVA, Chi-square, and t-test. RESULTS: Prevalence of gingivitis and periodontitis in thalassemia patients was significantly higher than the control group (P = 0.049). However, no difference was observed in the severity of periodontitis. Results showed that age, xerostomia and splenectomy are associated with periodontitis, and dental alignment was correlated with gingivitis. Calculus index (CI) was reported to be more in thalassemia patients, but results showed no significant difference in debris index (DI) however DI was significantly higher in anterior maxillary sextant. CONCLUSION: Due to the higher prevalence of gingivitis and periodontitis in patients with thalassemia and susceptibility to infection, preventive and therapeutic treatment is essential in these patients. KEYWORDS: Major Thalassemia, Gingivitis, Periodontitis, Splenectomy, Desfera

In Vitro Antifungal Efficacy of Different Intracanal Irrigants against Candida Albicans

Background and Aim: An intracanal irrigant is essential for a successful root canal ther-apy. The aim of this study was to compare the antifungal efficacy of 5.25% sodium hypochlorite, 2% chlorhexidine gluconate (CHX) and 94% carvacrol against Candida albicans (C. albicans) in vitro. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, after crown removal and canal prep-aration of 48 extracted human maxillary central incisors, they were randomly divided into 3 experimental groups of 14 teeth, plus two groups of positive and negative controls (n=3). A suspension of C. albicans (ATCC=10261) was injected into the experimental and positive control group root canals. The teeth were then incubated for 72 hours. Then, root canals in each group were rinsed with one of the irrigants for 1 minute and samples were taken from the canals and inoculated on plates. After 48 hours of incubation, the colony growth was assessed and colony forming units (CFUs) served as a measure of antifungal activity. Data were analyzed using the Kruskal Wallis test. Results: In carvacrol, sodium hypochlorite and CHX groups, 6, 10 and 1 specimen did not show bacterial growth and the mean CFU was 86.3, 53.3 and 271.2 in the mentioned groups, respectively. Conclusion: Carvacrol and 5.25% sodium hypochlorite had similar antifungal efficacy against C. albicans and this effect was significantly greater than that of 2% CHX