Introduction: Use of rotary instrumentation for pulpectomy is a recent emerging concept in the field of pedodontics. The objective of this study was to evaluate the knowledge and practice of NiTi rotary instruments' usage in primary teeth by the Indian dentists. Materials and Methods: A self-administrated questionnaire was prepared and pretested and was given to the private practitioners. A total of 100 completed questionnaires were obtained. The data were entered and analyzed for frequency and percentages using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 17. Results: In the present study, about 50% of the practitioners used rotary instrumentation of root canals in primary teeth, of which majority were postgraduates. ProTaper was the commonly used rotary system in primary teeth. The practitioners felt both taper and length of the existing rotary file to be the limitation for its use in primary teeth. Conclusion: From the present study, it is concluded that there is a need for comprehensive education programs to be conducted to increase the awareness and use of rotary files for pulpectomy in primary teeth. In addition, there is a need for an exclusive pediatric rotary system for convenience in using it in children.

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Single tooth anterior crossbite is commonly seen in the early mixed dentition period. Once identified, the treatment should ideally involve any method which is simple, noninvasive, involves little chair side time, requires minimal patient cooperation, and gives rapid correction of the crossbite without affecting the surrounding structures. In young children, compliance with a removable appliance can often be an issue. Here, we present a fixed appliance for the correction of single tooth anterior crossbite in mixed dentition using a simple appliance.

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Background: The deleterious effect of liquid oral medicaments has been studied since 1953. Many coworkers have confirmed that these preparations are cariogenic and acidogenic in nature. In vitro studies have observed that the commonly used pediatric liquid medicaments (PLMs) are acidogenic and cariogenic in nature. Aim: To assess the change in the dental plaque pH after oral rinsing with the commonly prescribed PLMs.Materials and Methods: For the study purpose, eight commonly used PLMs were selected. On the test day, first the baseline resting plaque pH was measured, and then the volunteers were asked to rinse 5 ml of the sample PLM and asked to swish all around the oral cavity for 10 s and then to spit out. The supragingival plaque samples were collected using harvesting method at baseline and at different time intervals, following rinse with each medication. The pH of plaque was determined using a digital pH meter. The obtained data were statistically analyzed using one ANOVA and Tukey's multiple post hoc test. Results: A significant decrease in plaque pH was recorded in most of the subjects; maximum pH drop was seen within min of rinse of PLM. Among all the PLM, Crocin^® showed maximum drop in plaque pH. There was a gradual recovery to the near-normal pH within 60 min. Conclusions: Reducing the cariogenic potential of PLM should be a matter of concern to all health professionals.

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Aims and Objectives: The aim of this study is to assess the pattern and knowledge of the use of antibiotics by dentists in Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, over the last decades, antibiotic resistance has become a global problem which can affect morbidity and mortality. Materials and Methods: A simple questionnaire was distributed to dental practitioners over Saudi Arabia between August and October 2015. It included questions about sociodemographic characteristics, professional profile, and antibiotic prescription in dental practice. A total of 228 dentists responded to this questionnaire, and the responses (86%) showed medium level of knowledge. The data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science version 22. Results: The majority (92.5%) of respondents used penicillin as the first line in case of local infection. About 65.4% believed that completion of the antibiotics course is necessary for its effectiveness in some cases only. In addition, for patients allergic to penicillin, azithromycin was the most common antibiotic prescribed by respondents (63.2%); furthermore, the antibiotic preferred for acute periapical infections; the results showed the high percentage choose amoxicillin (77.2%), and for acute ulcerative gingivitis, the respondents prescribed metronidazole (44.7%). In addition, 44.7% of respondent's chose amoxicillin as preferred therapy for cellulitis. Furthermore, there was no statistically significant difference in the knowledge level by gender (P = 0.240). Furthermore, the level of knowledge among dentists regarding the antibiotics and place of the study showed no statistically significant relationship between government and private dental schools (P = 0.740). Furthermore, there was no statistically significant difference in the level of knowledge amid respondents who had attending antibiotic courses undergraduate and postgraduate (P = 0.325). Conclusion: Based on our findings, it was concluded that most dentists had medium knowledge in prescribing antibiotic therapy for dental infection. This study confirmed the need to further extend education of dental doctors is an important part for patient and society awareness, which will lead to a reduction in antibiotic resistance, and enhancement of the level of the dental care services by delivering high standard quality, effective and efficient health care.

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Aims and Objectives: To evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and perception (KAP) of dental students toward ionizing radiation, biological hazards, and appropriate radiographic protection methods. To assess the need for improving the knowledge/awareness toward radiation hazards and protection methods among the dental students and interns. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted. A total of 174 dental students who had completed their 30 days posting in Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology were inducted for the study. All the students were subjected to structured 17 response questionnaire with multiple choices. Data collected were subjected to statistical analysis using the SPSS software package version 17. Pearson Chi-square test was done to evaluate the statistical significance. Results: The present study revealed 54.22% correct response from 3^rd year followed by 57.78% from final years and 61.64% from interns. The overall correct response was 57.57%. Conclusion: The results from the present study revealed that the KAP level in regard to the biological hazardous effects of X-ray and protection was low to average among dental students. It is recommended that the syllabus of dental radiology should be expanded to provide clinical knowledge regarding radiation hazards and protection, so that students are well grounded with the principles of dental radiography.

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Background: Selection of approach to treat orbital fractures involves multiple factors such as visibility and esthetics. Aims and Objectives: The aim of this study is to compare subciliary and infraorbital incisions for orbital floor and infraorbital rim fractures. Materials and Methods: We carried our study in twenty patients, who reported to the department of oral and maxillofacial surgery with orbital floor and infraorbital rim fractures. The patients were divided into two groups (Group A - subciliary incision and Group B - infraorbital incision), with ten patients in each group. We compared infraorbital and subciliary incisions to approach the infraorbital rim and orbital floor in orbital fractures using criteria such as exposure time, esthetics, and complications. Results: All the analysis was done using SPSS version 14.P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. We found that infraorbital incision took shortest time for exposing fractured site, caused more edema after 1 month of procedure, and lead to more visible scarring when compared to subciliary incision. Conclusion: We recommend subciliary incision to approach the infraorbital rim and orbital floor fractures.

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Aims and Objectives: This in vitro study is designed to evaluate the effect of four mouth rinses on the microhardness of esthetic restorative material. Materials and Methods: Forty specimens of resin composite (Filtek™ P60) material (3M ESPE St. Paul, MN, USA) with 3 mm diameter and 3 mm height were prepared using a plastic mold. The baseline microhardness values of the specimens were recorded using Vickers microhardness tester. The specimens were randomly allocated into four groups, each containing ten specimens as follows - Group I Listerine^® (Johnson & Johnson), Group II Colgate Plax^®, Group III Freshclor^® (Group Pharmaceuticals), and Group IV AloeDent^® (Optima, Bradford-Italy). The pH of all mouth rinses was recorded. Then, the specimens were immersed in 20 ml of respective mouth rinses and kept in an incubator at 37°C for 24 h. The change in the microhardness values of the specimens was recorded. The obtained result was subjected to statistical analysis using Wilcoxon signed rank, Kruskal–Wallis, and Mann–Whitney U-tests. SPSS software version 16 and Microsoft Excel version 7 were also used. The level of significance was set at P= 0.05. Results: There was reduction in the microhardness of all the specimens irrespective of the mouthwashes. Group I (Listerine^®) showed significant reduction in the microhardness compared to Group II (Colgate Plax^®), Group III (Freshclor^®), and Group IV (AloeDent^®), whereas there was no statistically significant difference between Group III and Group IV. Conclusion: All the mouth rinses showed reduction in surface hardness of the esthetic restorative material. High reduction of surface hardness was shown in Listerine^® mouth rinse. There was no statistically significant difference between Freshclor^® and AloeDent^® mouth rinses.

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Aims: The aim of this study is to compare the difference in speech sounds of different phonemes at different syllable positioning observed with conventional and customized palatal contoured dentures. Materials and Methods: A case–control and single-blinded study was conducted on thirty completely edentulous subjects with no previous denture experience. Digital recordings of all subjects were made without denture which served as control, with conventional denture (denture I) and with customized palatal contour denture (denture II) in a sound treated room. The recordings were then compared for phonemes “ch,” “j,” “sh,” “s,” “t,” “d,” “n,” and “l” at initial and middle positions. The permission for conducting the study was taken from the ethical committee. For comparison of both the types of dentures, Chi-square test and for finding inter-examiner reliability, Cronbach's alpha was used. Results and Conclusions: The results showed that there is a difference between the pronunciation of different phonemes at different positions. Customized palatal contour dentures are better for enunciation of middle “ch,” initial “j,” middle “sh,” initial “s,” middle “t,” initial “d,” middle “n,” and initial “l” phonemes and the results were statistically significant. Conventional dentures are better for enunciation of middle “j,” initial “sh,” middle “s,” and initial “t” phonemes and the results were statistically significant. It can be concluded customized dentures prove to be better when compared to conventional dentures. There lies a difference in pronunciation of the same phoneme when it occupies different syllable positioning. It can also be concluded that during any dental evaluation concerning phonetics, a series of words with the same phoneme at different positions should be used for assessment instead of a single word.

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Use of reverse pull headgear (RPHG) is well advocated and is widely used all over for the early correction of developing Class III malocclusions, mainly in early and late mixed dentition period. Seldom are any articles found, on the use of RPHG in postpubertal girls with Class III facial profiles and anterior open bite. Twinning of teeth usually results from abnormalities in the development of the tooth. Clinically, such a tooth hampers esthetics and the available arch length, which necessitates multidisciplinary intervention. This article reports the successful correction of a 15-year-old girl with Class III profile, anterior open bite and lower incisor twinning.

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Background: An increasing number of people all around the world are turning to the nature by using the natural herbal products in both prophylaxis and treatment of different diseases. Green tea with active chemical ingredients possesses diverse pharmacological properties that include anti-inflammatory, anticariogenic, antioxidant, and antibacterial effects. The aim of this study is to assess the protective properties of green tea on periodontal health and also to know whether any side effect of green tea prevails in terms of staining of teeth. Materials and Methods: This is a prospective randomized clinical intervention study. Three dependent variables: probing depth (PD), clinical attachment loss (CAL), and bleeding on probing (BOP) were measured to reflect periodontal diseases. Results: The three dependent variables, namely, PD, CAL, and BOP showed statistically significant reductions following introduction of green tea as a conjunct oral hygiene measure in study group as compared to control group. Conclusion: Green tea has shown the antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anticollagenase activities on periodontal health.

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