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Introduction: Microleakage has been regarded as a primary concern of use of composites in class II cavity restorations. Many products have attempted to minimize the interfacial gap between the tooth and restoration, the main pathway of microleakage. The aim of this in-vitro study is to quantitatively evaluate the microleakage of class II composite restoration done with incremental and bulk fill technique. Materials and Methods: In an in-vitro study, a total of 40 sound extracted molars were used for class II preparations and restoration with incremental (Group I, 20 teeth) and bulk fill technique (Group II, 20 teeth). Samples were accessed for dye penetration and pairwise comparison was done using Wilcoxon rank test. Results: Both the composite insertion techniques were not able to completely eliminate the microleakage. Two specimens of bulk filling technique show microleakage, extending to the axial wall. There is no statistically significant difference in microleakage irrespective of the insertion technique used. Conclusion: It can be concluded from the results that there is no significant difference in microleakage for composite restorations done by a bulk layering technique using the newer generation composites and the conventional incremental layering technique.

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Background: There is a lack of consensus regarding the relationship between the risk of dental caries and asthma in the child population. Most studies concluded that asthmatic children are at risk of dental caries from the disease status or its pharmacotherapy. The objectives of this study werer to assess the dental caries status of asthmatic patients in the age group of 3-14 years and to examine the possible association of these conditions to various aspects of bronchial asthma and its management. Materials and Methods: The present study is a hospital-based case-control cross-sectional study. One hundred and five asthmatic patients were studied. The children were examined for their dental caries status, and the scores were compared with age-, gender- and socioeconomic status-matched group of 112 nonasthmatic patients selected randomly from public schools (control group). Caries lesions were assessed using decayed, missing, filled teeth/decayed, missing, and filled surfaces (DMFT/DMFS) and dmft/dmfs index according to the WHO criteria (1987). Parents or guardians provided information about oral hygiene and dietary habits by direct interview. Asthma-related data (type and form of medication, severity and duration of asthma) were collected from medical records and/or parental interview. Results: The mean age of asthmatics was (7.7 ± 3.5) years and (7.8 ± 3.5) for nonasthmatics. The results showed significantly higher prevalence and severity of dental caries among asthmatic group. As comparing asthmatic children using β2-agonists to those children using β2-agonists and corticosteroids, the results revealed that there were no statistically significant differences in caries index between the two groups. In their primary teeth, children with severe asthma had higher dmft/dmfs than children with moderate and mild asthma unlike in the permanent teeth. Form of medication used - an inhaler or a noninhaler combination (syrup and tablets) - had no effect on caries index. In this study, there was no correlation between duration of asthma and the caries indices. Conclusion: Children suffering from bronchial asthma appear to be at higher risk of having caries. This risk is increased with the severity of bronchial asthma. Form of the medications being used had no effect on caries experience.

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Background: Oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) is a potentially malignant collagen - metabolic disorder linked to consumption of betel quid and areca nut. The deposition of collagen and its major subtypes have been the subject of intense scrutiny in the etiopathogenesis of the disorder. Aims and Objectives: The present study was planned to immunohistochemically identify the expression of collagens I and III (COL I and III) in different grades of OSF and compare it with normal oral mucosa and scar tissue. Materials and Methods: Archival paraffin sections of 72 cases of various grades of OSMF, ten cases of normal mucosa as controls and four cases of scar tissue were stained with antibodies to COL I and III (BioGenex Laboratories, CA, USA) to evaluate the collagen subtypes on paraffin sections. The expression was quantified by image analysis software (Jenoptik Optical System, ProgRes ^® Capture Pro, version 2.8.8) and statistically analyzed. Results: COL I and III stained all the tissues ubiquitously. COL I was more in ratio and quantity in all the grades of OSMF, normal mucosa, and scar tissue. The proportion of COL I to COL III seemed to increase with progressive grades of OSF. Interestingly, during the process of fibrosis COL III seems to be deposited earlier and gradually replaced by COL I resulting in a skewed ratio vis a vis normal oral mucosa and scar tissue. Conclusions: COL I expression was found to be proportionate with advancing grades of OSF while COL III expression increased in Grade I but subsequently decreased as severity of OSF increased. The increase in COL I at the expense of COL III showed a similar pattern in the submucosa while in the deeper muscle only Grade III cases reflected the trend. While all cases of OSF revealed excessive expression in comparison with normal oral mucosa, the comparison with scar tissue was variable.

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Introduction: Dental anxiety is an abnormal fear or dread of visiting the dentist for preventive care or therapy and unwarranted anxiety over dental procedures. It is a common problem that affects people of all ages and appears to develop mostly in childhood and adolescence. The present study assesses dental anxiety among children in a nonclinical setting among Saudi Arabian children who underwent preventive treatment procedure using Abeer Children Dental Anxiety Scale (ACDAS). Materials and Methods: The children attending an oral health program were screened for oral health problems and preventive treatment such as topical fluoride applications. The dental anxiety among children was assessed using ACDAS. Results: A total of 51 children participated in the research. The results showed that maximum children were not scared of dentist in nonclinical setting and had low dental anxiety levels. Overall, 74% of the child subjects had ACDAS scores below 26. Conclusions: Knowing the degree of anxiety of dental children is important to guide them through their dental experience and carry on the preventive dental treatments at an early age in nonclinical setting. Their level of cooperation will improve, and anxiety will be reduced as well. Further research is required to compare dental anxiety levels in children between clinical and nonclinical setting.

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Background: The cross-sectional survey was conducted to assess and compare tobacco and alcohol usage among male medical and dental students among students belonging to dental and medical colleges in Davangere city. Materials and Methods: A self-designed questionnaire containing 20 close-ended questions was prepared to collect the required and relevant information pertaining to tobacco and alcohol consumption. The questionnaire was distributed among 400 students belonging to dental and medical colleges in Davangere city. Results: Among the 400 respondents, 48.5% were smokers and 45.75% of students were alcoholics. Among smokers, 55.70% were house surgeon students and 23.07% were 1 ^st year. Significant difference was found in the percentage of tobacco consumption among medical and dental house surgeon students. The main reason for smoking was examination preparation and workload. Among alcoholics, 51.67% were house surgeon students and 21.9% were 1 ^st year. The main reason for alcohol consumption was to get relief from tensions. Conclusions: Final year students and house surgeons had more influence of tobacco and alcohol consumption habits when compared to 1 ^st year students in both dental as well in medical college. Academic demand, work pressure, examination stress, and anxiety were found to be significantly influencing tobacco and alcohol habits among both medical and dental students.

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Idiopathic gingival enlargement is a rare entity with unknown etiology. Diagnosis of the case is of utmost important for the comprehensive treatment planning. In the present case, the clinical presentation and intervention of the patient reported with diffuse firm and nonedematous enlargement, disfigurement of the face, difficulty in speech, and mastication. Periodontal status showed severe attachment loss with minimal local factors, which is typical for generalized aggressive periodontitis. Timely detection of the disease with the critical planning of treatment and routine follow-up with good oral hygiene practices are good enough to combat the morbidity of this disease.

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Social vaccine is the alternative term intended to change the predominant biomedical orientation of healthcare personnel toward the underlying distal and proximal factors that could lead to disease and infirmity. This report highlights the importance of social vaccine concept in the field of dentistry to have better understanding of the oral diseases and reduce the social inequality in communities.

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Lichen planus is a relatively common mucocutaneous disorder in adults it's rarely reported in children. However, much less data are available regarding lichen planus in children. Here is a report with intraoral lesions of lichen planus. Lichen planus, although reportedly rare in childhood, should be considered in the diagnosis of hyperkeratotic or erosive lesions of the oral mucosa in children.

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