Effect of tannic acid on growth and acid production of Candida albicans

Tannic Acid or Hydrolysable Tannins are naturally occurring complex phenol-rich polymers; prevalent in a wide variety of herbs, plants and fruits. Tannic Acid's antimicrobial activity against food-borne pathogens has been recognized and it is generally considered a safe food additive. The present study was carried out to investigate the effect of Tannic acid [TA] on the growth and acid production of C. albicans. Various concentrations of TA prepared with Sabourand's dextrose broth were inoculated with C. albicans and incubated at 37°C. Growth was monitored by optical density [OD] at 560nm wavelength and measured at specific intervals over a period of 24 hours. C. albicans cells were used as a non-growing cell suspension in a buffer solution of 40mM Sodium bicarbonate [NaHCO3] and 6mM Dipotassium phosphate [K2HPO4] to which various concentrations of TA were added. Acid production was stimulated by the addition of 1% glucose. The data obtained showed that TA was fungistatic at concentrations of 10, 50, 300 and 500 microg/ml and fungicidal at 700 microg/ml. Acid production of C. albicans was inhibited at concentrations of 100, 300 and 500 microg/ml. The inhibitory activity of TA on growth and acid production of C. albicans suggests that TA could play an important role in prevention and treatment of Oral Candidosis and in reducing caries activity

Dentists' knowledge and practices towards pulpectomy procedure of primary teeth in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

The purpose of this study was to investigate the knowledge and practices of general dental practitioners [CDP] and pedodontists [PD] towards pulpectomy procedure of primary teeth in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia General dental practitioners and pediatric dentists from different areas in Riyadh were requested to complete questionnaires on demographic data and current procedure in the treatment of pulpectomy A total of 124 questionnaires had been used for collecting the data and 105[85%] were returned. It was found that 71 4% of respondents were general practitioners and 286% were pediatric dentists There were differences in the treatment practices of the general dental practitioners and the pediatric dentists The most commonly used medicament for pulpectomy treatment was Zinc Oxide Eugenol paste [46.7%] followed by Calcium Hydroxide [21%] Hand instrument was the most common method used by the dentist to clean the canal with 96.2% and only 2.9% used rotary instruments. In addition, 23.8% and 22.9% of the dentists used syringe and hand condenser respectively to place the recommended materials. More than half [52.4%] of the sample restore primary teeth with stainless steel crowns after pulpectomy treatment. The results of this study show that some general dental practitioners use materials which are not recommenced for pulpectomy procedure. Zinc Oxide Eugenol is the common medicament used in the pulpectomy procedure and there is need for GDPs to attend ongoing education courses to update themselves on pulpectomy