ABSTRACT
Aims: Quantitative assessment of trace elements in enamel of sound and carious permanent and deciduous teeth, and evaluation of correlation between the presence of caries and trace elements Study Design: Using powdered enamel from extracted primary and permanent human dentitions and graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Place and Duration of Study: Faculty of Dentistry and clinical Dentistry section of the Jordan University Hospital, between October 2014 and May 2015. Methodology: Forty extracted human deciduous and permanent dentitions were collected from patients attended the dental surgery and pedodontic departments of the Jordan University Hospital. After proper cleaning and drying, four groups of ten teeth each from which enamel samples were collected in four containers labelled as, sound permanent, carious permanent, sound primary, and carious primary enamel. In each group the corresponding teeth were mechanically ground using a different bur; the grinding was within the enamel layer and without exposing dentine. The powdered enamel samples were acid-digested and transferred to liquid solutions in order to measure their content of heavy metal ions by means of Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (GFAAS). Results: Eight trace elements were detected, namely, Cu, Pb, Sr, Fe, Mn, Zn, Al, and Se and their concentrations were estimated in all four enamel samples. The concentrations of Sr, Cu, and Fe were significantly higher in sound than in carious enamel of primary and permanent teeth. The concentrations of Al, Mn, and Se were significantly higher in carious than in sound enamel of primary and permanent teeth. Zn and Pb demonstrated comparable concentrations in carious and normal enamel of primary and permanent teeth. Conclusions: In the light of the obtained results, it could be concluded that Sr, Cu, and Fe function as cariostatic elements and there presence enhances caries resistance of primary and permanent teeth, whereas, the presence of Al, Mn, and Se is associated with caries.
ABSTRACT
To determine the association between preterm birth [PTB] and maternal oral diseases during pregnancy. This prospective study was performed by the neonatal and dental departments at Jordan University Hospital. The study included 100 women who gave birth to preterm singleton infants [born less than 37 complete weeks from last menstrual period] between January and July 2009. The control group included an equal number of women who delivered singleton, full-term infants on the same day or the day after the women in the study. The mothers' demographic data were collected using a questionnaire, and an oral examination was conducted for each participant. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS for Windows release 16.0 [SPSS Inc., Chicago, Ill., USA]. Factors related to PTB were studied in univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. Significantly higher DMFT [decayed, missing, filled teeth] index scores, Silness and Loe plaque index scores and Muhlemann tooth mobility index scores were associated with PTB. Mothers who did not have prepregnancy dental checkups had a significantly higher incidence of PTB. Fewer mothers in the PTB group visited dentists during their last pregnancy compared with controls. Oral health, especially healthy periodontium, is one reliable indicator for predicting a safe pregnancy outcome