Oral Health Status of Children with Thalassaemia in Melaka: A Pilot Study

ABSTRACT@#Thalassemia is an inherited disorder that involves abnormal haemoglobin formation. This cross-sectional study with universal sampling was conducted from May 2018 to January 2019 to evaluate the oral health status of children with thalassaemia. The sample consisted of 54 transfusion-dependent patients between the ages of 3–17 years old, who were registered at the paediatric day-care centre of Hospital Melaka. Oral health status was evaluated which included soft tissue examination, recording of dental caries, malocclusion and oral hygiene status of the children, while their parents answered a pre-validated self-administered questionnaire on sociodemographic and oral health practices and attitudes. The mean deft (decayed, exfoliated and filled teeth) among the 3–5 years old was 6.71±6.07. The mean DMFT (decayed, missing and filled teeth) was 3.00±3.94 among the 13–17 years old and 1.12±1.42 among the 6–12 years old. Most of the 3–5 years old children exhibited good oral hygiene (71.4%). Dentofacial findings among the 3–5 years old were increased overjet (35.7%) and open bite (28.6%) predominantly. Fractured teeth (69.2%), increased overjet (46.2%) and discolouration (23.1%) were the common dentofacial findings among the 6–12 years old while increased overjet (71.4%), soft tissue lesions (57.1%) and posterior crossbite (28.6%) were seen among the 13–17 years old. In this cohort of children with thalassaemia, the prevalence of dental caries was high in preschool children and older children.

Compound Odontoma in Anterior Mandible—A Case Report

Odontomas are the most common odontogenic hamartomas worldwide. Depending on the level of organisation of the tissues inside, these can be differentiated into compound type or complex type. As these are asymptomatic and do not cause any changes in the bone, they are often diagnosed during the routine dental examination. Complex odontomas are commonly found to occur in posterior mandible while compound odontomas are found in the anterior maxilla. A nine-year-old female child reported for a routine dental check-up, when a missing left permanent mandibular lateral incisor [32] was noticed. Further investigations revealed compound odontoma and unerupted 32, which is an unusual location. Early detection of these tumours is essential to avoid lengthy corrective treatments.

Dens Invaginatus in a Peg Lateral - An Unusual Presentation

Dens invaginatus is a developmental anomaly resulting from infolding of the surface of the tooth crown before calcification has occurred. While several mechanisms have been proposed for the cause of this phenomenon the exact etiology is not known. The malformation shows a broad spectrum of morphologic variations and frequently results in early pulp necrosis. The nature of the problem may increase the risk of pulp disease and complicate any root canal treatment. Dens invaginatus has been seen very commonly in maxillary lateral incisors; however, reported cases in peg laterals are few. A case is reported here of unusual presentation of dens invaginatus in a peg lateral. The problems associated with treatment of such teeth are discussed.

Effect of different types of tea on Streptococcus mutans: An in vitro study.

Context: If tea can be shown to have an inhibitory effect on the growth of Streptococcus mutans there can be a basis for using it as an agent for reducing caries. Aims: The aim of the study was to determine the effect of aqueous and organic extracts of three types of tea (green, oolong, and black tea) on the growth of S. mutans. Settings and Design: In vitro study. Material and Methods: Qualitative and quantitative phytochemical analysis of the three types of tea was done. Organic extracts of methanol and ethanol and aqueous extracts (50% and 100%) of tea were prepared. Fifty microliters of these extracts were inoculated into wells prepared on Mueller-Hinton agar plates that had been previously smeared with S. mutans. The agar plates were incubated at 37΀C for 24 hours. A similar procedure was followed using 0.2% chlorhexidine, which served as the positive control. Statistical Analysis Used: Analysis of variance (ANOVA), post hoc Tukey test, Student's 't ' test (two-tailed, dependent), and Student's 't' test (two-tailed, independent) were used for analysis of the data. Results: All the phytochemicals were found to be higher in oolong tea. Both aqueous and organic extracts of oolong tea showed greatest zones of inhibition, followed by green tea and black tea. Aqueous extracts of oolong and green tea showed greater zone of inhibition than chlorhexidine. All the three types of tea inhibited growth of S. mutans. The greatest inhibition was observed with aqueous extract of oolong tea. Conclusions: Oolong tea extracts (aqueous and organic) showed a greater inhibitory effect on the growth of S. mutans than the other tea extracts.