Dermatoglyphic peculiarities in children with oral clefts.

In humans, the development of the primary palate and the lip is completed by the 7th week of intra uterine life and that of secondary palate by 12th week. The dermal ridges develop in relation to the volar pads, which are formed by the 6th week of gestation and reach maximum size between 12th and 13th weeks. This means that the genetic message contained in the genome - normal or abnormal is deciphered during this period and is also reflected by dermatoglyphics. Hence this study was done in order to observe the differences in dermatoglyphic patterns between the children with oral clefts and normal children and to determine the usefulness of dermatoglyphics in studying the genetic etiology of oral clefts. Dermatoglyphic data from 50 oral cleft children and 50 normal children were collected using the ink method and comparison was done between them. In the present study, we found an increase in the ulnar loop patterns on the distal phalanges of the ten fingers, an increase in the atd angle and an increase in the fluctuating asymmetry of the atd angle in the oral cleft children which indicates the degree of developmental instability of the oral cleft individual.

Caries prevalence amongst handicapped children of South Canara district, Karnataka.

This epidemiological investigation was carried out among 524 handicapped children in the age group of 3-30 years, attending 8 different non-residential special schools in South Canara district, Karnataka. The examination procedure and criteria were those recommended by W.H.O. in 1997. The total caries prevalence was found to be 71.56%. The mean deft in the primary dentition was found to be 3.06 +/- 3.14. The mean deft and DMFT in the mixed dentition were 3.32 +/- 2.82 and 1.14 +/- 1.08 respectively. The mean DMFT in the permanent dentition was 4.51 +/- 3.17. The prevalence of dental caries was higher in the mentally subnormal and handicapped children. The decayed component constituted the majority of the dental caries index. Lack of conservative approach to the treatment had been confirmed in the study.

Relationship between the existing caries status, plaque S. mutans and Cariostat caries activity test in children.

An attempt was made in this study to find out the sensitivity and specificity of a caries activity test, CARIOSTAT and its relationship to the existing caries status and the plaque S. mutans level. The test proved to be highly sensitive and specific with significant relationship to the S.mutans count in the dental plaque. There also was a significant relationship between both the cultured microorganisms on MSB agar and the plaque in the Cariostat medium.