Third Molar Maturity Index as an Efficient Tool for Prediction of Age in a Sample Indian Population - A Retrospective Study

Introduction: The age of 18 years is an important milestone for legal matters, and developmental parameters of teeth are often used for estimation of this age. The aim of this study is to assess the efficiency of third molar maturity index (I3M) in establishing age of 18 years in Dakshina Kannada population. Methods: A total of 700 orthopantomograms were retrieved from the archives of the radiology department of Manipal College of Dental Sciences, Mangalore. The length and the width of the open apex of the mandibular left third molar was assessed using Image J software and the Third molar maturity Index (I3M) was calculated and correlated with the age of the individual. Results: Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed the Area under curve of 0.94 and 0.96 in females and males, respectively, for prediction of age of 18 years. The cut?off of 0.08 predicted the 18?year cut?off with 97% specificity and 90.2% negative predictive value. The percentage of the accuracy was 80.23% if the I3M was <0.08. Conclusion: The efficiency of the cut?off of 0.08 of I3M has been tested in various population including Kosovar, Peruvian, South Indian, Libyan, Montenegro, Croatian, African (Botswana), Albanian, and Serbian. Our study also shows the efficiency of the same in South Indian Dakshina Kannada population.

Herbal oral care: an old concept or a new model.

dental health. The commonly used Ayurvedic medications for oral and dental health can be classified based on their properties as PLANTS WITH ANTIMICROBIAL PROPERTY Aloe, betel pepper (Piper betel), black pepper (Piper nigrum), clove (Syzygium aromaticum), coriander, (Coriandrum sativum), eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globules), garlic (Allium sativum), turmeric (Curcuma longa), green tea (Camellia sinensis), Onion (Allium cepa), papaya (Carica papaya), potato (Solanum tuberosum) are few Indian plants species which contain antimicrobial activities.3 PLANTS WITH ANTIOXIDANT PROPERTY Spinach, pepper, black tea, broccoli, green tea, carrot, potato tomato, blackberry, grape, olive, pineapple, ABSTRACT Ayurveda, the oldest medical science originating from Indian subcontinent, has been practiced since the 12th century BC. Its objective is to accomplish physical, mental, social and spiritual well- being by adopting preventive, health promoting and holistic approach towards life. Ayurveda is the science that developed as humans evolved and has stood the test of time. Oral diseases are major health problems worldwide and are not limited to dental caries and periodontal diseases but to various autoimmune conditions. Oral health influences the general quality of life and poor oral health is linked to chronic conditions and systemic diseases. Recently there is renewed interest in use of various Ayurvedic drugs for oral and dental healthyurvedic drugs for oral and dental health.

Impact of lifestyle diseases on oral health.

The lifestyle of an individual has varied implications in his/her overall health. Lifestyle diseases caused bysmoking and use of smokeless tobacco, alcohol consumption, poor nutrition, and obesity and stress contribute to the leading causes of preventable death. Of the lifestyle factors certain behaviors and practices such as poor eating habits, inactivity, use of tobacco and alcohol form the preventable factors and ethnicity, age, gender, heredity form the non-preventable factors contributing to lifestyle diseases. This review discusses the lifestyle practices that have a profound impact on the oral health and the various modifications in lifestyle that can prevent them.

How different are students and their learning styles.

Introduction: Students, like anybody else differ from each other. As students they differ in their preferred mode of learning, i.e. their preferred modes in gathering, organizing and thinking about information. A recent classification proposed by Neil Fleming and associates state that students learning styles can be divided into Visual/graphic, Aural, Read/write and Kinesthetic types, VARK. Aim: The aim of the recent study is to investigate learning styles among dental students in two different dental colleges of India. Method: The VARK-questionnaire contains 15 multiple-choice- questions with four possibilities to select an answer. Each possibility represents one of the four modes of perception. But, one can select more than one answer to each question, which is necessary for the identification of poly modal modes of perception and learning. This is also a psychometric problem when trying to state a measure of the reliability of the questionnaire. The VARK-questionnaire was distributed among 200 students and was collected back. This sample size represents 100% response rate from the students in the class and is markedly above the level required to make conclusions about student preferences for receiving and processing information. The students spent about 10 minutes in an ordinary lesson to fill in the questionnaire. Students register number and name were used in the study and there was no blinding practiced. Study Design: Questionnaire based clinical study Results: The responses from the students in our University where classified into multi-modal (VARK), tri-modal (VRK, VAK, VAR, ARK), bi-modal (VR, VA, VK, RK) and uni-modal (V, A, R.K) categories. Results showed that subjects had a higher preference for multimodal learning. Conclusion: We conclude that students in our set up prefer multimodal and more of Kinesthetic of learning. To meet their needs, a variation in teaching, learning and examination must be implemented. If not, these students with a high kinesthetic preference for perception and learning may be at the losing end.

Oral health status in geriatric diabetics / Condições de saúde bucal em pacientes diabéticos geriátricos

OBJECTIVE: To determine if any difference exists in the oral health status between geriatric patients with diabetes mellitus and the normal population. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The oral health status of 100 metabolically controlled geriatric diabetic patients attending the Diabetes Clinic of the Manipal Hospital, were prospectively assessed over six months and compared with that of 50 non-diabetic acting as controls. RESULTS: The mean duration of diabetes was 100.5±85.1 months. The degree of hyposalivation between the two groups was statistically significant (p < 0.05). No significant difference was observed in the taste, burning mouth sensation, angular cheilitis, glossitis, and stomatitis status of the two groups and no pathgnomonic lesions or alterations could be observed in relation to the disease. CONCLUSION: It was concluded that, with adequate metabolic control, the oral health status of a diabetic may not be significantly different from that of a non-diabetic except for xerostomia.

OBJETIVO: Avaliar possíveis diferenças na saúde bucal de pacientes geriátricos com diabetes mellitus em comparação a uma população normal. CASUÍSTICA E MÉTODO: A condição de saúde bucal de 100 pacientes geriátricos diabéticos, metabolicamente controlados, atendidos na Clínica de Diabetes do Hospital Manipal foram avaliados prospectivamente durante seis meses e comparados com 50 pacientes geriátricos não diabéticos (grupo controle). RESULTADOS: A duração média do diabetes foi 100 m5 +- 85,1 meses. O grau de hiposalivação entre os dois grupos foi estatisticamente significante (p < 0,05). Não foram encontradas diferenças significativas no paladar, sensação de queimação bucal, queilite angular, glossite e estomatites entre os dois grupos. Não foram observadas lesões patognômicas ou alterações relacionadas ao diabetes. CONCLUSÃO: Concluiu-se que, com controle metabólico adequado, as condições bucais de pacientes diabéticos geriátricos pode não ser significativamente diferente das de um não diabético, com exceção da xerostomia.