Management of Medically Compromised Prosthodontic Patients.

The medical evaluation of patients considering prosthodontic treatment is a vital step in the treatment planning. The prosthodontist should be able to assess the inherent risks associated with the treatment of patients with systemic conditions. Many factors are associated with evaluating the patient's health status and risk including the patient's current and past medical and dental history, current and past use of medications, type of treatment, length of treatment, invasiveness of treatment, and degree of urgency of treatment. In this article, some of the systemic diseases like arthritis, cardiovascular diseases, endocrine disorders, hematologic and oncologic disease, neurologic disorders, bone disorders, pulmonary diseases, liver diseases, and chronic kidney disease that commonly affect aged individuals are reviewed. The prosthodontic considerations that should be taken care of while managing patients with these systemic conditions will also be discussed.

A questionnaire study on the impact on oral health-related quality of life by conventional rehabilitation of edentulous patient.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to determine whether complete dentures improve the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of edentulous patients, and to assess any associations related to age, gender, and OHRQoL. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Hundred edentulous patients who required conventional complete denture treatment were selected for this study. The following inclusion criteria were established: edentulous in both jaws with no previous history of denture treatment and no significant medical history. The patients were selected who satisfied the criteria associated with the class I prosthodoctic diagnostic index. OHRQoL of the patients were assessed twice, once pre treatment (at the first visit) and once post treatment (8 weeks post insertion of dentures) using an instrument called OHIP-EDENT-N. Significant differences in the OHIP-EDENT-N scores between pre treatment and post treatment were calculated using the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test. Gender differences were assessed using the Mann-Whitney test. RESULTS: After provision of new complete dentures, all domains of the OHIP-EDENT-N showed significant improvements except physical pain and social disability. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study indicated that conventional complete denture improved the OHRQoL of edentulous patients.

Happiness among dentists: a multi-scale, multi-national study from 21 countries.

OBJECTIVES: The extent to which dentists are happy with their profession and their life has not been well studied. The present study aimed to explore the level of happiness, satisfaction with life and psychological well-being among a sample of dental professionals from 21 countries. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The sample comprised 2,200 dentists from 21 countries. Three scales - Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS), Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS), and Affect Balance Scale (ABS) - were used to measure the subjective responses. Data related to demographic and social characteristics were recorded. Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used as appropriate. Scales were correlated, and multiple linear regression analyses were employed to identify the independent determinants of SHS, SWLS and ABS. Data were analysed using the SPSS software program; a value of P <0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: The overall mean scores of SHS, SWLS and ABS were 18.53 ± 5.06, 23.06 ± 6.25 and 1.26 ± 2.40, respectively, with significant differences found across countries: dentists working in Croatia, Peru and Serbia recorded the highest scores, unlike dentists practicing in Yemen, Syria, and Iraq, who recorded the lowest scores. There were significant, moderately positive correlations between the various scales: SHS and SWLS: r = 0.535, P < 0.001; SHS and ABS: r = 0.58, P < 0.001; and SWLS and ABS: r = 0.533, P < 0.001. Country of practice, age, qualification and monthly income were the significant independent predictors of SHS, SWLS and ABS. CONCLUSION: Country of residence and social characteristics were associated with dentists' responses regarding their feelings and subjective well-being.

Oral Hygiene and Tobacco Use Practices in Rural Villages of Jhapa District, Nepal.

BACKGROUND: Smoking and use of smokeless tobacco affect oral as well as general health. People are reluctant to achieve good oral health in lieu of the avoidance of deleterious habits. The objective of this study was to analyze two contrasting health behaviors; the oral hygiene practices against tobacco use in a sample from eastern Terai. METHODS: This is questionnaire-based cross-sectional survey carried out in Jhapa district located in eastern Nepal. In this report, practice of toothbrushing, use of fluoridated toothpaste, frequency of using tobacco related products (paan, gutkha, chilim, cigarette, bidi, hukkah) was assessed. Association of health behavior to sociodemographic variables were tested with regression analysis at 95% confidence limits. RESULTS: A total of 1178 respondents (response rate = 96.8%) completed the interview, among them 80.8% were males. Mean age was 52.21 years (SD = 15.943). Overall 72.6% used fluoridated toothpaste and toothbrush for cleaning teeth, 58.8% consumed tobacco related products. Interdental aids utilization was very less (1.2% using dental floss). Age was significantly related to both toothbrushing and tobacco-consuming. Educational status was related significantly to toothbrushing (p less than 0.05). Other sociodemographic variables (marital status, ethnicity, educational status) were not related to consumption of deleterious products (p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed that consumption of tobacco related products is moderately high in Terai village and oral health practice was found to be influenced by educational status. More such studies to identify status of oral health and impact of tobacco are recommended.

An anthropometric study to evaluate the correlation between the occlusal vertical dimension and length of the thumb.

BACKGROUND: Establishment of proper occlusal vertical dimension (OVD) is one of the important tasks for successful prosthodontic therapy. An ideal method for determining OVD in terms of cost, time, and instrument requirements has been sought in prosthodontics by various investigators. However, no such single method has been formulated. In the current anthropometric study, the relationship of the length of the thumb to the OVD was tested in two ethnic groups of Nepal, Aryans, and Mongoloids. The result of this study can be useful in determining proper OVD in edentulous patients. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The primary aim of the present study was to evaluate the correlation between the length of the thumb and OVD in Aryan and Mongoloid ethnic groups. The secondary aim was to compare the correlation between OVD and other anatomic measurements (eye-ear distance and pupil-to-rima oris distance) in these ethnicities. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The OVD, thumb length, eye-ear distance and distance between pupil of eye and rima oris were measured in a total of 500 adult dentulous volunteers. The correlation between OVD and thumb length as well as other anatomic measurements was checked with Pearson's product moment correlation coefficient. Linear regression analysis was performed to determine the relationship of OVD to the length of the thumb. RESULTS: The thumb length was significantly (P≤0.05) correlated with strong and positive values (Pearson's coefficient =0.874 in the whole population, 0.826 in Aryans, and 0.944 in Mongoloids). Regression analysis showed that thumb length was significantly related to OVD in both ethnic groups. CONCLUSION: Within the limitations of the present study, the result implies that thumb length can be used as an adjunct for establishing OVD in the edentulous patients.