A survey on oral hygiene methods practiced by patients attending Dentistry Department at a Tertiary Care Hospital from Central Gujarat.

OBJECTIVE: Oral hygiene is important not only for maintaining health of teeth and gingivae in an individual but also for good and uneventful regeneration and healing of tissues, when one has undergone one or other dental treatments. This makes it important to have an understanding of oral hygiene practices employed by the population. MATERIALS AND METHODOLOGY: This descriptive cross-sectional hospital-based survey was carried out to know oral hygiene methods practiced by patients who visited Department of Dentistry at a Tertiary Care Hospital attached to medical college from Central Gujarat. While examining and recording their history, their mode of oral hygiene practice was also noted. Recorded data were entered in Microsoft Excel and analyzed in SPSS Statistics Version 17.0. The study reports proportions of the variables under study in percentages. RESULTS: The patients ranged from 4 to 80 years in age with equal numbers from both genders. The number of participants using modern and scientific material and instrument for oral hygiene was good. However, majority of them performed it only once a day, and none after every meal or at bed time. CONCLUSION: There is a need to improve the frequency of oral hygiene procedure among the studied population as well as use of dental floss needs to be increased.

Dynamic role of myofibroblasts in oral lesions.

Fibroblasts are the most abundant cellular components of connective tissue. They possess phenotypical heterogenicity and may be present in the form of smooth muscle cells or myofibroblasts (MFs). MFs are spindle-shaped cells with stress fibres and well-developed fibronexus, and they display α-smooth muscle actin immunohistochemically and smooth-muscle myofilaments ultrastructurally. MFs play a crucial role in physiological and pathological processes. Derived from various sources, they play pivotal roles not only by synthesizing and producing extracellular matrix components, such as other connective tissue cells, but also are involved in force production. In the tissue remodelling phase of wound closure, integrin-mediated interactions between MFs and type I collagen result in scar tissue formation. The tumour stroma in oral cancer actively recruits various cell types into the tumour mass, where they act as different sources of MFs. This article reviews the importance of MFs and its role in pathological processes such as wound healing, odontogenic cysts and tumours, salivary gland tumours, oral preneoplasia, and oral squamous cell carcinoma. Research oriented on blocking the transdifferentiation of fibroblasts into MFs can facilitate the development of noninvasive therapeutic strategies for the treatment of fibrosis and/or cancer.

Assessment of Ethnicity in Indian Population using Tooth Crown Metric Dental Traits.

BACKGROUND: Tooth crown dimensions vary between different ethnic groups, providing insights into the factors controlling human dental development. This present study compares permanent mesiodistal (MD) and buccolingual crown dimensions between four ethnic groups, highlighting patterns of tooth size between these groups and considers the findings in relation to genetic and environmental influences. MATERIALS AND METHODS: MD and buccolingual tooth crown dimensions were recorded using digital vernier calipers on dental casts derived from four different human population: Iranians, Hindus, Muslims, and Christians. RESULTS: Obtained measurements were subjected to statistical analysis. The Christian sample was found to have the largest teeth overall, whereas the Iranian sample generally displayed the smallest MD and buccolingual crown dimensions (P < 0.001). Comparisons of coefficients of variation for teeth within each class showed that the later-forming teeth displayed greater variation in MD size than the earlier-forming teeth. CONCLUSION: The different patterns of tooth size observed between the study samples are thought to reflect differences in the relative contributions of genetic and environmental influences to dental development between the four population. Using a standardized methodology, significant differences in MD and buccolingual crown dimensions have been demonstrated between four human ethnic groups. There were also distinct differences in the patterns of crown size between the groups, with the later-forming teeth in each type generally showing greater size variation.