Different methods for subgingival application of chlorhexidine in the treatment of patients with chronic periodontitis.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate clinical efficacy of different chlorhexidine gluconate (CHX) preparations applied subgingivally as an adjunct to scaling and root planing (SRP). MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 120 periodontal pockets was included in this randomized, controlled, split mouth designed study. According to protocols used in treatment, periodontal pockets were assigned to experimental and control groups as follows: CHX solution as an addition to SRP versus control SRP group; CHX gel as an addition to SRP versus control SRP; CHX chip as an addition to SRP versus control SRP group. Following clinical parameters were recorded at baseline, one and three months after the baseline: plaque index (PI), probing pocket depth (PPD), bleeding index (BI) and clinical attachment level (CAL). RESULTS: The most significant improvements were found concerning PI in CHX solution with SRP and CHX gel with SRP groups over controls at one month recall, as well as concerning BI and PPD in CHX chip with SRP group over SRP alone at three-month recall. CONCLUSION: Results of this study favour combination therapy using CHX chip as an adjunct to SRP due to greater improvements in BI and PPD compared to those obtained by SRP alone in the treatment of chronic periodontitis.

Knowledge, attitudes and behavior of children in relation to oral health.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Health education plays a very important role in maintaining health of individuals. Good oral health, as a part of general health, is largely dependent on the level of knowledge, attitudes and habits that children already have. The aim of this study is to examine the level of knowledge and habits in children regarding oral hygiene, diet and bad habits. METHODS: The study included 506 school children aged 12 and 15 years in three towns (Foca, Cajnice, Kalinovik, Bosnia and Herzegovina). The survey was conducted in order to assess knowledge, attitudes and habits that children have in relation to their own oral health. RESULTS: Most respondents stated that they began to brush their teeth at the age of 4, while a smaller number linked beginning of tooth brushing to the start of school. The parents more often help the boys during tooth brushing. A total of 54.9% of children brush their teeth after every meal, while 40.1% of them brush teeth only once during the day. Twelve year olds brush their teeth more often, especially after a meal. A total of 92.5% of children had never used fluoride tablets nor are the tablets recommended to them by anyone. More than half of the children (61.7%) visited the dentist for the first time before starting school that is on the regular examination that is performed upon enrollment to school. A pain as a reason for dental visits was present in 43.9%, while the preventive check in only 31.4% of the children. CONCLUSION; Children included in this study, particularly 15-year-olds, are quite well informed about teeth brushing frequency and proper selection of tools for hygiene maintenance, but this knowledge is not applied. Girls are more responsible for their own health, and come regularly to the preventive dental checkups.

Distribution and characteristics of molar-incisor hypomineralization.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Developmental disorders of teeth are the problems that are becoming more present in pediatric dentistry, especially on first permanent molars and incisors. Molar Incisor Hypomineralization (MIH) is proposed term for this phenomenon. The aim of this study was to establish the MIH prevalence in children living in the Foca municipality (Bosnia and Herzegovina) as well as to assess characteristics and expression of hypomineralization within the tested population. METHODS: A total of 141 children from the Foca municipality, 8 years of age, were included in this study. Criteria according to Weerhejm have been used for diagnosis of hypomineralization: demarcated opacity (DO), post-eruptive breakdown (PEB), atypical restoration (AR), extracted molars due to MIH (E-MIH) and unerupted tooth (UT). Level and the prominence of color changes have been determined for patients with DO, PEB and AR. RESULTS: MIH in this area was present in 12.8% of children. The prevalence of MIH changes expressed in percentages was as follows: DO was at 9.2%, PEB in 3.5%, AR in 5.6%, while E-MIH was 5.6%. A total of 9.9% of the examinees had mild, 5.6% moderate, and 7.8% severe form of MIH. White form of MIH defects was found in 9.9% of the examinees, white-yellow one in 5.6% and yellow-brown color in 3.5% of the examined children. These changes were more often present in the lower jaw (60.3%). In total, 6.4% of children had these changes present only on molars, while 6.4% of them both on molars and incisors simultaneously. CONCLUSION: A total of 12.8% of the examinees with MIH is not to be disregarded. With timely diagnosis, prevention and therapy complications could be avoided or mitigated.

Myriophyllum aquaticum versus Lemna minor: sensitivity and recovery potential after exposure to atrazine.

The relative sensitivity and recovery potential of two aquatic macrophyte species, Lemna minor and Myriophyllum aquaticum, exposed to atrazine (concentration ranges 80-1,280 µg/L and 40-640 µg/L, respectively) were evaluated using slightly adapted standard protocol for Lemna spp.: relative growth rates (RGR) and yield of both plants were measured in 3-d-long intervals during the exposure and recovery phase. Myriophyllum aquaticum was also exposed to atrazine-spiked sediment (0.1-3.7 µg/g) in a water-free system. The results of M. aquaticum sediment contact tests showed that root- and shoot-based growth parameters are equally sensitive endpoints. In the water (sediment-free) test system, L. minor recovered after short (3 d) and longer exposure (7 d) to all atrazine concentrations after only a 5- to 6-d-long recovery phase. The recovery of M. aquaticum after short exposure was slower and less efficient: after 12 d of recovery phase the final biomass of plants exposed to 380 and 640 µg/L was below the initial values. The last interval RGR provides a good indication of plant recovery potential regardless of species growth strategy. If compared to L. minor, the difference in growth rate, sensitivity, lag phase, recovery potential from water-column substances, and also suitability for studies investigating the effect of sediment-bound pollutants advocates the use of M. aquaticum as an additional macrophyte species in risk assessment.