Momentousness of denture labeling using Aadhaar number in Indian population.

Personal identification is of prime importance for forensic and medicolegal purposes especially in case of natural calamities, accidents, state of unconsciousness, or loss of memory. The denture labeling is an important method which has been acknowledged by the field of dentistry. Various denture labeling techniques have been advocated but none of them is universal. Aadhaar is the instantly verifiable national identification number assigned to residents of India, which is currently being used vastly by the Government of India. The article describes a simple, economical, and permanent method for inclusion of Unique Identification Number and bar code in dentures.

Dexmedetomidine as an Additive to Local Anesthesia: A Step to Development in Dentistry.

PURPOSE: The study aimed to compare the effect of dexmedetomidine added to lidocaine against epinephrine added to lidocaine on local anesthetic potency and to look for future prospects of dexmedetomidine as an additive to local anesthesia in dentistry. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study included 25 healthy volunteers in whom extraction of all first premolars was scheduled as part of their orthodontic treatment plan. In this split-mouth, double-blind, crossover, randomized controlled trial, patients were randomized into 2 groups: Group 1 received injection lidocaine plus dexmedetomidine, and group 2 was administered lidocaine plus epinephrine. Patients were assessed for the onset of action of anesthesia, duration of analgesia, pain perception, and vital signs. RESULTS: The mean values (±standard deviations) for the onset of anesthetic action in groups 1 and 2 were 113 ± 24.9 and 141 ± 34.8 seconds, respectively, for the mandible. For the maxilla, the mean values were 113 ± 24.9 seconds for group 1 and 165 ± 43.8 seconds for group 2. The duration of anesthesia was longer in group 1 (lidocaine plus dexmedetomidine), in which the requirement for the first analgesic on request was seen after a longer time interval, when compared with group 2 (lidocaine plus epinephrine). Pain perception elicited statistically significant results with less perception of pain in group 1 (lidocaine plus dexmedetomidine). The vital parameters remained stable, and the results were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we observed that the addition of dexmedetomidine to lidocaine for maxillary and mandibular nerve blocks significantly prolonged the block duration and shortened the onset of action, as well as improved postoperative analgesia in terms of the need for fewer analgesics in the postoperative period. Furthermore, the vital parameters remained stable and no complications were encountered. The findings were supportive of the use of dexmedetomidine as an adjunct to local anesthetics in dental procedures.

The newer aspect of dexmedetomidine use in dentistry: As an additive to local anesthesia, initial experience, and review of literature.

INTRODUCTION: Despite the availability of a wide variety of pharmacological agents in the field of anesthesia, there has always been a continuous search for newer local anesthetic agents with improved efficacy, potency, and better handling properties. Dexmedetomidine, a selective alpha-2 adrenergic receptor agonist, is an emerging agent for provision of additive local anesthetic effect if used with conventional local anesthetics, which can be implicated in dentistry for performing many minor oral surgical procedures. The present paper reports a pilot study comparing clinical efficacy and potency of this newer emerging drug in combination with lignocaine. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ten patients undergoing orthodontic extraction for correction of malocclusion and other dentofacial deformities requiring orthodontic treatment were locally infiltrated with 2% lignocaine plus dexmedetomidine 1µ/ml and 2% lignocaine plus adrenaline in 1:200,000 dilution at two different appointments. The onset of action, duration of action, and pain threshold were assessed. RESULTS: Onset of action was found to be faster with longer duration of action with the newer drug dexmedetomidine and lignocaine combination when compared with combination of lignocaine and adrenaline. CONCLUSION: The study demonstrated that the combination of dexmedetomidine with lignocaine enhances the local anesthetic potency of lignocaine without significant systemic effects when locally injected into oral mucosa.

Dexmedetomidine Supported Office Based Genioplasty: A Pilot Study.

INTRODUCTION: Despite the availability of wide variety of pharmacological agents for dental procedural sedation, there has always been a continuous search for newer sedative agents. Dexmedetomidine is a newer sedative agent for provision of short-term sedation (<24 h) in adult patients in the intensive care unit setting. It is a selective α2 adrenergic receptor agonist. The reports on off-label use of this drug in a variety of settings for invasive and non invasive procedural sedation have provided encouraging results. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The present paper reports a pilot study observing clinical efficacy of the newer drug dexmedetomidine in patients undergoing office based sliding genioplasty for correction of facial asymmetry. Subjects were sedated with dexmedetomidine with a loading dose of 0.5 mcg/kg over 10 min followed by a continuous infusion dose of 0.1 mcg/kg/h, the recovery process was observed for 60 min after the dexmedetomidine infusion was stopped. The patients were observed pre operatively, intra operatively (every 10 min) and postoperatively for the following parameters-oxygen saturation (SpO2), mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), and Ramsay sedation score (RSS), respiratory rate, pain scale.

Clicking hyoid: A rare case report and review.

Painful conditions of unexplained origin pose a challenging task for the clinician from both the diagnosis and treatment perspective. This might be accounted due to overlapping symptomatology; moreover, nonspecific subjective findings push the diagnostic process to a more perplexing direction. The main loophole in their management lies in difficulty to make an appropriate diagnosis. Clicking hyoid is an extremely rare anomaly of hyoid bone which produces painful clicking in throat. Here, we report a case of a young patient presented with pain and clicking in throat which aggravated on swallowing. After a series of examinations, it was diagnosed as clicking hyoid and was managed successfully by surgical treatment. The objective of this article is not only to increase awareness of the ailment so as to validate its existence but also demonstrate the significant utility of the surgical management.