Rural-urban disparities in knowledge, attitude, and practice toward child oral health among mothers of 9-36-month-old children.

Objective: To assess and compare the knowledge, attitude, and practice of mothers of pre-school children in urban and rural areas toward maintaining child oral health. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional comparative study was conducted in a convenient sample of 400 mothers of pre-school children (aged 9 months to 3 years) visiting the outpatient department of the Department of Dentistry, Shyam Shah Medical College, Rewa (M.P), India between February 1 and April 21, 2022. The study sample was divided into two groups based on whether they belonged to a rural area (Group A) or urban area (Group B). Group A included 236 participants, and Group B 186 participants. They were served a 24-item questionnaire to assess and compare their knowledge, attitude, and practice toward child oral health. The data were represented as mean and proportions, and a student t test and analysis of variance were performed. Results: In Group A and Group B, 93.64% and 98.17% mothers respectively had the knowledge of cariogenic food. While 66.10% of mothers in Group A and 73.78% in Group B were aware that regular cleaning of teeth protects against tooth decay, only 5.49% of mothers in Group B and none in Group A reported taking their children to routine dental visits; the majority (94.07% in Group A and 78.05% in Group B) had never taken their children to the dentist. Urban background was significantly associated with better knowledge, attitude, and practice scores. Mother's' age and education level were significantly associated with better Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice scores in both groups. Conclusion: Mothers can play an important role in promoting positive attitudes and healthy practices toward oral health care in children. Knowledge, attitude, and practice score were found to be significantly low in mothers who belonged to the rural subgroup.

Epidemiology, Microbiology and Antibiotic Sensitivity of Odontogenic Space Infections in Central India.

INTRODUCTION: Odontogenic infections are the most commonly encountered orofacial infections, which may spread into the adjacent anatomical spaces along the contiguous fascial planes, leading to involvement of multiple spaces which can progress to life-threatening situations. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective study was carried out on 100 consecutive cases of odontogenic infections treated at our institute over a period of 18 months by surgical intervention and intravenous antibiotics. Morphologic study of the isolates and antibiotic sensitivity testing was performed. RESULTS: Caries was the most frequent dental disease (53.27%), and the mandibular first molar was the most frequently involved tooth (41.9%) associated with the etiology of odontogenic infections. A total of 158 spaces were involved in 100 patients. In subjects with single space odontogenic infections (n = 61), submandibular space was most commonly affected (44.26%) followed by buccal space (27%). In subjects with multiple space infections (n = 39), submandibular space (30.19%) was most frequently involved followed by buccal space (17.92%). In the aerobic group/microaerophilic group, 17 different species were isolated in a total of 102 aerobic isolates. A total of 18 species were identified in 65 anaerobic isolates sampled. CONCLUSION: Amoxicillin possess antimicrobial activity against major pathogens in orofacial odontogenic infections, but ß-lactamase production has restricted the effectiveness of amoxicillin against the resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus, Bacteroides, Prevotella and Porphyromonas. For the management of orofacial infections, the use of amoxicillin/clavulanate and clindamycin is recommended because of stability against ß-lactamases.

Prevalence and pattern of lobular capillary hemangioma in Eastern Madhya Pradesh, India: A clinicopathological analysis.

BACKGROUND: Lobular capillary hemangioma is a common benign vascular tumor seen in the oral cavity. It occurs in response to various stimuli such as low-grade local irritation, traumatic insult, and hormonal factors or as a response to a wide variety of drugs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All patients presenting to the Department of Dentistry, Shyam Shah Medical College, Rewa, Madhya Pradesh during July 2014 to June 2016, who were diagnosed by histopathologic confirmation as oral lobular capillary hemangioma (OLCH), were evaluated for the area involved, clinicopathologic presentation, demographic features, and treatment. RESULTS: A total of 94 cases were identified as OLCH by histopathologic confirmation during this period. The lesion occurred most commonly in the age group of 21-30 years. A characteristic female predominance (female: male ratio of 2.24:1) was seen. Anterior maxillary labial gingiva was most frequently involved (34.04%) followed by posterior maxillary buccal gingiva (14.89%). CONCLUSION: The clinicopathologic picture of OLCH found in this study was similar to other studies conducted on same as well different ethnic and geographical populations. Poor oral-dental-hygiene was observed in majority of patients (87.23%) dental health education should be an integral component of imparting oral health care by health providers. Surgical excision as a treatment modality renders good results with low recurrence rate.

Superolateral dislocation of an intact mandibular condyle into the temporal fossa: case report and literature review.

Temporomandibular joint dislocation refers to the dislodgement of mandibular condyle from the glenoid fossa. Anterior and anteromedial dislocations of the mandibular condyle are frequently reported in the literature, but superolateral dislocation is a rare presentation. This report outlines a case of superolateral dislocation of an intact mandibular condyle that occurred in conjunction with an ipsilateral mandibular parasymphysis fracture. A review of the clinical features of superolateral dislocation of the mandibular condyle and the possible techniques of its reduction ranging from the most conservative means to extensive surgical interventions is presented.

Bioterrorism: Law Enforcement, Public Health & Role of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon in Emergency Preparedness.

INTRODUCTION: The contrived and deliberate use of pathogenic strains of micro-organisms such as bacteria, viruses or their toxins to spread life-threatening diseases on a mass scale with the aim to devastate the population of an area is referred to as 'bioterrorism'. RISK ASSESSMENT: The threat of bioterrorism is higher than ever. It is now a well established fact that the capability to create immense panic and unimaginable fear has allured the terrorists for the despicable use of biological agents for causing terror attacks. Moreover to add to the grievance, this era of biotechnology and nanotechnology has created an easy accessibility to more sophisticated biologic agents apart from the conventional bacteria, viruses and toxins. These biologic weapons can cause large-scale mortality and morbidity in large population and create civil disruption in the shortest possible time. PREPAREDNESS AND MITIGATION: Fight against bioterrorism is a global concern and necessitates that the issue should be criminalized internationally with the assistance of international co-operation and laws in favor of global public health. National public health agencies must also fortify their ability to be able to detect and respond to such biological attacks with better research and training facilities to health professionals, enhanced surveillance and improved diagnostic facilities by evolving an empowered public health system. Public health education and awareness are imperative; people should be made aware of reporting early to health institutions on arousal of signs and symptoms related to suspicious bioterrorist attack. CONCLUSION: Effective bioterrorism planning, prevention and response requires cooperation and collaboration between law enforcement and public health; Oral and maxillofacial surgeons can be successfully integrated into the emergency medical response system. With their education, training, skills and amenities in form of equipments they can augment medical and surgical personnel in early identification and subsequent control of a bioterrorist attack.

A Simple Technique for Removal of Broken Root Tip of Maxillary Premolars: A Technical Note.

INTRODUCTION: Therapeutic extraction of maxillary premolars is often indicated for orthodontic treatment. Extraction as well as retrieval of broken root tips in cases should be minimally invasive aiming to preserve the alveolus as well as the buccal and palatal cortical plates. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Here a technique is described that we have been employing for retrieving broken maxillary premolar root tips which have the bevel towards the buccal cortex. CONCLUSION: The method is simple, atraumatic and effective.