Comparative Evaluation of Chitosan Chlorhexidine Mouthwash in Plaque Control: A Preliminary Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.

AIMS: The purpose of the present study was to compare the effect of a new mouth wash formulation consisting of chlorhexidine and chitosan on dental plaque and its reduction to that of chlorhexidine or chitosan alone. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was a single-blind randomized clinical trial with a parallel group design of 3 months duration. Patients (20-40 years) who fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria were assigned equally to group 1: chlorhexidine (0.2%), group 2: chitosan (0.5%) or group 3: chlorhexidine - chitosan combination group. The clinical parameters were recorded at baseline, 6weeks and at 3months. All patients received thorough oral prophylaxis and were instructed to rinse with 10ml of mouthwash twice daily for 1 minute. RESULTS: The combination of chitosan and chlorhexidine showed a statistically significant reduction (p less than0.05) in plaque indices from baseline at all time intervals when compared to that of chlorhexidine or chitosan alone. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrates that by unifying the properties of chitosan and chlorhexidine may result in a superior antiplaque effect than that of chlorhexidine alone.

Evaluation of the Efficacy of Porous Titanium Granules in the Treatment of Periodontal Intrabony Defects: A Preliminary Report.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Applications of porous titanium granule (PTG) in periodontal (furcation defects) and non-periodontal treatments have shown promising results. However, its role in periodontal intrabony defects still remains unexplored. Thus, we aim to assess the feasibility of PTG in obtaining reconstruction in intrabony defects and compare the outcome with that of open flap debridement (OFD). METHODS: Ten patients (three females and seven males) with a mean age of 34.7 years who constituted twenty (20) bilateral intrabony defects were recruited. Each patient contributed to two defects which were randomly treated by OFD alone (control group) or by OFD followed by grafting with PTG (test group). All the clinical and radiological parameters were recorded at baseline, three, six and nine months and statistically analyzed. RESULTS: The results of this study demonstrated that in clinical parameters there is no significant differences in the improvement from baseline to nine months. However, regarding the radiographic defect fill, there was significant gain from baseline to nine months only in the PTG sites. CONCLUSION: Within the limits of our study, the results of this trial indicate that reconstructive periodontal surgery with PTG offers minimal radiographic defect resolution with no significant improvements in clinical endpoints compared to open flap debridement.

Vestibuloplasty following denture hyperplasia resection with diode laser.

Denture hyperplasia is a common clinical finding in patients wearing dentures. In this case report, a patient who was treated for denture hyperplasia presented with a post operative complication which led to inadequate vestibular depth. Inadequate vestibule is a common challenge dental surgeons encounter while considering fixed or removable prosthesis and implants. Objective is to achieve acceptable retention and aesthetics for the prosthesis by increasing the vestibular depth and also to manage the complication encountered during the resection procedure. Several techniques have been employed to increase the vestibular depth and the width of attached gingiva in the literature. In this case the denture hypereplasia was resected using diode laser which resulted in bone necrosis and opening of the wound post surgically. This was managed with curettage and PRF application. Following this the patient presented with inadequate vestibular depth. Vestibuloplasty was performed with Diode laser to deepen the vestibular depth and augment keratinized tissue to facilitate prosthetic rehabilitation. Three months following vestibuloplasy, patient presented with adequate vestibule. At six months follow up there was sufficient keratinized tissue to facilitate prosthetic rehabilitation. This case presents a unique way of managing a complication encountered after denture hyperplasia resection followed by vestibuloplasty with diode laser. The results obtained were clinically acceptable. PRF provides excellent results when used for the management of surgical complications like wound exposure. Laser technique is optimal for the treatment of soft tissue defects and is proven to be ideal for vestibuloplasty.

Extracorporeal shock wave therapy in periodontics: A new paradigm.

The quest for exploring new frontiers in the field of medical science for efficient and improved treatment modalities has always been on a rise. Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) has been enormously used in medical practice, principally, for the management of urolithiasis, cholelithiasis and also in various orthopedic and musculoskeletal disorders. The efficacy of ESWT in the stimulation of osteoblasts, fibroblasts, induction of neovascularization and increased expression of bone morphogenic proteins has been well documented in the literature. However, dentistry is no exception to this trend. The present article enlightens the various applications of ESWT in the field of dentistry and explores its prospective applications in the field of periodontics, and the possibility of incorporating the beneficial properties of shock waves in improving the treatment outcome.