Comparative Evaluation of Clinical Efficacy of Diode LASER and Cryosurgery for Gingival Pigmentation: A Split-Mouth Randomized Clinical Study

ABSTRACT Objective: To compare and evaluate the clinical efficacy of diode laser and cryosurgery for treating melanin pigmentation of gingiva. Material and Methods: A total of twenty-five subjects with physiological gingival pigmentation on the facial aspect of both maxillary and mandibular anterior arches (50 sites), both male and female, with an average age ranging from 18-35 years, participated in the study. The sites were randomly divided into Group I: depigmentation by Laser and Group II: depigmentation by Cryosurgery. The following parameters were assessed for the evaluation of treatment results: Melanin Oral Pigmentation Index (PI), Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for pain evaluation and Healing index (HI). The data collected was statistically evaluated. Results: On intergroup comparison, there was no statistical difference in the score from baseline (p>0.05); however, a statistically significant difference was seen at the end of 1 year (p<0.05). Moreover, 57-60% of arches showed recurrence of pigmentation in the laser group whereas; only 12.7-17% recurrence was seen in the cryosurgery group at the end of the first year. Conclusion: Treatment of gingival hyperpigmentation with laser and cryosurgery shows a marked improvement of gingival pigmentation in both groups, but the cryosurgery depigmentation sites showed more sustainability.

Choosing Periodontology for Specialty Specialization: Perspective of Dental Undergraduate Students.

BACKGROUND: The attitudes of dental students to study a particular specialty of dentistry in post-graduation are of great importance as these facilitate workforce planning in the dental sector. AIM AND OBJECTIVE: To assess the attitude of dental students towards choosing periodontology as their future career and to explore demographic variables that affect their choice. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional survey based on a questionnaire was conducted, including students of the third and fourth years and interns of the dental college. Twenty-seven questions, graded on a Likert scale (5-point) were included in the questionnaire, and the responses were categorised via three attitudes: negative (score 0-21), neutral (score 22-44) and positive (score 45-64). The Chi-square test for proportions was used to examine the differences between groups. RESULTS: Among 114 participants, 53 (46.5%) were males and 61 (53.5%) were females. One-third of the respondents had a positive attitude towards selecting periodontology as their future career, and the majority had a neutral perspective, with a few students having a negative attitude (20.2%). Out of the total, 34.2% of respondents had a positive attitude, and 45.6% showed a neutral attitude or perspective. CONCLUSION: Efforts should be intensified, and undergraduate (UG) students should be motivated by broadening the scope of the field in the UG curriculum by the dental council so that the students show considerable interest in pursuing the field as their future career.

Parastyle cusp: A rare morphologic variant of maxillary second molars.

Human jaws and teeth show a high diversity in the morphology, which varies from individual to individual. The variation in the morphologic feature is of great importance in the forensic field for identification. A tubercle or an accessory cusp is rare but is usually seen in the mandibular molar buccal aspect. From a forensic odontologist's point of view, the features though rare and unusual are useful for identification of the victim as well as criminal. The article presents three cases showing this rarest morphologic variation, i.e., the presence of a parastyle on a permanent maxillary second molar.

Human Amnion Membrane: Potential Applications in Oral and Periodontal Field.

Human amniotic membrane (HAM) is derived from the fetal membranes which consist of the inner amniotic membrane made of single layer of amnion cells fixed to collagen-rich mesenchyme attached to chorion. HAM has low immunogenicity, anti-inflammatory properties and their cells can be isolated without the sacrifice of human embryos. Amniotic membrane has biological properties which are important for the experimental and clinical applications in managing patients of various medical specialties. Abundant, natural and wonderful biomembrane not only protects the foetus but also has various clinical applications in the field of dermatology, ophthalmology, ENT surgery, orthopedics and dental surgery. As it is discarded post-partum it may be useful for regenerative medicine and cell therapy to treat damaged or diseased tissues.