An insight into the world of sports dentistry.

Dental trauma in the field of sports is the major linking channel between sports and dentistry. Sports dentistry is the branch of sports medicine that deals with the prevention of oral or facial athletic injuries, oral diseases and manifestations. Sports dentistry is also related to mild traumatic brain injuries during games and erosive lesions due to continuous intake of highly acidic sports and energy drinks. Stress among sportsperson has also been depicted to impact their athletic performance leading athletes to the intake of drugs. Smokeless tobacco consumption and sponsorship is also found among athletes. Therefore, it is emphasized the need for a "team dentist," initiating from high schools to professional teams. The sports or "team dentist" assists athletes in the effective prevention, treatment, and diagnosis of various types of oral injuries. Sport-related orofacial injuries can be prevented by wearing primary protective devices such as properly fitting helmets, face masks and/or mouth guards. They can also enlighten athletes about the benefits of practicing yoga, as it reduces stress and improves performance. Hence, the dentist can perform an imperative role in informing parents, athletes, coaches and patients about the importance of preventing orofacial injuries in sports.

In vitro inhibitory effect of clove essential oil and its two active principles on tooth decalcification by apple juice.

The dental erosion or decalcification of enamel is a significant clinical problem. Apple acidic beverages are thought to increase the potential for dental erosion. The purpose of this in vitro study was to investigate the effect of clove essential oil (CEO) and its active principles on tooth decalcification of apple juices. On GC-MS analysis, CEO showed a high content of eugenol (58.29%) and eugenyl acetate (19.10%). Teeth specimens were randomly divided into 5 treatment groups: control, CEO, eugenol, eugenyl-acetate, and fluoride. The specimens were exposed for 24 h and were analyzed for calcium contents using Inductively Coupled Plasma with Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Data were analyzed using student t-test (P < 0.05). CEO, eugenol, and eugenyl-acetate significantly decreased the decalcification of tooth by the apple juice to only 17, 24, and 21 mgL(-1), respectively. Hemolytic activity on human erythrocytes was studied to exclude the possibility of further associated cytotoxicity. It was observed that the CEO and its two lead molecules inhibit the decalcification and/or promote the remineralization caused by the apple juices. The effect of the test compounds appears to be distinct like that of fluoride treatment. CEO may, therefore, serve to be a promising adjunct to fluoride in the treatment of root caries during minimally invasive therapy.