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Background Dental caries is the most prevalent polymicrobial oral infectious disease tormenting individuals' healthy lifestyles and presents a significant public health problem. The objective of this study was to evaluate and compare the antibacterial properties of different concentrations of bamboo shoot ethanol extract with chlorhexidine mouth rinse on isolates of salivary Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) and Lactobacillus acidophilus (L. acidophilus). Materials and methods Non-stimulated salivary samples from 30 young adults were treated ex vivo with bamboo shoot ethanolic extract at concentrations of 30 µg/ml, 40 µg/ml, 50 µg/ml, and 60 µg/ml. The colony-forming units were quantified by measuring the number of viable bacterial cells. Inhibition zones were evaluated using the agar diffusion method. One-way ANOVA and post-hoc test were used to analyze the significant difference between variables using SPSS version 22.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). Results The mean zone of inhibition with bamboo shoot ethanolic extract against salivary S. mutans (23.00 ± 0.816) and L. acidophilus (22.00 ± 0.816) total counts was closest to the control chlorhexidine (S. mutans = 22.00 ± 0.876 and L. acidophilus = 21.10 ± 0.876). A greater activity against S. mutans and L. acidophilus is seen in the zone of inhibition of the 60 µg/ml experimental concentration of bamboo shoot ethanolic extract, with a significant difference in the disc diffusion assay. Conclusion The treatment with bamboo shoot extract was equivalent effective in the mentioned bacterial species. Clinical relevance It can be assured that preventive measures like mouth rinse and dentifrices compromising bamboo shoots, a potential dental biomaterial, would be optimistic agents for caries control, including the cariostatic effect.
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INTRODUCTION: Mucormycosis is an angioinvasive fungal infection associated with a high mortality rate in both low- and middle-income countries. A dentist plays a crucial role and first line in the diagnosis and treatment of mucormycosis since the majority of the site of infection is the rhino cerebral or rhino maxillary area. The present study was designed to ascertain knowledge about mucormycosis and its management among a sample of dental undergraduates in India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A self-administered questionnaire covering demographic details, knowledge relating to underlying disease and risk factors (10 items), clinical features and diagnosis (8 items), and management of mucormycosis (six items) was employed. Responses were recorded on a dichotomous scale. Data analysis was done using SPSS 20 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). The mean and standard deviation for correct answers and knowledge levels were determined. RESULTS: A total of 437 respondents were included. Classification of participants based on the level of correct knowledge demonstrated that the majority of students had good knowledge (232, 53.1%). Comparison of the same based on the college type showed significant differences for only clinical features, diagnosis (p=0.002), and management (p=0.035) whereas no significance was seen for gender. Correlation by Karl's Pearson correlation coefficient revealed a significant positive correlation between the entire knowledge scores. CONCLUSION: The study portrays adequate knowledge among dental interns that can be used to modify preventive care measures to lessen the public health emergency. Stakeholders can take the necessary action to spread knowledge about mucormycosis through training workshops and continuing dental education programs to combat the health crisis.
