Aim: To assess the awareness and attitude towards dental insurance, and trends in utilization of dental services among insured and uninsured patients visiting a dental hospital in Bengaluru city. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 200 patients visiting Dental College in Bengaluru; of which, 100 patients were insured under Employees' State Insurance Scheme and 100 were uninsured. A face-to-face interview was carried out to collect information on sociodemographic data, knowledge, and attitude toward dental insurance and utilization of dental services among insured and uninsured groups. Collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Chi-square test. Results: Among the insured group, only 29% had the knowledge about the total dental services covered in their insurance plan. Among the uninsured, only 4% were aware of the dental insurance integrated with health insurance plan. Dental treatment was perceived costly by 30% among insured and 81% among uninsured group. Among insured, 84% reported that dental insurance has benefitted them by reducing the financial burden and making the treatment easily available. Among uninsured, 74% believed that dental insurance can be beneficial to them. Statistical significant difference was obtained when overall attitudes among insured and uninsured groups were compared (P < 0.05). About 70.6% among insured and 49.3% among uninsured utilized dental services in the past 6–12 months. Conclusion: Knowledge regarding dental insurance was poor in both groups, while the insured group showed a more positive attitude toward benefits of dental insurance. Utilization of dental services was seen more among insured group.

Aim: To evaluate the clinicopathological features including variations of fifty oral pyogenic granuloma cases reported to Department of Oral medicine and Radiology, Dhule. Materials and Methods: A retrospective review for the fifty cases reported as PG was performed, and data for the following parameters were recorded: age, gender, history of trauma or any other etiology, site and clinical presentation, variation in histology, treatment mode, and recurrence. Results: PG was most commonly seen in the second (36%) and third (46%) decade, with a female preponderance (male: female 1:4). Gingiva was more commonly involved (90%) followed by the lip (6%) and ventral surface of the tongue (4%). Classic clinical presentation of PG exhibited as a sessile or pedunculated, firm or soft, erythematous, exophytic, and/or painful papule or nodule with a smooth or lobulated surface that bleeds easily. Conclusion: Although it is a benign lesion which is commonly encountered and excised in dental practice, it is important to recognize these variants to avoid misdiagnosis, it is always wise to subject it to histopathological confirmation owing to its close clinical resemblance to neoplastic condition.

Aim: The aim of this study was to report the prevalence of oral cancer and its association with habits, age, gender, and site in Western population of Maharashtra. Materials and Methods: Data were collected from the previous records of patients from June 2011 to June 2016 for 5 years. A total of 81,325 patients' data were obtained. Details regarding patient's habits, age, gender, and site with OC were recorded. The data recorded were tabulated in the MS Excel and subjected to statistical analysis using SPSS software 16. Data were analyzed using Student's t-test and Chi-square test. Results: The prevalence of OC was 0.1%. The majority of patients were tobacco chewers (41.5%), followed by the group of those who were smokers, tobacco chewers, and alcoholic (28.1%). Majority of patients were in the age group of 60 years and above, followed by 40–59 with a male predominance, and buccal mucosa was the most common site followed by alveolus. Smokeless tobacco consumed in India is one of the most common forms of tobacco, leading to cause OC. Conclusion: There is need to spread awareness about this tobacco-related cancer and immediate consultation on suspicion of cancer. There should be regular oral checkup for male and female patients above 40 years for the early detection of cancer and its prevention.

Leiomyosarcomas (LMSs) are relatively uncommon mesenchymal neoplasms of smooth muscle differentiation. Only 1% of the lesions occur in the head and neck region. Surgical excision with radiotherapy and chemotherapy is the most commonly executed procedure for recurrent and metastatic tumors. We report a rare LMS case of the maxilla, defined in a 19-year-old male patient. Following the diagnosis of a malignant neoplasm on frozen section, wide resection, with a 1 cm clear margin, was performed. The lesion was then sent for histopathological examination. Spindle cell malignancy was found in histopathological sections of the lesion, histologically consistent with LMS. A radiographical evaluation, magnetic resonance imaging, computerized tomography, and positron emission tomography were performed to detect metastasis. Signs of local recurrence or distant metastasis were not noted at the 12-month follow-up following the definitive surgical procedure.

Dens invaginatus is a developmental anomaly resulting from an invagination in the surface of a tooth crown before its calcification. It involves more commonly maxillary anterior teeth. Dens invaginatus with supernumerary teeth and double dens invagintus were also reported. The management of dens invaginatus includes simple prophylactic restoration to conventional endodontic treatment or extraction, depending on the type of invagination, function, esthetics, and morphology of the root canal. Extraction is indicated as a last choice of treatment in cases of failure of root canal treatment and in supernumerary teeth associated with dens invaginatus. In this paper, we have reported a series of cases of dens invagintus.

Supernumerary teeth are more common in the permanent than in primary dentition. In the primary dentition, the anomaly is most frequently observed in the maxillary lateral incisor region, followed by the maxillary midline where they are termed as mesiodens. Supernumerary teeth in the primary canine region are rare. This paper describes a rare case of nonsyndromic supernumerary primary maxillary canine distributed bilaterally in a 4-year-old boy. Both the supernumeraries resembled size and shape of normal primary canine. The right supplemental canine is high labially placed, whereas the left one is seen normally aligned in the dental arch distal to lateral incisor. One of the most significant sequelae of primary supernumerary teeth is their duplication in the permanent series. Radiographic examination of supernumerary primary canine did not indicate any such anomaly in the permanent dentition. The patient was kept under observation.

“Biomimetics” is the field of science that uses the natural system of synthesizing materials through biomimicry. This method can be widely used in dentistry for regeneration of dental structures and replacement of lost dental tissues. This is a review paper that states its scope, history, different fields of biomimetic dentistry, and its future conditions in India.

Everyone aims to achieve perfect health. It is an industry of its own. People across all ages implement various procedures to attain good health. Physical health is closely related to dental health. There can be no complete fitness attained without attaining complete oral health. An unhealthy mouth might be a source of an unhealthy body and vice versa. The aged are often grieved with dental health issues. Dentistry for them needs more awareness and research. Especially, since with them, there is a bundle of other factors coming in, such as certain biological factors, nutrient receptiveness to various food items, loss of enzymes and glandular secretions, and decreased adaptability. Tissue regeneration in the aged is definitely very low. Therefore, the approach toward them has to be different and caution needs to be acknowledged. The present article will give an overview of Geriatric management in edentulous patients, why we need to review it, how it should be done, the role of nutrition, and research in dentistry for the elderly.

The majority of us visit a dentist only when we experience a toothache, as visiting the dentist regularly is the last thing that strikes our mind. Many clinical studies have concluded that oral bacteria can lead to a genre of health conditions which may sometimes be very serious. As females go, through certain stages in their reproductive life cycle, alterations arise in the level of sex steroid hormones circulating in their bloodstream. Specifically, variations in levels of progesterone and estrogen in women may adversely affect the periodontal tissues in the mouth. Extensive research suggests a relationship between periodontal diseases and puberty, menstruation, pregnancy, oral contraceptive use, and menopause. Estrogen and progesterone affect the entire body, including the oral tissues. The gingival tissues respond to this increased level of estrogen and progesterone by undergoing vasodilatation and increased capillary permeability. Consequently, there is an increased migration of fluid and white blood cells out of blood vessels. Also associated with increased progesterone levels are alterations in the existing microbial populations. The levels of Gram-negative anaerobic bacteria, such as Prevotella intermedia, increase as a result of the high concentration of hormones available as a nutrient for growth. This article discusses the plethora of causes which affect the oral health of women as they undergo the different life cycles.

Health-care system in a society must be built around the term of equity so that each individual should have equal opportunities for maintaining good health, but human societies are characterized by unevenness at every aspect, and it has even not spared the health-care system. Despite great improvements in the oral health status of population across the world, health problems continue to be a major public health concern. India's health system faces the ongoing challenge of responding to the needs of the most disadvantaged groups of the society. Thus, to reduce inequalities in health and ensuring equity in oral health care, India as one of the developing countries in the world have taken steps at center as well as state level to bridge the gap between poor and rich in terms of health care. These schemes are built to touch the lives of the remotest people in the country. The government is boosting its strategies and augmenting its reach mechanisms to ensure that not a soul is dispossessed of any benefits, which arise from the virtue of this scheme. The present review concludes that though these schemes appear to be pro-poor and are inclusive of disadvantaged minorities, the scheme suffers from adverse selection. These schemes have the potential to play an important role in India's move toward universal health coverage.