Oral cancer is one of the usual causes of mortality all over the world, with a five-year survival rate of only 50%. Oral cancers are treated primarily by surgery with / without adjuvant radiotherapy and / or chemotherapy. However, there is significant post-treatment morbidity and mortality secondary to recurrences. Dietary supplements like fruits and vegetables are rich in phytochemicals and provide a variety of antioxidants like vitamin A, C, E. Spirulina, Selenium, Green tea (EGCG), Neem, Tomatoes (lycopene), Turmeric (curcumin), and some medicinal mushrooms are also used as chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic agents. This overview emphasizes on natural therapies to fight against oral cancer. Thus, there are several natural compounds that can enhance the prevention of oral cancer.

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The concept of conventional tooth-retained overdentures is a simple and cost effective treatment than the implant overdentures. When few firm teeth are present in an otherwise compromised dentition, they can be retained and used as abutments for overdenture fabrication. This helps improve the retention and stability of the final prosthesis significantly. Bone is a dynamic tissue. The extraction of teeth results in the initiation of the bone resorption pattern. However, when tensile stress is received by bone, additional bone formation takes place. Such stresses occur when occlusal forces are transmitted to the alveolar bone by the periodontal ligament. This principle helps preserve bone. The concept of overdentures may not be the elixir, but it is a positive means for delaying the process of complete endentulism and helps in the preservation of bone. To top it all, it gives the patient the satisfaction of having prosthesis with his natural teeth still present. In this article, case reports with three different types of Overdentures are discussed: Overdenture with cast copings with short dowels, O-ring attachments, and a customized bar supported overdenture with copings.

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Mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) is a unique material with several exciting clinical applications. MTA has potential and one of the most versatile materials of this century in the field of dentistry. During endodontic treatment of primary and permanent tooth MTA can be used in many ways. MTA materials have been shown to have a biocompatible nature and have excellent potential in endodontic use. MTA materials provide better microleakage protection than traditional endodontic repair materials using dye, fluid filtration, and bacterial penetration leakage models. In both animal and human studies, MTA materials have been shown to have excellent potential as pulp-capping and pulpotomy medicaments. MTA material can be used as apical and furcation restorative materials as well as medicaments for apexogenesis and apexification treatments. In present article, we review the current dental literature on MTA, discussing composition, physical, chemical and biological properties and clinical characteristics of MTA.

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The main goal of an endodontic treatment is complete removal of bacteria, their byproducts, and pulpal remnants from infected root canals and the complete sealing of disinfected root canals. Intracanal medicaments have been thought as an important step in killing the bacteria in root canals; however, in modern endodontics, shaping and cleaning has been emphasized greater importance than intracanal medicaments as a means of disinfecting root canals. Furthermore, biocompatibility and stability are essential properties for intracanal medicaments. The more modern meaning of intracanal dressing is for a blockade against coronal leakage from the gap between filling materials and cavity wall. Calcium hydroxide has been determined as suitable for use as an intracanal medicament as it is stable for long periods, harmless to the body, and bactericidal in a limited area. Single-visit endodontics, where intracanal medicaments are not used, is nowadays indicated, and various reports have shown that the clinical outcomes between single- and multiple-visit endodontics are almost similar. There is no reason to counsel against single-visit endodontics. however, if multiple-visit endodontics is chosen, an intracanal medicament is strongly recommended. Therefore, the aim of this review is to critically appraise the need for an ideal intracanal medicament and to select cases requiring intracanal medicament instead of using it for each and every case.

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Emblica officinalis (Amla) is widely used in the Indian system of medicine and believed to increase defense against diseases. Amla is called amalaki in Sanskrit. It is one of the oldest oriental medicines mentioned in Ayurveda as potential remedy for assorted ailments. A wide range of phytochemical components present in amla including alkaloids, tannins, and flavonoids have been shown to procure useful biological activities. It is an ingredient of many Ayurvedic medicines and tonics as it removes excessive salivation and internal body heat. Research has been done with amla evaluating its role as an antioxidant. Amla is useful in ulcer prevention, for diabetic patients, and for memory effects. Amla Tonic has a hematinic and lipalytic function useful in scurvy, prevents indigestion, and controls acidity as well as it is a natural source of anti-aging.

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Periodontal attachment loss in the maxillary anterior region can often lead to esthetic and functional clinical problems including disproportional and elongated clinical crowns and visible interdental embrasures. Gingival replacement prosthesis has historically been used to replace lost tissue. A gingival mask is an easily constructed and practical device to optimize the esthetic and functional outcome in these special situations while permitting cleansibility of the prosthesis and supporting tissues. This is a case report of a young female patient treated using silicon gingival veneer with a 2-year follow-up. The silicon gingival mask has enabled the patient to regain her lost smile and face people with newly found confidence also enhancing the esthetic appearance. Virtually, no problem was encountered during the 2 years of usage of the veneer and the patient continues to use it comfortably.

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Nonsurgical therapy aims to eliminate both living bacteria in the microbial biofilm and calcified biofilm microorganisms from the tooth surface and adjacent soft tissues. Complete elimination of such pathogenic microorganisms is perhaps over-ambitious. However, a reduction in inflammation of the periodontium due to a lesser bacterial load leads to beneficial clinical changes. In addition, nonsurgical therapy aims to create an environment in which the host can more effectively prevent pathogenic microbial recolonization using personal oral hygiene methods. The concept of critical probing depth was consistently found to be greater for the surgical approach than for the nonsurgical treatment. The various methods used in nonsurgical therapy, such as hand instrumentation, ultrasonic and sonic scalers, and ablative laser therapy.

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“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.

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Ozone is an allotropic form of oxygen, which is effectively used in the treatment of different diseases for more than 100 years. In the present era of increasing antibiotic resistance, ozone therapy is an alternative medical treatment that rationales to increase the amount of oxygen to the body through institution of ozone into the body. Owing to its beneficial biological properties including antimicrobial and immune-stimulating effects, ozone therapy has opened new vistas in treatment modalities of dental pathologies for patients of all ages. The objective of this article is to review the literature available on applications of ozone in dentistry.

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Introduction: Dental caries and periodontal diseases are multifactorial oral health problems that have dental bacterial plaque as their main etiological agent. Dental plaque removal plays an important role in oral health maintenance, which could be achieved by either mechanical or chemical plaque control. Disclosing agents in dentistry are being used to identify bacterial plaque for instruction, evaluation and research purposes. Hence, the current study is aimed at evaluating the effect of at home use of disclosing agent in improving the quality of daily oral hygiene. Materials and Methods: The present randomized, prospective case-control study was conducted among 100 subjects who were selected from the outpatient department of periodontology and divided into two groups. Group A (n = 50) is the case group who were instructed to use a disclosing agent and Group B (n = 50) is the control group who were not instructed to use a disclosing agent. Plaque status of the subjects was assessed using "Turesky-Gilmore-Glickman Modification of the Quigley Hein Plaque Index" at baseline. Both the groups were trained to perform the similar brushing technique along with same oral hygiene instructions. After 21 days, both groups were recalled, and their plaque status was re-assessed by the same method. The pre and postplaque scores of both the groups were evaluated by unpaired t-test and value of P < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Preevaluation plaque score of Group A was 2.02 ± 0.24 and postevaluation score was 1.08 ± 0.26. Similarly in Group B, the preevaluation plaque score was 1.80 ± 0.92 and postevaluation score was 1.62 ± 0.48. The difference in the plaque scores was statistically significant with a P = 0.00001. Conclusion: The result shows that usage of plaque disclosing agent improves the quality of daily oral hygiene measures performed at home.

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According to American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD), special health-care needs (SHCN) is “any physical, developmental, mental, sensory, behavioral, cognitive, or emotional impairment or limiting condition that requires medical management, health-care intervention, and/or use of specialized services or programs.” Oral health is an inseparable part of general health. Throughout the lifetime, individuals with SHCN may be at a greater risk for oral diseases. The aim of this article is to discuss the dental management of children with cerebral palsy (CP) in detail. Children with SHCN have a considerably higher prevalence of oral diseases as compared to otherwise healthy children. The role of the pediatric dentist is to improve oral health wellness and to encourage parents and caregivers for good home oral health practice. This article will help the dentist to understand all the aspects related to the dental management of patients with CP and apply it in clinical practice.

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Background: Tobacco is a known carcinogenic substance and a significant risk factor for the development of various oral mucosal lesions. Objective: To evaluate the smoking habits in patients with varying grades of smoker's palate depending on type of smoking, duration, and its frequency of use. Material and methods: Total 50 individuals above 20 years of age with smoking habits were included in study. The duration, frequency of smoking habits (cigratte/beedi) and palatal lesions were noted. The lesions were then classified in to different grades of smokers palate. The data was tabulated and statistically analysed. Results: The present study conducted in South Western region of Maharashtra reveals that in smokers, the type of smoking practiced is mostly cigarette than beedi, the grades increase with increase in duration and frequency too increases with grades. Conclusion: In our study, cigarette smoking was more commonly practiced than beedi. The grades of smoker's palate progress with longer duration of smoking habit and higher frequency. Early detection and screening of smokers are very important to stop the progression of initial mucosal changes to potentially malignant disorders.

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India has the second largest number of people living with diabetes worldwide, after China. As periodontal disease is the sixth major complication of diabetes, these patients are at increased risk for teeth loss. Dental implants have been recognized as an acceptable treatment method for the replacement of missing teeth, but diabetes mellitus is considered a relative contraindication for dental implant therapy. Due to this, these patients may be denied the benefit of dental implants. Hence, this review was done with the aim of reporting findings of various implant studies conducted in diabetic humans so as to improve the understanding of the possibilities for implant therapy in patients with diabetes.

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Shallow vestibule along with the inadequate width of attached gingiva is a common cause of the gingival recession. Multiple techniques have been developed, separately, to increase the depth of vestibule and the width of attached gingival but this case report present a single stage surgical procedure for increasing both depth of vestibule and the width of attached gingiva by vestibular deepening procedure.

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The calcifying epithelial odontogenic cyst (CEOC) is a developmental odontogenic cyst, which was first categorized as a distinct entity by Gorlin in 1962. It is an unusual and unique lesion, which may show characteristics of both a solid neoplasm and a cyst. It usually occurs as an intra-osseous lesion but may occasionally occur as an extra-osseous or peripheral variant. It shows a nearly equal distribution between the maxilla and mandible and is commonly seen anterior to the first molar. The clinical and radiographic features of this lesion are not pathognomonic, and it is characterized by its histological diversity, with the most characteristic feature being the presence of a variable number of ghost cells within the epithelial component. Treatment is conservative with surgical enucleation, and recurrences are rare. This report describes a case of CEOC in association with an impacted mandibular first premolar, which was diagnosed in a 13-year-old female patient, along with a review of the literature.

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Oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) is a precancerous condition. It causes difficulty in swallowing, chewing and speaking due to the presence of microstomia. Limited mouth opening is considered as a hindrance in prosthodontic rehabilitation of a patient. Special impression procedures and techniques should be considered for making an impression in such cases. This article describes the fabrication of a split impression tray to make a secondary impression of an edentulous patient having OSMF.

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The changing perspectives in dentistry aim at retaining functionally active teeth with an adequate amount of healthy supporting tissues. One such treatment opportunity available is for the management of teeth with furcation involvement, which in earlier times was attributed with a guarded prognosis. Treatment of teeth with these lesions is an uphill task for the clinician and maintenance after treatment also poses a problem to the patient due to anatomical variations, which favor the growth of micro-organisms. Teeth with furcation involvement can be maintained in a state of function for a longer period of time if appropriately treated, and if the patient is motivated adequately. Bicuspidization is a procedure, which in a properly selected case can facilitate retention of the tooth in a functional state.

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Malignant melanoma is a rare tumor arising from the uncontrolled growth of melanocytes found in the basal layer of the epithelium. Although cutaneous malignant melanoma is the third most common malignancy of the skin, it accounts only for 3-5% of all dermal malignancies. Primary malignant melanoma of the oral mucosa is extremely rare, accounting for only 0.2-8% of all malignant melanomas. The incidence is slightly higher in males while others report a higher incidence in females. In the oral cavity, 80% of the cases occur in the maxilla with the prevalence of the hard palate or combined with the gingival or alveolar ridge. In this paper, we present a rare case of a 47-year-old female patient who reported with completely asymptomatic, pigmented growth in the maxillary anterior region.

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Emergence of advanced digital technology has opened up new perspectives for design and production in the field of dentistry. Rapid prototyping (RP) is a technique to quickly and automatically construct a three-dimensional (3D) model of a part or product using 3D printers or stereolithography machines. RP has various dental applications, such as fabrication of implant surgical guides, zirconia prosthesis and molds for metal castings, maxillofacial prosthesis and frameworks for fixed and removable partial dentures, wax patterns for the dental prosthesis and complete denture. Rapid prototyping presents fascinating opportunities, but the process is difficult as it demands a high level of artistic skill, which means that the dental technicians should be able to work with the models obtained after impression to form a mirror image and achieve good esthetics. This review aims to focus on various RP methods and its application in dentistry.

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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.

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Postoperative swelling following different surgical strategies is an area of great interest. The main part of the literature on the topic deals with swelling after periodontal surgery. In this review, we take into account different surgical strategies used including various flaps, no traumatic osteotomy, and primary or secondary closure. The use of pharmacological therapy and application of an ice pack is critical in the postoperative period and has always provided positive results. However, even if it is difficult to come to definite conclusions, due to the variability of the design of studies analyzed, the postoperative discomfort identified with edema, pain and trismus following wisdom tooth removal is influenced by various factors such as the difficulty of the surgical procedure involved, age and gender of the patient, and experience of the surgeon. The pharmacological therapy when performed with corticosteroids seems to improve control of the postoperative swelling related to this kind of surgeries.

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Aim: The aim of the present study is to investigate the role of female reproductive hormones estrogen and progesterone in temporomandibular disorder (TMD) in female patients. Materials and Methods: Serum estrogen and progesterone levels of 200 female participants who had varying grades of TMD were measured by enzyme immunoassay competition method in the luteal phase of menstrual cycle. Results: Mean serum concentration of estrogen was 302.1 ± 3.16 pg/mL, and the mean serum concentration of progesterone was 1.68 ± 38.3 ng/mL. Mean serum levels of estrogen and progesterone increased with increasing severity of TMD. Conclusion: Increased serum levels of estrogen and progesterone with increased grade of severity of TMD suggest role of these hormones as etiological factors for TMD.

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Ghost cells are pale anucleate cells with homogeneous pale eosinophilic cytoplasm with very pale to clear central areas in place of a basophilic nucleus; which are seen in small clusters or large masses. Few odontogenic and nonodontogenic tumors exhibit the presence of these transparent or shadow cells as a typical feature. Many attempts have been made in the past by several investigators regarding the true characteristics of ghost cells in these lesions, in spite of which they seem to be mysterious. Here, we have made an attempt to clear the illusions and controversies surrounding ghost cells.

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Piezosurgery (piezoelectric bone surgery) is a technique of bone surgery which is gaining popularity in the field of dentistry in the recent years. This device is being used in osteotomies, periodontology and implantology, and oral surgical procedures. Piezoelectric ultrasonic vibrations are utilized to perform precise and safe osteotomies. This article discusses the equipment, biological effects on bone, and advantages and disadvantages of this technology.

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Medicinal plants and herbs have attracted a lot of attention since the past few years. The market for drugs extracted from these plants and made from herbal extracts has seen a significant rise. India is known for its rich stock of medicinal plants. Among many, some herbs are rich in phytochemical content. These phytochemicals are useful in generating phytomedicines which have effects on the human body. In the field of endodontics, phytomedicines are a boon. They have been popularly used as analgesic, anti-inflammatory, sedatives, and antibiotics. They are most significantly used as endodontic irrigants. Phytotherapy has been a grand entrant in the drug market. The reason why herbal extracts have the potential to be highly popular is due to the side effects of synthetic medicines which alter microbiota.

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