Objectives: Early childhood caries (ECC) is a devastating form of dental decay with multi-factorial origin. The aim of this cross-sectional study is to investigate the prevalence and related risk factors of ECC in preschool children of urban Bangalore (India)Methods: A random sample of 1,500 children aged between 8 and 48 months were selected from various parts of urban Bangalore. The status of dental caries was recorded according to the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria. Information regarding oral hygiene practices, feeding habits, socio-economic status, birth weight, and educational status of the mother was obtained through a structured questionnaire given to mothers of preschool children. The data was subjected to statistical analysis using the Statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 12Results: The prevalence of ECC in preschool children was 27.5%, while the mean deft was 0.854. ECC increased significantly with age. Children whose mothers had no schooling and those who belonged to low socioeconomic group showed higher caries prevalence. A significant increase in caries prevalence was found in children accustomed to the practice of on-demand breast feeding and bottle feeding at night. Caries also increased significantly when snacks were consumed between meals. However, increased frequency of tooth-brushing, parental supervision, use of a baby toothbrush, and fluoridated dentifrice significantly decreased caries prevalenceConclusion: ECC is a serious public health problem in this population and measures to increase awareness should be undertaken. The target candidates for oral health promotion programs should include mothers, general dentists, pediatricians, nurses, primary care health workers, care-takers at day-care centers and gynecologists. (Eur J Dent 2012;6:141-152)

Tooth enamel is the most mineralized tissue in the human body, and in this article the use of Raman spectroscopy for the analysis of tooth structure, a comparison with synthetic apatites, and use in dentistry are described. Spectral peaks that are related to dental hard and soft tissues are discussed, which provide crucial data in understanding the chemical structural properties of dentin and enamel. The Raman spectrum of dentin confirms the presence of crystalline phosphate-based minerals in dentin. Both dentin and enamel consist of two primary components: an inorganic or mineral phase that closely resembles hydroxyapatite and the Raman spectrum of dentin that confirms the presence of crystalline phosphate-based minerals in dentin. Hence, the mineral phase in dentin and enamel may be characterized essentially as nonstoichiometric substituted apatite. The presence of carbonate (A and B type) incorporated in the hydroxyapatite lattice is also confirmed by the presence of spectral bands. The organic phase, which is mainly composed of type I collagen, is confirmed by the spectral bands of amide I and amide II bands, tryptophan, and phenylalanine. Furthermore, these spectral bands associated with organic and inorganic parts of the enamel and dentin are useful in predicting early formation of carries formation.

To investigate the efficacy of photo activated disinfection (PAD) in reducing colony-forming unit (CFU) counts of Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis) in infected dental root canals. The study compared the efficacy of PAD with conventional endodontic treatment (CET) and also a combination of CET along with PAD. 53 maxillary incisors were taken for the study. Teeth were divided into 3 groups, CET (Group I) (n = 11), PAD (Group II) (n = 21), and a combination of CET and PAD (Group III) which consisted of (n = 21) samples, Group II and Group III were further divided into 2 subgroups, Group IIa, IIb and Group IIIa, IIIb. Strains of E. faecalis were inoculated in all the root canals. CET group samples were treated by chemo-mechanical preparation (CMP) alone, PAD samples were treated with laser alone at 2 different exposure time (4 min and 2 min). In the combination treatment, samples were treated initially by CET and then by PAD for a time period of 4 min and 2 min. Contents of the root canal were aspirated, diluted and plated in Tryptone Soya Broth (TSB) and plates were incubated for 24 h to observe the bacterial regrowth. Showed PAD used along with CMP reduced the bacterial load of E. faecalis by 99.5% at 4 min and 98.89% at 2 min. PAD may be an adjunctive procedure to kill residual bacteria in the dental root canal systems after standard endodontic root canal preparation.

This study evaluated the strength, hardness, and color stability of 3D-printed denture base resins and compared the outcome with conventional heat-cured denture base resins after aging by thermocycling. A total of 72 specimens from conventional and 3D-printed materials were fabricated in different shapes and dimensions based on the mechanical and color tests performed. The specimens were divided into five groups: flexural, tensile, and compressive strengths (n = 20), hardness, and color stability (n = 6). In all these groups, half of the specimens were stored in a distilled water bath at 37 °C for 24 h, and the remaining half of the specimens were subjected to aging by thermocycling. The 3D-printed specimens demonstrated the highest means of tensile strength (32.20 ± 3.8 MPa), compressive strength (106.31 ± 4.07 MPa), and Vickers hardness number (24.51 ± 0.36), and the lowest means of flexural strength (54.29 ± 13.17 MPa) and color difference (ΔE = 2.18 ± 1.09). Conventional heat-cured specimens demonstrated the highest means of flexural strength (59.96 ± 8.39 MPa) and color difference (ΔE = 4.74 ± 2.37) and the lowest means of tensile strength (32.17 ± 9.06 MPa), compressive strength (46.05 ± 4.98 MPa), and Vickers hardness number (10.42 ± 1.05). Aging significantly reduced the flexural strength (−27%), tensile strength (−44%), and hardness (−7%) of 3D-printed resins in contrast to the conventional resin’s compressive strength (−15%) and color stability (p < 0.05). The 3D-printed resin had comparable flexural and tensile strength and significantly superior compressive strength, hardness, and color stability compared with conventional resins. Aging significantly and negatively affected the flexural strength, tensile strength, and hardness of 3D-printed resin.