Objectives: Some calcifications of the head and neck region may be seen on dental panoramic images due to the superimpositions and proximity of structures. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence of soft tissue calcifications observed on digital panoramic images and the relationship of the calcifications with age and gender. Materials and Methods: Four thousand two hundred and sixty-three digital dental panoramic radiographs of the individuals aged between 6 and 89 who had visited the faculty of dentistry for different oral and dental complaints were evaluated retrospectively and detected calcifications were recorded with the age and gender information. Data were analyzed by means of descriptive statistics, Pearson Chi-squared, and independent samples t-test. Results: Two hundred and seventy calcifications (6.4%) were detected in the whole study population. Observed calcification types were tonsillolith (2.5%), carotid artery calcification (2.3%), sialolith (1%), and calcified lymph node (0.6%). The prevalence of calcifications for all types increased with age (P < 0.001). Conclusions: The prevalence of calcifications seen on the dental panoramic images is relatively rare, but the detection during routine dental examinations is important in terms of the need for more detailed evaluation of the patients.

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Introduction: Oral cavity cancer is the third most common cancer in India. It presents a major burden on health services in India due to the widespread and rampant use of tobacco. Moreover, as per the Indian Council of Medical Research 2016 data, it ranks the fifth in overall mortality rate among different cancers prevalent in India. Aims and Objectives: The aim was to study and present our data on patient- and tumor-related factors as well as overall survival (OS) among patients of oral cavity cancer treated with surgery and radiotherapy at our center. The objective was to find the difference in OS in various subgroups of patients at 2 and 5 years from treatment. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective study carried out in a tertiary care center of North India. The data collected were of patients treated between November 12 and November 16. A total of 112 cases of oral cavity cancers were studied. The patient-related variables that were analyzed included age, gender, history of tobacco or alcohol use, and presence of preexisting comorbidities. The tumor-related factors that were studied were tumor subsite, stage, and histological grade. OS of patients with varying parameters was compared at 2 and 5 years. Results: OS at 5 years for Stage I was 100% and decreased to 85% for Stage II. For Stages III and IV, the 5-year survival was a mere 43% and 42%, respectively. Conclusion: Treatment results at our center were comparable to world literature.

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Bruxism is diurnal or nocturnal parafunctional habits which includes repetitive jaw-muscle activities, clenching or grinding of the teeth and/or bringing forward the mandible. Psychological components, genetic components, peripheral and patho-physiological components are the main Etiology of bruxism. Treatment options include occlusal rehabilitation, behavioural and pharmacological therapy. We perform a scientific paper search by using ebscohost, pubmed, and Google search engines. The searched item 'Bruxism' showed total 1125 papers, among which 250 were review papers. Most of them were published between 1990 to 2017 and some of them before 1990. Through this review an overview about childhood bruxism and its various treatment options and outcomes will be provided.

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Introduction: Salivary gland neoplasm represents the most complex and diverse group of neoplasm of the head and neck. Their diagnosis and management are complicated by relative infrequency. Around 64%–80% are located in the parotid gland, 7%–11% in the submandibular glands, and the remainder being distributed between the sublingual (1%) and the minor salivary glands (9%–23%) throughout the oral cavity. Aim: The aims of this study were: (1) To assess the frequency of salivary gland tumor based on tumor type and anatomic location. (2) To correlate gender and age in different tumor type. (3) To correlate the location of benign and malignant tumors. Subjects and Methods: A retrospective study was made in the Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology from the period of January 2006 to December 2017. Data were collected from the archives maintained in the Department of Oral Medicine, and details of the patient include age, sex, and site of the tumor were obtained and confirmed with histopathological study and sent for statistical analysis. Results: Chi-square test was applied to find the distribution of malignant and benign tumors. The prevalence of salivary gland tumors in our study was 0.3%, and the benign: malignant ratio was 1:2.2, with the mean age of occurrence was 45.01 ± 16.3 years with slight overall female predominance and a male-to-female ratio of 0.7–0.9, respectively. Conclusion: The present study was a single-institutional experience where the analysis of 32 SGTs was carried out. Malignant tumors were more compared to benign. Among benign tumors, pleomorphic adenoma was the most common type. Among the malignant salivary gland tumors, mucoepidermoid carcinoma was the most common, followed by adenoid cystic carcinoma then ex-pleomorphic adenocarcinoma followed by low-grade polymorphous adenocarcinoma.

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Aims: The aim was to evaluate the prevalence of dental caries and gingivitis among corporation school-going children and their treatment needs in Chennai city. Subjects and Methods: The present descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted among 3–19-year-old corporation school-going children of Chennai city. It was conducted for a period of 2 months from August 20, 2018, to October 20, 2018. A sample size of 20,007 children (9707 males and 10,300 females) was examined. Oral health status with emphasis on dental caries, gingivitis, and treatment needs was recorded. Statistical Analysis Used: The obtained data was analysed using SPSS 21.0 (IBM, USA). Results: The prevalence of dental caries in the participants examined was 34.72% (6946). About 1663 (23.94%) participants had dental caries involving single tooth, 293 (4.22%) had dental caries involving two teeth, and 4 (0.06%) had dental caries involving >2 teeth. Clinical pulpal involvement with pain on percussion was found in 4067 (58.55%) participants. Nine hundred and nineteen (13.23%) participants exhibited grossly decayed tooth advised for extraction. The prevalence of gingivitis in the participants examined was 8259 (41.28%). About 2672 (32.35%) participants had mild gingival inflammation, 5563 (67.36%) had moderate gingival inflammation, and 24 (0.29%) had severe gingival inflammation based on Loe and Silness gingival index scoring. On the basis of treatment needs, 59.5% of the participants were in need of treatment. Almost 34.3% of the screened participants were in need of primary care, whereas 25.1% of the screened participants were in need of advanced care. Conclusions: The present study reveals the current oral health status of corporation school-going children in Chennai corporation. The results obtained demand a special attention toward these children of less effluent families for the promotion of oral health by regular conduct of treatment camps by corporation and other agencies.

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Aim: The aim of this study was to compare the prevalence of Candida in the saliva of uncontrolled and controlled group of type II diabetic and in nondiabetic individuals. Settings and Design: This was a cross-sectional study. Subjects and Methods: Total study group consists of 75 type 2 diabetic patients, in which 25 patients in Group I were taken as controlled diabetics, 25 patients in Group II were considered as uncontrolled diabetics, and 25 patients were considered as nondiabetics, control group in Group III, respectively. Statistical Analysis Used: Student's t-test, Chi-square test, and one-way ANOVA test were used in this study. Results: In this study, a total of 75 patients were included, of which a total of 30 saliva samples had shown the presence of candidial growth. Out of 25 saliva samples collected from Group I (controlled diabetic patients), 11 samples showed the presence of candidial growth and out of 25 samples collected from Group II (uncontrolled diabetic patients), 19 samples showed the presence of candidial growth. Samples obtained from Group III (nondiabetic patients) were negative for any candidial growth. A significant difference was observed in candidial growth from saliva samples obtained between the various study groups. The uncontrolled diabetic patients group showed a higher candidial colony-forming unit when compared with that of controlled diabetic patients group. Conclusion: The prevalence of Candida in the oral cavity of patients with diabetes is of primary concern for dentists in the early detection of opportunistic infections, such as oral candidiasis, by understanding the predisposing local and systemic factors. The habitat provided by the predisposing disease may, beyond reasonable doubt, reset the microbiological environment to favor the proliferation and colonization of opportunistic microorganisms such as the oral commensal, Candida.

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The aim of this paper was to study and compare the levels of copper (Cu), iron (Fe), and zinc (Zn) in patients with premalignant lesions or malignant conditions. A schematic search was conducted according to population, intervention, comparison, outcome in order to obtain appropriate articles for critical appraisal. The review incorporated a total of 16 articles, including in vivo human studies published in English language. Studies with premalignant and malignant conditions and trace elements including Cu as an essential element and Fe and Zn as other elements were considered. No limit was placed on a number of patients and studies involving blood investigations were included in this review. The exclusion criteria were in vitro nonhuman non-English studies. Case series, case reports, retrospective studies, and studies involving only saliva/tissue investigations were also excluded and studies not having any of the above-mentioned trace elements were also excluded from the study. Results of the studies suggested that serum Cu and Zn as well as the Cu to Zn ratio can be used as biomarkers for oral precancer and cancer. Thus, a comprehensive understanding of these trace elements can be used as a reliable biomarker for development and progression of oral cancer.

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Congenital midline labial sinus is a rare condition affecting both the upper and lower lips. This anomaly has been reported in either gender but with a slightly increased predilection in females. It is known to occur either in isolation or in association with other congenital malformations such as cleft lip, cleft palate, van der Woude syndrome, median lip pit, brachidactilia, tongue tie, hypertelorism, notch of median vermillion border, nasal fistula, and abnormal hair pattern. In this article, we report a case of congenital midline sinus (without any associated congenital malformation) affecting the upper lip in a 12-year-old Indian male. Furthermore, a review of literature has been attempted on this condition.

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Introduction: Dental skills based on sound theoretical knowledge are the basis for a dental student to become a good dentist. The 3^rd and 4^th years of Bachelor of Dental Surgery requires integration and application of clinical knowledge, skill, and attitude. However, to understand this integration, there is a paucity of literature on the dental students' learning preferences, especially in the Indian scenario. Hence, the objective of the present study is to provide information about it. Materials and Methods: VARK questionnaire (VARK is an acronym that stands for visual [V], aural [A], read [R], and kinesthetic [K] sensory modality of learning) was used to evaluate the learning preferences of clinical dental students. This multicentric study included 350 students from four dental colleges in India. Statistical Analysis: Strong preference was calculated on Microsoft Excel using the VARK guidelines. Likert scale (1–5) was used to know their perceptions of their VARK score. Results: Majority of the students were multimodal with many students showing two preferences. Kinesthetic modality was the strongest single preference and visual was the weakest single preference. Conclusion: Majority of the students are multimodal in their learning preferences with kinesthetic modality showing strong single preference. Teachers can help students to develop learning preferences based on their preferences of learning. Teaching methodology should involve all sensory modalities so that all kinds of students can actively participate in learning process.

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Aims: The goal of this study was to assess the smoking cessation advice (SCA): Attitude, practice, and barriers among dental students of Hazaribag College of Dental Sciences and Hospital, Hazaribag, Jharkhand, India. Subjects and Methods: The study population comprises of a total of 217 clinical dental students studying in Hazaribag College of Dental Sciences and Hospital. Data were obtained using a self-administrated questionnaire comprising of 25 multiple choice questions, based on Likert scale. Attitude-6, Practice–14, Barriers-5. The qualitative analysis on the distribution of opinion was assessed using Chi-square test, P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The results of the present study showed that the attitude and practice of house surgeons were better than that of third and final year students for questions based on attitude toward smoking cessation questions such as – How effective do you think smoking cessation counseling provided by dentists? (P < 0.05), based on Practice in tobacco smoking cessation: Do you refer patients to appropriate service to help them stop smoking? (P < 0.05) were statistically significant. Conclusions: Despite having knowledge of smoking associated health risks and positive attitudes toward giving SCA to patients, dental students in the clinical scenario witnessed barriers to provide SCA. To ensure that when students graduate from dental school, they should not only have good knowledge but the confidence to provide effective SCA and be able to refer to specialists trained in smoking cessation programs. In conclusion, tobacco cessation advice, counseling of patients and referral to appropriate sources for treatment needs to be included as a part of the BDS curriculum to acquire skills in this aspect of dentistry.

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