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Background Age estimation is an important factor in forensic science for human identification. Teeth are considered to play a vital role as they resist decomposition at death unlike other tissues. This resistance and the gradual structural changes that take place throughout the life of an individual have made teeth useful indicators for age estimation. Dental cementum shows continuous apposition throughout the life of an individual. Tooth cemental annulation is a microscopic method for the determination of an individual’s age based on the analysis of incremental lines of cementum. Light microscopy as well as specialized microscopic methods have been employed to enhance the assessment of the cemental annulations. Periodontal disease is the most common dental problem affecting millions of people. Assessing the efficiency of the tooth cemental annulations method in periodontally diseased teeth is an important requisite. This study aims at assessing and evaluating the tooth cemental annulations in normal and periodontally diseased teeth using phase contrast microscopic method for age determination. Results A total of 60 teeth were included in the study and out of which 30 teeth were normal (sound teeth without any associated pathologies) and 30 were periodontally involved teeth respectively. Longitudinal ground sections were prepared and observed under phase contrast microscope. Measurements were made using an image analyzer software. The total width of the cementum was divided by the distance between two incremental lines. The eruption age of the tooth was then added to this to obtain the chronologic age for each individual. The results in the present study showed that tooth cemental annulations are applicable to periodontally sound teeth as well as in periodontally diseased teeth. There was no significant difference of estimated age from the actual age in both periodontally sound and periodontally diseased teeth. Normal teeth showed a reliability value of 92% and periodontally compromised teeth showed 96% respectively. There was no substantial influence of periodontal health on the estimated age. Conclusions The study concludes that the use of phase contrast microscopy in conjunction with image enhancement procedures improves the accuracy of age estimation and may serve as a reliable aid in forensic identification.

Background: The major hormonal changes observed in pregnant women lead to an imbalance in the oral environment. Hence, recent studies suggest that the placenta may harbor a unique microbiome that may have originated in the maternal oral microbiome. Aim: The present study aimed to assess the risk factor of oral candidiasis in pregnancy and to evaluate the prevalence of Candida species in the oral cavity of pregnant women in all three trimesters. The comparison was also done between pregnant and nonpregnant women to evaluate the cause of the prevalence of candidal species. Materials and Methods: Thirty pregnant and thirty nonpregnant women aged between 20 and 30 years were included in the study that were healthy and who did not have any obvious lesion in the oral cavity. The sterile swabs were used to collect samples from the oral cavity from both the groups by brushing the dorsum of the tongue and buccal mucosa. The pregnant women were followed throughout the pregnancy, i.e., in every trimester, for the sample collection. The samples were then cultured on Sabouraud Dextrose Agar media. The positive growth on culture plates was then inoculated on HiCrome agar differential agar media for speciation. Results: Statistical analysis was done by comparing the positive growth in pregnant and nonpregnant women using Fisher's exact test. The pregnant women were compared in three trimesters using the McNemar Chi-square test. Conclusion: The study concludes that there was no significant presence of Candidal species when compared between pregnant and nonpregnant groups. The prevalence of Candida species also remained the same.

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Xerostomia or dry mouth refers to a condition in which the function of salivary gland to secrete saliva is not enough to keep the mouth wet. Systemic diseases, local factors and various drugs are believed to be the causes. A sticky, dry or burning sensation in the mouth, altered taste or intolerance for spicy, salty or sour foods and cracked lips are believed to be the signs of xerostomia. So, the patients of xerostomia require distinctive care for upkeeping the oral health condition and, it is our obligation to treat such condition which involves multidisciplinary approach. Different approaches used nowadays are sugar free chewing gums, artificial saliva, sucking sugarless candies which provide symptomatic relief but recurrence is probable when treatment ends and drugs like direct acting cholinergic agonists can promote salivation but has various side effects alongside. So, to overcome such limitations,neuroelectrostimulatory devices were introduced in today's world as recent advancements in the management of xerostomia. This review aimed to describe theseneuroelectrostimulatory devices.