Personal identification methods may not be efficient when bodies are decomposed, burned, in cases of mass disasters when soft tissue cannot provide reliable information or has been lost. Various methods currently employed in forensic odontology for personal identification include comparing with antemortem dental charts, rugoscopy, denture labeling, DNA analysis from dental pulp, bite mark analysis, etc., Recently, there is growing interest in the study of enamel rod end patterns. These enamel rod end patterns are termed as “Tooth prints” and the study of these prints is known as “Ameloglyphics” (amelo: Enamel, Glyphics: Carvings). This review encompasses about the basis of using enamel rod end patterns, methods of obtaining the patterns and further suggests these tooth prints as an analogy to finger print in personal identification in mass disasters.

Background: Psychiatric patients or mentally ill patients conform a substantial section of the community deserving special attention. This study aimed to assess the oral health status and treatment needs of psychiatric patients attending District Civil Hospital, Raichur, Karnataka. Materials and Methods: The study group comprised 150 outpatients aged 18–64 years, attending the Department of Psychiatry, District Civil Hospital, Raichur. A specific questionnaire was drawn up and was used to record the demographic and medical data and oral hygiene practices. Type III clinical examination was carried out. The WHO Assessment Form 1997 was used to assess the oral health status of the study population. Results: Of the 150 patients examined, 90 (60%) were male and 60 (40%) were female. The mean age of the patients was 33.79 ± 10.57 years. The majority (52%) were diagnosed with epilepsy and 18% had anxiety disorder. The prevalence of caries was 87.3%. Periodontal status, according to the Community Periodontal Index scores, was as follows: 54% of the patients had shallow pocket (4 mm–5 mm) and 32% of the patients had 6-mm or more deep pocket. Conclusion: This study highlights a substantial need for prevention and treatment of oral health needs among psychiatric patients, and to increase awareness toward oral health.

Aims and Objectives: This study was conducted to assess the dental treatment needs of 12- and 15-year-old school-going children of fishermen community residing at East Coast Road, Chennai. Materials and Methods: Of 35 schools, 2 schools of private and government each were chosen to a final sample size of 650 students. Ethical clearance to conduct the research was obtained. A pilot study was undertaken during February 2012 at St. Joseph school, Kovalam to determine the feasibility of the study and also to determine the sample size. Examination was carried out by a single examiner to assess the treatment needs using World Health Organization Oral Health Surveys: Basic Methods pro forma (1997) excluding prosthetic treatment needs. The Chi-square test (χ 2 ) was used to find out whether there existed a significant difference in the oral health status between 12- and 15-year-old school children and private and government school children. Results: 12-year-old children and 15-year-old children had a mean decayed-missing-filled teeth value of 2.14 and 2.72, respectively. Majority of the study population 454 (241[68.8%] 12-year-old children and 213[71%] 15-year-old children) need one surface restoration. Majority of the study population 623 (95.8%) had community periodontal index (CPI) score of 2 (i.e., calculus), whereas only 27 (4.1%) of the study population had CPI score of 0 (i.e., healthy gums). Conclusion: This study revealed that the oral health status of these children was poor with high caries prevalence and high Malocclusion.

A BSTRACT Introduction: Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) has been widely accepted and used in dentistry owing to its working characteristics, aesthetics and stability in the oral environment, ease in manipulation, and inexpensive processing methods and equipment. Aim and Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the flexural strength of a high-impact PMMA denture base resin material and flexural strength of a commonly available heat cure PMMA denture base material with Kevlar, glass, and nylon fibers. Materials and Methods: The test samples were studied under two groups. The Group I (control group) comprised pre-reinforced PMMA (Lucitone 199; Dentsply Sirona Prosthetics, York, Pennsylvania, USA) consisting of 12 samples and second group comprised regular PMMA (DPI, Mumbai, India) reinforced with different fibers. The second test group was further divided into three subgroups as Group 2, Group 3, and Group 4 comprising 12 samples each designated by the letters a–l. All the samples were marked on both ends. A total of 48 samples were tested. Results were analyzed and any P value ≤0.05 was considered as statistically significant ( t test). Results: All the 48 specimens were subjected to a 3-point bending test on a universal testing machine (MultiTest 10-i, Sterling, VA, USA) at a cross-head rate of 2 mm/min. A load was applied on each specimen by a centrally located rod until fracture occurred; span length taken was 50 mm. Flexural strength was then calculated. Conclusion: Reinforcement of conventional denture base resin with nylon and glass fibers showed statistical significance in the flexural strength values when compared to unreinforced high impact of denture base resin.

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