Aim:To understand the dental health among prison inmates, we assessed the dental caries status of central prison inmates in Chennai, India.Materials and Methods:A total of 1060 inmates from three divisions of the central prison in Chennai were assessed by a single investigator for dental caries status based on World Health Organization specifications.Results:Among the inmates, 58.2% of males and 54.2% of females had decayed teeth. About 4.1% of males and 2.9% of females had filled teeth. The mean decayed, missing, filled teeth index was 5.1 and 3.9 for female and male prisoners, respectively. The prevalence of dental caries was highest among inmates younger than 24 years age.Conclusion:Our study suggests that a high proportion of prison inmates was affected by dental caries, which necessitates the need for initiating oral health promotion activities among prison inmates.

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Composites have been widely used for anterior as well as posterior restorations due to increased aesthetic demands. Composite restorations placed in patients oral cavity is subjected to masticatory load, pH changes and chemical effect due to mouthwashes, beverages, food etc and the detrimental effects associated with these challenges on the microhardness of composite has to be determined. The study was conducted to evaluate the effect of two commercially available non-alcoholic mouth rinses on the microhardness of micro-hybrid and nanohybrid composite resins. Forty disc-shaped composite specimens were made from each type of composite materials and were divided into 5 groups with 8 samples each, Group 1= Microhybrid+Chlorhex, Group2=Microhybrid + Hexidine, Group3= Nanohybrid + Chlorhex, Group4= Nanohybrid+ Hexidine, Group 5= Nanohybrid and Micro hybrid + artificial saliva(Control).The samples were immersed in mouthrinses for 24 hrs and microhardness was subsequently measured using a Vicker’s microhardness tester. There was no significant difference in microhardness values of tested composite resins in either mouth rinses when compared to composites immersed in artificial saliva. Non-alcoholic mouth rinses do not affect the microhardness of micro-hybrid and nanohybrid composites.

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