Aim:The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of traumatic injuries to the anterior teeth and evaluate the role of anatomic risk factors in the occurrence of such injuries in a group with an assumed behavior predisposing them to trauma. Methods and Materials:The study population consisted of 370 male enrollees of the National Cadet Corps (NCC) in India. Risk factors such as the socioeconomic status (SES) of parents, lip coverage, incisor overjet, and the cause and nature of trauma to anterior teeth were recorded. The Chi-square test was used for testing the association between these factors. Increasing overjet was further analyzed using chi-square for linear trends. Variables found significant were subjected to logistic regression. Results:A prevalence of 14.9% of traumatic injuries to anterior teeth was found in the study population with sports activities being the most common cause. Permanent maxillary central incisors were most commonly injured with injuries involving enamel and dentin being the most frequently observed. Increased overjet and inadequate lip coverage were significantly associated with the occurrence of trauma. With an odds ratio of 7.2 inadequate lip coverage was identified, using binary logistic regression, as the single most independent risk factor for the occurrence of traumatic injury to the maxillary anterior teeth.

Background: Supragingival plaque control is fundamental to the prevention and management of periodontal diseases. However significant proportions of all individuals fail to practice a high standard of plaque removal. The adjunctive use of chemicals would, therefore appear a way of overcoming deficiencies in mechanical tooth cleaning habits. This prospective, randomized positively controlled clinical trial was designed to evaluate the short-term clinical effects of a Herbal mouthwash in the reduction of plaque and gingival inflammation in subjects with gingivitis.Methods: Fifty subjects, 20 to 40 years of age diagnosed with chronic generalized gingivitis were selected and randomly divided into two groups: Group 1 -Chlorhexidine mouthwash, Group 2 -Herbal mouthwash. Clinical evaluation was undertaken using the gingival index, the plaque index and bleeding on probing at baseline, 1 weeks, 2 weeks and 4 weeks. Results:Both chlorhexidine and herbal mouthwash showed a significant reduction in Plaque and gingival index scores from baseline to 1st week, 2nd week and at 4th week. However, the improvement in plaque and gingival index scores were better in chlorhexidine group than herbal mouthwash. Both mouthwashes were found to be equally effective in reducing bleeding on probing. Conclusions:Unlike chlorhexidine mouthwash, herbal mouthwash was not associated with any discoloration of teeth or unpleasant taste and was effective in reducing plaque accumulation and gingival inflammation. However, Chlorhexidine still remains a gold standard in reducing plaque, gingivitis and bleeding on probing.

No abstract

BACKGROUND: Pneumonia is the leading single cause of childhood mortality. The disease accounts for 19 per cent deaths in children less than 5 years. Pneumonia kills more children than any other illness, more than measles, malaria and AIDS combined. Globally 156 million new pneumonia cases are reported every year in the developing world. As many as 8.7 per cent of these cases are severe enough to be life-threatening and require hospitalization. In India, pneumonia is responsible for an estimated 410,000 deaths in children under five. Studies have shown that up to 19% of children hospitalized with pneumonia die in India. Most of the death occurs in severe pneumonia cases. Many studies have revealed the risk factors of pneumonia but very few studies have come out with risk factors of severe pneumonia and no study has been conducted in Karnataka to explore the risk factors of severe pneumonia. So we intended to do a study to find the risk factors of severe pneumonia. METHODOLOGY: This was a case-control study conducted between Jan 2010 to Sep 2010 in the Dept. of Pediatrics, Vijayanagara Institute of Medical Sciences, Bellary, Karnataka.. Cases were in-patients with severe pneumonia as ascertained by WHO criteria, while controls were outpatients with nonsevere acute respiratory infections. For each case we interviewed two controls. Totally 75 cases and 150 controls were included for the study. After obtaining consent from the parents, data was collected using a semi structured questionnaire and necessary anthropometric measurements were taken. Data was analyzed in SPSS 15.0 STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: proportion, Chi square test, odds ratio, logistic regression. RESULTS: The study subjects included 75 cases and 150 controls. The significant factors on univariate analysis were paternal and maternal education, joint type of family, delayed initiation of breast feeding, discontinuation of breastfeeding in young infants, PEM, low birth weight, previous history of ARI, immunocompromised state, similar cases in neighborhood, delivery by LSCS, birth order of 3or more, ANC visits less than 5, delayed initiation of treatment, increased distance of health care facility and use of solid fuel for cooking. Binary logistic regression revealed that PEM, previous history