Children and adolescents are subject to a wide variety of gingival infections. Epidemiological studies indicate that gingivitis of varying severity is nearly a universal finding in children and adolescents. The shorter life span of the primary dentition may be the reason why in general little attention is given to periodontitis in children. Since early diagnosis is important for successful treatment, it is imperative that children receive a periodontal examination as part of their routine dental visit. Furthermore destructive periodontal disease occurs in children with certain systemic diseases. Indeed the presence of severe periodontitis may be an early sign of systemic disease. A general medical evaluation to determine if systemic diseases are present should be considered in children who exhibit severe periodontitis, especially if the disease appears resistant to therapy. Though periodontal health awareness and therapy are increasing day by day in our country compared to earlier days, it is much restricted to adults rather than children. Oral cavity examination in children is much oriented in hard tissue evaluation than soft tissue health. Hence, this article enlightens about the prevalence of various soft tissue diseases and importance of long term overall oral health maintenance in childhood.

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Background Viruses are considered to be a newer family associated with inflammatory diseases. Yet the role of periodontal viruses in coronary artery diseases (CAD) remains unclear. Thus, the current study aims to evaluate the prevalence of periodontal viruses and compare the same in cardiac samples of CAD patients with and without periodontitis. Methods A total of 60 patients with CAD indicated for coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) were included. These were grouped into 36 patients with healthy periodontium (CAD only) and 24 patients with periodontitis (CAD + P). The demographic variables, cardiac parameters and periodontal parameters were recorded. Cardiac tissue samples were collected during the CABG surgery and were analyzed by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction for periodontal viruses such as Epstein‐Barr virus (EBV), cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Herpes simplex virus. All the parameters were statistically analyzed. Results Among the demographic variables, age was statistically significant between the groups. Plaque index, bleeding index, probing depth, and clinical attachment level (CAL) were significantly higher in CAD+P group (P ˂0.05). Periodontal viruses such as EBV and CMV were significantly higher (62.5% and 75% respectively, P ˂0.05) in the cardiac samples of the CAD+P than CAD only (25% and 47.2%, respectively). A significant association between EBV and CAL was revealed by multiple logistic regression analysis. (B = 0.374, P = 0.046) Conclusions The results revealed a higher prevalence of periodontal viruses such as EBV and CMV in CAD patients with periodontitis suggesting it as one of the risk factors for CAD. This is supported by the fact that severity of periodontal disease (CAL) is associated with the presence of EBV in coronary artery plaque samples in the current study.

Background: There are 1,200 oral species out of which 400 are potentially important and 20 organisms are periopathic. Periodontal flora plays the important role in initiation and progression of periodontal diseases. There are various conservative and surgical procedures to treat and prevent periodontal diseases. Local drug delivery agents reduce microbial burden, blocks collagenase activity and inhibits bone loss; out of which tetracycline is common in use. Unwanted side effects and resistance of microorganisms towards antibiotics due to their widespread use have modified the general prescription about their efficacy. Various researches elucidate that herbal extracts exhibit wide range of antibacterial activity. In recent years, Lemongrass essential oil gains scientific interest as it targets even the periodontal pathogens. The purpose of this study is to comparatively evaluate the antibacterial activity of lemongrass essential oil with that of tetracycline. Aim and objective: To comparatively evaluate the antibacterial activity of lemongrass essential oil with tetracycline against Streptococcus mutans, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Lactobacillus and to determine the minimal inhibitory concentration of lemongrass essential oil. Study design: In vitro. Materials and methods: It is an in vitro study done to demonstrate the antimicrobial activity of lemongrass against the oral microbes. Based on their involvement in various clinical conditions Streptococcus mutans, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Lactobacillus were selected for the study. These organisms were inoculated to a solid media and incubated overnight aerobically at 37°C to obtain a pure culture. The culture was made as a suspension in sterile saline with the turbidity matching 0.5 Macfarland standard. This is used to make a lawn culture on the Mueller Hinton Agar. Antimicrobial effect of tetracycline was tested using standard disc of doxycycline 30 mcg (Himedia, SD012) and sterile disc was used to prepare lemongrass essential oil which contained 10 µl, 15 µl and 20µl. In each category 5 discs were tested to get a mean zone of inhibition. After 24 hours of incubation the zone of inhibition was measure in mm using a scale. The measured zone size was tabulated and compared among the groups. Results: The minimal inhibitory concentration of lemon grass essential oil was estimated to be 10µl. Statistically significant zone of inhibition and antibacterial zone was greater in lemongrass essential oil than tetracycline for Streptococcus mutans and Staphylococcus epidermis. Conclusion: Lemongrass essential oil showed higher antibacterial activity than tetracycline. Hence, it can be used as a good alternative to tetracycline or adjunctive in the treatment of periodontitis.

Background The current study aims to determine the expression of trefoil factor 2 (TFF2), trefoil factor 3 (TFF3), and adrenomedullin (ADM) in salivary samples of periodontitis patients with and without coronary heart disease (CHD). Methods A total of 75 patients were selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria and divided into three groups of 25 patients each: generalized periodontitis (GP) only; GP+CHD; and CHD only. Demographic, periodontal, and cardiac parameters were recorded, and unstimulated saliva samples were collected and analyzed for the expression of TFF2, TFF3, and ADM. Results Among the demographic variables, the means for age, weight, and body mass index were significantly different between the groups on statistical analysis. Plaque index, bleeding on probing, probing pocket depth, clinical attachment level, and the expression of TFF2 were highest in the GP+CHD group, and ADM was highest in the CHD group, with P values of < 0.01 as compared to the other groups. TFF2, TFF3, and ADM were also correlated with the demographic and periodontal parameters. Conclusions The study demonstrates significantly elevated levels of TFF2 in CHD and GP patients, and a higher expression of ADM in CHD patients only, suggesting the possibility of an underlying inflammatory mechanism.