BackgroundThe relationship between tooth loss and nutritional intake is important. As people age, their diminished physical capacity and decreased income adversely affect their ability to maintain their teeth. The aim of the study was to assess and compare the chewing ability, oral health related quality of life and nutritional status before and after fabrication and insertion of complete denture amongst edentulous participants in a dental college.Material and MethodsNon Randomized Intervention study. The study population consisted of 42 participants (16 females and 26 males), aged 50 years and above. Prior to commencement of the study, informed consent was obtained and validation and reliability test of the questionnaire were done. The data for chewing ability, GOHAI and nutritional status assessment was recorded at baseline, 3rd, 6th and 12th month after denture fabrication and insertion. The statistical comparisons were performed by repeated measure ANOVA and Chi-square test. P value<0.05 was considered as statistically significant.ResultsChewing ability, GOHAI, BMI (Body Mass Index) and data from Food-intake questionnaire showed statistically significant improvement from baseline to 6th month but no statistically significant improvement was observed from 6th month to 12th month. Nutritive value of food (protein, energy and fat) showed no significant difference over a period of 12 months (p<0.05).ConclusionThus, it was concluded that the intervention (denture insertion) was effective in increasing the chewing ability, body weight, food-intake, and oral health related quality of life.

This study was conducted with the purpose of assessing students' perceived learning experience at the time of graduation from a dental school in India. The domains appraised were undergraduate curriculum, student motivation and support services, institutional infrastructure, administrative services, components of teaching-learning programs, conidence level in carrying out speciic clinical procedures, career choice, and postgraduate specialty preference after graduation. The authors surveyed forty-ive dental interns at the end of their undergraduate course, a 100 percent response rate from the class. The results showed that over 95 percent of the graduates were satisied with the curriculum and 60 to 95 percent reported that the various components of the teaching-learning process were adequate. Only 42 percent of the students were conident about setting up a practice; 65 percent wished to take a course on general dentistry; and 86 percent wanted to pursue postgraduate study. The principal conclusions were that although the program was satisfactory to the majority of participants, some areas of concern were identiied that need improvement.

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Aim: To compare the effectiveness of self-examination, clinical examination and screening methods using 1% toluidine blue and Lugol's iodine in estimating the prevalence of lesions at risk of malignancy and oral malignant disease amongst the male inmates of Yerwada Central Jail, Pune. Material and Methods: Study was carried out on male inmates in two phases. In the first phase self-examination and clinical examination was carried out on 2,257 male inmates. 164 suspicious cases were subjected to phase II of the study out of whom, 82 participants were screened with 1% toluidine blue and 2% Lugol's iodine followed by biopsy procedure. Results: Sensitivity and specificity for self-examination with clinical examination was 92.2% and 96.6% respectively. Sensitivity, specificity, positive (PPV) and negative predictive values (NPV) and positive (+LR) and negative likelihood ratio (-LR) for Toluidine Blue were 88.1%, 66.6% 97.1%, 30%, 2.63 and 0.17 respectively while for Lugol's Iodine they were 94.7%, 83.8%, 98.6%, 55.5%, 5.67 and 0.06 respectively. Conclusions: Prevalence of lesions at risk of malignancy and oral malignant disease by self-examination was 7.8% and by clinical examination was 6.3%. Self-examination is an effective tool in early detection of oral cancer. Use of Lugol's iodine as a screening tool for oral lesions is highly effective in inmate populations.

The aim of this study was to develop and test a questionnaire to measure the research challenges and opportunities faced by dental students. The initial part of the study dealt with designing, developing, and pilot testing of the questionnaire (Dental Students Research Inventory, DSRI), and the later part consisted of ield testing. The validity, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability of the DSRI were performed to provide a standardized measure and an interpretation scale. The results showed good reliability and repeatability of the questionnaire, with a greater reliability observed in postgraduate students as compared to undergraduates. In the survey of regional dental colleges in India, 25 percent of the postgraduate and 35 percent of the undergraduate students reported that there was an overall lack of opportunities in conducting research. The DSRI questionnaire can be a good measure for understanding the challenges and opportunities faced by dental students while conducting and reporting research.