Objectives: Poor oral hygiene among children is major cause of gingivitis, caries, and especially orphans constitute socially disadvantaged group. The objective of the study was to assess the efficacy of a tailored tooth brushing program to improve supragingival plaque control and gingival health among 13–17-year-old orphan children in Chennai city over a period of 21 days. Materials and Methods: A double-blind parallel, controlled clinical trial was conducted among 60 orphan children (28 males and 32 females) with mean age of 15.24 years. Dental plaque was assessed using the Turesky modification of Quigley-Hein index; gingival inflammation was assessed using gingival index at initial visit and after 14 and 21 days. Subjects were randomly allocated into one of two groups (study – audiovisual and individual demonstration of brushing technique with reinforcement at 14 days follow-up/control – only individual demonstration) and instructed to brush twice daily using modified bass technique with the toothbrush and paste provided throughout the trial. Results: The children who had audiovisual, individual demonstrations of brushing technique exhibited significantly superior total oral plaque control and significant reduction in the gingival inflammation at the end of 21 days trial (P < 0.05). The study group participants reported improved compliance and motivation to practice modified bass technique because of the reinforcement. Conclusion: The children who had both audiovisual and individual demonstration exhibited superior total plaque control and gingival health compared to control group and continued to demonstrate modified bass technique without any reinforcement at the end of 21 days trial.

Selenium, an essential trace element, plays an important role in mammalian biology. Selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) have gained significant importance because of its bioavailability, least toxicity, its interaction with proteins and its biocompatibility. The objective of the present study is to assess the cytotoxicity of SeNPs by testing on HepG2 cell line. The cytotoxicity of nanoparticles on HepG2 cell line was studied by MTT assay. Cytotoxicity was determined using Graph pad prim5 software. The SeNPs showed cytotoxic activity against HepG2 cell line with 77%, 63% and 33.7% of cell viability at 2μg/ ml, 4μg/ml and 30μg/ml concentration respectively. Biogenic SeNPs exhibited cytotoxic activity against the HepG2 cell line and hence warrants further research regarding its biosafety and potential oral antimicrobial agent.

Purpose: To study the quality of life and burden of care in glaucoma patients and their families and to compare it with cataract patients. Methods:This was an observational, prospective, cross-sectional study in which 100 glaucoma patients and 50 patients with age -related cataract as controls, 40 years of age or older were enrolled. Patients were interviewed to obtain information on visual disability and vision-specific quality of life using NEI VFQ-25 and on general quality of life using WHOQoL-BREF. Burden of care of glaucoma was assessed using Family Burden Interview Schedule. Scores of these three questionnaires were taken as main outcome measures.Results: Scores for patients with glaucoma were significantly lower than those with cataract in visual function, social function, mental health, role difficulties and dependency sub-scales in NEI VFQ-25 questionnaire (P<0.05). General quality of life scores were significantly poor in glaucoma as compared to cataract patients in all domains of WHOQoL-BREF questionnaire including general well-being, physical health, psychological, social relationship and environment (P<0.05). There was more burden of care in glaucoma patients and their families as compared to cataract patients in Family Burden Interview Schedule questionnaire for all sub-scales including financial burden, disruption of routine family activities, family leisure, family interaction, physical health and mental health (P<0.05). Conclusions:The general quality of life was poor, and influence of limitation in visual functioning on health related quality of life, and burden of care was significantly higher in glaucoma patients as compared to cataract patients.

Background:The global COVID-19 pandemic appears to have catastrophic clinical, fiscal, and social consequences, as well as a significant impact on health-care delivery.Dental hospitals and clinics have been functioning with limited access across most of the world since late March 2020 due to the contamination risks associated with aerosol-generated operations maximizing the risk of exposure to dental professionals. The aim of the study is to assess the self-reported belief, perceptions, practice of dental professionals during COVID-19 pandemic in Chennai. Materials and Method:A cross sectional study was conducted among 400 dental professionals in Chennai using a self-administered questionnaire. The statistics were computed with the SPSS version 23.0 software. Descriptive statistics, Chi square test were used for assessment. A P value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results:The mean age of the study participants was 25.13±4.54 years. About 32.1% of the study population reported to have been tested positive for COVID-19. About 47.5% were extremely concerned that a family member might contract COVID-19. Sterile gloves were reported to be the most used PPE. A statistical significance was observed between different aspects of health and gender (p <0.05). Conclusion:Results from the study conclude that with the dental services resuming, dental professionalsin this study are concerned and perceive the COVID-19 related risks and knowledge well. The findings suggest that mental health, physical health, social health and economic health were affected.To ensure their safety and reduce the psychological pressure on them, adequate and proper protection should be given.