BackgroundTraumatic dental injuries to anterior teeth are a significant public health problem, not only because their prevalence is relatively high, but also because they have considerable impact on children’s daily lives. Traumatic dental injuries (TDIs) cause physical and psychological discomfort, pain and other negative impacts, such as tendency to avoid laughing or smiling, which can affect social relationships.ObjectivesThis study aimed to assess the prevalence of traumatic dental injuries to anterior teeth among 12-year-old school children in Kashmir, India.Patients and MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted in private and government schools of India among 1600 schoolchildren aged 12 years. In addition to recording of the type of trauma (using Ellis and Davey classification of fractures, 1970), over jet, Angle’s molar relation and lip competence were also recorded. The socioeconomic status and academic performance of the study subjects were registered. The data obtained were compiled systematically and then statistically analyzed. The statistical significance for the association between the traumatic injury and the variables was analyzed using the chi-square test. Logistic regression was used to identify potential risk predictors of TDIs.ResultsThe overall prevalence of TDI to anterior teeth was found to be 9.3%. The TDI to anterior teeth in male was more than female, but the difference was statistically nonsignificant (P < 0.01). Falls and sports were the most common causes of trauma in the present study. The highest potential risk factor for the occurrence of trauma was over jet. Academic performance was found to be significantly associated to TDI to anterior teeth, when analyzed in a multiple regression model.ConclusionsIt was concluded that the prevalence of traumatic dental injuries was 9.3%. Traumatic dental injuries among children exhibit complex interaction between the victims’ oral conditions and their behavior. Therefore, prevention should consider a number of characteristics such as oral predisposing factors, environmental determinants and human behavior. It is recommended that specific and proper public places for leisure and sports activities, with impact-absorbing surfaces around the items on which children are most likely to fall, should be provided.

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The review focuses on the recent developments on diverse sets of complex enzymatic transformations by utilizing minimal peptide based self-assembled systems. It further attempts to provide a broad perspective for potentially programming functionality via rational selection of amino acid sequences, leading towards minimal catalytic systems that emulate some advanced traits of contemporary enzymes.

To find out the most easily identifiable and anatomically consistent landmark for identification of facial nerve during parotid surgery. Ten cadaveric dissections and ten live parotid surgeries for different types of parotid tumours were done. Cadaveric dissection was performed in the Department of Anatomy and the surgeries were done in the Department of ENT and Head and Neck surgery of R. G. Kar Medical College of Kolkata. The distance of the facial nerve trunk from three most commonly used landmarks (viz., tympanomastoid suture, tragal pointer and posterior belly of digastric muscle) was measured in both cadaver and live patients. The ease of identification of the nerve trunk using each of the landmarks, particularly during live surgery was also assessed. The mean distance of the tympanomastoid suture from the facial nerve trunk was 3.5 mm (cadaver) and 3.87 mm (live surgery), the tragal pointer was found to be at a mean distance of 16.61 mm (cadaver) and 16.36 mm (live surgery) and in case of the posterior belly of digastric muscle it was 7.41 mm (cadaver) and 8.03 mm (live surgery). During live surgery the posterior belly of digastric was found to be the most easily identifiable landmark with a consistent anatomical relationship with the nerve trunk. The posterior belly of digastric muscle is the most easily identifiable and a very consistent landmark for facial nerve dissection during parotidectomy. When supplemented with the tragal pointer, accuracy in identifying the facial nerve trunk is very high, thereby avoiding inadvertent injury to the nerve trunk.

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