Laboratory animal models serve as a facilitator to investigate the etiopathogenesis of periodontal disease, are used to know the efficacy of reconstructive and regenerative procedures, and are also helpful in evaluation of newer therapeutic techniques including laser and implant therapies prior to application in the human beings. The aim of this review is to know the different animal models used in various specialties of dental research and to know the ethical guidelines prior to the usage of experimental models with main emphasis on how to refine, replace, and reduce the number of animal models usage in the laboratory. An online search for experimental animal models used in dental research was performed using MEDLINE/PubMed database. Publications from 2009 to May 2013 in the specialty of periodontics were included in writing this review. A total of 652 references were published in PubMed/MEDLINE databases based on the search terms used. Out of 245 studies, 241 were related to the periodontal research published in English from 2009 to 2013. Relevant papers were chosen according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. After extensive electronic and hand search on animal models, it has been observed that various animal models were used in dental research. Search on animal models used for dental research purpose revealed that various animals such as rats, mice, guinea pigs, rabbit, beagle dogs, goats, and nonhuman primates were extensively used. However, with the new advancement of ex vivo animal models, it has become easy to investigate disease pathogenesis and to test the efficacy of newer therapeutic modalities with the reduced usage of animal models. This review summarized the large amount of literature on animal models used in periodontal research with main emphasis on ethical guidelines and on reducing the animal model usage in future perspective.

Background: Fractal analysis, which derives from fractal geometry, is used to put a number on the degree of shape complexity. Recent research have looked at the use of fractal analysis for tumour characterization. Objective: The systematic review's goal is to determine whether using the fractal dimension as a diagnostic tool can help detect oral squamous cell cancer in its earliest stages. Methodology: By adhering to three main criteria, all research articles published between the years of 2008 and 2020 in three major scientific databases, including PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science, were included. The selection criteria for the investigation were based on fractal dimension analysis in diagnosing oral cancer, nuclear fractal dimension analysis in identifying the nuclear structure before and after treatment of oral carcinomas. Results: Use of nuclear fractal analysis by dental professionals will help in diagnosing oral cancer at an early stage itself which further has its effect on treatment outcome. All the ten included studies have shown that fractal geometry is a useful objective tool in diagnosing oral cancer.  The risk was assessed done by Cochrane risk assessment model based on the several domains used was roughly 53% low risk, 30% ambiguous, and 15% high risk of bias. Conclusion: All three of the objectives of this systematic study that were used as benchmarks improved as a result of the fractal dimension technique. Early detection of the healthy and sick architecture of the nucleus in cases of oral cancer was made possible by the use of fractal dimension principles. It also helps in assessing and comparing nuclear characteristics of cancer cases before and after treatment. Significance: Applying the principles of nuclear fractal dimension improves the diagnosis of oral carcinomas at early stages.

Background: The coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) and its consequences demonstrate that it is a substantial global health threat with symptoms ranging from mild flu to severe pneumonia. The objective of this study was to assess Indian dental school undergraduate and postgraduate students' knowledge and perception of the oral symptoms present in COVID-19 patients.Methods: Dental students were compared for knowledge and perceptions regarding oral manifestations of COVID-19 according to their academic, gender and age. The questionnaire was broken into three parts and comprised 12 questions about oral manifestations in COVID-19 patients' knowledge and perception.Each participant received a WhatsApp message with a shareable Google Drive link. After gathering data, the Pearson Chi-Square test was used to do statistical analysis.Results: This questionnaire survey was completed by 380 dental students. Significant differences were obtained except for one question about knowledge and perception related questions addressing oral manifestations in COVID-19 patients. Only the knowledge-related questions about oral manifestations in COVID-19 patients showed significant differences when compared to perception related questions when compared to gender-related replies.Conclusions: This study demonstrated that dental students have knowledge of identifying the oral manifestations in COVID-19 infected people, and emphasized the importance of every dental student in identifying oral manifestations and relating these manifestations to the severity of COVID-19 infection in order to preserve patients' oral and overall health.