Background Corona virus disease (COVID‐19) has crippled life, families and oral health care delivery in India due to nation wide lockdown. Aim Through cross‐sectional design we investigated the impact of child’s dental pain, caregiver’s fear of SARS‐CoV2 and parental distress on oral health related quality of life (OHRQOL) of preschoolers during the nationwide COVID‐19 pandemic lockdown. Design Preschool children self‐reported their pain using pieces of hurt scale; caregiver SARS‐CoV2 fear was assessed using fear of COVID‐19 scale and parental distress evaluated using 4‐item scale. Child’s oral health assessed using dmft index and OHRQOL evaluated using early childhood oral health impact scale. Bivariate, multivariate regression analysis was conducted to identify predictors; statistical significance was set at 5%. Results Sample mean age was 4.58 years, and about 69% were boys. Children reporting higher pain scores (OR=1.9) due to decayed teeth and having dmft >5 (OR=4.25); followed by greater parental distress (OR=4.13) and fear of SARS‐CoV2 (OR=3.84) were significantly associated with poor OHRQOL during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Conclusions Greater parental distress and fear of COVID‐19 among caregivers, higher self perceived dental pain among children and caries experience is associated with poor OHRQOL of preschool children during the COVID‐19 pandemic.

Corona virus disease (COVID-19) has crippled life, families and oral health care delivery. Hence, we assessed the impact of dental pain, fear of COVID-19 and psychological distress during lockdown on the oral health related quality of life of individuals visiting a tertiary dental care center during COVID-19 pandemic. Cross sectional study conducted among patients between 18-60 years. Demographics, access to pain killers, dental care (yes/no), duration ( 15 days) and intensity of pain were self reported. Fear of COVID-19 was assessed using fear of corona virus scale (FCV-19S); psychological distress in the last 30 days and oral health related quality of life was evaluated. Oral examination was performed and dental caries status (DMFT) was assessed using the world health organization method. Univariate and multivariate regression analysis was conducted to evaluate significant predictors and 5% was set as level of significance. 2966 patients visited our dental emergency due to painful decayed tooth between March-June 2020. Mean age was 42.7 years, 53.97% were males and most common cause of painful teeth was upper right third molar (7.7%). 73.4% reported lack of pain medication; 95% reported closure of dental clinics close to home. Almost 79% suffered from dental pain for more than 15 days. Higher self reported pain (OR 2.1; 95% CI 1.36-14.71), >15 days of suffering from pain (OR 6.8; 95% CI 2.18-23.14), greater fear of COVID-19 (OR 4.14; 95% CI 1.98-16.07) and psychological distress (OR 4.41; 95% CI 1.09-16.76) were associated with poorer OHRQOL of adults during COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings strongly suggest that COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacts the mental and oral health of individuals affecting their overall health.

The aim of this study is to determine the occurence of incidental thyroid nodules in patients undergoing routine neck ultrasound, and the presence of malignant thyroid nodules. This study also aims to evaluate the impact of age, sex, past medical history, habits and dietary intake as factors that can contribute to thyroid nodules. Materials and methods: This study is retrospective. Past medical records and ultrasound reports of 150 patients were reviewed and all age groups and nationalities were included. Results: Out of 150, incidental thyroid nodules were found in 32 patients (21.3%). Incidence was higher in women with male to female ratio of 1:3 and the average age was 36.6 years. Nodules were solitary in 13 patients (40.6%) and multiple in 19 (59.4%). 53.1% of the nodules were located bilaterally while 46.9% were unilateral, occurring in only one of the thyroid lobes. The ultrasound reports revealed margins that are ill-defined in 4 nodules and well-defined in 11 nodules. 31% of the nodules were solid and only 15.6% presented coarse and dense calcifications. Based on the morphology, 10 nodules (31.25%) were less than 5 mm in size, 13 nodules (40.6%) had sizes ranging from 5 to 10 mm, and 9 nodules (28.1%) were dominant, measuring more than 10 mm. However, no malignancy was reported. Conclusions: Although their incidence is relatively low, incidental thyroid nodules are frequently present and must be evaluated carefully for any suspicious features like solid consistency, calcifications and hypoechogenecity.

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Objectives The use of herbal dentifrices has grown exponentially over the years. They are categorically referred to as ethnomedicines. Various agents have been tried with contradicting findings based on phytopharmacological analysis. Miswak is one agent which has been used over the years. A novel Moringa oleifera-based dentifrice has shown promising results in terms of its cytotoxicity, biocompatibility, and as a potent anti-inflammatory agent. Therefore, the present study aims to compare the efficacy of two commercially available miswak- and moringa-based herbal dentifrices on the reduction of plaque and gingivitis scores. Materials and Methods This randomized clinical crossover study included 20 subjects with mild to moderate gingivitis. The study was conducted over a total examination period of 20 days with a wash-out period of 2 weeks between the use of both the toothpastes. The plaque index and gingival index of the study subjects were recorded at the designated time intervals throughout the study period. Statistical Analysis The data collected were entered on Microsoft Excel, and statistical analysis using SPSS software (SPSS version 28, IBM Corp, Armonk, New York, United States) was done. The statistical test used was the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Moreover, p ≤0.05 was considered significant. Results The results showed that the reduction in mean gingival index scores from baseline to day 3 was more statistically significant in the moringa-based dentifrice. Similarly, the plaque index scores showed statistically significant reduction following the use of the moringa-based dentifrice when compared with the miswak dentifrice. This study reveals that the moringa dentifrice is a safe and effective agent in reducing plaque accumulation and treating gingival inflammation. Conclusion The current study aims to provide an insight into the possible role of moringa dentifrice as a possible adjunctive oral hygiene aid.