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Objective: Fluoride has been an effective tool to prevent dental caries but efforts have been on to establish optimal level of fluoride in drinking water in different communities. The present study seeks to establish the safe and acceptable concentration of fluoride in drinking water which would lead to maximum caries protection with least amount of clinically observable dental fluorosis. Study Design: 30 villages from 2 districts of Haryana were classified according to differing levels of fluoride in the drinking water. 3007 school children(1558 males & 1449 female)] were examined and the DMFT score was related to the level of fluoride in drinking water. Results: The caries prevalence was maximum (48.02%) in the area having 0.50 ppm fluoride in drinking water. The children from area having the 1.13 ppm fluoride level had the least caries prevalence i.e. 28.07%. Conclusion: The results of the present study did not suggest any additional anticaries benefit beyond 1.13ppm fluoride level. The present investigation showed that the optimal fluoride levels for drinking water for our conditions were near 1.13ppm (1-1.2 ppm) as there was maximum caries protection with least amount of esthetically objectionable fluorosis at that level.

PURPOSE: The present review was conducted to elaborate Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) and the role of dentist in its diagnoses and management. METHODS: A comprehensive literature search was performed in the electronic databases of PubMed, ScienceDirect and Google scholar. A total of 94 relevant peer reviewed articles were retrieved and 42 were included in the present review. RESULTS: OSA can be fairly diagnosed by dentists while the patient has come for dental check-up. But insufficient knowledge and awareness among dentists about the diagnostic and treatment protocol of this under-diagnosed condition. It has also proven to be one of the underlying cause of many like diseases like cardiovascular problems, diabetes mellitus and hypertension. To the rescue, dental sleep medicine is gaining enormous attention. In the lieu of the above context ‘American Dental Association (ADA)’ has adopted a policy that focuses on outlines various diagnostic procedures and treatment modalities that can be carried out by dentist for management of OSA. CONCLUSION: It can be concluded since there is no sufficient evidence for the prevalence of OSA in developing countries like India, it is needed to create awareness and implement appropriate diagnostic and preventive measures for the same.

Background: Stevia is a natural, healthy, unconventional replacement to the table sugar and artificial sweetener. Phytochemicals present in it exerts an influence on the microbial flora of the mouth. Hence, study was planned to compare the effects of stevia with different sugars on the plaque pH. Methodology: The present study was carried in department of Public Health Dentistry between 9am-12pm. It was a triple blinded Crossover Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial with LSD design. All the 40 subjects were exposed to all four interventions sequentially, at weekly intervals with 1 week wash out period. (Intervention: A- Table sugar, B- Jaggery, C- Stevia, D- Milk tea without sugar). Inferential statistics was done using Repeated measures of ANOVA followed by Post hoc pairwise comparison and Three-way RMANOVA to determine relationship between SUGAR * WEEK * TIME interaction. Level of significance was set at p value at 0.05. Results: Plaque pH assessments were performed at 4 points of time intervals (at baseline, 1 min, 20min, 60 min). Overall significance differences were seen in plaque pH at different time intervals for all interventions. Intergroup comparison showed potential efficacy of stevia in maintaining plaque pH. Conclusion: In the present study, it was found that stevia has the least cariogenic potential when compared with jaggery and refined sugar. Jaggery also did not show a significant reduction in plaque pH. Therefore, Stevia and Jaggery can be compared for their anti-cariogenic properties. This study has been registered under the Clinical Trial Registry of India CTRI/2020/12/03003