Introduction. To promote oral health among the elderly, we need to know their prosthetic status and prosthetic need. Hence, a survey of prosthetic status and need of elderly inmates of old age homes in Mangalore was done. Materials and Methods. A cross-sectional study was undertaken, and 133 subjects aged 60 years and above were examined (54.9% males and 45.1% females). Results. Eighty-eight percent of those examined were fully edentulous, and only 12% had complete dentures; none of the study subjects had partial dentures. Prosthetic status was significantly associated with gender (P = .024), while prosthetic need and gender were not significantly associated (P = .395). Conclusions. A high unmet need for prosthetic care existed among the institutionalized elderly surveyed.

Aims and Objectives:Discrimination by some health care workers, including dentists, against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected persons has been noted. The main aim of the present study was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice towards HIV patients among the dentists of Trichur district, Kerala.Materials and Methods:A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 206 dentists practicing in Trichur district of Kerala. Data was collected using a pretested, self-administered 26-item questionnaire and was statistically analyzed using SPSS software version 20.Results:Out of 206 participants, 39.3% were unwilling to treat HIV patients. A statistical significance was found between willingness to treat HIV infected patients and age groups (P = 0.0001) as well as between the willingness to treat HIV infected patients and ethical responsibility (P = 0.0001).Conclusion:Staff fears and increased personal risk are found to be the most frequently reported concerns in treating HIV patients among dentists of Trichur district, Kerala. Senior dentists showed more reluctance to treat HIV positive individuals.

Caries rates among children in orphanages were much higher than among children in the general population in Kerala. There is an urgent need for evidence-based and sustainable primary prevention strategies to reduce the burden of caries in this highly vulnerable population.

With an increase in the number of dependent elderly, there is a need to introduce few natural products for denture cleansing, which are easily and economically available. Hence the aim of this study was to compare the anticandidal efficacy of denture cleansing tablet (sodium bicarbonate and sodium perborate monohydrate), Triphala (Phyllanthus emblica, Terminalia chebula and Terminalia belerica fruits powders in equal proportion), cashew leaf, Aloe vera and water (control) on complete dentures of institutionalized elderly. Study population consisted of 50 institutionalized elderly of Mangalore, Karnataka, with 10 in each group. Swabs were collected from the dentures before and after the use of denture cleansing tablet, Triphala, cashew leaf, Aloe vera, and water (control). Thereafter, the swabs were cultured on Sabouraud dextrose agar and the total candida counts were determined. Denture cleansing tablet and Triphala Churna showed a statistically significant reduction in Candida counts (P < 0.05). Denture cleansing tablet and Triphala Churna were found to be more effective.

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