The present study gives an insight into the prevalence of mesiodens among school going children of Indore city. A coincidental finding in our study has been the high risk of trauma associated with the occurence of mesiodens. This finding makes it mandatory to include mesiodens as a risk factor in traumatic dental injuries. Early diagnosis and management of these otherwise considered mild factors must be made mandatory in pediatric dentistry.

Objectives:To assess areca nut chewing habit among middle school-aged children in Indore, India. Areca nut is chewed by itself, and in various scented preparations. It is associated with carcinogenesis, foreign body aspiration in children, and oral submucous fibrosis and may aggravate asthma.Materials and Methods:A retrospective collection of data to evaluate the prevalence of areca nut chewing among 3896 children was done. A simple random sampling was done. Children of both sexes were included in this study.Results:27.06% of the school-going children (1054/3896) had areca nut chewing habit. More boys chewed areca nut than girls (2:1). 45.42% of school going children of rural area pander to areca nut chewing habit, whereas in urban area 20.09% children are indulged. Government school children are more involved in areca nut chewing habit. 81.02% of the children used sweetened and flavoured form of areca nut. The majority of the users were not aware of harmful effects that the use of areca nut might be harmful for healthConclusion:To diminish the use of areca nut, the Indian Government should consider limiting trade, advertising, and actively communicating its health risks to the public and should deem heavy taxes on it.

SUMMARYTaurodont teeth are characterised by large pulp chambers at the expense of roots. An enlarged pulp chamber, apical displacement of the pulpal floor and no constriction at the level of the cement-enamel junction are the characteristic features of taurodont tooth. It appears more frequently as an isolated anomaly but its association with syndromes and other abnormalities have also been reported. Permanent dentition is more commonly affected than deciduous dentition. This paper presents a case report of taurodontism in relation to mandibular deciduous second molars. BACKGROUND

Eruption of teeth at or immediately after birth is a relatively rare phenomenon. These teeth are known as 'natal' teeth if present at birth and 'neonatal' teeth if they erupt during the first 30 days of life. Natal teeth might resemble normal primary dentition in size and shape; however, the teeth are often smaller, conical and yellowish and have hypoplastic enamel and dentin with poor or absent root formation. Complications include difficulty and discomfort during suckling, sublingual ulceration, laceration of the mother's breasts and aspiration of the teeth. These situations would warrant extraction. If the tooth does not interfere with breast feeding and is otherwise asymptomatic, no treatment is necessary. Negative cultural attitudes towards natal teeth demand good parental counselling and vigilant management in relation to child protection. Both general practice dentists and paediatric dental specialists may be involved in the supervision or treatment of patients with natal and neonatal teeth.

Objective:To evaluate and compare the retention, marginal discoloration, surface texture and anatomical form of pit and fissure sealants.Materials and Methods:Thirty children between the ages of 6 and 10 years, who were attending the school health program regularly, had participated in the study. A split-mouth design was used in which the two fissure sealants (Helioseal-F and Glass ionomer Fuji VII) were randomly placed in 60 matched contralateral pairs of permanent molar teeth. Sealants were rated by a single trained and calibrated examiner using mouth mirrors and probes following the US Public Health Service criteria. The sealants were evaluated at 3 months, 6 months and 1 year intervals.Results:The data obtained for retention, marginal discoloration, surface texture and anatomical form of pit and fissure sealants were tabulated and compared statistically using the Chi-square test of significance.Conclusion:The Helioseal-F sealant was better than the Glass ionomer Fuji VII sealant with respect to retention, anatomical form and surface texture. Both the materials showed similar results with respect to marginal discoloration.