Periodontal disease is the inflammation of the periodontal supporting structures of teeth. An index is an important tool of surveillance system based on the requirements of reliability, simplicity, and validity to screen oral health disease of the population. This paper aims to discuss on various indices formulated to measure periodontal disease from past to present. This paper reviews indices and different recording systems used to measure periodontal diseases at the population level by retrieving articles, selecting, writing, and summarizing the article. The advantages and disadvantages of various indices used for measuring periodontal disease are discussed in this article. Community Periodontal Index is the most widely accepted index used in larger research studies. However, presently, clinical attachment loss is a widely accepted tool for the diagnosis of periodontal disease. Future advances in new screening methods will be able to provide new opportunities in the diagnosis of active and progressive periodontal disease, which will further help in more precise screening of periodontal disease in larger research studies.

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Background: Ethanol is reasonably used as a cyto-fixative. Owing to its confinements, researchers are in search of natural and eco-friendly cytological fixative. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of 20% honey and 20% jaggery as a fixative for oral exfoliative cytology. Materials and Methods: Three oral smears were obtained from each individual (n = 60) by gently scraping the buccal mucosa. One smear was fixed in 95% ethanol second smear in 20% processed honey and third smear in 20% jaggery and was stained with Papanicolaou stain. Two separate pathologists who were blinded for the fixative used evaluated the slides based on the five parameters (cell morphology, nuclear and cytoplasmic staining, clarity, and uniformity of staining). Results: In the present study, it was observed that 20% processed honey showed overall promising results followed by Group A (95% alcohol) and Group B (20% jaggery), but no statistically significant difference was observed between the groups. Conclusion: Honey in lower concentration is an excellent alternative to ethanol and jaggery as a fixative for oral exfoliative cytological samples.

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Background: In India, the majority population lives in rural areas where there is less awareness on the maintenance of oral health. At the rural level, less work has been done among children to determine the incidence of gingival disease and its relation to the cleaning rate. Hence, it is necessary to evaluate the prevalence of gingivitis among these masses. Aims and Objectives: The goal of the study was to determine the prevalence of gingivitis and its relation to the frequency of tooth brushing among school-going children between 3 and 15 years of age group in rural areas of Barabanki district, India. Materials and Methods: The study was done on a sample size of 1200 school-going children, in which 611 boys and 589 girls are there, from rural schools of Barabanki. The sample consisted of four age groups of children from 3 to 5 years, 6–9 years, 10–12 years, and 13–15 years of age. Gingival Index given by Loe and Silness was used to determine the severity of gingivitis. The data were evaluated using the Chi-square test. Results: The overall prevalence of gingivitis obtained was 86.17% and it was highly significant in relation to age groups. On comparing the frequency of brushing and gingivitis in all age groups it was revealed that twice daily brushing was significantly related to healthy gingiva. Conclusions: The study revealed a high prevalence rate of gingivitis among children in these age groups indicating oral health program is highly recommended for both parents and school children in rural areas to maintain oral hygiene.

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Sports is a form of recreation that helps people to get away with everyday stress. It is also associated with the risk of traumatic injury, especially in case of contact sports. Dental injuries that are caused due to sports mostly involve the maxillofacial region. Out of all the sports-related dental injuries, the most complex injury is tooth avulsion and should be considered as real emergency. Protection from sports-related orofacial injuries currently comes in the form of three shielding equipment, namely mouthguards, facemasks, and helmets. Sports dentistry, being the most recent and upcoming field in dentistry, inculcates the prevention, maintenance, and treatment of oral and facial injuries. Dentists must have sound clinical knowledge regarding sports-related dentofacial injuries and should make it a point to inform parents regarding the orofacial injury caused due to sports and regarding various preventive measures that are available.

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Background: Schools form a platform for molding habits in children, and teachers have a potential role in school-based dental education programs. Aim: The objective of this study was to evaluate level of knowledge, attitude, and practice of school teachers regarding dental caries in children in schools of Navi Mumbai. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among school teachers in Navi Mumbai. A total of 554 teachers completed the questionnaire, which included questions on demographic data, knowledge about etiology of dental caries, its prevention, their attitude, practice, and role of teachers in the management of dental caries. The data were analyzed using Chi-square test. Results: A total of 554 school teachers filled the questionnaire. The number of female teachers (84.8%) was very high as compared to male teachers. Approximately 60% of study population considered bacteria and amount of sweets consumed as the cause of dental caries. More than 52% considered eating less sugar as one of the ways to prevent caries. Furthermore, 57.4% of teachers were willing to implement future training programs on caries prevention. Conclusion: Knowledge regarding dental caries among school teachers in Navi Mumbai was adequate. Teachers were willing to participate in oral health promotion training programs.

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Background: To investigate diode laser application and two natural nano-plant extracts effect on the re-mineralization and surface micro-hardness of early enamel carious lesions. Materials and Methods: Eighty enamel specimens were selected and prepared then divided into eight groups (10 specimens per group), according to diode laser irradiation, two nano-plant extracts (garlic and clove nano-plant extracts) and acidulated phosphate fluoride (APF) gel, that were applied to demineralized enamel surfaces as follows; Group A; garlic nano-plant extract, Group B; clove nano-plant extract, Group C; application of APF gel, Group D; garlic nano-plant extract + diode laser, Group E; clove nano-plant extract + diode laser, Group F; application of APF gel + diode laser, Group G; diode laser, Group H; early enamel caries (control). Specimens were examined for their content of Ca, P, and F ions and their surface Vickers micro-hardness. The tests used for the statistical analysis were one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey's (honestly significant difference) post hoc tests. Results: No statistically significant difference was detected between the tested groups for Ca and P content, while Group A recording the highest mean value. Group C recorded the highest F ion content values, while G and H groups recorded the least values. Group F recorded the highest significant micro-hardness values, while Group H recorded the least values. Conclusions: Garlic and clove nano-plant extracts may present a promising enamel re-mineralizing agents. Combination of both nano-extracts with diode laser application had a positive influence on enamel chemistry and micro-hardness.

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Introduction: The Toto tribe is a small tribal population who inhabit a tiny hamlet on the northern fringe of the state of West Bengal and is on the verge of extinction. They have their unique oral health behaviour and oral hygiene habits. Aims and Objectives: To study their unique oral health behaviours and traditional oral hygiene habits untouched by civilization. Material and Methods: A sum total of 515 adult Toto Populations were participated and observed for their oral health behaviour by means of door to door survey and OHI-S was recorded. Results: The prevalence of deleterious oral habits was found to be very high among this population with only 4.1% abstaining from any kind of oral habits. The most popular habit among this population was the chewing of betel nut(91.6%). Discussion: The study showed a unique blend of unchanged tribal habits and that of the practises and oral heath behaviour of primitive tribe.

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Loss of any anatomical structure leads to functional insufficiency and psychological trauma. Malignant neoplasms of mandible are often surgically treated by hemimandibulectomy which greatly affects the function postoperatively. The amount of dysfunction depends upon the size of resected segment, effect on tongue, number of remaining teeth, and the extent of loss of sensory and motor innervations. This clinical report describes the prosthodontic management of a squamous cell carcinoma patient treated with hemimandibulectomy and rehabilitated using balancing ramp-guided flexible prosthesis to accommodate mandibular deviation and limited mouth opening.

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The intricate and atypical morphology of mandibular molars makes root canal therapy challenging both in diagnosis and during clinical procedure. The clinician should have knowledge on precise nature of the root canal structure and morphology. Better understanding allows good cleaning, shaping, and disinfection of the canal space, followed by its three-dimensional obturation. This paper illustrates the management of radix entomolaris with “three distal canals” in first mandibular molar – a rare entity.

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Calpain is a Ca²⁺ dependent non-lysosomal cytosolic and mitochondrial cysteine protease found in tissue and organ specific manner in human being and in other mammals. It is observed to be an initiator for cancer cell propagation and invasion in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) and also a regulator of apoptosis. A concised review on this novice molecule is re-explored based on previous and ongoing studies in the following article.

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Primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET) belongs to the class of malignant round cell tumor. PNETs show varying degree of neuroectodermal differentiation. They are one of the most common tumors of childhood occurring in bone and also within soft tissues. Light microscopy with the aid of immunohistochemical stains was suitable for the diagnosis. Immunohistochemistry plays a pivotal role in differentiating this tumor entity. The EWSR1-FLI1 fusion is present only in PNET cells and codes for oncogenic protein. In this article, we present a case of maxillary swelling in a 4-year-old girl child who was diagnosed with PNET. We have highlighted the challenges of diagnosing the round cell tumors.

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