Influence of sex hormone levels on gingival enlargement in adolescent patients undergoing fixed orthodontic therapy: A pilot study

Oral health status and hygiene practices among visually impaired adolescents from a school in Kenya

BACKGROUND

Visual impairment affects a significant population globally. The aim of this study was to determine the oral health status and oral hygiene practices among visually impaired adolescents from a school in Kenya.

METHODS

A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among 159 adolescents aged 10-19 years attending the largest public primary boarding school for the blind in Kenya. A questionnaire was used to record participants' socio-demographic variables and oral hygiene practices. Clinical examination was undertaken to assess oral health status which consisted of oral hygiene, gingival health, and dental caries. Bivariate analyses were conducted to compare dental health outcomes across socio-demographic characteristics.

RESULTS

There were 69 (43.4%) and 90 (56.6%) participants in Category I and II visual impairment respectively, 85 (53.5%) were male and 74 (46.5%) were female. Study participants were divided into three age categories: 10-12 years 48 (30.2%), 13-15 years 67 (42.1%), and 16- 19 years 44 (27.7%), with an overall mean age of 13.9 ± 2.3. All participants brushed their teeth, majority 107 (67.3%) brushed two or more times daily. Only 66 (41.5%) of the participants replaced their toothbrushes at 3 months. Sex (p =< 0.001) and age (p = 0.04) influenced frequency of toothbrush replacement. The average plaque score and gingival score index was 0.95 ± 0.45 and 0.28 ± 0.25 respectively, with gingivitis prevalence of 88.1%. Overall dental caries prevalence was 44.7%, [42.1%)] permanent dentition and [8.2%] deciduous dentition. Mean DMFT and dmft were 0.44 ± 0.60 and 0.12 ± 0.32 respectively. DMFT had a statistically significant association with sex (t = 1.82, p = 0.03). Oral hygiene practices did not influence oral hygiene and dental caries status. However, a statistically significant association was reported between frequency of toothbrush replacement and gingival score index ("p" =< 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

The study reported general good oral hygiene, prevalent gingivitis 140 (88.1%), and almost half of the study population affected by dental caries 71 (44.7%). Most participants were unaware of using fluoridated toothpaste and of needing to change toothbrushes within 3 months. Frequency of toothbrush replacement was reported to influence gingival score index.

The efficacy of the dental Water Jet, orthodontic, and conventional toothbrushes in plaque removal around orthodontic braces in adolescents: A randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVES

Orthodontic treatment improves both masticatory function and the aspects of facial esthetics through the correct alignment of the teeth. If oral hygiene is neglected during fixed orthodontic treatment, it may lead to plaque accumulation and gingivitis. The aim of this randomized controlled trial was to evaluate the effectiveness of the dental Water Jet (DWJ), and orthodontic toothbrush (O-TH) in removing dental plaque around the orthodontic braces compared to conventional toothbrush (C-TH) in adolescents.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This was a three-arm, double-blind, and parallel-group randomized active-controlled trial. Forty-five patients were randomly allocated into three groups: DWJ, the O-TH, and the C-TH (control group). The primary outcome measure was dental plaque accumulation change from the baseline (t0 ) to post-cleaning (t1 ), and plaque scores were recorded using the Orthodontic Plaque Index (OPI). The current clinical trial was registered and approved by Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12623000524695).

RESULTS

A statistically significant difference was noted in the OPI scores between different time points in the DWJ group, the O-TH group, and the C-TH group (p < .05). However, no significant difference was noted between the groups after the cleaning procedure (p > .05).

CONCLUSION

The level of oral hygiene was not satisfactory in patients undergoing fixed orthodontic treatment. In addition, the efficacy of the DWJ was not superior to O-TH nor to C-TH in plaque removal.

A Comparative Study of Antioxidative Activity of Saliva in Children and Young Teenagers with and without Gingivitis

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the values of total antioxidant capacity (TAC), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPX) in the saliva of children and young teenagers with and without gingivitis. Materials and Methods: A total of 120 children and young teenagers of the mean age of 12.2 participated in the research. Gingival condition was assessed using the Löe and Silness Gingival Index. The subjects were divided into groups of those without gingivitis and those with gingivitis. Samples of unstimulated saliva were collected, and TAC, CAT and GPX were determined spectrophotometrically. Results: By comparing the values of TAC, CAT and GPX in subjects with and without gingivitis, significantly lower values of TAC (p < 0.001) and CAT (p < 0.001) were observed in the group of subjects with gingivitis. The correlation analysis of these values showed a positive correlation in groups of subjects not suffering from gingival inflammation and those with gingival inflammation. Conclusions: The study showed significantly lower values of TAC and CAT in the saliva of subjects with gingivitis. This indicates their possible role as a potential biomarker in the early diagnosis and expression of periodontal disease in children and young teenagers.

Effect of combined oral contraceptives on orthodontic tooth movement in a female rat model

Background

To investigate the effect of combined oral contraceptives (COC) on orthodontic tooth movement (OTM) and periodontal remodelling in a female rat model.

Methods

A total of 80 three-month-old female, Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into experimental and control groups. The maxillary first molars were moved mesially using nickel-titanium coil springs (50 g force). The experimental group (N = 40) ingested 1.5 ml COC (Marvelon, 0.12 mg/d, N.V. Organon, Oss, The Netherlands) daily. The control group (N = 40) ingested 1.5 ml saline (0.9% sodium chloride) daily. After 7, 14, 21 and 28 days of force application, 10 rats in each group were euthanased and a vernier calliper was used to measure the orthodontic movement of the first molar. Root resorption at pressure areas was assessed by H and E staining. Micro-CT was used to detect alveolar bone mineral density.

Results and conclusion

The amount of OTM in the experimental group (0.46 ± 0.16 mm) was significantly less than in the control group (0.85 ± 0.25 mm; p = 0.003) during the 28 days of observation. There were significantly smaller (p = 0.002) root resorption lacunae in the experimental group (111710 ± 4037 pixels) compared with the control group (204962 ± 21318 pixels) after 28 days. There was no statistically significant difference in the bone mineral density between the experimental and control groups throughout the study period (p > 0.05 at each time point). The short-term administration of COC may retard tooth movement and reduce the level of root resorption during OTM in female rats.