Objective. This study aimed to evaluate and compare the force degradation of two types of elastomeric chains following different periods of immersion in zinc-containing mouthwashes. Materials and Methods. Four hundred and forty pieces of Elasto-Force and Super Elasto-Force elastomeric chains were divided into two control and eight experimental groups. The pieces were stretched to 25 mm on pins mounted on an acrylic block and stored in distilled water at 37°C. The experimental groups were immersed in four different types of mouthwash for one minute twice a day throughout the test period. Ten continuous thermocycles per day between cold and hot water baths (5–55°C) were carried out. Forces were measured at six-time intervals (in

Background: Multidrug-resistant (MDR) enterococci have become a major problem in recent times and have been reported increasingly around the world. Lytic phages infect bacteria leading to rapid host death with limited risk of phage transduction, underlining the increasing interest in potential phage therapy in the future. Objective (s): The aim of this study is to use phage therapy as alternative approach for treatment of Enterococcus faecalis infections that recorded as MDR in Iraq to tackle this problem. Materials and Methods: Thirty E. faecalis isolates were collected from patients with different infectious diseases such as urinary tract infection (UTI), diabetic foot, septicemia, and wound infections. The isolation of specific l

We aimed to examine the effect of amoxicillin and azithromycin suspensions on the microhardness of sliver-reinforced glass ionomer and nano-resin modified glass ionomer (GI). Method: Thirty discs (2mm height x 4mm diameter) of each type of GI were prepared, which were randomly assigned to amoxicillin, azithromycin, and artificial saliva groups. Microhardness was evaluated by Vickers hardness test before and after three immersion cycles. Results: The overall model (P < 0.001), before/after intervention (P < 0.001), intervention group (type of antibiotic) (P=0.013), and type of glass ionomer (P < 0.001) showed significant differences among study groups (P < 0.001). Post hoc test showed only non-significant before/after difference for Azithrom

Background: Removal of bacteria from the pulp system by instrumentation of an infected root canal, will be significantly reduced the number of bacteria, but it is well documented that instrumentation alone can-not clean and kill all bacteria found on the root canal walls. Antibacterial irrigants are needed to kill the remaining microorganisms. The aims of this study was to assess antibacterial effect of titanium tetrafluoride (TiF4) solution and brewing green tea against root canal bacteria and to compare with sodium hypochlorite and normal saline through microbiological and molecular studies. Materials and methods: Microbiological study was carried out to determine the concentration of titanium tetrafluoride and brewing green tea at which

Background: Studying and investigating the transverse strength(Ts), impact strength(Is), hardness (Hr) and surface roughness(Ra) of conventional and modified autopolymerizing acrylic resin with different weight percentages of biopolymer kraftlignin, after curing in different water temperatures; 40°C and 80°C. Material and Methods: Standard acrylic specimens were fabricated according to ADA specification No.12 for transverse strength, ISO 179 was used for impact testing, Shore D for hardness and profilometerfor surface roughness. The material lignin first dispersed in the monomer, then the powder PMMA is immediately added. Ligninadded in different weight percentages. Then cured using pressure pot (Ivomet) in two temperatures;40°C a

Nitrogen heterocycles are of a special interest because they constitute an important class of natural and non natural products, many of which exhibit useful biological activities.Among these nitrogen heterocycles are 1, 3, 4-thiadiazole containing compounds. The therapeutic effects of these derivatives have been well studied for a number of pathological conditions including inflammation, pain, or hypertension. Moreover, synthesis of thiadiazoles has attracted wide-spread attention due to their diverse applications as antibacterial, anticancer, antifungal anti-inflammatory and antidepressant agents.According to this information’s new derivatives of 1, 3, 4-thiadiazole were designed and synthesized and in the hope of having some act

Blastocystis is a ubiquitous human and animal protozoa that inhabit the gastrointestinal tract. Metronidazole is considered the standard drug for the treatment of Blastocystis infection; however, there is growing evidence of treatment failure, hazardous side effects, and appearance of strains resistant to metronidazole. In the last era, many studies have been implicated in the quest for new treatments for Blastocystis infection, especially natural products. Attention has been focused on the effect of Amygdalin (B17) and pumpkin seed on eradicating parasitic infections. The current work was built up to explore the in vitro efficacy of two natural compounds, Amygdalin (B17) and pumpkin seeds against

Polycyclicacetal was prepared by the reaction of PEG with 4-nitrobenzaldehyde. Cobalt was used for producing a polymer metal complex and solution casting was used to produce a polymer blend including nano chitosan. All produced compounds have been characterized by FT-IR, DSC/ TGA, and SEM techniques as well as biological activity. The production of polyacetal is illustrated by the FT-IR analysis. The DSC/TGA results indicate the prepared polymer blends' thermal stability. Staphylococcus aureas, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Bacillus subtilis, and Escherichia coli were the four types of bacteria selected to study and evaluate the antibacterial activity of produced polyacetal, its metal complex, and polymer blend. Results indicates that ther

Background: The aim of this study was to determine phototoxic effect of visible blue light on anaerobic periodontal pathogens namely Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans and Porphyromonas gingivalis. Materials and methods: Strains of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans and Porphyromonas gingivalis were isolated from pockets of systemically healthy patients aged between 35-55 years old with pocket depths of 5-6 mm, the bacteria cultured on special blood Agar plates solid media, then subjected to visible blue light emitted from commercially available light cure devise (LED curing light); that emits blue light (400-500nm) of 1000mw energy at different periods of time exposures, then the CFU of each plate was measured by direct colony count

Background: One common undesirable side effect of orthodontic treatment with fixed appliances is the development of incipient caries lesions around brackets, particularly in patients with poor oral hygiene. Different methods have been used to prevent demineralization; the recent effort to improve the resistance against the demineralization is by the application of lasers. Materials and method: Thirty human premolars extracted for orthodontic purposes were used to test the effect of two energy level of ER-YAG laser on enamel resistance to demineralization. The brackets were bonded on the teeth and all the labial surface excluding 2 mm area gingival to the brackets were painted with acid resistance varnish. Three groups were generated. The fi