Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by impairments in social interaction and communication, restricted patterns of behavior, and unusual sensory sensitivities. Saliva may provide an easily accessible sample for analysis. Some salivary constituents levels altered in adolescents with ASD including antioxidants . This study aimed to investigate salivary physicochemical characteristic in relation to oral health status among adolescent with ASD. Materials and methods: Two groups were included in this study: forty institutionalized autistic adolescents and forty apparently healthy school adolescents with age range (12-15 years old, only males) selected randomly from Baghdad. Each group subdivided into two groups according to the severity of dental caries: caries free group (20 child, DMFT=0) and high caries group (20 child, DMFT≥6). Decayed, missing and filled surfaces (DMFS), plaque (PlI), Gingival (GI) and calculus (CI) indices were used to measure oral health status for both groups. Copper (Cu), zinc (Zn) and thiocyanate (SCN) in saliva measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Salivary alpha amylase (sAA) and glutathione (GSH) assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Salivary pH and flow rate were measured directly. The data of current study was analyzed using SPSS version 21. Results: A higher value of salivary pH, flow rate, sAA, SCN, Cu and Zn were found among study group than control group with significant difference, also higher in caries free subgroup than high caries subgroup. While GSH was higher in control group than study group. Moderate negative correlations between sAA, Cu, Zn and PlI, CI, GI with highly significant and salivary pH correlate moderately with PlI and CI with highly significant. Conclusion: There is alteration in salivary constituents levels which related to oral health status in adolescents with ASD and can act as adjunctive diagnostic aid for diagnosing autism.
Background: Teachers are considered as dynamic force who take a pivotal position in any educational system. Since they may play a significant role in passing the preventive information and health promotion, it is important that their own oral health knowledge, attitude, and practices conform to the professional recommendations. The aim of this study was to evaluate oral health knowledge, attitude and practices among kindergarten teachers, and their impact on teachers’ oral health condition in Al-Rusafa Sector, Baghdad, Iraq. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional survey was conducted among 80 kindergarten teachers. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed among these teach¬ers. This questionnaire format contains two
... Show MoreBackground: Environmental tobacco smoking is produced by active smokers burning the tip of a cigarette and breathed by nonsmokers and measured by cotinine level. It has the potential to raise the risk of periodontal disease. One of the most frequent chronic diseases in adults is periodontal disease. The lower maternal-fetal attachment has been found to predict smoking status in previous studies, but no research has examined whether maternal-fetal attachment predicts environmental tobacco smoking. This study assessed the effects of maternal environmental tobacco smoke exposure on periodontal health and mother-infant bonding concerning salivary cotinine levels. Materials and methods: This is a comparative cross-sectional study comparing en
... Show MoreBackground: diagnostic radiology field workers are at elevated risk level for systemic and oral diseases like periodontal diseases. This study was aimed to estimate the periodontal condition and salivary flow rate among diagnostic radiology workers. Material and method: The sample for this study consisted of a study group radiographers (forty subjects) working for 5 years at least and control group consisted of nurses and laboratory workers away from radiation (forty subjects) in Baghdad hospitals. All the 80 subjects aged 30-40 year-old and looking healthy without systemic diseases. Plaque, gingival, periodontal pocket depth and clinical attachment loss indices were used for recording the periodontal conditions. Under standardized condi
... Show MoreBackground: University dental students perceived a higher level of stress prior to the final exam associated with raised salivary cortisol levels which could be considered as a useful noninvasive biomarker for measuring acute stress. Using a Helkimo anamnestic and clinical dysfunction scoring for temporomandibular disorders can give a better insight about the association of this marker and temporomandibular joint disorders. The aim of this study was to evaluation level of salivary cortisol in stressor students with temporomandibular disorder and the relation between this marker in relation to temporomandibular disorder severity. This might give a better understanding to the role of psychological stress as an etiological factor for developin
... Show MoreThe aim of the research is to identify the relationship between health anxiety associated with Coronavirus (Covid 19) and its relationship to health behavior among Baghdad University employees, as well as to identify the differences in health anxiety and health behavior according to the variables (gender, occupation, and age). To achieve the objectives of the research, a scale was designed to measure the health anxiety in addition to the adoption of the health behavior scale prepared by (Renner & Schwarzer, 2005). The two scales were applied to a sample of (277) academics and (206) employees, while the number of students was (667). The sample was chosen by electronic application from a number of colleges at Al-Jadiriyah Complex. Afte
... Show MoreBackground: The American Joint committee on Cancer in their 8th edition staging manual regarded perineural invasion as one of the most important prognostic factors for Lip and Oral Cavity Squamous Cell Carcinoma, it also incorporated tumor depth of invasion in defining tumor size category in the new staging system. This study was conducted to evaluate the frequency of perineural invasion in oral squamous cell carcinoma and the effect of approaching tumor depth in this process. Materials and Methods: fifty-four formalin fixed paraffin embedded tissue blocks of radical resections of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma were cut and stained with Hematoxylin and Eosin stain, then evaluated for perineural invasion, with estimation of tumor depth of i
... Show MoreBackground: Brush cytology is an accepted technique that gets renewed interest. It is now used as an aid for the diagnosis and observation of possible epithelial changes that could be associated with oral mucosal diseases. This study aimed to evaluate the cytomorphometric changes in gingiva and buccal mucosa of type II diabetics and to assess their relation to oral symptoms and glycemic status. Materials and methods: Cytological Papanicolaou stained smear were prepared from cheek and gingiva of 20 non treated cases, 20 treated diabetics and 20 healthy persons of both sex after measuring their HbA1c and recording their oral symptoms. Hundred unfolded epithelial cells were evaluated qualitatively using MCID software to measure nuclear and cy
... Show MoreBackground: Hormonal changes during pregnancy have been suggested to predispose women to gingivitis. Furthermore, advance periodontal infection in pregnant women may pose a threat to the placenta and uterus and may increase the like hood of preterm delivery. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of salivary interleukin -6 (IL-6) level and periodontal health among preterm postpartum women. Materials and Methods: Salivary samples were taken from 33 preterm postpartum women (study group) and 33 full term postpartum women (control group). The supernatant salivary samples were assayed using atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Plaque, calculus and gingival indices were used for recording the oral hygiene and gingivitis also probing
... Show MoreObjectives: To assess the coping strategies of parents of children with autism and the relationship of
different strategies with their educational level.
Methodology: A descriptive analytical study was carried out from Feb. 14th, 2013 through April, 10th
, 2013 in
several private rehabilitation centers of autism in Baghdad city. A non- probability (purposive) sample of 100
autistic children and 100 of their parents (father or mother) was assessed by a questionnaire which consisted of
two parts; the first part is concerned with the demographic characteristics of the child and demographic
characteristics of the parents; the second part consisted of 50 questions about coping strategies that were
distributed on 8 doma