Introduction: Salivary melatonin is a critical antioxidant that contributes to oral health by mitigating oxidative stress. Psychological stress linked to thumb sucking may disrupt oral homeostasis, leading to conditions such as dental caries and fungal infections. Aim: This study explores the relationships between thumb sucking, salivary melatonin levels, dental caries, and the presence of Candida albicans (CA) in children. Materials and methods: A case-control study was conducted with 60 children aged 4-5 years at the University of Baghdad’s College of Dentistry. Participants were divided into thumb-sucking (n=30) and non-thumb-sucking (n=30) groups. Salivary melatonin levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), dental caries were assessed via the dmfs index, and CA counts were quantified on Sabouraud dextrose agar (SDA). Statistical analyses were performed, including t-tests, ANOVA, and correlation assessments. Results: Thumb-sucking children exhibited significantly lower salivary melatonin levels (28.620±2.278 pg/mL) compared to controls (34.525±2.142 pg/mL; p=0.044). The thumb-sucking group also had higher dmfs scores (15.033±1.449 vs. 8.667±0.899; p=0.000) and greater CA counts (18.900±1.048 vs. 13.583±0.549; p=0.000). Negative correlations were observed between salivary melatonin levels and the severity of dental caries, while positive correlations linked CA with dental caries. Conclusions: Thumb sucking adversely affects pediatric oral health by reducing salivary melatonin, increasing dental caries risk, and promoting fungal overgrowth. Early intervention to curb thumb-sucking behaviors may mitigate these risks and improve oral health outcomes.
Background: There is a pronounced controversy regarding the dental and mental consequences of thumb sucking habit, which is a familiar nonnutritive pattern of sucking. Commonly, this behavior is harmless, yet those who sustain this pattern may have dental alterations and emotional difficulties. Children’s intelligence level influences their capabilities to judge, evaluate and handle priorities and/or problems profoundly and precisely. Thumb sucking habit might be a manner of liberating the psychological tenseness among several children. Objective: The purpose of this study is to assess the prevalence of thumb sucking habit and its relation to the eruption of permanent teeth and IQ among children aged 6-7 years old. Subjects and methods: I
... Show MoreBackground: Asthma is a common chronic disease in children in which the body’s airways swell, preventing the lungs from filling with air, there are many different inflammatory cells involved in asthma which can synthesize and release cytokines which are recognized to be important in chronic inflammation and play a critical role in the inflammatory response. Objectives: to assess the local effect of ICS on oral tissue by measuring Interlukine-12 level and Candida albicans colony in saliva among12 year's old asthmatic children who were collected from AL- Zahra Center Advisory for Allergy and Asthma, and compares them with non-asthmatic children of the same age and gender.Type of the study: Cross –sectional study.Methods: The total samp
... Show MoreBackground: It had been found that passive smoking may have the same harmful effect as tobacco cigarettes smoking. Aims: This study was conducted to determine the effect of passive smoking on salivary glutathione peroxidase and selenium in relation to dental caries severity. Settings and Design: The sample consisted of 120 children aged 5 years old, classified into four groups according to the number of cigarettes smoked by their fathers daily: Passive smoking children of 5-10 cigarettes, those of 10–15 cigarettes daily, those of 15–20 cigarettes daily and non-passive smoking children of no smokers indoor (the control group). The sample was further classified according to dental caries severity into three groups: mild (DMFS values <4
... Show MoreBackground: habit is any purposeless action repeated unconsciously. It is a sign of lack of harmony between the subject and the surrounding environment. Deleterious oral habits such as finger sucking could be one of the etiological factors for altered oro-facial growth development. This study conducted to explore the association between finger sucking habit and malocclusion in deciduous dentition. Materials and method: Totally 40 chronic thumb sucker and 40 controls matching in age and gender were enrolled in the study. A study conducted by verifying different occlusal trait through the intra-oral examination. Thumb sucking habit diagnosed using data gathered from parents. Results: The statistical analysis showed a highly significant dif
... Show MoreBackground: Several pathologies of the oral cavity have been associated with stress. Dental students need to gain assorted proficiencies as theoretical knowledge, clinical proficiencies, and interpersonal dexterity which is accompanied with high level of stress. Uric acid is the major antioxidant in saliva. The aim of this study is to assess the dental caries experience among dental students with different levels of dental environment stress in relation to physicochemical characteristics of whole unstimulated saliva.
Materials and Methods: the total sample is composed of 300 dental students (73 males, 227 female) aged 22-23 years old, from collage of dentistry / university of Baghdad, from the 4t
... Show MoreBackground: There is a clear debate about the role of bad oral habits (thumb-sucking and biting nails) and on oral health and the state of the dental caries, but there is no doubt that continuing these bad habits until advanced ages will lead to deep and difficult problems to solve. Objective: The purpose of study was to evaluate the effect of bad habits, include finger sucking and nail biting on dental caries among children aged from 6 to 10 years old. Subjects and methods: In Al-Hilla city, Iraq, a comparative study was conducted in which (200) primary school students aged between 6 to10 years old were involved. A questionnaire filled out by their parents was used to gather information related to the bad oral habit, and then all the stude
... Show MoreBackground: Birth weight is a powerful predictor of infant growth and survival. Evidence now shows that children born with low birth weight face an increased risk of chronic diseases and have many health problems including oral health. The aims of this study were to assess the salivary flow rate, viscosity, and salivary cortisol among low birth weight kindergarten children aged 5 years old in Hilla centre, in relation to dental caries and compares them with the normal birth weight children of the same age and gender. Materials and methods: The total sample involved 80 children (40 low birth weights and 40 normal birth weights) aged 5 years old. The diagnosis and recording of severity of dental caries was recorded through the application of
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