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: Type 2 diabetes mellitusand chronic periodontitis hold a close relationship that has been the focus of many researches. Currently there is an appreciation to the role of adipose tissue-derived substances "the adipokines" in immune-inflammatory responses; also, there is an interest in using the simple non-invasive saliva in diagnosing and linking oral and general health problems. The current study aims to determine the periodontal health status in the chronic periodontitis patients with and without poorly or well controlled type 2 diabetes mellitus, measure the salivary levels of two adipokines "leptin and resistin", pH and flow rate and then correlate between these clinical periodontal, biochemical and physical parameters in eac
... Show MoreThe interest in the issue of capital movement as an economic phenomenon has increased because of its effects and effects and its ability to influence the economic balance and the effectiveness of monetary policy. All countries seek to attract capital and benefit from it because of its effects and results such as supporting economic development process and optimal allocation of economic resources. The problem of the financing gap that most countries suffer from, and others, but sometimes the movement of capital creates challenges for monetary policy makers in achieving their goals.
After 2003, the Iraqi economy witnessed an openness and economic liberalization unlike previous years, which
... Show MoreTo find out the impact of maternal risk factors on the outcome of pregnancy in Baghdad city. A descriptive purposive study was carried out on 100 postpartum women who had delivered for 1 hr. to 24 hrs. ago . the study sample was selected from three hospitals in Baghdad city ( Baghdad teaching hospital ,Fatima Al-Zahra'a maternity and pediatric teaching hospital and Al-Yarmook teaching hospital),during the period from 25 Jan. to 25 Feb. 2006. The data were collected through the use of questionnaire format reviewing pregnants' records and personal interview and were analyzed by using descriptive and inferential statistical approaches. The finding revealed that maternal pregnancy complications had weak effects on pregnancy outcome , while mate
... Show MoreBackground: The Initial (primary) stability is one of the factors that play an important role in the success of the dental implants. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the initial stability of dental implant with horizontal plate by using five analytical tests: insertion torque, removal torque, resonance frequency analysis, push-in test and pull-out test. Materials and methods: Two different lengths of dental implants (5mm and 10mm) were tested in this study; each dental implant was 4mm in diameter with a square threads shape of 1mm pitch and 0.5mm depth. The crestal area was 4.2mm diameter contained a right angle margin circumferential ring while the apical area was tapered with two self-tapping grooves. In this study, the initial s
... Show MoreBackground: In human life, malnutrition may adversely affect various aspects of growth at different stages of life. Teeth are particularly sensitive to malnutrition. Malnutrition may affect odontometeric measurement involving arch width and length of primary dentition. The aim of this study is to estimate the effect of nutrition on arch width and length dimension measurements among children aged 5 years old. Material and methods: This study was conducted among malnourished group in comparison to well-nourished group matching with age and gender. The present study included 158 children aged 5 years (78 malnourished and 80 well-nourished). The assessment of nutritional status was done by using three nutritional indicators, namely Height-for-a
... Show Morepaid recent developments in the information and communications technology and the accompanying developments in the global market to pay particular accounting information users to demand more sophistication in terms of corporate financial reporting systems, which led to the emergence of a new type of reporting (financial reporting in real time). where is the information and communications technology mainstay Nations for the development and progress, thanks to the development of technology that have made the transmission of information easily conducted and high speed to all who need it, communication is instantaneous and the flow of information via the internet dramatically exceeded the border temporal and spatial anywhere in the w
... Show More
The current research aims to test the relationship of the impact of sustainable leadership as an independent variable in organizational happiness as a dependent variable, in the departments and divisions of the Tourism Authority, to come up with a set of recommendations that contribute to raising the level of organizational happiness in the authority. And based on the importance of the research topic in the General Authority, and the prominent role that this body plays in society, the researcher adopted the descriptive and analytical approach in carrying out this research, by collecting data from the departments and divisions staff of (160) respondents in an exclusively comprehensive
... Show MoreTo evaluate the shear bond strength and interfacial morphology of sound and caries-affected dentin (CAD) bonded to two resin-modified glass ionomer cements (RMGICs) after 24 hours and two months of storage in simulated body fluid at 37°C.
Sixty-four permanent human mandibular first molars (32 sound and 32 with occlusal caries, following the International Caries Detection and Assessment System) were selected. Each prepared substrate (sound and CAD) was co