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.
Enterobius vermicularis infection is considered as one of the important causes of anaemia and malnutrition among children. This topic has recently received an increased amount of attention. The objective of this study is to evaluate the demographical, anthropometrical, nutritional, and haematological status of E. vermicularis infection among children. This study was conducted in Al Diwaniyah province, south of Iraq, for the period of October 2020 to the end of January 2021. The study included 122 children from both genders (males, n= 61, and females, n=61) and their ages ranged between 1 and 14 years. Nutritional status, body mass index (BMI), BMI percentile, and weight- for- age Z score were evaluated for some particip
... Show MoreThe research is concerned with the problems of knowledge purification of kindergarten children by verifying its aims, identifying of knowledge purification among the first level of kindergarten children and the second level of kindergarten children, and the differences between the males and females in the variable of knowledge purification. The research community included the children in the state and private kindergartens in Baghdad governorate, on its two sides, Karkh and Rusafa, for the six districts for the academic year 2022-2023. After making the knowledge purification test according to the scientific steps of test constructions, the test has been presented to a group of experts specialized in the field of kindergarten to ascertain
... Show MoreBackground/Objectives: Nonsurgical periodontal treatment (NSPT) is the gold-standard technique for treating periodontitis. However, an individual’s susceptibility or the inadequate removal of subgingival biofilms could lead to unfavorable responses to NSPT. This study aimed to assess the potential of salivary and microbiological biomarkers in predicting the site-specific and whole-mouth outcomes of NSPT. Methods: A total of 68 periodontitis patients exhibiting 1111 periodontal pockets 4 to 6 mm in depth completed the active phase of periodontal treatment. Clinical periodontal parameters, saliva, and subgingival biofilm samples were collected from each patient at baseline and three months after NSPT. A quantitative PCR assay was us
... Show MoreBackground: 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 MoreBackground: Secretory Immunoglobulin A (SIgA) is a subclass of Immunoglobulin A (IgA), It is an antibody that plays an important role in mucosal immunity. It is the main immunoglobulin found in mucous secretions from mammary glands, tear glands and salivary glands, every pathologic process in the body involves the immune system, and periodontal inflammation is one of them and is not an exception. Material and methods: this study was consisted of 60 healthy male participants of an age ranged between (35-50) years old ; 25 of them with generalized moderate chronic periodontists(Clinical Attachment Loss equal to 3-4mm at ≥ 30% of the sites; 20 participants with plaque induced gingivitis and 15 participants had clinically healthy pe
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The aim of this study was to identify the impact of the Knowledge Management Processes on organizational creativity in the Airlines Companies working in Sudan. The hypotheses formulated as:, there is a positive relationship statistically significant differences between knowledge management processes (diagnosis, the acquisition, storage, distribution and application) and organizational creativity. the measurement of the variables had been adopted from previous studies. The study used a Descriptive approach and and the analytical statistical method to construct the model and SPSS Program for data analysis .Purposive sample procedure had been chosen and structured questionnaire had been developed. Out of 215 q
... 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 Bloodstream infection (BSI) is a life-threatening condition caused by the presence of microorganisms, generally caused by a range of bacteria in the blood. Objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate the possible role of procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) as biomarkers of pediatric BSI. Methodology The study was conducted on 150 blood samples collected from the patient who admitted to Children Welfare Teaching Hospital, Medical City, Baghdad. During the period from November 2020 to March 2021, ninety blood samples from them were positive culture and 60 blood samples were negative culture (control group). The isolates were identified depending on the morphological, microscopic examination, and biochemical tests.
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