Background: Plaque retention during fixed orthodontic therapy is an important cause of developing enamel demineralization. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of different brackets types on the count of Streptococcus Mutans in orthodontic patients using conventional fluoridated toothpaste. Materials and Methods: Plaque samples were collected from maxillary 1st premolar teeth of twenty right handed patients (using split mouth technique) before bonding, after 48 hrs of bonding using tooth brush only, and after 2 weeks of using fluoridated toothpaste. Stainless steel bracket was bonded on right first premolar while the left one was bonded with sapphire bracket. The calculation of the Streptococcus Mutans count was done usin

Background: 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

Background: The present in-vitro study was undertaken to evaluate and compare fracture resistance of weakened endodontically treated premolars with class II MOD cavities restored with different bulk fill composite restorations (EverX posterior, Alert, Tetric EvoCeram Bulk Fill, and SDR). The type and mode of fracture were also assessed for all the experimental groups. Materials and Method: Forty-eight human adult maxillary premolar teeth were selected for this study. Standardized extensive class II MOD cavities with endodontic treatment were prepared for all teeth, except those that were saved as intact control. The teeth were divided into six groups of eight teeth each (n=8): (Group 1) intact control group, (Group 2) unrestored teeth with

Background: The access cavity is a critical stage in root canal therapy and it may influence the subsequent steps of the treatment. The new minimally invasive endodontic access cavity preparation concept aims to preserve sound tooth structure by conserving as much intact dentine as possible including the pulp chamber's roof, to keep the teeth from fracturing during and after endodontic treatment. While there is great interest in such access opening designs in numerous publications, still there is a lack of scientific evidence to support the application of such modern access cavity designs in clinical practice. This review aims to critically examine the literature on minimal access cavity preparations, explain the effect of minimally inva