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 immunoso

The Effect of Chicken Eggshell Extract on Microhardness of Artificially Induced Dental Erosion in Permanent Teeth (In Vitro Study), Shatha A Abbas*, Alhan A Qasim

Objective: This research aimed to study the relation between maximal bite force (MBF) and maximum mouth opening among 12-year-old school children. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 400 children aged 12 years (194 boys and 206 girls) were examined. The MBF for the right and left side, as well as the anterior region, were evaluated for all children. The MMO was measured using an electronic digital caliper. To analyze the data path analysis method was used. Results: Boys showed a higher MMO of 48.797 ± 6.500 than girls (46.710 ± 5.926 mm). The MMO increased with increasing MBF, with significant differences between females and males. Conclusion: The MMO was higher in boys than in girls. Gender plays a significant ro

Objectives: This study explored knowledge, attitude, and practice of infection control by dental students at College of Dentistry/ University of Baghdad, Iraq. Material and Methods: Three hundred dental students participated in this study. A self administrated questionnaire with 21 close ended questions related to use of personal protective equipments, infection control awareness, vaccination status, percutaneous exposures, and attitude towards treatment of patients with hepatitis B (HBV)/ or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was distributed to dental students. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21. Fisher exact and Chi-square test were used with significance level set to 0.05. Results: The

Background: Water-pipe can be defined as a single or multi stemmed device that used to vaporize and smoke flavored tobacco whose smoke is passed via water vase before inhalation. Water-pipe smokers are at risk of exposure to many toxic chemicals that are not filtered by water, as well as risk of infectious diseases when the mouth piece of the water-pipe is shared. This study was carried out to investigate the effect of water pipe on the oral health. Materials and Methods: Sixty persons were included in this study aged between 22 and 23 years. Forty persons were coffee shop workers for at least five years, half of them were water-pipe smokers (active smokers) and the other weren’t smokers (passive smoker), the last group was the co

Efficacy of Several Forms of Storage Medium on Avulsed Teeth's Enamel Surface Roughness (An in Vitro Study), Rawaa Sadiq Obeid1*, Muna Saleem Khalaf2

Background: A successful endodontic treatment is aimed at the sterilization of the entire pulp space. The use of extracts from Rhamnus prinoides as a novel irrigating material for root canal has not been studied . Hence, the antimicrobial efficacy of the alcoholic extract of Rhamnus prinoides as an irrigation material against E. faecalis was evaluated in comparison with the 2.5% sodium hypochlorite (NaOCL) solution used for root canals of permanent teeth. Methods: A total of 30 single-rooted human permanent teeth were thoroughly cleaned, shaped, and disinfected. Then, each tooth was subjected to a two-week infection with Enterococcus faecalis at 37 °C . Afterward, the samples were divided into three groups (10 teeth per group): 0.9

Silver diamine fluoride (SDF) has shown effectiveness in hardening tooth structure and killing bacteria. Therefore, it can be used to prevent and arrest dental caries. Riva Star (SDF) treatment alone will stop cavities but will not reverse the cavitation. The Silver Modified Atraumatic Procedure, often known as Smart, is the optimum technique for regaining the tooth's structure and function. Glass ionomer was introduced in (1972) as a new material that has become one of the most widely used materials in restorative dentistry. By releasing fluoride ions, this material has a therapeutic impact on the surrounding tooth structure. Microleakage is the ingress of bacteria, its byproducts, toxins, chemicals, oral fluids, and ions between t

Background: An injury to both the primary and permanent teeth and the supporting structures is one of the most common dental problems seen in children. Splinting is usually difficult or impossible to perform in the primary dentition (due to diminutive room size and lack of patient cooperation). Healing must, therefore, occur despite mobility at the fracture line, usually resulting in interposition of connective tissue. In some instances, infection will occur in the coronal pulp. The present study reported a case of trauma to the anterior primary teeth and alveolar bone in a four year old child. The trauma has caused fracture to the crowns and roots of the primary anterior teeth. The following case was managed in a procedure that may prov

Background: A great dental and biomedical interest had been paid to silver nanoparticles because of their antimicrobial activity. Objective: To evaluate the antimicrobial and cytotoxic activity of a newly developed Nano-silver fluoride that was synthesized from moringa oleifera leaf extract against S. mutants.  Material and method: The green synthesis method was used to prepare Nano-silver fluoride from moringa oleifera leaf extract. The minimum inhibitory concentration and the minimum bactericidal concentration were evaluated using brain heart infusion plates, while the cytotoxicity was evaluated by the hemolytic activity. Results: Nano-silver fluoride had a bactericidal and bacteriostatic effect (MIC was 60 ppm and MBC was 120 pp

Background: Successful root canal therapy depends on thorough chemo mechanical debridement of pulpal tissue, dentin debris and infective microorganisms. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the antibacterial effect of silver nanoparticles, sodium hypochlorite and chlorhexidine in reducing the bacterial infection of the root canals. Materials and Methods: The root canals of 55 single-rooted teeth were cleaned, shaped, and sterilized. All the teeth samples were inoculated with Enterococcus faecalis and incubated at 37°C for 2 weeks. Then, the teeth were divided into four groups. Group I (n=15): 100 ppm silver nanoparticles, Group II (n=15): 2.5 sodium hypochlorite, Group III (n=15): 2% chlorhexidine, IV (n=10): Normal saline as a contr

Background: Glass ionomer restorations are widely employed in the field of pediatric dentistry. There is a constant demand for a durable restoration that remains functional until exfoliation. This study aimed to measure and compare the effect of a novel coating material (EQUIA Forte Coat) on the microleakage of glass hybrid restoration (EQUIA Forte HT) in primary teeth. Material and method: Thirty cavitated (class-II) primary molars were allocated randomly into two groups based on the coat application; uncoated (control) and coated group (experimental). Cavities were prepared by the use of a ceramic bur (CeraBur) and restored with EQUIA Forte HT with or without applying a protective coat (EQUIA Forte Coat). Samples went through the therm

Background: An injury to both the primary and permanent teeth and the supporting structures is one of the most common dental problems seen in children. Splinting is usually difficult or impossible to perform in the primary dentition (due to diminutive room size and lack of patient cooperation). Healing must, therefore, occur despite mobility at the fracture line, usually resulting in interposition of connective tissue. In some instances, infection will occur in the coronal pulp. The present study reported a case of trauma to the anterior primary teeth and alveolar bone in a four year old child. The trauma has caused fracture to the crowns and roots of the primary anterior teeth. The following case was managed in a procedure that may

Background: The vertical distance between the upper and lower incisal edge of the central incisors when the mouth is opened as wide as possible is called maximum mouth opening (MMO). Any pathological change in the masticatory system had a direct effect on the maximal mouth opening. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the maximum bite force and the maximum mouth opening among group of children. Materials and methods: Four hundred children of both genders were included in this study, their age ranged from eight to ten years. Anterior and posterior (right, left) bite force were measured using bite force sensor. Maximum mouth opening was evaluated by electronic digital caliper. Data was statistically analyzed

Background: Pain and the usage of local anesthetic agents are still real problem in pediatric dentistry, for these reasons, the use of minimal invasive dentistry (MID) in regard to the patient comfort is important especially for children, anxious and uncooperative patients. Chemomechanical caries removal (CMCR) methods involve the selective removal of the carious dentine hence it avoided the painful removal of the sound dentine and the anxiety resulted due to the vibration of the hand piece which is also decreased thus it appears to be more acceptable and comfortable to the patient. Aims of this study: This study was conducted among group of children to assess and compare the anxiety rating scale (during and after treatment) between the

Objectives. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of nonnutritive sucking habits on the presence of oral Escherichia coli. Methods. One hundred and twenty children aged 3–5 years old were enrolled in the present case-control study, as follows: 60 children with continuous pacifier and thumb sucking habits (study group) and 60 children without any sucking habits (control group). The children in the two groups were matched in terms of age and gender. Information was gathered from the parents concerning their children using a special sheet. Sterile swabs were taken from both groups and cultured on agar plates. Then, they were subjected to further biochemical tests to identify E. coli species. The mean of the E. coli count was determ

Introduction: The major drawback of Silver diamine ϔŽuor‹de was the dark discoloration of the treated carious lesion. Aim: This study was conducted to determine the parental acceptability and perceptions to the discoloration and assess whether the degree of their acceptability could be altered with the position of the discoloured teeth, child attitude and the demographic characteristics of parents. Method: The parents who attended the dental clinic received a questionnaire which formulated with short summery about silver diamine ϔŽuor‹de with photographs (before and after treatment) and containing questions about the demographical data, attitude of the child in the dental clinic and the acceptability of SDF discoloration at different