Swami Devi Dyal Hospital and Dental College

In the present business situation during the COVID-19 pandemic, employee engagement has become one of the utmost prominent primacies for human resource managers and practitioners in organizations due to lockdown. The paper is to determine the engagement of employees by various companies during coronavirus pandemic. Organizations nowadays are constantly developing innovative and effective means to engage the employees during this tough time. This paper is a conceptual paper that is based on various research papers, articles, blogs, online newspapers, and reports of World Health Organization. During this pandemic situation, organizations are evolving many engagement activities like online family engagement practices, virtual learning and development, online team building activities, webinars with industry experts, online conduct weekly alignment sessions, team meet-ups over video conference for lunch, short online game sessions, virtual challenges and competitions, online courses, appreciation sessions, communication exercises, live sessions for new-skill training, online counseling sessions, recognition and acknowledgment session, webinars dealing with anxiety and stress, providing online guidance for exercise and meditation, social interactions in a virtual office, classrooms training modules digitally, e-learning modules, and many more creative learning sessions. Work-from-home regime engagement activities are very fruitful for employees as well as for organizations. Those organizations doing these kinds of engagement activities for their employees are learning new skills and developing themselves. Employees are feeling committed to the organization and stay motivated during this tough time of COVID-19 pandemic.

Recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) is a common clinical condition producing painful ulcerations in oral cavity. The diagnosis of RAS is based on well-defined clinical characteristics but the precise etiology and pathogenesis of RAS remain unclear. The present article provides a detailed review of the current concepts and knowledge of the etiology, pathogenesis, and management of RAS.

The mouth is a mirror of health or disease, a sentinel or early warning system. The oral cavity might well be thought as a window to the body because oral manifestations accompany many systemic diseases. In many instances, oral involvement precedes the appearance of other symptoms or lesions at other locations. Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic mucocutaneous disorder of stratified squamous epithelium of uncertain etiology that affects oral and genital mucous membranes, skin, nails, and scalp. LP is estimated to affect 0.5% to 2.0% of the general population. This disease has most often been reported in middle-aged patients with 30-60 years of age and is more common in females than in males. The disease seems to be mediated by an antigen-specific mechanism, activating cytotoxic T cells, and non-specific mechanisms like mast cell degranulation and matrix metalloproteinase activation. A proper understanding of the pathogenesis, clinical presentation, diagnosis of the disease becomes important for providing the right treatment. This article discusses the prevalence, etiology, clinical features, oral manifestations, diagnosis, complications and treatment of oral LP.

This article reviews the literature on genetic aspects of dental caries and provides a framework for the rapidly changing disease model of caries. The scope is genetic aspects of various dental factors affecting dental caries. The PubMed database was searched for articles with keywords 'caries', 'genetics', 'taste', 'diet' and 'twins'. This was followed by extensive handsearching using reference lists from relevant articles. The post-genomic era will present many opportunities for improvement in oral health care but will also present a multitude of challenges. We can conclude from the literature that genes have a role to play in dental caries; however, both environmental and genetic factors have been implicated in the aetiology of caries. Additional studies will have to be conducted to replicate the findings in a different population. Identification of genetic risk factors will help screen and identify susceptible patients to better understand the contribution of genes in caries aetiopathogenesis. Information derived from these diverse studies will provide new tools to target individuals and/or populations for a more efficient and effective implementation of newer preventive measures and diagnostic and novel therapeutic approaches in the management of this disease.

Different phases of a woman's life: Puberty, menses, pregnancy, and menopause have varied influence on her oral health. During the menopause, women go through biological and endocrine changes, particularly in their sex steroid hormone production, affecting their health. Because the oral mucosa contains estrogen receptors, variations in hormone levels directly affect the oral cavity. A few oral conditions and or diseases are seen more frequently during post menopausal years. Role of hormones affecting the health of oro-dental tissues, as well as treatment by HRT in ameliorating these conditions is not clear. There is paucity of randomized controlled trials in this field and more data is needed, before the recommendations for oral health care in post menopausal women can be made. A gynecologist sitting in menopausal clinic should be aware of oral changes happening during this period, and dental needs of these women and should refer them to the dental specialists accordingly. On the other hand, a dentist should also be sensitized about the menopausal status of the woman, her HRT status and special preventive and treatment needs.

Forensic odontology is the application of dental principles to legal issues. It is an investigative aspect of dentistry that analyzes dental evidence for human identification. Sex determination is a subdivision of forensic odontology, and it is important especially when information relating to the deceased is unavailable. Sex determination becomes the first priority in the process of identification of a person by a forensic investigator in the case of mishaps, chemical and nuclear bomb explosions, natural disasters, crime investigations, and ethnic studies. Determination of sex/gender using skeletal remains presents a great problem to forensic experts, especially when only fragments of body are recovered. Forensic odontologist can assist other experts to determine the sex of the remains using teeth and skull traits. Various features of teeth such as morphology, crown size, and root length are characteristics for male and female sexes. There are also differences in the skull pattern and skull traits of two sexes. These will help forensic odontologists to identify the sex of the remains. The library dissertation contents and several articles and books were electronically searched in Google using the keywords "sex determination," "forensic dentistry," "sex determination in forensic dentistry." The contents were screened between 1950 and 2015 by going through the title and abstracts and full-text reading. The purpose of this article is to familiarize the different methods of sex determination.

Panoramic radiographs and computed tomography (CT) play a paramount role in the accurate diagnosis, treatment planning, and prognostic evaluation of various complex dental pathologies. The advent of cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) has revolutionized the practice of dentistry, and this technique is now considered the gold standard for imaging the oral and maxillofacial area due to its numerous advantages, including reductions in exposure time, radiation dose, and cost in comparison to other imaging modalities. This review highlights the broad use of CBCT in the dentomaxillofacial region, and also focuses on future software advancements that can further optimize CBCT imaging.

Public concerns about incinerator emissions, as well as the creation of federal regulations for medical waste incinerators, are causing many health care facilities to rethink their choices in medical waste treatment. As stated by Health Care Without Harm, non-incineration treatment technologies are a growing and developing field. Most medical waste is incinerated, a practice that is short-lived because of environmental considerations. The burning of solid and regulated medical waste generated by health care creates many problems. Medical waste incinerators emit toxic air pollutants and toxic ash residues that are the major source of dioxins in the environment. International Agency for Research on Cancer, an arm of WHO, acknowledged dioxins cancer causing potential and classified it as human carcinogen. Development of waste management policies, careful waste segregation and training programs, as well as attention to materials purchased, are essential in minimizing the environmental and health impacts of any technology.

Psoriasis is a disease characterized by the presence of papules and plaques over the surface of skin with variable morphology, distribution and severity. The lesions of psoriasis are distinct from these other entities and are classically very well circumscribed, circular, red papules or plaques with a grey or silvery-white, dry scale. In addition, the lesions are typically distributed symmetrically on the scalp, elbows, knees, lumbosacral area, and in the body folds. The oral manifestations of psoriasis may involve the oral mucosa or the tongue. The dorsal surface of the tongue shows characteristic red patches surrounded with a yellow white border. The relationship between eye lesions and psoriasis are the current findings in the literature. The ocular complications along with the several extracutaneous manifestations are common complications seen in psoriasis. The pathogenesis of exact relationship between these two is still controversial. Immunological studies have shown a positive relationship between T helper cells and uveitis. Various signs and symptoms of ocular psoriasis may be overlooked. Thus, a complete understanding of ophthalmic involvement is important to the comprehensive care of patients with psoriasis. Almost any part of the body can be affected in psoriasis, but the ophthalmic complications of psoriasis usually remain clinically subtle. This review highlights the various manifestations of psoriasis with their clinical sign and symptoms.

Intelligent systems (i.e., artificial intelligence), particularly deep learning, are machines able to mimic the cognitive functions of humans to perform tasks of problem-solving and learning. This field deals with computational models that can think and act intelligently, like the human brain, and construct algorithms that can learn from data to make predictions. Artificial intelligence is becoming important in radiology due to its ability to detect abnormalities in radiographic images that are unnoticed by the naked human eye. These systems have reduced radiologists' workload by rapidly recording and presenting data, and thereby monitoring the treatment response with a reduced risk of cognitive bias. Intelligent systems have an important role to play and could be used by dentists as an adjunct to other imaging modalities in making appropriate diagnoses and treatment plans. In the field of maxillofacial radiology, these systems have shown promise for the interpretation of complex images, accurate localization of landmarks, characterization of bone architecture, estimation of oral cancer risk, and the assessment of metastatic lymph nodes, periapical pathologies, and maxillary sinus pathologies. This review discusses the clinical applications and scope of intelligent systems such as machine learning, artificial intelligence, and deep learning programs in maxillofacial imaging.

AIM: The aim of the present study was the evaluation of non-microbial salivary caries activity parameters and salivary biochemical indicators in predicting dental caries. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present study was carried out on 60 children, aged 4-6 years, selected from the schools of Panchkula district, Haryana, on the basis of their caries status. Level of hydration, flow rate, pH, buffering capacity, relative viscosity, calcium, phosphorus and alkaline phosphatase levels in caries-free and caries-active children were evaluated. RESULTS: Results showed that 90% of subjects in the caries-free group and 30% of subjects in the caries-active group had normal level of hydration value of less than 60 s and the difference was found to be statistically very highly significant. Normal flow rate of stimulated saliva was found in 90% of the subjects in caries-free group and 33.3% subjects in the caries active group and difference was found to be statistically very highly significant. Adequate salivary pH was found in 100% subjects in caries-free group and 30% in caries-active group and the difference was statistically very highly significant. CONCLUSION: To conclude, within limitations of this study, it became clear that normal level of hydration and higher values for flow rate, pH, buffering capacity of saliva lead to good oral health and a reduced caries occurrence. Increased salivary viscosity plays a role in increasing caries incidence. Salivary biochemical indicators like calcium, phosphorus and alkaline phosphatase also play their respective role in determining caries susceptibility of an individual. These salivary parameters can be used as diagnostic tool for caries risk assessment.

Primary care services provide an entry point into the health system which directly impact's people well-being and their use of other health care resources. Patient safety has been recognised as an issue of global importance for the past 10 years. Unsafe primary and ambulatory care results in greater morbidity, higher healthcare usage and economic costs. According to data from World Health Organization (WHO), the risk of a patient dying from preventable medical accident while receiving health care is 1 in 300, which is much higher than risk of dying while travelling in an airplane. Unsafe medication practices and inaccurate and delayed diagnosis are the most common causes of patient harm which affects millions of patients globally. However, majority of the work has been focussed on hospital care and there is very less understanding of what can be done to improve patient safety in primary care. Provision of safe primary care is priority as every day millions of people use primary care services across the world. The present paper focuses on various aspects of patient safety, especially in the primary care settings and also provides some potential solutions in order to reduce patient harm as much as possible. Some important challenges regarding patient safety in India are also highlighted.

Fingerprints have been the gold standard for personal identification within the forensic community for more than one hundred years. Fingerprints and finger marks combine to provide the most powerful means of personal identification available to police and courts. The basic patterns of fingerprints are loops, whorls and arches that can be found in fingerprints. The standard methodology used by fingerprint experts to conduct friction ridge examinations is called ACE-V, for analysis, comparison, evaluation, and verification, which are the four fundamental phases utilized in this process. The recovered prints can be manually compared with known antemortem records or searched through an automated fingerprint system (AFIS) in order to verify or establish identity.

Dental plaque is a complex microbial population of bacterial and salivary polymers present on the tooth surface. It is understood that human diseases must be avoided and a high social concern for the population as a whole. The argument for the implementation of successful prevention measures is strong for life-threatening diseases or those with serious morbidity. However, regardless of seriousness, the case for avoiding any disease may be based on the belief that it is easier to be healthy than dead or sick. Thus plaque prevention is an efficient way to both treat and avoid periodontal diseases, it is an important component of gingival and periodontal diseases' primary management.

The world population is aging, and cancer is always considered to be one of the major causes of death all over the globe. The advent of recent drug-targeted therapies undoubtedly is going to reduce the incidence of cancer over the coming years. However, the frequency of occurrence of such chronic diseases like cancer would continue to increase. Therefore, the search for a safer and cost-effective treatment is urgently needed. Phytochemicals found in plants, foods, vegetables, tea, etc. have emerged as proven therapeutic compounds modulating signaling pathways involved in cancer. We carried out a structured search of bibliographic databases for peer-reviewed research literature using the keywords: cancer chemoprevention, flavonoids, dietary polyphenols, terpenoids, bioactive, microbiota. Quality of the retrieved papers and characteristic outcomes of the articles included in the study was assessed by employing standard tools and deductive qualitative content analysis methodology. The development of personalized supplements comprising particular phytochemicals has been the key, especially dealing with chronic inflammatory disorders like cancer. Better understanding at the molecular level explains the influence of phytochemicals on human health, which has been extensively covered through this review. Moreover, the wide collection of dietary polyphenols that has significant properties in reference to human health has been highlighted. Furthermore, the etiology of end products of such phytochemicals, especially on the modulation of gut microbiota and the host-microbial interactions thereof, need to be properly understood. The present study summarizes the chemoprevention and treatment of cancer using the bioactive components, including flavonoids, dietary polyphenols, and terpenoids. Likewise, the effect of dietary polyphenols on the human gut microbiota has been realized more recently. However, more research is needed in this field, especially focused on the communications, interlinks between the gut microbiota and polyphenols with the precise mechanism of action.

BACKGROUND: Oro-facial clefts are a major public health problem. Children with clefts rarely escape dental complications. AIMS: This study was to determine differences in the dental caries experience, gingival health, and prevalence malocclusion, enamel defects and oral mucosal lesions among 4-6 year old children with and without cleft in Panchkula. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The sampling frame consisted of 4-6 year old children with clefts visiting Swami Devi Dyal Hospital and Dental College, Panchkula, India. As a control group an age (±3 months) and gender-matched sample from the same geographical areas were recruited. Dental caries status, gingival health status, developmental defect of enamel, malocclusion and oral mucosal health were assessed and compared between the two groups. RESULTS: Significant differences in dental caries and gingival health status were found between children with and without cleft. Anterior open-bite, increased overjet and oral mucosal lesions (P < 0.05) were more prevalent among children with clefts. Children with and without clefts had similar developmental defects of enamel (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Differences of oral health status exist among 4-6 year old children with and without clefts. Children fare worse in terms of dental caries, gingival health, oral mucosal health and malocclusion.

AIM: To measure the amount of fluoride released and re released after recharging from various restorative materials: Conventional Glass Ionomer Cement (Fuji II), Light Cure Resin Modified GIC (Fuji II LC), Giomer (Beautifil II), Compomer (Dyract). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifteen cylindrical specimens were prepared from each material. The specimens were immersed in 20 ml of deionized water. The amount of released fluoride was measured during the 1(st) day, 7(th) day and on the day15 by using specific fluoride electrode and an ion-analyser. After 15 days each material was divided into three Sub Groups of five samples each. Sub Group A served as control, Sub Group B was exposed to 2% NaF solution, Sub Group C to 1000ppm F toothpaste. The amount of fluoride re-released was measured during the 1(st) day, 7(th) day and on the day15 by using specific fluoride electrode and an ion-analyser. The results were statistically analysed using analysis of variance (one-way ANOVA) and Tukey Kramer multiple comparison tests (p≤0.05). RESULTS: Independent of the observation time period of the study the Conventional GIC released the highest amount of fluoride followed by RMGIC, Giomer and Compomer. The initial burst effect was seen with GIC'S but not with Giomer and Compomer. After topical fluoride application fluoride re release was highest in Sub Group B and GIC had a greater recharging ability followed by RMGIC, Giomer and Compomer. The fluoride re release was greatest on 1(st) day followed by rapid return to near exposure levels. CONCLUSION: From the study it was concluded that, the initial Fluoride release was highest from Conventional GIC followed by Resin Modified GIC, Giomer and Compomer. The Fluoride re release was high when recharging with professional regime (2% NaF) as compared to home regime (Toothpaste). Conventional GIC had a greater recharging ability followed by Resin Modified GIC, Giomer and Compomer.

BACKGROUND: Habits formed in childhood dictate lifestyle choices made as adults. These encompass both oral hygiene and dietary habits which in turn affect dental caries status. Children largely acquire these habits from modeling/observing parents and other family members. AIM: The purpose of this study was to assess the caries status of 5-year-olds, and evaluate associations between dental caries and family-related factors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cohort of 400 children were examined for dental caries using the WHO criteria. Parents were interviewed using a self-structured questionnaire to collect data with regard to variables under evaluation. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Collected data was subjected to descriptive analysis using the SPSS 12.0 version. Risk factor association with dental caries was investigated using a stepwise logistic regression analysis with P-values < 0.05 considered significant. RESULTS: Fifty nine percent of children suffered from dental caries. Statistically significant risk indicators for a child having dmft > 0 were: Mother with low basic education (OR = 1.3), higher number of siblings (OR = 1.4), high snacking frequency (OR = 2.0), parental inability to control sugar consumption (OR = 1.0) parental laxness about the child's tooth brushing (OR = 1.5), parents brushing their own teeth less than twice daily (OR= 2.0) and unassisted brushing by the child (OR = 1.8). CONCLUSION: It is thus mandatory to focus on parents' education level, attitudes and family-structure when planning preventive programs for young children.

CONTEXT: Host responses to periodontal disease include the production of different enzymes released by stromal, epithelial or inflammatory cells. Important enzymes associated with cell injury and cell death are aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase (AST, ALT), alkaline phosphatase, acidic phosphatase (ALP, ACP), and gama glutamyl transferase (GGT). Changes in enzymatic activity reflect metabolic changes in the gingiva and periodontium, in the inflammation. AIMS: In this article we examined the activity of AST, ALT, GGT, ALP, and ACP in the saliva from patients with periodontal disease, before and after periodontal treatment (experimental group - 20 gingivitis patients and 20 periodontitis patients), and in the saliva from healthy subjects (control group - 20 samples). SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Periodontal disease was determined based on the clinical parameters (gingival index (GI), probing depth (PD), and clinical attachment loss (CAL)). Patients with periodontal disease were under conventional periodontal treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The stimulated saliva of the patient was collected in a sterile test tube and analyzed using the Automatic Analyzer. RESULTS: The obtained results showed statistically significant increased activity of AST, ALT, GGT, ALP, and ACP in the saliva from patients with periodontal disease, in relation to the control group. A significant reduction in the enzyme levels was seen after conventional periodontal therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Based on these results, it can be assumed that the salivary enzymes (AST, ALT, GGT, ALP, and ACP) can be considered as biochemical markers for evaluating the diagnosis and prognosis of the functional condition of periodontal tissues in disease and health, and in the evaluation of the therapy effects in periodontal disease.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to determine the salivary levels of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and acid phosphatase (ACP) activities in patients with periodontal disease and to evaluate the use of these enzymes as biochemical markers for periodontal tissue damage. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this prospective analytical study, we examined the activities of salivary ALP and ACP in patients with periodontal disease, before and after periodontal treatment. The experimental groups consisted of 20 gingivitis patients and 20 periodontitis patients and the control group had healthy subjects (20 samples). The stimulated saliva of the patient was collected in a sterile test tube and analyzed using Hitachi's Diagnostic Automatic Analyser. Periodontal disease was determined based on clinical parameters such as gingival index, probing depth and clinical attachment loss. Patients with periodontal disease were under conventional periodontal treatment. The statistical analysis applied was Student's t-test. Probabilities less than 0.05 (P < 0.05) were considered significant. RESULTS: The obtained results showed statistically significant increased activities of ALP and ACP in saliva from patients with periodontal disease in relation to control group. A significant reduction in the enzyme levels was seen after conventional periodontal therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Based on these results, salivary ALP and ACP can be considered to be the biomarkers for evaluating periodontal tissue damage.