Technological revolution has maximized access to information and increased popularity in Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation (LASER) use that raised patient expectations for painless and noninvasive procedures. Currently, lasers have created a potentially profitable arena in patient care and well-being, in the field of dentistry and medicine. Introducing lasers into dentistry helped the practitioners to overcome the constraint of conventional procedures. Recently, the foothold of lasers in modern dentistry provided ease, efficiency, specificity, and comfort both to clinicians and patients. This article summarizes evidence-based published studies on several aspects of laser applications, pros and cons, safety measures, and current advancements in dentistry to convey significant information to aid dental practitioners. To acquire related information, database search strategy was implemented using keywords such as “lasers.” A few decades ago, lasers were handled only by specialists or researchers; however, over the years, laser advancements have revealed a paradigm shift in dentistry, promising a concrete future in all aspects of dentistry and postsurgical care.

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Odontogenic fibromas are one of the infrequent neoplasms seen in the oral cavity with a prevalence rate of 0.1%. They are derived from the odontogenic ectomesenchyme with diverse histopathology. Found most commonly in the anterior maxillary region, these lesions have a female predilection. Odontogenic fibromas are treated by enucleation followed by extensive curettage. The cognizance of the unique clinical, radiographic, and histopathological features is very important to conclude a confirmatory diagnosis. This article reviews a case of central odontogenic fibroma which presented in our department and also elucidates the diagnostic criteria of the same.

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Oral ulcers with different presentations and etiologies are common findings in a dental clinical practice. Traumatic ulcerative granuloma with stromal eosinophilia (TUGSE) is a rare, solitary, self-limiting lesion that may persist from weeks to months. Its indurated margins combined with its rapid development and delayed healing are often confused with oral malignancy and are frequently neglected or more concerningly misdiagnosed by clinicians due to limited knowledge and awareness. The cause, although still rather debated, is believed to be trauma. We present a case of TUGSE in a 65-year-old Chinese male who presented with a history of a painful, nonhealing ulcer of 2 months in duration on the labial mucosa. The ulcer clinically mimicked oral squamous cell carcinoma clinically. There was no evidence of lymph node involvement. With the patient's history and excisional biopsy results, the lesion was diagnosed as TUGSE.

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While free flap is the standard of care for bony reconstruction of the mandible, complex oro-mandibular defects after oral cancer ablation require adequate skin and soft-tissue replacement for optimum functional results. We report a case of multifaceted oral cavity resection effectively reconstructed in single stage by the three-way pectoralis major osteomyocutaneous flap. The technical aspects, benefits, deficiencies, and literature review are discussed. In the background of multiple recurrences and comorbidities, this flap is a viable alternative and should be given due reconsideration in oral cancer surgery. This gains more relevance in the context of developing countries.

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The dental profession is perpetually in the search of restorative options that fulfill the criteria of being natural in appearance and at the same time long-lasting. Technological advances in ceramics and adhesive techniques have made it possible to achieve natural esthetic results with conservative intervention for the rehabilitation of anterior teeth. Smiles can be transformed painlessly and conservatively with quick and long-lasting results with the appropriate use of the porcelain laminate veneers. The finished ceramic surface elicits excellent tissue response. In short, the current ceramic veneers are esthetically superior, conservative, and durable. The present article reports on three cases where ceramic veneers have been used for the esthetic correction of anterior teeth.

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Introduction: The present cross-sectional survey study conducted to assess the type of periodontal treatments being done by dental practitioners or specialist other than periodontists and to assess the types and frequency of cases being referred to the Periodontist in the city of Davangere, Karnataka state. Materials and Methods: The proposed study was carried out by asking various dental practitioners other than periodontists to fill a structured questionnaire containing 7 questions focusing on several clinical and nonclinical periodontal scenarios, whether they would treat the patient in the office or refer/consult to a periodontist. A population of 64 was studied which comprised of 31 general dentists, 33 specialists and obtained data were then subjected to analysis. Results: Most of the private practitioners (82.8%, 53/64) carry out nonsurgical periodontal therapy in their clinics. Among the surgical periodontal procedures, gingivectomy and gingivoplasty are the most commonly performed (40.65, 26/64) surgical periodontal therapy. Around 71.9% (46/64) of practitioners refer or consult their periodontists for the surgical periodontal procedures. Flap surgery is the most commonly performed procedure by the periodontist. The frequency of referring or consulting periodontist is more among dental specialists (P = 0.03). Majority of practitioners, i.e., 65.6% (42/64) feel that there are few patients with periodontal disease who get motivated for periodontal treatment whereas 42.2% (27/64) believe that cost-effectiveness of the periodontal treatment is responsible for such referral pattern. Conclusion: It was concluded that our survey study shows that most of the dental practitioners in Davangere city carry out non-surgical periodontal therapy in their clinic and more than half of the dental practitioners refer or consult to their periodontists for surgical periodontal therapy. However, the frequency of referring or consulting the periodontist is low.

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Aim: The aim of the study was to determine the dental treatment needs and the level of dental service utilization among patients with mental disorders (PWMD). Setting: This was a cross-sectional study at a tertiary hospital in Nigeria conducted between March and November 2018. Methodology: The community periodontal index of treatment of needs and the Decayed, Missing and Filled Teeth index were used to determine the dental and periodontal treatment needs. Dental service utilization was determined using a self-reporting assessment questionnaire. All data analyses were carried out using the IBM SPSS^® Statistics version 20 and the statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. Results: A total of 116 PWMD participated in the study with 51.7% being females. The age range was between 19 and 57 years and the mean age was 37.16 (±10.52). Dental treatment need was 40.8%, while 66% needed a range of periodontal interventions and this showed no statistically significant differences in terms of gender (P = 0.67, P = 0.15, respectively). While 32.7% had made previous dental visits, past caries experience, and other factors such as gender were significant predictors for dental visits. Conclusion: There was a high dental and periodontal treatment need among PWMD, yet the dental service utilization was low. More collaborations between oral and mental health specialists are needed to improve dental service utilization and promote holistic health care for PWMD.

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Objective: To compare and evaluate esthetic improvement following resin infiltration, vital bleaching, and diode laser bleaching in mild-to-moderate fluorosis conditions immediately after treatment, 1 month, and 6 months postoperatively. Study Design: Sixteen patients with Central and lateral incisors showing mild-to-moderate fluorosis according to modified Dean's fluorosis index were selected and simple randomization was done to allocate the teeth to resin infiltration group, vital bleaching group, diode laser bleaching group, and control group. Esthetic improvement posttreatment was assessed using digital image analysis using Adobe Photoshop software and color change (ΔE) was calculated. Results: The inferential statistics included Kruskal–Wallis test and Friedman's ANOVA test. Vital bleaching showed the highest esthetic improvement followed by diode laser bleaching, vital bleaching, and control group at all the different time intervals. The results, however, were not statistically significant. Conclusion: All the three treatment measures brought about esthetic enhancement with the vital bleaching group showing slightly better results when compared with other study groups.

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The aim of this systematic review was to assess the burden of dental caries among various tribal populations in India. Relevant studies were included from the period of January 2000 to March 2020. A detailed search strategy was developed for MEDLINE through the use of MeSH terms and was revised for Google Scholar, EBSCO, Cochrane, and TRIP databases. The search generated a total of 1444 articles of which only 14 articles were included in this review. Among the 76 Indian tribes present only, 11 were reported in the review. On the whole, our systematic review showed that there are a high level of heterogeneity and a moderate level of bias in all the studies included. Adequate representation of the tribal population through zone-wise assessment of a particular tribe is recommended in establishing the validity of the results.

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The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID 19) pandemic has stilled the world, due to its highly contagious nature, lack of specific drugs, or vaccine availability. To prevent the nosocomial spread of COVID-19 infections, several countries summoned for closure of dental practice. There is increasing demands of dental public health need in the community. This article highlights on specific guidelines to prevent nosocomial infections and to meet the demands of the public dental health in the midst of the COVID 19 pandemic.

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With the recent spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), human race is observing tough times. COVID-19 is a potentially severe respiratory disease which was first observed in Wuhan, China. Now, this disease is widely spreading in other countries around the world including India. It is claimed to be a zoonosis, which has found its way to humans through bats and pangolins. Despite the global efforts to curb the disease spread, the outbreak remains rising, causing serious widespread public health concerns. This virus features a tendency to be abundantly present within the nasopharyngeal and salivary secretions of the patients suffering from this disease. Therefore, dental health-care professionals, including periodontists and endodontists, are at a higher risk of contracting this disease due to aerosol spread during the procedures. Thus, the aim of this article is to provide a brief overview about the epidemiology, symptoms, and routes of transmission alongside specific recommendations for clinical practice which may help a dental health-care provider for efficiently managing a patient affected by this disease. This review was last updated on February 18, 2021.

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