MUSTANSIRIA DENTAL JOURNAL

The objective of this study aimed to assess the caries-preventive potential of various chopped CO2 laser parameters, and to explore the effect of the laser energy density on the caries inhibition activity.
Roots of extracted human premolar teeth were irradiated with three various energy densities (25.47, 50.93, and 101.86) J/cm2, by changing the number of pulses, the pulse duration, and the spot diameter. The CO2 laser system emitted laser with 10.6m in wavelength. All roots were subjected to carieslike lesion formation by 3.5 pH lactic acid for 21 days. The roots after that were sectioned into ground cross sections and the lesion depths were measured under a polarizing microscope.
Chopped CO2 laser preventive treatments inhibited carieslike lesion progression up to 36%. This effect was improved with decreased total energy density within the limits of the examined laser parameters.

One of the main considerations of the investment materials is there adequacy to expand thermally and by setting expansion to compensate for casting shrinkage, and any investment having zero setting expansion and adequate thermal expansion, by the use chemical additives and water instead of colloidal silica suspension would eliminate all inaccuracies arises from distortion of the wax pattern due to setting expansion.
Thus the aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of two alkaline metals as additives K2SiO3 and Na2SiO3, to enhance the thermal expansion of phosphate – bonded investment without the use of colloidal silica suspension.
Three mixtures (45 samples) were prepared, mixture I of 15 samples contains Na2SiO3, Mixture II of 15 samples contains K2SiO3 in percentages of (0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5) for each three samples of both (mixture I & II), and mixture III of fifteen samples as a control group without additives. The thermal expansion measured by vitreous silica dilatometer from 100 – 950 ºC.
The results showed that the highest mean of thermal expansion was in samples that contain Na2SiO3, and the lowest mean of thermal expansion was in the control group samples.

Aims: The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of the systemic administration of metronidazole and amoxicillin as an adjunct to initial periodontal therapy in patients with moderate to severe chronic periodontitis.
Methods and Materials: This randomized, double blind study, involved 50 adult patients with untreated periodontitis who were randomly assigned to receive either a full-mouth scaling and root planning along with systemic metronidazole and amoxicillin (T group) or scaling and root planning with a placebo (P group). Clinical measurements including probing depth (PD), clinical attachment levels (CAL), Plaque Index (PI), and Bleeding Index (BI) were recorded at baseline and six to eight weeks after therapy. The deepest pocket was selected and samples for microbiological testing were taken. Patients received coded study medications of either 500 mg amoxicillin in combination with 250 mg metronidazole or an identical placebo every eight hours for seven days following scaling and root planning.
Results: There was a significant change in PD , CAL, PI, and BI in the T group compared to the placebo group after therapy. Parallel to the clinical changes, treatment significantly reduced the number of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans (Aa), Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg), and P. intermedia (Pi) compared with baseline in the T group. However, in the P group only the Pi colony count was reduced significantly (P=0.0001). After therapy, there was a significant difference between the T and P groups in the number of patients negative for Aa, Pg, and Pi.
Conclusions: The significant differences between treatment and placebo groups are in line with other studies and support the considerable adjunctive benefits of the combination of amoxicillin and metronidazole in the treatment of chronic periodontitis.

Although the Root Trunk Height (RTH) as a variable in different racial groups was extensively studied, but its relation to the presence and absence of other anatomical abnormalities as Cervical Enamel Projection (CEP) never been tested. On the other hand, data focused on this variable in our community are not available. So the aim of this pilot study is to provide a base line data on this important anatomical variable (RTH) in our community and to calculate its possible correlation to the presence of (CEP). In this study (242) extracted permanent molars (126 maxillary first molar and 116 mandibular first molar) were collected from the dental clinics of Al-Mustansiriya teaching hospital /college of dentistry. RTH for each tooth was measured and presence of CEP was recorded. Results of this research showed that that mean values of RTH of permanent first molars in Iraqis were comparable with that found in other countries. On the other hand, there is a highly significant relation between the RTH and presence of CEP on buccal and mesial aspects of maxillary first molar and buccal aspect of mandibular first molar, while this relation is not significant on distal aspect of maxillary first molar and lingual aspect of mandibular first molar.

Erythromycin is an extensively used group of antibiotic medicines and dentistry. Clinical pharmacology for erythromycin in saliva was not clear until the time of this research. The evaluation was achieved by using suitable method (efficient, low cost, and reproducible). The purpose of this study is the determination of the erythromycin concentration in saliva.
Methods:Ten Subjects were given orally a single dose of 500 mg erythromycin very 6 hours. Samples 0.5 ml saliva was collected into centrifuge tubes at 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, and 24 hrs after dosing. Samples were centrifuged and the superannuated were injected to HPLC using USP-27 method of assays (2).
Results:The results of this study indicated that erythromycin concentration in saliva ranged from 0.11-0.29 μg. / mL. The other pharmacokinetic parameters are: the mean concentration of erythromycin C max 0.27±0.08 μg /ml, AUC 0-∞ 217.25±9.25 μg. h/ml, and Tmax. 7.28 ± 0.14 hr. and T 1/2 8.33±2.68 hr.
Conclusion:There was possibility to detection of erythromycin in saliva The HPLC method provided successful methods for monitoring the erythromycin with a detection limit reach 0.06 ng / ml. The analysis method is sensitive, reproducible, low cost and efficient for low concentration. The detection of erythromycin in saliva represents the distribution of the drug in saliva and indicated the suitability for erythromycin in treatments of dental and oral infections.

Angular cheilitis presents as an area of inflamed and cracked skin at the angles of the mouth. Iron deficiency anemia seems to predispose to angular cheilitis. Thus this study was conducted to find out how many patients with angular cheilitis were having iron deficiency anemia.
Eighty-two patients (45 females and 37 males) between the age of (9-70) years with angular cheilitis were used in this study. Complete blood picture with hemoglobin estimation and blood films were done for each patient.
The highest number of patients with angular cheilitis was in the two age groups (5-14) and (55-64) years. Twenty-nine (35.3%) of patients with angular cheilitis were of iron deficiency anemia. Their hemoglobin values (Hb) were 9.3 ± 0.7 gmdl in females and 10.6 ± 0.6 gmdl in males while for those not anemic patients is 11.8 ± 1.1 gmdl in females and 14.5 ± 0.6 gmdl in males. The Hb values were significantly decreased in those patients with microcytic hypochromic red blood cells (p<0.01) of females and (p<0.05) of males.
The highest number of patients with iron deficiency anemia was in the age group (25-34) years, while in the age group of (65-74) years, patients with angular cheilitis were not affected with iron deficiency anemia.
Only twenty-nine (35.3%) of patients with angular cheilitis were having iron deficiency anemia (microcytic hypochromic anemia). The mean of hemoglobin values (Hb) were 9.3 ± 0.7 gmdl for females and 10.6 ± 0.6 gmdl for males.

The aim was to determine the level of serum, saliva and erythrocyte membrane sialic acid in rheumatoid arthritis patients.
Fifty subjects were incorporated in this study, 25 were rheumatoid arthritis patients with mean age 34.6 ± 7.5 years, the other 25 subjects were healthy control with no signs and symptoms of any systemic disease, the mean age was 33.88 ± 6.0.
Five ml of blood with 5 ml of unstimulated whole saliva was taken from each subject. After centrifugation of both blood and saliva, the supernatant of saliva and serum was isolated and the red blood cells were used to prepare erythrocyte membrane for the determination of sialic acid.
The results revealed that the mean serum sialic acid of rheumatoid arthritis patients was 0.932 ± 0.317, the mean saliva sialic acid was 0.141 ± 0.005 and the mean erythrocyte membrane sialic acid was 0.145 ± 0.035 statistically using t-test the results showed that the mean serum, saliva and erythrocyte membrane sialic acid was significantly higher in rheumatoid arthritis group than that in the control.
Significant correlation has been found between serum and saliva sialic acid in both the control and rheumatoid arthritis patients.
The elevation of sialic acid in serum, saliva and erythrocyte membrane in rheumatoid arthritis patients indicate that sialic acid considered as an important inflammatory marker for determination the activity of the disease.
The significant correlation between serum and saliva sialic acid indicate the importance of saliva to be used in different investigations.

Tetracyclines have been widely used in dentistry, especially in treatment of periodontal diseases and other oral pathological lesions. They are effective in treatment because their concentration in the gingival crevice is 2-10 times that in serum. In addition, several studies have demonstrated that tetracyclines at a low gingival crevicular fluid concentration (2-4 mg/ml) are very effective against many periodontal pathogens. Tetracyclines are an extensively used group of antibiotic medicines. Clinical pharmacology of tetracycline in saliva was not clear until the time of this research achieving on normal subjects or patients required tetracycline treatment. The evaluation was achieved by using suitable method (efficient, low cost, and reproducible). The purpose of this study is the determination of the tetracycline concentration in saliva. The obtained results from HPLC method recorded saliva concentration of tetracycline ranged fom 0.08 to 0.23 μg. / ml. The HPLC method provided successful methods for monitoring the tetracycline in saliva with a detection limit reached to 0.05 ng/ml. Since the saliva is considered as the first line of immune system in the oral cavity, so it is important to suggest further study to know the therapeutic effect of tetracycline through saliva against certain oral lesions.

The effect of food simulants on the bond strength of orthodontic metal brackets bonded to enamel with light cured composite was studied. One hundred twenty extracted human premolars were selected and randomly divided into three equal groups each with 40 teeth, representing the adhesive bonding generation (5th, 6th and 7th). Each group was subdivided in to two subgroups which represented the storage media, which are distilled water (DW) and 75% aqueous ethanol (Food simulating solution-FSS). Then the storage media group was subdivided into two subgroups with 10 teeth each, representing two storage periods (1 day and 30 days).
At the end of the storage period in the immersion media the brackets were debonded by an Instron universal testing machine to measure the shear bond strength.
It was found immersion in the food simulants for 30 days significantly reduces the bond strength of light cured composite brackets.

Nutritional status is one of the most important factor that affect the time of emergence of primary teeth. The aim of this research was to estimate emergence time of primary teeth among well- nourished Iraqi children from Baghdad city. The total sample composed of 2561children, aged 4-48 months, randomly selected from primary health care centers. Weight for age indicator was used for purpose of assessment of nutritional status. The prevalence of malnutrition described by weight for age indicator was found to be 8.4%. Among well nourished children at approximately (8 months +21 days) of age the first tooth emerges and the primary teeth are in full function at 27 months for both gender. Wile among underweight children the first tooth to be emerged at (10 months +21 days). Among well nourished children, the highest time span was found for second molar in maxilla and mandible while among underweighted children the highest time span was found for lateral incisor in maxilla and mandible. In conclusion eruption is a growth process and therefore have a relation with other process of the body especially height and weight

The purpose of this study was to investigate the changes in the load deflection of nickel titanium orthodontic wire after different recycling protocols. A spooled 0.014 inch nickel titanium wire was separated into 7 groups: as received condition (T0,control group),treated in artificial saliva for 4 weeks (T1), treated in artificial saliva and autoclaved (T2), treated in artificial saliva and dry heated (T3), treated in artificial saliva and disinfected by glutaraldehyde (T4), treated in artificial saliva and disinfected by iodophor (T5) and treated in artificial saliva and disinfected by chlorhexidine (T6).The changes in the load deflection were observed by special test apparatus based on 3-point bending mechanism, the findings of the current study showed that there was highly significant difference in mean load deflection of nickel titanium wire between all recycling protocols (P< 0.0001). The recycling by sterilization of the wire by heat autoclave or disinfection by chlorhexidine both seem to be the best recycling protocols because of lowest detrimental effect on the load deflection, while the disinfection by glutaraldehyde or iodophor shows intermediate detrimental effect on the load deflection, and the sterilization by dry heat seems to be the worst recycling protocol because it shows highest detrimental effect on the load deflection value.

This study is carried out to find the dental arch form for patients with Down's syndrome and to compare the lower dental arch parameters of those patients with the corresponding norms, and to gain a correlation between the upper and lower arches for the Down's syndrome patients from previous study. A total sample of 50 patients with Down's syndrome were examined with an age ranged 14-18 years, the lower dental arch parameters were compared with another group, control, on student of an intermediate school matching with the age and Angle's classification (Class I).Study models for the upper and lower arches were constructed, then dental arch measurements were carried out and evaluated. The results show that the lower arch parameters for the patients with Down's syndrome were significantly smaller mean values than the control group for both genders with the males had greater values in inter arch distance and length, with high correlation between the upper and lower jaws .The wide arch form is the dominated arch form while the flat is the least to appear. The conclusion of the study is that the growth pattern of dental arches in Down's syndrome patients proportionally reduced when compared with those of norms, with a symmetrical configuration. Hence all arch forms are presented with different distribution.

Back ground: Poor oral health can have a profound effect on general health and the quality of life, the experience of pain, endurance of dental abscesses, problems with eating, chewing, and missing, discolored or damaged teeth, has a major impact on people’s daily lives and wellbeing. All these problems can be prevented by good personal oral hygiene practices.
Objectives: The aim of this study was to find out the knowledge and practices of oral hygiene methods and assess any association between these methods with the prevalence of dental caries among the students in different colleges in Baghdad
Methods:
-Study design: Cross sectional
-Study period: The study was conducted from September, 1st to December, 31st 2005
-Settings: Different colleges in Baghdad
-Participants: A convenience sample of Four hundred and seventy students, male 236 (50.2%) and female 234 (48.8%).
-Data collection: The data were collected by using a specially prepared questionnaire and oral examination.
Results: 73.6% shows a poor and intermediate knowledge and practices methods of oral hygiene, the prevalence of dental caries reaches 66.4%. The proportion of dental carries among students with excellent score for the knowledge and practice methods of oral hygiene was 15.4 % (4 out of 26) only, while those with poor score showed 97.4% (76 out of 78).
Conclusions: There is a need to enhance the knowledge of oral health and disease among our students, early detection and treatment of dental and oral diseases.

This study was used to find out any correlation exists between the mesiodistal width of maxillary central incisor and the interpupillary distance also to find out if there is any relation between the sexual and racial differences in changing the measurement. The sample consisted of (108) students (53) male and (55) female, the width of 2 maxillary central incisors was measured by using a vamier caliper; the interpupillary distance was measured by using plastic ruler. The results of this study shows a relatively similar ratio between the mean interpupillary distance and the mean mesiodistal width of the central incisor for light colors male and female, dark colors women for both left and right sides. The interpupillary distance could be used reliably in selecting maxillary anterior teeth for prosthodontic.

Background: It is believed that the incidence of impaction is increasing in recent years due to the less functional activity of the Jaws.
Aim of the study: The objective of this study is to know the prevalence of impacted wisdom teeth among Hawler young population Also to know the factors that are associated with the state of impaction.
Material and Method: 1150 young people from college of dentistry were included from February to September 2005, age ranged between 17 -30 years old they were examined using special case sheet.
Results: Out of 1150 people examined (517male .and 633female), (219 male and 285 female) were found to have one or more impacted wisdom teeth (43.82%).
Only 73(32male and 41 female) had one or more congenitally missing third molar. A relation was found between impaction and habit of using chewing gum and singing, statistical relation were existed between impaction and type of food, tempromandibular joint (TMJ) trouble, emotional stress and fatigue.
Conclusion: A strong association was found between impacted wisdom teeth and type of food and habits among Hawler young population.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical pattern of post-extraction wound healing and determination the types, incidence, and pattern of healing complications following non-surgical tooth extraction.
Materials and Methods: this study includes 156 patients, who were come for extractions of teeth. This study was carried out at specialized dental centre of AL-Thawra during the period from the beginning of May to the end of September 2007). For each patient collected information pre-operatively included age and gender of the patient, indications of extraction, and tooth/teeth removed. Extractions were performed under local anesthesia with dental forceps, elevators, or both. Patients were evaluated on the third and seventh postoperative days for alveolus healing assessment
Results: one hundred forty-one patients (141) with 159 extraction teeth were evaluated for alveolus healing. Uncomplicated healing was in 142 (89.3 %), while 17 alveoli (10.7 %) developed healing complications. These complications were: localized osteitis 13 (8.2 %); acutely infected alveolus 3 (1.9 %); and an acutely inflamed alveolus1 (0.6%). Females developed more complications than males (p=0.003). Most complications were found in molars (82.5 %) and premolars (17.5 %). Localized osteitis caused severe pain in all cases, while infected and inflamed alveolus caused mild or no pain.
Conclusions: Most of the post-extraction alveoli healed uneventfully. Apart from alveolar osteitis (AO), post-extraction alveolus healing was also complicated by acutely infected alveoli and acutely inflamed alveoli. This study also demonstrated a painful alveolus is not necessarily a disturbance of post-extraction site wound healing; a thorough clinical examination must, therefore, be made to exclude any of the complications.

This study include (66) case of Basal cell carcinoma (BCC). The age of the patients ranged from (21 – 80) year. The highest percentage of patients was seen related to the age group (61 – 70) year. The total male to female ratio was 1.1:1. The most common histological type was the solid and the most common site of occurrence was the nose. No significant difference was found between site distribution and sex of the patients. The percentage of cases with apparent palisading pattern was (83.1%) and mostly seen related to the solid type. Significant difference was found between peripheral palisading pattern and histological types of BCC. Most cases showed apparent inflammatory reaction, no pigmentation, and involved margin by tumor cells. No significant difference was found between inflammatory reaction, presence of pigmentation, involvement of surgical margins, and histological types of BCC.