Journal of Nepalese Association of Pediatric Dentistry

Maxillary First Premolar with Three Roots and Three Root Canals: A Case Report

2023-08-15T07:57:30+00:00

Maxillary first premolar is most commonly a bi-rooted tooth, occasionally having three roots. It usually has two canals, but may rarely have three, which can easily be missed, demanding more attention during endodontic intervention. This paper reports this rarity of 3 roots and 3 canals in maxillary first premolar, highlighting the difficulties and special care needed during endodontic treatment. Careful investigation in diagnostic radiograph by professionals along with proper root canal treatment following all the necessary steps in detecting and bringing the possible changes brings about the success of the treatment.

Oral health-related knowledge, practice and their associated factors among mothers in a rural municipality of Eastern Nepal

2023-08-13T18:00:55+00:00

Introduction: Oral Health status in children has been shown to be related with oral health patterns learned through the childhood. The children acquire health behaviors from their mothers.

Objective: This study aims to assess the oral health related knowledge and practice among mothers in a rural municipality of Eastern Nepal and explore the factors associated with these outcomes.

Methods: A randomly selected 268 women either pregnant or having children of less than 6 years of age were interviewed in April- June, 2019 to assess their knowledge and practice regarding oral health. Data was entered using Epidata 3.1. Response on knowledge and practice were presented as frequency and proportion and compared with different maternal variables using inferential statistics.

Results: Mean age of the participating women was 25.9 years (SD 5.3). Three participants were pregnant (primigravida). Majority (96.7%) of respondents reported brushing their teeth at least once a day. Only 9.3% reported using fluoridated toothpaste for their children. Similarly, majority (69.4%) of participants had knowledge about wiping baby’s gums after breastfeeding or after letting child bottle feed. Literacy was found to significantly influence the participants’ brushing frequency, brushing technique, practice of brushing or wiping their child’s teeth and gums.

Conclusions: Oral health related knowledge among mothers and their practice were found to be unsatisfactory across several domains. Further, these outcomes were found to be influenced by several maternal characteristics. Assessing knowledge-practice gap on oral health resulting from maternal characteristics can provide a basis for providing training to women on necessary parenting skills.

Comparative evaluation of sealing ability of Zinc Oxide Eugenol and AH Plus sealers in laterally condensed gutta percha: A dye leakage study

2023-08-13T18:41:42+00:00

Introduction: Airtight sealing of the root canal is the foremost desirable result of any root canal treatment, but getting the perfect filling of the root canal is always problematic, which could be due to multiple reasons. One such majorly reason impacting the obturation is the root canal sealer utilized.

Objective: The present study was done for evaluating microleakage in zinc oxide eugenol cement (ZOE) and epoxy resin-based sealer (AH Plus) root canal sealers using linear dye leakage method.

Methods: This in-vitro study used twenty-two extracted human single canal mandibular premolar teeth comprising 2 groups (11 in each), where sealers used for microleakage evaluation were ZOE cement sealer, and AH Plus. All the samples once cleaned, shaped and obturated were soaked in methylene blue dye for forty-eight hours with two millimeter (mm) exposed apex. The samples were then split into halves and inspected under a stereomicroscope for microleakage. The generated data were statistically analyzed using an independent t-test in SPSS version 11.

Results: All the test samples showed microleakage. However, the mean microleakage measured was considerably higher in the ZOE cement sealer at 6.18mm and 2.95mm for the Epoxy resin-based sealer (AH Plus sealer).

Conclusions: Epoxy resin-based sealer has better performance than ZOE cement sealer with minimal microleakage. Thus, Epoxy resin-based sealer showed a better prognosis and it can be considered to be adapted in clinical practice.

Assessment of Fluoride Level in Drinking Water Sources of Jumla, Nepal

2023-08-15T07:43:12+00:00

Introduction: Dental caries is one of the most prevalent chronic diseases. Though, preventable recent trend shows an increase in the prevalence of dental caries in developing country like Nepal. Optimal level of Fluoride in drinking water has a proven effect of preventing dental caries.

Objective: The objective of this study was to estimate the amount of fluoride in drinking water of Jumla, Nepal.

Methods: This study was an observational cross-sectional study conducted from August to September 2022 during which 78 drinking water samples were collected from different randomly selected wards of one municipality and seven rural municipality of Jumla district using simple random sampling technique. The drinking water sample for fluoride level of different area was analyzed and interpreted using SPADNS colorimetric method which is set as standard by American Public Health Association.

Results: A total of 78 samples were collected from distinctive drinking water sources of randomly selected wards of 7 rural municipality and a municipality. Out of 78 samples collected, only 5 samples (6.41%) had a fluoride concentration of more than 0.5mg/L. The highest fluoride concentration was 1.31mg/L. The overall mean (±SD) fluoride concentration of Jumla district was 0.20(±0.24). The median (Q1-Q3) concentration of fluoride in drinking water of Jumla district was estimated to be 0.11mg/L (0.05-0.29).

Conclusions: This study estimated the fluoride level in drinking water of Jumla district to be below the optimal level and shows the importance of water fluoridation in order to prevent dental caries.

Radiographic correlation of Gonial Angle with Age and Gender among Pediatric Patient visiting a Tertiary Hospital: A Retrospective Study

2023-08-22T13:25:26+00:00

Introduction: The mandible is one of the largest and most rigid bone in the facial skeleton. The mandibular parameters like gonial angle, bigonial width and ramus heights can be used to determine a correlation with an individual’s age and gender. This can be an important legal ramifications and its assessment has a great role in forensic and orthodontic purposes.

Objective: To assess the radiographic correlation of gonial angle with age and gender.

Methods: A total of 325 Orthopantomographs (OPG) were evaluated which included 168 male and 157 female dentate subjects. It was further categorized into three groups: Group I (3-9 years), Group II (10-15 years) and Group III (16-17 years). The gonial angle was measured bilaterally and the data were statistically analyzed.

Results: The mean age of the subjects was 12.24+3.79 yrs. The mean values (in degrees) of right (126.71+5.89) and left gonial angles (129.92+5.86) were higher on females compared to males. However, it was not statistically significant. The mean values of right and left gonial angles were higher on the age group 8-12yrs (126.70+ 6.52 and 128.56+ 5.83) and lowest on the age group 13-17yrs (125.40+ 6.84 and 126.93+7.35) which also showed statistically insignificant in all age groups.

Conclusions: The morphometric analysis of the mandible through radiographic measurements may be useful in estimating an individual’s age and gender when comparing to known population. Gonial angle has been used as an adjunct parameter which has an implications on forensic identifications as well as orthodontic analysis.