Cross infection control is an essential part of dentistry and barrier techniques form the core of foundation for infection control. Dentists use gloves as a barrier technique oblivious to the fact that gloves are not impermeable and help in cross infection control. Therefore the purpose of this study was to evaluate the permeability of gloves before and after usage in various dental procedures. The study was a double blind randomized trial consisting of five brands of loves. Out of five brands three brands were sterile surgical in nature and the remaining two were examination type. The gloves were tested for permeability through air-water submersion test for macro defects and erythrosine dye leakage test. A total of five hundred gloves were assessed for permeability spread across five brands. The results showed that out of five hundred gloves, one hundred and three gloves proved to be defective. Forty gloves were found to be defective having macro defects through air-water submersion test and sixty three gloves had micro defects as assessed by erythrosine dye leakage test. The study concluded by evaluating the impermeability status of the five brands of gloves and showed that none of the brands were effective in barrier control providing total protection to the dentist. The five brands of gloves showed varying number of macro and micro defects.

Objectives: The survey was undertaken to assess the awareness of ill-effects of smoking among the smokers, beginning of their habit and their efforts to stop smoking. Materials and methods: 500 smokers were randomly selected among the male patients of Sree Balaji Dental College and Hospital and their views were elicited through a questionnaire, random samples selected by convenient sampling method. Results: In the survey, 41.2% were 25-35 yrs old. A majority of respondents began smoking before 25 yrs of age (83.6%). While 67.2 % were self-employed, friends influenced 77.4% and 45.2% smoke 5-10 cigarettes everyday. About, 88% think smoking can affect other organs, of which 65.2% say lungs are affected. While 35.4% smoke to relieve tension, 35.2% smoke "just like that". And 37% think the ill effect is bad breath. While 54.2% of people cough during smoking, 81.4% know passive smoking is harmful and 92 % don't influence others. 71.8% want to stop smoking of which 30.6% on advice, 28.2% because of awareness. About 60% of samples say television can spread awareness. About 61% has visited a dentist of which 73.1% was advised to stop smoking. Conclusions: Most smokers are aware of the ill effects. Thus the study gives hope that a smoking-free society can be built.

Anganwadi workers are the grass root workers who work in close proximity with the community. They form the first level contact between the community and health care delivery system. They are in a strategic position to deliver health related message and preliminary care to mothers and children. Hence they form potential vehicle for disseminating even oral health related message and knowledge. The aim of the study was to assess knowledge, attitude and practices towards oral health among Anganwadi workers of Belgaum city, Karnataka. 110 Anganwadi workers were interviewed personally using a specially designed pretested close ended questionnaire. Only 18.2% of Anganwadi workers had high knowledge, a majority i.e. 78.2% had a favourable attitude towards oral health. A majority i.e. 98.1% of the workers were maintaining oral hygiene by using tooth brush and paste. A substantial proportion i.e. 20% of the workers were brushing twice daily and 48% of the workers had gone for dental consultation.

Dental caries is one of the most prevalent oral diseases worldwide. Fluoride continues to be the cornerstone of the caries prevention program. This study was done to assess the effect of different levels of fluoride on caries pattern among 6-14 years boys and girls in Tumkur district in Karnataka. Totally, 1460 schoolchildren aged 6-14 years who were permanent residents of that region were interviewed and examined for caries pattern. The results showed that the percentage of children with total carious status was significantly higher in low fluoride areas compared to optimal and high fluoride areas. The percentage of school children with pit and fissure caries pattern were more in high fluoride areas compared to optimal and low fluoride areas in both deciduous and permanent dentition and it was statistically significant

A study was conducted to assess the oral health status and treatment needs of 1293 police recruits/trainees attending 8 Police Training Schools in Karnataka. The data was collected by clinical examination and through a bi-lingual questionnaire using the WHO Basic Oral Health Assessment form (1986). It was observed that the prevalence of dental caries and periodontal disease was relatively high. 74% subjects suffered from dental caries and the prevalence of DT increased with age. While MT was more pronounced in the 48-57 year age group, DT was more commonly seen in the 18-27 year age group. The percentage of subjects affected by D, M & F were 69, 15 and 4% respectively. 91% subjects suffered from some form of periodontal disorder and the severity increased with age. The number of healthy sextants were more in the 18-27 year age group than in other age groups. The frequency of visit to the dentist – once a year, accounted for 33% and rurally located schools recorded 23%. Around 33% cleaned their teeth once a day and the average at the urban schools was higher than at rurally located schools. The association between diet and dental caries & periodontal disease was statistically significant. 71% subjects required restorative care. The high level of untreated dental disease seemed to be due to lack of dental awareness and lack of in-house facilities for oral health care delivery.

Individuals with end stage renal disease (ESRD) requiring dialysis pose significant dental management dilemma and display oral manifestations with specific implications for oral health care. This study was conducted to assess the oral health status and treatment needs of patients on renal dialysis in NU Trust Hospital, Bangalore. A total of 120 patients with a mean age of 49 15.47 years were compared with a control group. The mean DMFT in the dialysis group was 2.4 4.3 compared to 4.5 4.1 of the control group. None of the individuals displayed healthy periodontium. There were no statistically significant differences in PLI and GI among the groups. This study shows that poor oral health in this population should be evaluated and the dialysis team should reinforce daily oral health maintenance.

To assess the oral health status and treatment needs of students of Dr. D Y Patil Public School, Pimpri, Pune, Maharashtra, an oral health survey was conducted. Data collection was done using WHO Oral Health Assessment form (1997). Survey population consisted of 294 students of 5-13 years of both sexes. The Pilot survey was conducted by students of III BDS 2002 - 2003 as a part of their curriculum. Results indicated that 86.73% children had dental caries of primary dentition. 86.39% had untreated caries and 64.62% had dmf 4 or more. Mean number of decayed primary teeth per person was 4.89 and the mean dmf was 5.27. 48.98% of permanent teeth were carious and 48.64% of caries of the permanent dentition were untreated. Assessment of periodontal status showed 36.39% subjects with bleeding and 21.76% with calculus. Enamel opacities were observed in 10.88% children. Malocclusion was recorded in 6.8% children. The percentage of population requiring preventive care, surface fillings and sealants, were 100%, 87.07%, 57.84% respectively.

A double blind two cell stratified parallel group study was conducted on 168 subjects for 24 weeks to investigate the effect of a dentifrice having a formulation of 0.2% triclosan , 1000 ppm fluoride and 0.13 % calcium glycerophosphate in a natural calcium carbonate base in comparison to commercially available toothpastes without actives. At the end of 24 weeks, there was significant reduction in plaque and gingivitis in the test group compared to the control group.