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Introduction. Neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) refers to a newborn neurological, gastrointestinal and/or respiratory disorder if a newborn was exposed to psychoactive substances in the intrauterine period. NAS is difficult to diagnose due to unreliability of the data on addictive substances use during pregnancy, limited possibilities of the prenatal exposure diagnosis and postnatal substance detection, which all lead to diagnostic dilemmas. Objective. The aim of this study was to indicate the problems in patients with early NAS diagnosis in the maternity ward and the importance of clinical presentation used as a guide toward the diagnosis. Methods. This retrospective study included five term eutrophic newborns with high Apgar score, good adaptation in the first day and with clinical presentation of NAS during the second day of life. The clinical presentation was dominated by irritability, increased wakefulness, increased muscle tone, shrilly crying, tremors, problems with accepting food, tachypnea, subfebrility and hyperhidrosis. Finnegan scale was introduced in order to diagnose NAS and apply the therapy. Single-medication therapy of phenobarbitone was applied in four cases and a combination of phenobarbitone and morphine in one case. For toxicological analysis newborns’ urine samples were used. Results. Conditions such as perinatal asphyxia, infection, hunger, polycythemia, hypoglycemia or hypocalcemia were excluded. Finnegan score implied that pharmacological treatment had to be administered. The discrepancy between the NAS anamnesis and toxicological analysis existed. Response to the treatment was positive in all cases. Conclusion. NAS is a multisystemic disorder and should be suspected when it is noticed that children exhibit characteristic signs. However, other pathological conditions have to be excluded. Quantification according to the adopted scales for NAS leads toward appropriate treatment and recovery of the newborns.

Circumscribed palmar or plantar hypokeratosis (CPH) is a rare epidermal malformation, usually asymptomatic, consisting of a well-demarcated erythema with central depression and hyperkeratotic border which divides it from the normal skin. We report a 77-year-old woman with characteristic lesion of circumscribed palmar hypokeratosis on the right palm. Clinically, the lesion simulated porokeratosis of Mibelli, but histologically there was no cornoid lamella, while the characteristic depression of epidermis, with sharp stair in stratum corneum between the normal and involved skin was present. This is the first case of CPH diagnosed in the south-east of Europe. After a 9-year follow-up period and various treatment modalities, we confirmed the resistance of CPH. Since malignant transformation has been documented, a careful follow-up is to be recommended.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to monitor and compare the electrical conductivity during the setting reaction time of conventional and resin modified glass ionomer cements by impendance spectroscopy (IS) method. Methods: Two types of glass ionomer cements were used in this experiments: Fuji IX FAST (GC, Japan) and Fuji II LC (GC, Japan). The disc form cement samples with minimum thickness of 1 mm were prepared according to the manufactures instructions. Electrical conductivity changes during the setting reaction of glass ionomer cements were determined by impendance spectroscopy in the frequency range from 10 Hz to 1000 Hz, at room temperature. The Fuji II LC samples were measured with and without exposing to the curing light. Changes in electrical conductivity were monitored for 12 hours. Results: The light cured Fuji II LC samples showed a rapid electrical conductivity decline at the beginning of the measurement, while the samples that were not lightcured showed a slower decrease. After that, the values of electrical conductivity assumed a constant value which was similar to those obtained with the light cured samples. A small difference in the electrical conductivity measured at 10 Hz and 1000 Hz was observed. The time dependent changes in the electrical conductivity of Fuji IX FAST were also evident. A sudden drop in electrical conductivity at the beginning of the reaction occurred, but somewhat later if compared to the Fuji II LC results. Conclusion: This study reveals a decrease in the electrical conductivity at the begining of the reaction whereas after 15-20 min. the conductivity does not change. Time dependent electrical conductivity changes were conditioned by the degree of settings showing that in Fuji II LC networking occurs rapidly (within 3-5 min), while in Fuji IX FAST this process is three times longer (12-15 min).

The purpose of this paper was to determine the prevalence and impact of various etiological factors on marginal ridge fractures of teeth with amalgam fillings. 50 subjects participated in this research, 172 teeth restored with amalgam were examined out of which 28 premolars and 144 molars of both jaws. Data used in the research was obtained by nonaggressive exploration of oral cavity and by checking dental charts and radiographic charts of patients. Patients were divided in three gendered age groups. Etiological factors used in the research were: the position of teeth in jaws, classification of amalgam fillings according to Black, the duration of fillings, the presence of caries on proximal surfaces not included in restoration and tooth vitality. Also, Angle Class, habits and presence of fixed prosthetic appliances in opposite jaw were taken into consideration. Results for each patient were separately written in the questionnaire. Statistical analysis was carried out by Pearson’ s χ ² ; -test. According to obtained results 51% of teeth with amalgam fillings have a fracture of marginal ridge. Statistically significant factors that influenced the occurrence of fractures of proximal surfaces in this research were classification of amalgam fillings according to Black, the patient’ s age and the existence of caries on proximal surface.

The aim of this paper was to determine certain regularities in caries incidence in children in primary and permanent dentition in respect of clinical and non-clinical variables that can be collected in everyday dental practice. This way it could be easier for the operator to adjust individual preventive therapy of patients. The study was conducted on 301 subjects, aged 3-6 (74 subjects) and 11-14 (227 subjects) inhabitants of Petrinja and Topusko, postwar rural and subrural areas in Central Croatia. Using an oral hygiene questionnaire, habits, diet and use of fluoride were assessed. The clinical finding comprised the dental status, amount of stimulated saliva, oral hygiene index and the presence of orthodontic anomaly. Children showed very high values of the dmf-t/DMF-T (decayed, missing, filled index) (7.7/6.7), dmf-s/DMF-S (16.5/11.8), and significant index of caries (SiC = 10.89). The study confirmed correlation between the OHI (oral hygiene index) and dmf-t/DMF-T and dmf-s/DMF-S index, and the influence of the regularity of dental check-ups and frequency of tooth brushing on OHI. Furthermore, the children that started practicing oral hygiene later, brush their teeth irregularly, and visit dentists only when having pain. It can be concluded that Croatia is still very far from achieving the goals set by WHO concerning oral health improvement.