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Aim: To examine and estimate cytomorphometric changes by using parameters such as cell area (CA), nuclear area (NA), cell diameter (CD), nuclear diameter (ND), and nuclear-cytoplasmic ratio (N/C) in exfoliated buccal mucosal cells in smokers, patients with hypertension, and healthy individuals by using Papanicolaou stain. Materials and Methods: This quantitative analysis was performed on totally 120 individuals who were randomly selected and were divided into four groups. Group 1: 30 healthy individuals free of hypertension and without any smoking habit comprised the control group; Group 2: 30 individuals with smoking habit and without hypertension; Group 3: 30 individuals with smoking habit and with hypertension; and group 4: 30 individuals with hypertension and without smoking habit. Buccal smears were taken and stained by Papanicolaou stain. Image analysis of 50 cells was done at 40x magnification with a digital image capture analysis software system (ProgRes capture pro, version 2.8.8). The obtained parameters were statistically compared among the groups by one-way ANOVA test and Kruskal--Wallis test. Results: Statistically significant increase in NA, ND, and N/C ratio values were found in smokers and smokers with hypertension, and minimal change was observed in patients with hypertension alone when compared with normal mucosa. Conclusion: Smoking habit alone and patients with hypertension along with smoking habit show significant cytomorphometric changes. The combined use of exfoliative cytology and cytomorphometric analysis gives an added advantage in monitoring clinically suspect lesions and early detection of malignancy in high-risk individuals such as smokers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Radiology plays an important role in human age estimation and dental radiography being the most simple, nondestructive technique. Dental age estimation has been widely used to determine the chronological age of adolescents and young adults. Materials and Methods: A total of 510 digital orthopantomograms of 227 females and 283 males aged between 9 and 25 years were taken, and third molar development was evaluated by Demirjian's tooth mineralization stages (statistical analysis using Mann- Whitney U test was performed to compare the differences in the mineralization stages of males and females and between maxilla and mandible). Comparison of male and females with mean stages in maxilla and mandible were done using Mann-Whitney U test. Probabilities of individuals being older than 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24 years were also estimated. Results: Males attained formation Stage H (the apical end of the root canal is completely closed) earlier than females, whereas females attained Stage G earlier than males. Maxillary left molar developed earlier than mandibular left molar in males. 100% probability was seen in Stage H for both maxilla and mandible. Conclusion: The Demirjian method is most reliable for age assessment using third molar mineralization stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oral biofilms are a group of healthy synergistic organisms, that on interplay with the immune system undergo transition and colonize the pathogenic bacteria, leading to various diseases like dental caries, gingivitis, periodontitis and a few systemic conditions. Dental caries being the most common disease of the oral cavity, comprise a heterogeneous group of bacteria that can cause imbalance in the biofilm. Caries prevention has been in research for decades, where antibiotics, chemical biocides and fluoride-antimicrobial approaches have not been adequate for this multifactorial disease. In recent years, the major focus of caries prevention has been shifted to plaque-biofilm modification as an ecological approach that would prevent bacterial colonization. Saliva produces various natural antimicrobial peptides that can regulate biofilm modification. Synthetic production of antimicrobial peptides concentrates on selective elimination and a targeted approach towards cariogenic pathogens, precisely Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans). A search in Medline/PubMed, EBSCO and ScienceDirect databases on C16G2, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) and S. mutans, using MeSH (Medical Subject Heading) terms was performed and papers published until 2020 were included for further evaluation. A total of eight articles written in English with available full texts were selected based on the search strategy. They included four publications on AMPs against S. mutans and another four articles on AMPs in caries prevention. This review focuses on C16G2 antimicrobial peptide and its potential to modify biofilm and inhibit the targeted bacteria causing dental caries., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Tehran University of Medical Sciences.)