Karthik Anchala

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the efficacy of Triphala and chlorhexidine mouthwashes in reducing gingivitis and dental plaque in children. Methodology: A literature search was confined to the English language using MeSH terms conferring to PICO format in PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Ovid ^(SP), covering the period from January 1960 to August 2022. A search in Google Scholar and the grey literature and a hand search of references was performed to find additional data. Suitable studies were selected based on the predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Quality analysis of the selected studies was performed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool for Randomized Controlled Trials. Results: Seven hundred and forty-seven articles were retrieved from three databases (PubMed, Cochrane Library, Ovid ^(SP), and other sources). Results: A total of 747 studies were retrieved from electronic databases and hand searches. After removing duplications, 519 were available; among them, 495 irrelevant citations were excluded with inclusion and exclusion criteria. Twenty-four citations were eligible for abstract screening, and fourteen citations were excluded including invitational studies, narrative reviews, animal studies, and studies that involved adults. Finally, studies for full texts were screened for eligibility for the research question, and then only five studies were available upon full-text phase analysis. The five studies involved 1740 children to evaluate the efficacy of Triphala and chlorhexidine mouthwashes in reducing gingivitis and dental plaque in children. Among them, one article showed low risk, three articles showed moderate risk, and one article showed high risk. Conclusion: While Triphala and chlorhexidine both reduce gingivitis, reports indicate that Triphala is less effective than chlorhexidine in improving plaque index scores. Further controlled studies are needed to confirm the effectiveness of Triphala mouthwash in children.

Aim: The provision of prehospital emergency care in develo-ping nations is limited due to resource limitations, such as a shortage of trained first aid staff, resulting in reliance on untrained individuals. To avoid potential consequences following dental trauma due to road traffic accidents, traffic police personnel play an important role for first aid management. Hence, the aim of this study is to investigate the level of knowledge and attitude about emergency management of traumatic dental injuries (TDI) among traffic police personnel during road traffic accidents. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire-based cross-sec-tional study was conducted among 98 traffic police personnel from October 2022 to December 2022. A 15-item self-designed questionnaire was prepared using the standardized focus group discussion method. The survey gathered data on first aid training, and time and management of fractured, displaced, and avulsed teeth, followed by statistical analysis. Results: Of a total score of 15, the mean knowledge score for traffic police personnel was 4.12±1.16. Almost 87.76% of respondents reported an injury during road traffic accidents. Only 27.55% have learned the management of dental injuries in first-aid training. 43.88% said that the fractured part of the tooth is useless, and 88.78% do not have sufficient knowledge to save the completely displaced tooth. 38.78% preferred a cloth piece to pick out knocked-out teeth. Only 34.70% considered milk as the storage medium for the avulsed teeth. Conclusion: This study suggests that there needs to be better knowledge among the traffic police personnel regarding procedures to follow in an emergency related to TDIs, which indicates a high need for further training to improve the knowledge among them.

Anchala K, et al. J Dent Anesth Pain Med. 2024 Jun;24(3):195-204. https://doi.org/10.17245/jdapm.2024.24.3.195

Elicherla NR, et al. J Dent Anesth Pain Med. 2024 Feb;24(1):57-65. https://doi.org/10.17245/jdapm.2024.24.1.57

Purpose Laser acupuncture, a non-invasive variant of acupuncture, has been proven effective in the medical and dental fields. Hence, the present study aims to determine the effect of low-level laser therapy on the LI4 point, using a laser acupuncture pen, in reducing children’s pain during local anesthetic (LA) administration. Methods Children in the age range of 8–12 years, in need of LA administration, were randomly assigned to two groups: Group I: laser acupuncture, Group II: control. For all the children, baseline simplified Modified Child Dental Anxiety Scale-Faces version (MCDAS_(f)) was recorded, followed by laser acupuncture or standard care. Following the conventional protocol, LA was administered. The procedural pain was assessed using the Faces, Legs, Activity, Cry and Consolability scale (FLACC) and Faces Pain Scale-Revised (FPS-R). All the variations in pulse rate were recorded from baseline to the completion of LA administration. After the procedure, simplified MCDAS_(f) was recorded one more time. The data were tabulated and analyzed statistically. Results A significant reduction in anxiety after LA administration, as observed in MCDAS_(f) score, was noticed only in the laser acupuncture group. The pain scores, as reported in FPS-R, were low in children randomized to the laser group compared to the control. The FLACC pain scores also showed low values in the experimental group. Conclusion Based on the study findings, within the limitations, low-level laser therapy using a laser acupuncture pen can reduce the pain perception of children undergoing LA administration and alleviate dental anxiety.