The concept of conventional tooth-retained overdentures is a simple and cost effective treatment than the implant overdentures. When few firm teeth are present in an otherwise compromised dentition, they can be retained and used as abutments for overdenture fabrication. This helps improve the retention and stability of the final prosthesis significantly. Bone is a dynamic tissue. The extraction of teeth results in the initiation of the bone resorption pattern. However, when tensile stress is received by bone, additional bone formation takes place. Such stresses occur when occlusal forces are transmitted to the alveolar bone by the periodontal ligament. This principle helps preserve bone. The concept of overdentures may not be the elixir, but it is a positive means for delaying the process of complete endentulism and helps in the preservation of bone. To top it all, it gives the patient the satisfaction of having prosthesis with his natural teeth still present. In this article, case reports with three different types of Overdentures are discussed: Overdenture with cast copings with short dowels, O-ring attachments, and a customized bar supported overdenture with copings.

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Background: Tobacco is a known carcinogenic substance and a significant risk factor for the development of various oral mucosal lesions. Objective: To evaluate the smoking habits in patients with varying grades of smoker's palate depending on type of smoking, duration, and its frequency of use. Material and methods: Total 50 individuals above 20 years of age with smoking habits were included in study. The duration, frequency of smoking habits (cigratte/beedi) and palatal lesions were noted. The lesions were then classified in to different grades of smokers palate. The data was tabulated and statistically analysed. Results: The present study conducted in South Western region of Maharashtra reveals that in smokers, the type of smoking practiced is mostly cigarette than beedi, the grades increase with increase in duration and frequency too increases with grades. Conclusion: In our study, cigarette smoking was more commonly practiced than beedi. The grades of smoker's palate progress with longer duration of smoking habit and higher frequency. Early detection and screening of smokers are very important to stop the progression of initial mucosal changes to potentially malignant disorders.

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Postoperative swelling following different surgical strategies is an area of great interest. The main part of the literature on the topic deals with swelling after periodontal surgery. In this review, we take into account different surgical strategies used including various flaps, no traumatic osteotomy, and primary or secondary closure. The use of pharmacological therapy and application of an ice pack is critical in the postoperative period and has always provided positive results. However, even if it is difficult to come to definite conclusions, due to the variability of the design of studies analyzed, the postoperative discomfort identified with edema, pain and trismus following wisdom tooth removal is influenced by various factors such as the difficulty of the surgical procedure involved, age and gender of the patient, and experience of the surgeon. The pharmacological therapy when performed with corticosteroids seems to improve control of the postoperative swelling related to this kind of surgeries.

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The Egyptians called Aloe the "plant of immortality" because it can live and even bloom without soil. Aloe vera is well-known for its marvelous medicinal properties. These plants are one of the richest sources of health for human beings coming from nature. It has been grown as an ornamental plant widely. Products of the plant are used in the treatment of various ailments. A. vera is gaining popularity in dentistry as it is completely natural and there are no side effects being reported with its use. This paper gives an overview of the uses of this miracle plant and its uses in dentistry. A. vera has been used in dentistry for its wound-healing effects, gingivitis, plaque control, and curing oral mucosal lesions. A. vera may also reduce the pain and duration of oral ulcers while speeding healing. The dentists should use A. vera at a level high enough to maximize its therapeutic benefit.

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Silver nanoparticles (AgNP) have unique properties which help in molecular diagnostics, in therapies, as well as in devices that are used in several medical procedures. AgNP are nanoparticles of silver which are in the range of 1 and 100 nm in size. The major methods used for AgNP synthesis are the physical and chemical methods. The major applications of AgNP in the medical field include diagnostic applications and therapeutic applications. In most of the therapeutic applications, it is the antimicrobial property that is being majorly explored though the anti-viral property has its fair share of applications. This review provides a comprehensive view on the synthesis and applications of nanoparticles in the medical field. The focus is on exploring their various prospective applications besides trying to understand the current scenario.

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Objectives: To evaluate the knowledge and practices of general medical practitioners (GMPs) in Lagos on screening for oral cancer (OC). Materials and Methods: A 43-item self-administered questionnaires was filled by each GMPs recruited into the study. Analysis was done using the SPSS version 17.5. Descriptive analyses were used and results were presented in percentages, graphs, and tables. Results: One-hundred and twenty GMPs participated in the study, 58.7% were males and 41.3% females; their ages ranged 22-61 years (36.1 ΁ 7.97). While most participants answered correctly that smoked tobacco (96.1%), increasing age >45 years (97%), oral sex (99%), and patient with a previous OC (93.7%) were risk factors for OC; there was misinformation on the nonrisk factors as only 5.5%, 7.9%, and 18.9%, respectively, answered correctly that family history of cancer, dental infections, and poor oral hygiene were not identifiable risk factors associated with OC. Furthermore, although majority of subjects (81.1%) identified the floor and the tongue as the most common sites of OC and leukoplakia (75.6%) as a common precursor of OC; only 29.1% identified correctly that OC had one of the worst morbidity and mortality rates of the most common cancers due to late presentation. Only 0.8% of GMPs had a consistent high score in the indexes. Conclusion: The knowledge and practices of GMPs in the Lagos environment on OC needs a lot of improvement for them to become significant in the screening for the disease entity.

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Conventional complete dentures primarily rely on residual alveolar ridge and mucosa for support and retention. Patients with poor mandibular ridge foundation usually suffer from inadequate denture retention and stability. In such cases, implant-supported overdenture treatment provides improved prosthesis retention and support and thus greatly increasing patient's acceptance toward prosthesis as when compared to conventional dentures. The present case report describes a successful rehabilitation of resorbed mandibular ridge with an overdenture supported by two implants.

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Background and Rationale: The precise fit of prosthesis depends on the impression materials and the technique used. Addition silicone impression materials being the user-friendly material are used in monophase and two-phase techniques. Considering the paucity of data on the effectiveness of intraoral delivery tip (IODT) on void, tear and bubble formation using monophase impression technique in stock tray and two-phase impression technique in custom tray the present study was initiated. Materials and Methods: A total of 50 patients requiring single complete veneer crowns were enrolled. Monophase and two-phase impressions with and without IODT were made. Evaluation of the impression were made for tears, voids, and bubbles and alpha, beta, delta scores were given. Results: A significant reduction in the total number of voids was observed with two-phase technique either with or without IODT. No significant differences were observed in the proportion of overall evaluation into alpha, beta and delta between monophase and two-phase with and without IODT. No significant association was seen in the overall evaluation between the two groups (monophase and two-phase) as compared using Chi-square test for independency and a trend in association between overall evaluation as tested using Chi-square for linear trend analysis. Conclusion: Two-phase impression technique with the use of IODT produced decreased number of voids.

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