Introduction: Salivary melatonin is a critical antioxidant that contributes to oral health by mitigating oxidative stress. Psychological stress linked to thumb sucking may disrupt oral homeostasis, leading to conditions such as dental caries and fungal infections. Aim: This study explores the relationships between thumb sucking, salivary melatonin levels, dental caries, and the presence of Candida albicans (CA) in children. Materials and methods: A case-control study was conducted with 60 children aged 4-5 years at the University of Baghdad’s College of Dentistry. Participants were divided into thumb-sucking (n=30) and non-thumb-sucking (n=30) groups. Salivary melatonin levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), dental caries were assessed via the dmfs index, and CA counts were quantified on Sabouraud dextrose agar (SDA). Statistical analyses were performed, including t-tests, ANOVA, and correlation assessments. Results: Thumb-sucking children exhibited significantly lower salivary melatonin levels (28.620±2.278 pg/mL) compared to controls (34.525±2.142 pg/mL; p=0.044). The thumb-sucking group also had higher dmfs scores (15.033±1.449 vs. 8.667±0.899; p=0.000) and greater CA counts (18.900±1.048 vs. 13.583±0.549; p=0.000). Negative correlations were observed between salivary melatonin levels and the severity of dental caries, while positive correlations linked CA with dental caries. Conclusions: Thumb sucking adversely affects pediatric oral health by reducing salivary melatonin, increasing dental caries risk, and promoting fungal overgrowth. Early intervention to curb thumb-sucking behaviors may mitigate these risks and improve oral health outcomes.
African countries are among the countries in the world that suffer from the phenomenon of child recruitment in wars and conflicts. There are many reasons behind it, including the nature of the human formation of children, the societal violence to which they are exposed, lack of access to education, economic hardships, as well as the role of African wars and conflicts and other reasons that compelled children to join armed groups and participate in military operations. The recruitment of children is divided into two types, compulsory and voluntary, and this leads to many humanitarian and security repercussions that are not limited to a specific period of time but extend to subsequent generations, and due to its seriousness, t
... Show MoreBackground: the primary objective for many researches carried out in dental implantology was to reduce the period needed for functional implant loading, simvastatin (cholesterol lowering medication) had many pleiotropic effects, one of which was increasing bone density around titanium implants (1) and subsequently establishing faster osseointegrated dental implants (2,3). This study aims to reduce the period of time needed to establish secondary stability of dental implant measured in ISQ (Implant Stability Quotient) by investigating the effect of orally administered simvastatin on bone. Materials and methods: simvastatin tablets (40mg/day for three months) were administered orally for 11 healthy women aged (40-51) years old who received 1
... Show MoreThe study is concern on determine the type of Candida spp.in leukemia patients that were infected with oral candidiasis as a result to their immune suppression (weekend immune system) due to their submission to radiation and chemotherapy treatment. The result showed that the most common isolates were C. guillermondii 19 which represent 31.66% of cases, then followed by C. itermedia 11 which represent 18.3%, while the less common isolates were for C. zeylamodes 3 which represent 5%.
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in a group of Iraqi obese children attending children welfare teaching hospital
Background: Inhalation therapy has been employed as the mainstay of the treatment in chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma, Patients who taking asthma medication may be at risk of many health problems including oral health .The purpose of this study was to assess the local effect of ICS on oral tissue by measuring Candida albicans count colonies in saliva among12 years old asthmatic children who were collected from AL- Zahra Center Advisory for Allergy and Asthma, and compares them with non asthmatic children of the same age and gender. Material and Methods: The total sample involved sixty children of 12 years old, thirty asthmatic children who received medium dose of ICS/day (200-400 microgram/day) for 2 years and 30 non-asthmatic ch
... Show MoreAbstract Study aim: to assess the influence of care burden for children with leukemia on their mothers` psychosocial status. Methodology: A Descriptive study, conducted at two pediatric hospitals in Baghdad city. A purposive sample of (60) mothers was participated in the study after obtaining their consent form. The instrument of the study was used to assess mothers` psychosocial status in addition to their sociodemographic characteristics. The data was processed and statistically analysed by SPSS program version 23. Result: the result of the study showed mothers have (81%) in self esteem, (77%) in psychosocial distress, (80%) for social interaction, and (76%) for social isolation. There were association between mothers` psychosocial status
... Show MoreBackground: The long term survival of dental implants is evaluated by the amount of crestal bone loss around the implants. Some initial loss of bone around dental implants is generally expected. There is reason to believe that reflecting a mucoperiosteal flap promotes crestal bone loss in the initial phase after an implant has been inserted. The surgical placement of a dental implant fixture is constantly changing and in recent years, there has been some interest in developing techniques that minimize the invasive nature of the procedure, with flapless implant surgery being advocated. The purpose of this study was to compare the radiographic level of the peri- implant bone after implant placement between traditional flapped surgery and f
... Show MorePrison and imprisonment
And their impact on the strengthening of power
In the Qur'anic perspective
Background: Salivary gland neoplasms constitute a group of heterogeneous lesions with complex clinicopathologic characteristics and distinct biological behavior. Numerous studies have suggested geographical variation, therefore the aims of this study were to analyze the characteristics of salivary gland neoplasms in two Iraqi centers and to analyze the postoperative complications that are encountered after surgical treatment of these tumors. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study of the patients who were treated for major and minor epithelial salivary gland tumors was conducted. The analyzed data included; demographic information (age and gender), the site of the tumor, the clinical manifestations, the histological type of the tumo
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