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.
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 MoreStress is an inevitable part of life. Stress occurs when stressful events of self, environmental, or social origin affect the individual's resilience and threaten to collapse his psychological and physical systems. The stress represents difficulties and obstacles that may exceed the individual's ability to bear them and deal with them, which causes him stress and causes negative effects on his psychological and physical health. Therefore, the current research aimed to identify the negative effects of psychological stress on the psychological and physical health of the individual through the literature that dealt with this topic. It was among the results of the research that one of the negative effects of stresses on mental health is the
... Show MoreAbstract Objectives: This research seeks to highlight one of the important topics artificial intelligence and its impact on education and media. This issue has received considerable attention from international institutions and organizations in order to keep pace with the world's current progress. The study provided an overview of the concept of artificial intelligence, its definitions, its importance and characteristics and its impact on education in general and on the student and teacher in particular, as well as linking the subject of education to the media because social media that is one of the media has a great impact on the academic community. Methods: This study relied on the analytical descriptive curriculum where one of the curr
... 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%.
Fifty-four Sprague-Dawley albino adult male rats were classified into three main groups each of 18 rats treated for a particular duration (1,2, and 4) weeks respectively. Each group was subdivided into three subgroups each of six rats treated as follows; group (1) serve as normal control, group (2, and 3) intra-peritoneal treated with TiO2NPs (50,200) mg/kg respectively, body *weight of all rats was measured before and after the experiment, then rats were dissected at the end of each experiment and the weights of the thyroid was measured. The result showed a highly significant decrease (p<0.01) in thyroid gland weight, a highly significant increase (p<0.01) in body weights and TSH, while a highly significant decrease (p&
... Show MoreBackground: Gastroesophageal reflux disease, is a quite prevalent gastrointestinal disease, among which gastric content (excluding the air) returns into the oral cavity. Many 0ral manifestations related t0 this disease include tooth wear, dental caries also changes in salivary flow rate and pH. This study was conducted among gastroesophageal reflux disease patients in order to assess tooth wear in relation to salivary flow rate and pH among these patients and the effect of gastroesophageal reflux disease duration on this relation. Materials and methods: One hundred patients participate in this cross-sectional study for both genders and having an age range of 20-40 years old, patients had been endoscopically identified as having gastroeso
... Show MoreObjectives Dental implant is a revolution in dentistry; some shortages are still a focus of research. This study use long duration of radiofrequency (RF)–magnetron sputtering to coat titanium (Ti) implant with hydroxyapatite (HA) to obtain a uniform, strongly adhered in a few micrometers in thickness. Materials and Methods Two types of substrates, discs and root form cylinders were prepared using a grade 1 commercially pure (CP) Ti rod. A RF–magnetron sputtering device was used to coat specimens with HA. Magnetron sputtering was set at 150 W for 22 hours at 100°C under continuous argon gas flow and substrate rotation at 10 rpm. Coat properties were evaluated via field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), scanning electro
... Show MoreBackground: Biologically active substances, such as Cathepsin B (CAB) which is a lysosomalcystein protease may be involved in periodontal metabolism in the degradation of organic bone matrix containing collagen fibers in response to mechanical stress from orthodontic appliance. The aims of study were to determine and compare salivary levels of CAB, pH as well as clinical periodontal parameters (Plaque index PLI and gingival index GI) with different orthodontic force magnitudes at different time intervals. Materials and methods: A twenty-four patients (both gender) with age range (17-23) years had Angle's Class II division 1 malocclusion with GI >0.5 enrolled in this study. The level of salivary CAB and pH, in addition to the clinical period
... Show MoreBackground: Implant stability is a mandatory factor for dental implant (DI) osseointegration and long-term success. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of implant length, diameter, and recipient jaw on the pre- and post-functional loading stability. Materials and methods: This study included 17 healthy patients with an age range of 24-61 years. Twenty-two DI were inserted into healed extraction sockets to replace missing tooth/ teeth in premolar and molar regions in upper and lower jaws. Implant stability was measured for each implant and was recorded as implant stability quotient (ISQ) immediately (ISQ0), and at 8 (ISQ8) and 12 (ISQ12) weeks postoperatively, as well as post-functional loading (ISQPFL). The pattern of implant
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