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.
Abstract
Performance evaluation is of great importance in all countries of the world, because it has a prominent and effective role in determining the efficiency and effectiveness of the optimal use of available resources, which are rare and important in achieving the desired objectives. With the continued growth of public spending and the limited resources, the State seeks to achieve its objectives through its units with minimal expenditure or deficit, rationality and wastefulness in the spending. In many countries, particularly developing countries, reforms are made in the public sector to achieve that goal through the adoption of IPSAS, which is reflected in the developmen
... Show MoreThis study aimed to find out the impact of work-life balance on employee satisfaction in five-star hotels in Amman, Jordan based on a descriptive analytical approach. The questionnaire of the survey was designed and distributed to a sample of participants in order to collect the necessary data for this study and they were analyzed later through the SPSS V22 program. The study population was the hotel sector in Jordan, while the study sample included the five-star hotels in the capital, Amman, and the sampling unit included the employees of the middle and lower levels of management in the five-star hotels in Amman. The study showed a number of results, including the existence of a good level of work-life balance by employees in top manage-me
... Show MoreObjective(s): To assess the adequacy of mediation program on medical attendants practice toward care of kids with diabetic's ketoacidosis. Methodology: A quasi-experimental design that applied at teaching hospitals for pediatric in AL Ramadi city to establish the Effectiveness of Intervention Program on Nurses` Practices about Care of Children with Diabetic Ketoacidosis from 3th of March 2022 till 20 of March 2023. Non-probability (purposive) sample of (50), likewise was alienated into the study (experimental) group. The study group included (50) nurses non-randomly selected from AL-Ramadi Teaching Hospital.
A preliminary study has conducted in AL-Ramadi Teaching Hospital The whole number of nurse
... Show MoreThe research aims to enrich the subject of marketing deception, which is still in the concept stage at the level of the research sample and to allow future researchers to contribute to addressing the concept of marketing deception and linking it with other variables. The research problem is that is there a correlation between marketing deception and organizational reputation in Baghdad assets. What is the reflection of marketing deception on the organizational reputation in the assets of Baghdad? The research is concerned with shedding light on the reputation of the organization in terms of frequency of purchase, place of purchase, brand loyalty, and knowing the impact of marketing deception on these fact
... Show MoreIraq is one of the most important countries in the world that has received its share of terrorist acts by the terrorist organization the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), which has caused instability, especially during the period of ISIS's control of seven Iraqi provinces (2014-2017). This stage has caused a decline in the levels of human and economic development and its inconsistency with the capabilities and needs of the Iraqi population. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the hypothesis that there is a close relationship between the decline in development in Iraq and the brutal practices of ISIS that it committed during his period of control over many Iraqi cities and regions. This study used several method
... Show MoreBackground: Dental implants act as infrastructure for fixed restoration to look like as a natural tooth. Osseointegration is a biological events and considered as a base for success of dental implant. The aim of this study is to evaluate the bond strength between bone and Ti implant coated with mixture of nano hydroxyapatite-chitosan-collagen compared with Ti implants coated with nano hydroxyapatite implanted in rabbit tibia, after different period of implantation time (two and six weeks) by torque removal test. Material and methods: 36 screws of commercially pure titanium; 8mm in length and 3mm diameter , 18 screws coated with mixture of nano hydroxyapatite-chitosan-collagen and18 screws coated with nano hydroxyapatite by dip coating. St
... Show MoreThe first chapter the importance of research and need for education scientists see that the roots of the use of a specimen Wheatley in learning and teaching back to Grayson Wheatley, one of the largest supporters of a modern construction, which lay the groundwork for the specimen stage and the form in which it is. That was attributed to him, often called his name called while some educators based learning strategy on the issue. He sees the learner in this model make him a meaningful understanding of problems during his progress, thereby acting with his colleagues to find solutions to them in small groups. He
Borders Search: Search by students is determined by th
... Show MoreBackground: The present study was conducted to evaluate the effects of different bleaching methods on the shear bond strength of orthodontic Sapphire brackets bonded to human premolars teeth using light cured composite resin and to determine the predominant site of bond failure. Materials and Methods: Thirty freshly extracted human premolars were selected and randomly divided into three groups (10 per group). These groups are: control (unbleached) group, hydrogen peroxide group (HP) 37.5% ; which is the in- office bleaching method group, carbamide peroxide group (CP) 16%; which is the at- home bleaching method group. After bleaching process was performed, all the teeth stored in distilled water in a sealed container at room temperature for
... Show MoreThe role of relaxation program for reducing anxiety of patients in dental clinic