Background: The concept of transferring genes to tissues for clinical applications has been discussed for nearly half a century. The exponential increase in our ability to manipulate the genetic material of a cell via recombinant DNA technology has brought this goal closer to realization. The original perception that gene therapy should be considered only for a few major organs as a means of treating life-threatening disorders that are refractory to conventional treatment has changed. There are many non-life-threatening conditions that adversely affect a patient's quality of life, for which there are no effective treatments. The lack of suitable treatment has permitted morbidity to become a rational basis for extending the scope of gene therapy. In the past few years, remarkable progress has been made in the field of gene therapy. While considerable problems remain, thus impeding the routine clinical use of gene transfer, gene therapy will have a pervasive and significant impact on areas that are based on biological science. Aim: The purpose of this review is to examine the progress made in addressing gene transfer strategies for correcting various diseases and problems that are relevant to dental practice.

Dental caries is a complex multifactorial disease of the calcified tissues of the teeth, caused by interaction of various factors including the host, agent, substrate and time as demonstrated by the Keyes circle. Detecting carious lesion at the earliest possible stage of its development is definitely helpful in appropriate treatment planning for the same. The lack of consistency among the contemporary criteria systems for detecting carious lesions limits the comparability of outcomes measured in epidemiological and clinical studies. Therefore, the ICDAS criteria was developed by an international team of caries researchers to integrate several new criteria systems into one standard system for caries detection and assessment. It is a clinical scoring system for use in dental education, clinical practice, research, and epidemiology, and provides a framework to support and enable personalized total caries management for improved long-term health outcomes.

Trauma of the oral and peroral structures are one of the most common and frequent complaints after dental caries with which a child is being referred to a dental clinic. As an emergency, we tend to treat the injuries without understanding or neglecting the cause of trauma. The different possible etiological factors are unnoticed, not revealed or not noted while taking the history of the patient. Sometimes negligence of the etiology by the dentist himself or the accompanying person could influence the prognosis and prevention. Thus, this paper is an effort towards exploring the common yet unnoticed etiological factors of pediatric dental trauma which we tend to knowingly ignore.

The main aim of this study was to assess the oral health status and oral hygiene practices in children with impaired hearing and speech. A total of 76 children in the age group of 5 to 18 years of both sexes were surveyed and information about their oral hygiene practices, previous dental visit and oral health knowledge were obtained through a questionnaire. Around 61% of the children had never visited a dentist, 82.89% and 17.11% of them brushed once and twice daily respectively. More than 90% of them cared about their teeth as much as any other part of the body. 42% of the children had dental caries, and gingivitis was seen in 35% of the children and malocclusion in 19% of them.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine how aware the individuals were of their own profile and to compare the orthodontist's perception of an attractive facial profile with those of laypeople, dental students and orthodontic patients. Materials and methods: The study comprised of a total of 200 subjects divided into four groups of 50 subjects each: Laypeople, first-year dental students, final-year dental students and orthodontic patients. Participants answered a questionnaire regarding facial profile and their expectations from orthodontic treatment. The facial profile photographs of participants were analyzed by two orthodontists separately who matched the individual to the depicted silhouettes. Agreement between participants and orthodontists was evaluated by using the statistic χ² test. Results: Dental students and orthodontic patients were more aware of their facial profile as compared to the laypeople. The four groups were different in their abilities to recognize their own profiles. The difference in profile perception between orthodontists and subjects was statistically significant (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Class I profiles were perceived to be the most attractive by all the groups and profiles with a protrusive mandible were perceived to be the least attractive. Final-year dental students and orthodontic patients were more accurate in identifying their own profile.

In this study, a detailed description of development of a new novel bite force recorder (gnathodynamometer) using solid state components is vividly explained. This state of the art authenticated device can be used to assess the complex function of human bite force, which is the net resultant combination of functional response of various craniomandibular structures consisting of interrelated components, like the muscles of mastication, joints, teeth and the neuromuscular system. The consistency and accuracy of the bite force recorder was reaffirmed by doing a detailed laboratory calibration and clinical testing on 30 adult subjects.

Ubiquitously unhealthy eating and drinking habits and the development of multiple morbidities, including obesity, type-2 diabetes, dental caries and dental erosion have become a major challenge for physicians, dentists and parents. Modernization has provided heaps of option for outdoor eating and sugar-containing drinks. Even the “diet” labeled drinks are considered not free from sugars and enhances calorie input. With the increasing trends of eating unhealthy, sticky and readily available, refined carbohydrate-rich foods and drinks, problems pertaining to body's metabolic activity and oral health have also been significantly recognized. Dentists and pediatricians can play a pivotal role and should emphasize on patients’ education and counseling on the proper nutritional diet and health.

Osteopetrosis is a rare genetic disorder that causes generalized sclerosis of bone due to a defect in bone resorption and remodeling. It is usually manifesting in two basic forms: An autosomal dominant benign form (osteopetrosis tarda) and an autosomal recessive malignant form (osteopetrosis congenita). A third form, the intermediate recessive type, has also been reported. Dental abnormality may be attributed to pathological changes in bone remodeling. Osteomyelitis is well documented as a complication of osteopetrosis and is severe and difficult to treat. This is a case of 8-year-old boy with osteopetrosis presenting with the complaint of swelling of left side of face.

Objective: The purpose of the modified repositioning appliance was to overcome the shortcoming of existing design for repositioning protruded premaxilla in a child with bilateral cleft lip and palate. Methods: The basic principles of design were similar to Latham's appliance but the surgical pinning of premaxillary segment was avoided and instead acrylic splint was prepared. Conclusions: This technique avoids any invasive procedure, is useful to reposition protruded premaxillary segment in bilateral cleft lip and palate cases specifically in child who reports late with deciduous dentition.

A space in the anterior region of the dental arch of a youngster, either due to trauma or a congenitally missing tooth, can not only lead to psychological trauma but also create a functional dilemma for the dentist, as the usual treatment options of implant, removable partial denture and fixed partial denture available for adults, are often inapplicable or inconvenient for an adolescent. In such a situation, a resin-bonded fixed partial denture (RBFPD), such as Maryland Bridge fulfills all the requirements of an ideal interim solution till growth completion is achieved and a more permanent tooth replacement option can be explored.

Dens invaginatus (dens in dente) is a rare malformation with a widely varied morphology. An unusual presentation of a type III dens invaginatus affecting a conical shaped permanent lateral incisor in an 8-year-old female patient is reported. The presence of a pulp stone and a periapical radiolucency further added onto the complexity of the case. The etiology, pathophysiology, association with other dental anomalies as well as the challenges in management of this anomaly are discussed. An extensive literature review is also presented.

One of the most important phases of oral health is the form and function of the oral mechanism. Recently, pediatric dentists are concerned with the obvious esthetic disabilities and the pathologic implications of the malposed teeth. Interceptive and functional orthodontic treatment is playing a major role in these discrepancies. Anchorage is an important consideration in orthodontics, particularly if force is applied entirely to the teeth. For many years, clinicians have searched for a form of anchorage that does not rely on patient cooperation. During the last few decades, a wealth of new information has accumulated to such an extent that the present authors thought it appropriate to let these advances make an impact by suggesting a revised definition and classification of anchorage. This paper also gives a brief insight on evolution of anchorage and its application in pediatric dentistry.

Dentigerous cyst is reported to be one of the most common odontogenic cysts of the jaws.^1,2 The most commonly involved teeth are mandibular third molars, maxillary canines, maxillary third molars and rarely maxillary anteriors.^2,3 This case report is about the management of a dentigerous cyst associated with a mandibular second molar (37) in a 9-year-old girl by a conservative treatment plan of marsupialization of the cyst. A 2-year postsurgical review reveals complete disappearance of the cystic lesion and normal alignment of 37 and 38.

Severe-early childhood caries (S-ECC) is a specific form of rampant decay of primary teeth in infants, characterized by aggressive tooth destruction. This multifactorial disease in young infants is associated with the frequent use of sweetened fluids and fermentable carbohydrates over extended periods, poor oral hygiene as well as high level of mutans streptococci infection. The disease control and restoration of severely decayed primary teeth in children with S-ECC remains a challenge to general as well as pediatric dentists. This article portrays the oral rehabilitation of a five and half-year-old girl presenting with S-ECC with an 18 months follow-up.

Regional odontodysplasia is a nonhereditary, uncommon developmental abnormality of teeth. Females have more predilections for regional odontodysplasia. The enamel, dentin and pulp of teeth are affected and radiographically, teeth are described as “ghost teeth”. Many of these teeth do not erupt and have an increased risk for caries and periapical inflammation. Since the literature on regional odontodysplasia is limited, there is need to discuss this anomaly to have a better approach for the diagnosis and treatment.

Foreign objects in a tooth are often diagnosed accidentally. A detailed case history, clinical and radiographic examinations are necessary to know the exact nature, size, location of the foreign body and the difficulty involved in its retrieval. In the present case, two beads, one radiopaque and one radiolucent were found in the same tooth at different places of 11-year-old girl. Patient did not reveal proper history out of fear. Both the foreign objects were discovered during routine endodontic procedure which were removed following simple clinical procedure causing minimal damage to the internal tooth structure.

Morphological variations like additional roots and root canals in human deciduous dentition are rare. Knowledge of the morphology, variation of root and root canals of deciduous teeth are useful for successful endodontic treatment and exodontia. Presented here is a case report of the supernumerary roots and additional root canals of deciduous mandibular second molar (85) with congenitally bilateral missing of mandibular permanent second premolar (35 and 45) tooth bud.

This clinical report describes the oral rehabilitation of a very young child diagnosed with hypoplastic amelogenesis imperfecta. The specific treatment objectives being adequate patient management, eliminate tooth sensitivity while enhancing esthetics, masticatory function and improved self confidence. The treatment included full mouth rehabilitation with stainless steel crowns on posterior teeth and indirect composite veneers on anterior teeth.