Dusan Surdilovic

The importance of health education in prevention of oral health in children

UNLABELLED HEALTH EDUCATION: The aim of education is to impart knowledge on the causes of disease and decay of the teeth and periodontium, on the ways and possibilities of disease prevention and adequate treatment; to point out to the necessity of proper nutrition, regular and proper oral hygiene, proper use of fluoride products as well as to the significance of regular check-ups with a dentist. NUTRITION Frequent intake of carbohydrates leads to a higher prevalence of caries. Taking into consideration that it is neither obtainable nor recommendable to completely eliminate glucoses from the nutrition components, it is necessary to advice parents and children to take glucose (if possible) only along with the regular meal when the saliva flow is increased. ORAL HYGIENE In order to establish oral hygiene as an important prophylactic measure influencing successful protection of oral health of the whole population, it is necessary to inform as many people as possible about oral hygiene effectiveness and its necessity in preventing oral and dental diseases; to develop the habits of regular oral hygiene maintenance in the youngest children as well as to refer them to the use of most adequate paraphernalia and agents for performing the daily oral hygiene procedures. FLUORIDE PROPHYLAXIS Undoubtedly, fluoride is currently the most efficient agent for the prevention of dental pathology. The anticaries efficacy of fluoride is a consequence of the cumulative effect of several different mechanisms. They can occur on the dental surface or directly influence the mineral phase in the enamel. Each dental hygiene preventive program must include the content about the use of fluoride as the basic prophylactic measure. It is recommended to be the sum of the combined effect of systemic (endogenic) and local (exogenic) application. CONCLUSION Regarding high prevalence of caries in children, the issue of prophylaxis is of great significance and current interest. In that respect, health education should point out to the significance of proper nutrition, regular oral hygiene and fluoride prophylaxis, all aimed at preventing dental diseases. It is certain that parents must take an active part in these activities both as educators and controllers of the proposed measures.

Presence and role of noncollagenous proteins in dentin: Dentin siaolproten, bone sialoprotein and osteopontin

Dentin, as a specific hard tooth tissue is very rich in organic materials, representing approximately 20% of its weight and 33% of its volume. The basic organic component of dentin is collagen. However, the noncollagenous organic content of dentin has not been sufficiently studied. Dentin and its complex ultrastructure, molecular content and biochemical process, playing the main role in dentinogenesis, still haven’t been fully explained, which presents a real scientific challenge. Protein separation was done with sodium dodecil sulfate poliacrilamid gel electrophoresis (SDS PAGE) technique in which polipeptides are separated by the differences in their molecular masses.Electrophoretic analysis of proteins is very important in basic research of proteins family which are organic constituents of the dentin tissue. Research results revealed significant presence of dentin sialoprotein, bone sialo protein and osteopontin in analized samples of dentin. Dentin sialoptotein (DSP) is one of the specific proteins in dentin, and its produced by secretory activity of mature odontoblasts. It also represents a reliable phenotype marker of odontoblasts. The fact that dentin sialoprotein is specific for dentin and cannot be found in any other tissue implicate sits unique, critical and key-roll in dentinogenesis. Bone sialoprotein (BSP) and osteopontin, revealed in this research, are not specific for dentin. They are produced both by odontoblasts and osteoblasts. Bone sialoprotein may have a function in the initiation of the crystal hydroxiapatite growth in mineralized tissues. Osteopontin and alkaline phosphatase could be the markers of the odontoblast differentiation. Upon analyzing the characteristics of the presented nonspecific proteins, the necessity of their presence during the process of dentinogenesis can be stated as a conclusion to this research.