N. Harika's research while affiliated with Lenora Institute of Dental Sciences and other places

Background: Palatal rugae pattern is reasonably unique to an individual and remain stable throughout lifetime. It can serve as an important tool in forensic identification particularly when other regular methods of identification become difficult.Aim: To evaluate the palatal rugae pattern between both gender in terms of Number, Shapes and Length on right and left sides among different age groups.Materials and methods: Cross-sectional study comprising of 60 patients which were divided into four groups according to their age. Each of the four groups consisted of 15 participants of whom 30 were males and 30 were females. All the patients meeting the inclusion and exclusion criteria were randomly selected and alginate impressions of the hard palate were taken and casted by dental stone. The data were assessed based on the Thomas and Kotze classification (1983) and the rugae patterns were delineated using sharp graphite pencil under adequate light and were analysed macroscopically.Statistical analysis: The obtained values were analysed using Student’s t- test for evaluation of gender difference in rugae patterns and ANOVA was applied for determination of age groups using SPSS version 20.0 software.Results: Palatal rugae of right side showed higher prevalence and curved rugae in females than in males and the finding is statistically significant. The mean number of rugae showed a slight decreasing trend with increasing age with more curved rugae and size of the palatal rugae is slightly increased up till the middle age group, as growth ceases thereafter.Conclusion: The present study reveals significant gender and age difference in palatal rugae pattern. Thus, palatal rugae appear to possess features of an ideal forensic identification parameters such as uniqueness, postmortem resistance and stability, provided antemortem record exists.

Thermography is a technique of measurement of skin temperature distribution on the body over a given period of time. It is a noncontact, noninvasive method that utilizes the heat from an object to detect, display, and record thermal patterns and temperature across the surface of the object. Over the years, various devices have been used to measure the amount of heat dissipated by the body and most recently thermography has been emerged to detect the oral and maxillofacial pathologies. It is used to detect malignancies of the maxillofacial region such as vitality of teeth, TMJ disorders, chronic orofacial pain, assessing inferior alveolar nerve decit, and detection of herpes labialis. The present article highlights the history, basic principles, types and applications of thermography and its benecial role in detecting the maxillofacial pathologies in dentistry.

Antioxidants are compounds that destroy the free radicals in the body, thereby preventing harmful oxidation-reduction reactions. Free radicals are chemical species possessing an unpaired electron that can be considered fragments of molecules and generally very reactive. They are produced continuously in cells either as accidental by-products of metabolism or deliberately during, phagocytosis. However, excess free radical production originating from endogenous or exogenous sources might play a role in many diseases. Antioxidants are man-made or natural substances that may prevent or delay some types of cell damage. Antioxidants are crucial for maintaining optimum health and well-being. Free radicals have been implicated in numerous oral diseases like leukoplakia, Periodontal diseases, and oral cancer.