Razia Adam

Mass disasters such as terrorism, earthquakes and virus outbreaks challenge any healthcare system. Response teams to disasters typically consist of health professionals, local government, corporations, and community organizations, academics and the scientific community. Dentists or dental hygienists have traditionally only played a role in the identification of victims or in the treatment of facial trauma in disaster response. In South Africa, the response was mainly driven by medical professionals. Collaborative practice supported by inter-professional education may offer a solution to assist countries struggling with access to healthcare and overburdened health systems. In addition, revisiting the dentists' role in prioritising oral health and its relationship with general health and well-being is much needed. This short article provides a perspective on the role of South African dentists' contribution to health during a pandemic.

Oral mucosal lesions can be uncomfortable and can result in a poorer oral health related quality of life. This can be seen especially in edentulous patients who are mostly elderly and have comorbid diseases such as Diabetes Mellitus, which can impair their ability to withstand oral infections. In South Africa, one of the most unequal countries in the world, almost 50% of the population is edentulous and this prevalence increases as age increases. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to determine the prevalence of denture-related stomatitis in subjects who presented to a tertiary institution in Cape Town, South Africa for new complete dentures and to determine the risk indicators associated with it. Three hundred and ninety-six folders of participants who received complete dentures during the period 2014–2019 were included in this study. Categorical data was displayed as frequencies and percentages and a multiple adjusted logistic regression was used to determine associations be...

The risk of secondary bacterial infections resulting from dental procedures has driven the design of antimicrobial and antifouling dental materials to curb pathogenic microbial growth, biofilm formation and subsequent oral and dental diseases. Studies have investigated approaches based primarily on contact-killing or release-killing materials. These materials are designed for addition into dental resins, adhesives and fillings or as immobilized coatings on tooth surfaces, titanium implants and dental prosthetics. This review discusses the recent developments in the different classes of biomaterials for antimicrobial and antifouling dental applications: polymeric drug-releasing materials, polymeric and metallic nanoparticles, polymeric biocides and antimicrobial peptides. With modifications to improve cytotoxicity and mechanical properties, contact-killing and anti-adhesion materials show potential for incorporation into dental materials for long-term clinical use as opposed to short...

To investigate the relationship between complete dentures and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL). Seventy-six patients were conveniently selected from the waiting list for complete dentures. At the first visit (pre-treatment) the patients were interviewed using the Oral Health Impact Profile for Edentulous Patients (OHIP-EDENT). Sixty-three of these patients were interviewed telephonically 2 to 3 months after receiving their new complete dentures (post-treatment). Mean domain scores were significantly lower post-treatment for psychological discomfort and disability, social disability and handicap. This study shows that after the provision of a new set of complete dentures the OHRQoL of patients improved significantly on four of the seven domains for the first 2 to 3 months post-insertion.