Hiral Parikh

The availability of effective and cheap antibiotics revolutionized the treatment of infectious diseases and reduced the death rate drastically. However, the development of resistance to a range of antibiotics by some important pathogens has raised the possibility of return to the pre-antibiotic "dark-ages". These developments have encouraged researchers in various fields of healthcare to develop alternative antimicrobial approaches. "Probiotics" is a broad term used for a very large number of microorganisms which includes bacterial cell preparations of single or multiple bacteria which when ingested confer health benefits. The basic rationale behind the probiotics was that the human body lives in a heavily contaminated environment associated with millions of bacteria and probiotics can be utilised by replacing pathogenic microorganisms with healthy ones. With increasing understanding that beneficial microbes are required for health, probiotics may become a common therapeutic tool used by health-care practitioners in the in the not-too-distant future.

As the demand for esthetic dental procedures has increased, the dental field has responded with improved techniques and materials to address to this demand. Esthetics has now become an integral part of periodontal treatment plan with Periodontist playing a key role to combat the patient's apprehensions. Optimal periodontal health is the foundation upon which esthetic reconstruction of an individual is based. Periodontal esthetic surgeries can support the efforts of the restorative dentist by providing a healthy dentogingival complex. The scope of periodontal esthetic surgical procedures has been outlined to aid the dental team in the proper diagnosis and multidisciplinary treatment of the esthetic dental case. Thus, Perio-esthetics is a comprehensive approach that improves the appearance of one's smile while preserving long-term dental health

For the prosthetic rehabilitation of patients with missing teeth, Dental implants have now gained popularity as one of the most significant treatment modality. For the success of these root imitating structures, continuous attempts have been made to modify their materials and designs. To establish healthy osseointegration, biomaterials, designs and surface characteristics of implants play a key role. So, modification in these factors will aid in obtaining long-term implant stability. A wide range of materials are available in the market and selection of appropriate implant material is utmost important for accomplishment of successful treatment. Before choosing an implant, the clinicians should consider all the available information on new materials and design aspects of dental implants.

Cigarette smoking represents a major preventable cause of human disease. Smokers have significantly elevated risks of all-cause mortality and developing a variety of pathological conditions. A direct causal relationship between smoking exposure and the prevalence and the severity of periodontal disease has been firmly established. Based on this evidence, dental health professionals should advise patients about tobacco's negative health effects as well as the benefits of quitting tobacco use. Tobacco cessation counseling should be a part of the armamentarium of the dental office.