Indian Journal of Dental Education

Medicago sativa or alfalfa, correctly called Lucerne, are the plants of the genus Medicago, 
often designated by the generic term "lucernes", are Leguminosae which are widespread on the 
planet in temperate zones and in certain arid regions, either in the wild state or in the cultivated 
state as animal fodder. This herb is rich in minerals such as calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, 
potassium, sodium and antioxidants (vitamin A, B, C, D, E, K). Hence this medicinal herb can 
be used as a potential agent for remineralization of white spot lesions and incipient carious 
lesions.

Introduction: The aim was to evaluate pain intensity and jaw function impairments, after 
using MARPE (Miniscrew Assisted Rapid Palatal Expander) in young adult patients.
Methods: Sixteen subjects (5 males, 11 females) aged from (17-25± 2) years old with maxillary 
transverse skeletal deficiency. They received the MARPE with an activation protocol (2/3 turn 
per day) (0.4-0.6mm).
Self-reported Questions were used for evaluating Pain, pressure, Analgesic Consumption, 
and daily activities during the day before placement, the day after placement of MARPE 
and before activation, and the Fifth day of activation, the Seventh-day of activation and the 
Eleventh day of activation. Descriptive statistics, Mcnemar, Wilcoxon, and Pearson correlation 
were used.
Results: The results showed that the majority of the patients answered at T0 as “No pain”, 
at T1, T2, T3 answered as" Moderate pain", at T4 answered as" Mild pain". There was pressure 
and pain in the upper first molars, pain in the anterior teeth and pressure on the maxilla. 
Speech ability and chewing hard food were affected, but the daily activities weren’t.
Conclusion: Pain intensity after the use of MARPE was mild to moderate on (5, 7, 11)th day 
of activation which corresponded with mid palatal suture opening. Pain and pressure on the 
upper first molars peaked on the 5th day and decreased gradually. Pain from upper incisors 
was higher on the (5, 7)th day and decreased on the 11th day. Pressure on the maxilla was 
higher on the 7th day. The need for analgesic consumption was low. The MARPE Affected both 
speech and chewing hard food without any effect on the ability to work or study.

Females are more susceptible to periodontal diseases because of the influence of sex 
hormones in the body. These sex hormones are believed to be risk factors for periodontitis 
because of their ability to proliferate specific periodontal micro-organisms and affect the host 
immunologic response. The aim of the study was to compare the gingival status of female 
patients at menstrual age and pre-menopausal age. Materials and Methods - The study sample 
comprised of 50 female patients divided into 2 groups. Group A consisted of 25 subjects aged 
20-25 years and Group B consisted of 25 subjects aged 45-50 years. The clinical parameters 
like GI, PI and BIwere recorded for all the patients. Results wereobtained, and 2 groups were 
compared based on collection and the statistical analysis of the data. Statistical analysis of data 
were carried out using mean ± standard deviation (SD), p–value, t–test between two groups; 
For GI, PI and BI there was a highly significant difference between both the groups. It was 
concluded thatpremenopausal women had a greater chance of having gingivitis as compared 
with the menstrual age group.