Oral Infections and Systemic Health - More than Just Links to Cardiovascular Diseases.

Purpose: During the past 20 years, a plethora of research reports has been published showing a statistical association between poor oral health and cardiovascular diseases. The aim of this narrative review was to focus on associations between oral infections and non-atherosclerosis-related systemic diseases.

Materials And Methods: An open literature search and evaluation of articles were conducted on Medline and Cochrane databases with the key words 'oral infection', 'periodontitis', 'pneumonia', 'osteoarthritis', 'rheumatic diseases', 'inflammatory bowel disease', 'kidney disease', 'liver diseases', 'metabolic syndrome', 'diabetes', 'cancer', 'Alzheimer's disease'.

Difference in the expression of inflammatory mediators in gingival crevicular fluid in postmenopausal patients with chronic periodontitis with and without menopausal hormone therapy.

Objective: Hormonal changes experience by women produce significant changes in the periodontium. The aim of this study is to assess whether menopausal hormone therapy, in patients diagnosed with moderate chronic periodontitis and menopause presents a beneficial effect, in terms of clinical and immunological outcomes.

Study Design: Thirty subjects with moderate chronic periodontitis and menopause were selected and assigned to two groups in accordance to the presence of menopausal hormone therapy.

Impact of abutment material on peri-implant soft tissue color. An in vitro study.

Objectives: The objectives of the present study is to determine the differences in peri-implant soft tissue color with the utilization of titanium, titanium gold-plated, white zirconia, Vita Classical (VC) A4-shaded zirconia, and fluorescent white zirconia abutments and to establish the influence of gingival thickness on the resulting color.

Methods: Four implants were contralaterally inserted in 19 fresh pig mandibles, and the color of the peri-implant mucosa with the different abutments was spectrophotometrically measured at 1-, 2-, and 3-mm height from the margin.

Results: At 1-mm height, titanium significantly differed from all zirconia abutments in lightness (L*), chroma along red axis (a*), and chroma along yellow-blue axis (b*) parameters.

Factors involved in the spectrophotometric measurement of soft tissue: A clinical study of interrater and intrarater reliability.

Statement Of Problem: The reliability of spectrophotometric measurements of gingival color has not been tested.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the repeatability and reproducibility of gingival color measurements with a digital spectrophotometer. Measurement error was estimated by determining the interrater agreement and by repeating measurements in different illumination environments with and without contact of the device with the gingiva.

Immune-mediated diseases: what can be found in the oral cavity?

Immune-mediated diseases frequently affect oral mucosa, which may often be the first site of clinical manifestation. In this review, we describe the most important oral lesions related to inflammatory disorders and present their management and novel therapies. The review is based on an open PubMed literature search from 1980 to 2012 with relevant keywords.

[Diabetes and periodontitis: A bidirectional relationship].

Diabetes mellitus is a group of metabolic diseases characterized by hyperglycemia resulting from defects in insulin secretion, a defect in insulin action or a combination of both. Periodontitis is now considered a chronic localized infection of the oral cavity that can trigger inflammatory host immune responses at local and systemic levels, and can also be a source of bacteremia. It is now known that periodontitis has an influence on the pathogenesis of certain systemic diseases.

[Side effects of drugs on the oral cavity].

Although drugs are the most powerful therapeutic tools we have for improving the quality of life of the population, their use is not free of adverse effects. Today there are many polymedicated patients, and it is difficult to find the cause of their adverse effects that increase exponentially when more than 4 drugs are combined. There are a large number of drugs that can result in numerous adverse effects in the oral cavity.

[Tranexamic acid gel in patients treated with oral anticoagulants].

Background And Objective: Patients treated with oral anticoagulants have increased susceptibility to bleeding, and therefore any surgical medical procedure and especially oral surgery requires a therapeutic approach that minimizes bleeding effects in these patients.

Material And Method: The working hypothesis was based on studies of local application of tranexamic acid after maxillofacial interventions as effective therapeutic alternative for the prevention and control of bleeding. The aim was to assess the effectiveness of the application of a gel solution tranexamic acid after tooth extraction in anticoagulated patients in terms of healing time and degree of healing.

Immunomodulatory drugs: oral and systemic adverse effects.

Objective: The main objectives are to present the different adverse effects of the immunomodulatory drugs that can impair the quality of life of the immunosuppressed patients and study the impact of immunomodulation on oral diseases. Immunomodulatory drugs have changed the treatment protocols of many diseases where immune functions play a central role, such as rheumatic diseases. Their effect on oral health has not been systematically investigated, however.

Evaluation of p53, caspase-3, Bcl-2, and Ki-67 markers in oral squamous cell carcinoma and premalignant epithelium in a sample from Alava Province (Spain).

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine whether alterations in the expression of p53, caspase-3 Bcl-2, and ki-67 appear early in premalignant oral epithelium and show clonal behavior.

Study Design: Samples from 41 tumors with their adjacent non-tumor epithelia were immunohistochemically analyzed using monoclonal antibodies that recognize p53, caspase-3, Bcl-2, and Ki-67 RESULTS: A statistically significant association was found between the expression in tumor and adjacent epithelium of p53, caspase-3, and Bcl-2 but not of k-67. A significant association was observed between the expression of ki-67 and p53 in both localizations.

Periodontal disease and diabetes.

Diabetes is considered to be a genetically and environmentally based chronic metabolic and vascular syndrome caused by a partial or total insulin deficiency with alteration in the metabolism of lipids, carbohydrates and proteins culminating with different manifestations in different organisms. In humans hyperglycemia is the main consequence of defects in the secretion and/or action of insulin, and its deregulation can produce secondary lesions in various organs, especially kidneys, eyes, nerves, blood vessels and immune systems. Periodontal disease is an entity of localized infection that involves tooth-supporting tissues.

A systematic review on the effects of local antimicrobials as adjuncts to subgingival debridement, compared with subgingival debridement alone, in the treatment of chronic periodontitis.

Aims: To update the existing scientific evidence on the efficacy of local antimicrobials as adjuncts to subgingival debridement in the treatment of chronic periodontitis.

Material And Methods: Fifty-six papers were selected, reporting data from 52 different investigations. All the studies reported changes in probing pocket depth (PPD) and clinical attachment level (CAL) and most in plaque index (PlI) and/or bleeding on probing (BOP).

Local and systemic antimicrobial therapy in periodontics.

Context: This review aimed to update the current evidence on the efficacy of the adjunctive use of local and systemic antimicrobials in the treatment of periodontitis and to assess whether it might improve the clinical limitations and shortcomings of standard nonsurgical treatment in the management of periodontitis.

Evidence Acquisition: Relevant randomized clinical trials (RCT) with more than 3 months of follow-up, published from 2010 to 2012 for systemic antimicrobials and from 2008 to 2012 for local antimicrobials, were searched in Medline and critically analyzed. Scientific evidence evaluated in different systematic reviews and reviews presented at European and World Workshops were also included.

Epidemiological study of oral cancer patients in Alava province, Spain.

The authors conducted a retrospective study of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSSC) patients in the province of Alava, Spain, to investigate the various epidemiological factors involved. The study included data on 30 patients referred to the Otolaryngology Department of our hospital. The authors identified epidemiological data, including age, symptoms, localization, tumor size, risk factors, tumor stage, treatment and outcome.

Differences in the expression of five senescence markers in oral cancer, oral leukoplakia and control samples in humans.

Oncogene-induced senescence (OIS) may be a response to oncogenic activation, acting as a natural barrier against carcinogenesis at a premalignant stage. Thus, numerous cells in premalignant lesions enter senescence, but none or few in malignant tumours. This event could be due to the loss of senescence pathway effectors, including p16 (INK4a)-pRb or ARF-p53.

New perspectives on the dynamic behaviour of oral lichen planus.

Lichen planus, a chronic inflammatory disease that affects the skin and mucous membranes, is one of the most frequent dermatological disorders of the oral cavity. The prevalence of oral lichen planus ranges from 0.2% to 4%.

[Clinical manifestations of hematological non-neoplastic diseases in Dentistry].

Systemic disease can cause clinical manifestations in the oral and maxillofacial area, which is important to recognize because it could be the first symptom of an undiagnosed illness. There are different oral signs that could suggest the clinician a blood disorder, such as pallor, petechiae, ecchymosis, ulcerations, gingival hypertrophy or spontaneous gingival bleeding. In addition, blood disorders will determine the dental management of these patients and the protocol for limiting possible complications that may arise due to the treatment itself.

Gingival changes during pregnancy: III. Impact of clinical, microbiological, immunological and socio-demographic factors on gingival inflammation.

Aims: To identify predictor variables involved in exacerbated gingival inflammation associated with pregnancy.

Material And Methods: In this cohort study, 48 pregnant and 28 non-pregnant women without periodontitis were included. The pregnant women were evaluated in the first, second and third trimester and at 3 months postpartum, whilst the non-pregnant women were evaluated twice, with a 6-month interval.

[Relationship between odontogenic infections and infective endocarditis].

Revised guidelines for the prevention of infective endocarditis published by national and international associations in the last years do not support the indiscriminate use of antibiotic prophylaxis for dental procedures. However, some of them still recommend its use in high-risk patients before dental treatments likely to cause bleeding. Given the high prevalence of bacteremia of dental origin due to tooth-brushing, mastication or other daily activities, it appears unlikely that infective endocarditis from oral microorganisms can be completely prevented.

Case report of necrotizing sialometaplasia.

Introduction: Necrotizing sialometaplasia is a rare inflammatory necrotizing reactive process that can involve minor and major salivary glands. Gland tissue ischaemia has been proposed as the aetiology.

Case Report: A 21-year-old woman was referred with a 1-week history of bilateral painful swelling of the palate, with the development of two deep ulcers after the first 3 days.