Caries-preventive and remineralizing effect of fluoride gel in orthodontic patients after 2 years.

Patients with orthodontic appliances exhibit a higher caries risk, but they are often excluded from preventive studies. Thus, the aim of this observational study was to assess the caries-preventive and remineralizing effect of a high-fluoride gel in orthodontic patients. Two hundred twenty-one orthodontic patients (age, 6-19 years; mean, 13.

Efficacy of semiannual topical fluoride application in schoolchildren.

Objective: Fluoride is the most important factor in the decline of caries in children and adolescents. The aim of this observational study, begun in 2000, was to assess the effect of semiannual topical fluoride application in schoolchildren.

Method And Materials: Due to limited resources, only 334 of all first and second grade schoolchildren (6 to 8 years of age, 0.

Sealing proximal surfaces with polyurethane tape: three-year evaluation.

The purpose of this investigation was to test the safety and clinical effect of a new material for the treatment of proximal caries. In 50 patients with two proximal initial lesions, one of the lesions was randomly chosen and sealed with a thin polyurethane-dimethacrylate foil using bonding. The other lesion received oral home care and was left as the control.

Sealing of proximal surfaces with polyurethane tape: a two-year clinical and radiographic feasibility study.

Purpose: Proximal carious lesions comprise a constant clinical problem. The aim of this investigation was to test the safety and clinical effect of a new treatment for proximal caries.

Materials And Methods: In 50 patients with two proximal initial lesions (D1-3 without cavitation, bitewing radiograph), orthodontic rubber rings were applied to gain access to the interproximal space.

Effect of xylitol and sorbitol on plaque acidogenesis.

Objective: To evaluate the in vivo potential of xylitol to reduce plaque acidogenicity in comparison to sorbitol.

Method And Materials: After completing a questionnaire on general health, smoking, diet, and oral hygiene habits, 61 dentate adults refrained from oral hygiene for 3 days before the clinical baseline examination, which included decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) index, mutans streptococci and lactobacilli counts, and plaque acidogenicity (cH) index after a sucrose rinse. Then the participants were randomly allocated to consume either sorbitol or xylitol lozenges (5 pieces/day, 2 g each) for 4 weeks and were asked to refrain from oral hygiene for the 3 days prior to the final examination (cH, area < pH 7, bacterial counts).

Influence of cytoplasmic deletions on the filopodia-inducing effect of syndecan-3.

Syndecans, transmembrane heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPG), mediate cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesion thereby controlling cell movement and shape. Syndecan cytoplasmic domains are very short (ca. 30 amino acids) and divided into two constant regions (C1 and C2) separated by one variable (V) region.

Syndecan-2 expression enhances adhesion and proliferation of stably transfected Swiss 3T3 cells.

Syndecans (heparan sulfate proteoglycans) participate in cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesion and are co- and low-affinity receptors for growth factors and enzymes, respectively. We examined the influence of stable syndecan-2 expression in Swiss 3T3 cells on cell-adhesion and proliferation. Higher syndecan-2 expression changed cell morphology and increased spreading and adhesion in these cells and proliferation induced by FCS and FGF-2.

Identification of a novel Ezrin-binding site in syndecan-2 cytoplasmic domain.

ERM (Ezrin/Radixin/Moesin) proteins are crosslinkers between plasma membrane proteins and the actin cytoskeleton, thereby involved in the formation of cell adhesion sites. Earlier work showed that Ezrin links syndecan-2 to the actin cytoskeleton. Here we provide evidence that the Ezrin N-terminal domain binds to the syndecan-2 cytoplasmic domain with an estimated K(D) of 0.