Patient and Clinical Evaluation of Traditional Metal and Polyamide Removable Partial Dentures in an Elderly Cohort.

Purpose: To evaluate several clinical and functional parameters by administration of specific questionnaires to an elderly patient's cohort wearing three different types of removable partial denture (RPD): VALPLAST-RPD (Polyamide VALPLAST), CoCr-RPD (cobalt-chromium alloy), and PMMA-RPD (heat polymerized polymethyl methacrylate).

Materials And Methods: One hundred twenty patients (mean age 73 years) were included in this study. All patients were treated with a removable partial denture for the maxillary arch.

Periodontal health and compliance: A comparison between Essix and Hawley retainers.

Introduction: Many studies on removable retainers have focused on retention efficacy and characteristics. However, studies on plaque accumulation, periodontal health, breakages, and patient compliance are still lacking. Thus, in this study, we aimed at evaluating these parameters in 2 groups of young patients wearing Essix or Hawley retainers for a 6-month period.

Rapid Maxillary Expansion in Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Young Patients: Cardio-Respiratory Monitoring.

Objective(s): Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a respiratory disorder which affects from 1 to 3 % of people during development. OSAS treatment may be pharmacological, surgical or based on application of intraoral devices to increase nasal respiratory spaces. The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of the Rapid Maxillary Expander in OSAS young patients by measuring cardio-respiratory monitoring parameters (AHI, the average value of complete and incomplete obstructed respiration per hour of sleep, and SAO, the percentage of oxygen saturation).

Cobalt-chromium alloys in dentistry: An evaluation of metal ion release.

Statement Of Problem: Metal ions released into the oral cavity from dental prosthesis alloys may damage the cellular metabolism or proliferation and cause hypersensitivity or allergies. The oral cavity environment is particularly prone to corrosion due to saliva, microorganisms, and pH variations.

Purpose: The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate the ion release of chromium, cobalt, and iron from the Co-Cr alloys used for traditionally cast and computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing dental devices after interaction with oral bacteria and different pH conditions.

Management of osteonecrosis of the jaws induced by radiotherapy in oncological patients: preliminary results.

Objective: Osteoradionecrosis (ORN) is a bone aseptic necrosis which develops on post-irradiated bone tissue of patients who underwent radiotherapy for head-neck tumors. The mandible presents a higher risk to develop ORN, if compared to the maxillary bone, due to its lower vascularization. The aim of the present study is to clinically assess the regenerative ability by the epithelial and connective tissues, in response to ORN onset.

Use of psychotropic drugs and associated dental diseases.

Patients with problems related to central nervous system dysfunctions are often treated with psychotropic drugs. These include antipsychotics, antidepressants, mood stabilizers, anticonvulsants, and drugs blocking specific receptors in the brain such as anticholinergics or beta-blockers. However, these medications have serious side effects affecting the oral health.

Bisphosphonate therapy and osteonecrosis of the jaw complicated with a temporal abscess in an elderly woman with rheumatoid arthritis: a case report.

Bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (BRONJ) is an adverse drug reaction described as the progressive destruction and death of bone tissue of the mandible or maxilla, in the course of bisphosphonate therapy. Orally administered bisphosphonates, widely used for the treatment of osteoporosis, are rarely associated with BRONJ. Instead, the risk greatly increases whether the patient is concomitantly taking steroid and/or immunosuppressant agents.

High temperature-treated bovine porous hydroxyapatite in sinus augmentation procedures: a case report.

Among the graft materials that can be used clinically, xenografts are the most common. Xenografts are of bovine, porcine, or equine origin and require the complete removal of proteins to avoid immunologic problems and the risk of transmission of prions, viruses, etc. Protein destruction can be achieved by a chemical procedure using organic solvents and heat treatment.

Microhardness and morphological changes induced by Nd:Yag laser on dental enamel: an in vitro study.

The aim of this work was a scanning electron microscopy (SEM) evaluation of the hardness and morphological changes of enamel irradiated by neodymium: yttrium aluminium garnet (Nd:YAG) laser with different energy levels. Twenty-eight human teeth samples were divided into 4 groups: control, where enamel surface was not lased, and 3 test treated with 3 different levels of energy power 0.6, 1.

Changes in the composition of human unstimulated whole saliva with age.

The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in the concentration of certain components of human unstimulated whole saliva during aging, in order to better understand the role played by aging in oral health. In particular, we studied total protein concentration, alpha-amylase activity, sialic acid content and calcium and phosphorus concentrations in 100 healthy subjects of both genders, aged between 10 and 80 years, who were subdivided into four groups according to their age: 10-25 years, 26-40 years, 41-65 years, and 66-80 years. Other than sialic acid, the concentrations of the components studied were not affected by age.

Biochemical modifications of human whole saliva induced by pregnancy.

Objective: To assess human unstimulated whole saliva components during pregnancy, to determine the relation, if any, between pregnancy and oral health, particularly total protein concentration, alpha-amylase activity, sialic acid content and calcium and phosphate concentrations were evaluated.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Participants: Forty-five healthy primigravid women; 15 nonpregnant women acted as controls.

Osteoconduction exerted by methylpyrrolidinone chitosan used in dental surgery.

Surgical wounds from wisdom tooth avulsions were medicated with freeze-dried methylpyrrolidinone chitosan, a gel-forming resorbable biopolymer obtained from crab chitosan by chemical modification. Methylpyrrolidinone chitosan promoted osteoconduction and the space left after avulsion was filled with newly formed bone tissue, which conferred desirable mechanical and physiological characteristics to the healed would site. Morphological evidence obtained from biopsies confirmed the radiographic data.

Evaluation of biocompatible osteoconductive polymer activity and biocompatibility for minor oral surgery in animals and humans.

The speed of recovery with and biocompatibility of biocompatible osteoconductive polymer used for minor oral surgery were investigated in animals and humans. Histological and radiological follow-up of graft sites and experimental mandibular bone loss was performed in 20 rabbits. Evaluation of X-rays showed no notable difference between the treated and control animals; however, biopsies 60 days after surgery showed that those animals treated with biocompatible osteoconductive polymer did not have any interposition of connective tissue between the polymer and the new bony tissue whereas the control samples did.

The effect of membrane lipid molecular species on rat brain base-exchange reactions: an appraisal of phosphatidylserine and of polyunsaturated phosphatidylcholine.

Rat brain microsomal membranes were solubilized with octyl glucoside and reassembled by removing the detergent. The composition of reconstituted membranes was modified by adding exogenous lipid to the detergent-membrane mixtures. The base-exchange reactions were sensitive to these procedures.

[Disinfection of toothbrushes. Experimental research].

Aim of the present paper is to verify in a vitro study, the possible disinfection of the toothbrushes with an UV instrument (Dentec 4000). The modifications in microbic concentration after a contamination with microbial suspension of oral cavity have been estimated.

Fusion of liposomes and rat brain microsomes examined by two assays.

Liposomes are prepared from rat brain microsomal lipid and loaded with either Tb3+ or dipicolinic acid (DPA) to test fusion with the Tb-DPA assay. They are also loaded with octadecyl Rhodamine B chloride (R18) to test fusion with the R18 assay. The addition of either Ca2+ or Mg2+ to loaded liposomes develops fluorescence with both assays.

Valproic acid and bicuculline affect the formation of glycerolipid in rat brain.

To ascertain the effects of bicuculline and of sodium valproate on the incorporation of glycerol into rat brain lipid, rats were divided into 5 groups: (a) controls; (b) treated with sodium valproate (400 mg/kg body wt); (c) treated with bicuculline (12.5 ?mol/kg body wt); (d) treated with sodium valproate as in (b) + bicuculline as in (c); and (e) treated with bicuculline (25 ?mol/kg body wt). Only rats of group (c) had seizures, which lasted until the end of the experiment.