Socio-economic inequalities in oral health among Portuguese older adults: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Although the oral health status has improved in developed countries in recent years, oral diseases are still unequally distributed across socio-economic groups. Research on the impact of socio-economic factors on oral health care among older adults in Europe, including Portugal, remains limited. The main aim of this study was to investigate the association between socio-economic factors and oral health indicators in Portuguese older adults.

Microbiota Orchestra in Parkinson's Disease: The Nasal and Oral Maestros.

Unlabelled: Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by the progressive degeneration of dopaminergic neurons, leading to a range of motor and non-motor symptoms.

Background/objectives: Over the past decade, studies have identified a potential link between the microbiome and PD pathophysiology. The literature suggests that specific bacterial communities from the gut, oral, and nasal microbiota may be involved in neuroinflammatory processes, which are hallmarks of PD.

Portuguese Version of the Oral Frailty Index-8: Instrument Validation Study.

Background: The concept of oral frailty has gained scientific and clinical relevance in recent years, and early detection can facilitate timely intervention to manage its progression. The Oral Frailty Index-8 (OFI-8) was developed to assess community-dwelling older adults at risk for oral frailty.

Objective: This study aims to investigate the psychometric validity of the OFI-8 in the Portuguese population, named the Portuguese version of the OFI-8 (OFI-8-PT), which may serve as a reference for future studies related to longevity and oral function.

Perceived Infant Discomfort Linked to Lower Maternal Oral Health Quality of Life: Results from a Cross-Sectional Study.

: We aimed to explore whether there is an association between maternal perceived infant discomfort due to suggestive gastrointestinal alterations and oral-health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) through a survey. : The present study included two main phases involving Portuguese-speaking parents with full-term infants aged 2-12 weeks old who were not previously hospitalized in a neonatal nursery. First, the original French Infant Colic Questionnaire (ColiQ) was translated, cross-culturally adapted and validated to Portuguese (ColiQ-PT).

Non-Surgical Periodontal Therapy's Influence on Alpha-Synuclein and Inflammatory Marker Levels: A Pilot Study.

: Microbial dysbiosis may contribute to alpha-synuclein (α-Syn) homeostasis disruption, yet the burden of inflammatory periodontal infection and its treatment have never been studied in this regard. We aimed to compare the cytokine and α-Syn levels in the saliva and blood of patients with periodontitis who underwent non-surgical periodontal therapy (NSPT) and those of their healthy counterparts. : Periodontal examination and saliva and blood sample collection were carried out in incoming patients at a university clinic.

Blood count, endocrine, immunologic, renal, and hepatic markers in a case-control animal study of induced periodontitis in female rodents.

Periodontitis is a non-communicable chronic inflammatory disease with a systemic burden. Animal models of induced periodontitis help elucidate the mechanisms by which periodontal inflammation drives systemic effects. Studying this systemic involvement over longer follow-up periods may provide a strong foundation for future research on the association between diseases and periodontitis, particularly in female rats.

Medical and nursing students' satisfaction with e-learning platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic: Initial findings of an experimental project in China.

Satisfaction with learning management systems (LMSs) is an essential indicator of students' e-learning experiences and reflects the quality of e-learning. Applying the technology satisfaction model, the present study aimed to investigate medical and nursing students' satisfaction with LMSs and its predictors. We conducted our survey at a medical university located in East China and received a total of 329 effective responses.

Caries Experience before and after COVID-19 Restrictions: An Observational Study.

The declaration of COVID-19 as a pandemic by the World Health Organization in 2020 led to the suspension of several clinical practices globally, including dentistry. This study investigates the impact of these restrictions on dental caries experience. A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted at Egas Moniz University's dental hospital in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area from June 2019 to June 2021.

Vertical Dentofacial Skeletal Divergency Is Not Linked with Oral Health-Related Quality of Life.

The aim of this study is to assess how vertical skeletal malocclusion affects oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) among a sample of individuals comprising adolescents, young adults, and adults seeking orthodontic treatment. From January 2019 to March 2020, participants were consecutively enrolled. The assessment of OHRQoL involved measurement using the oral health impact profile (OHIP-14).

Evidence of Age Estimation Procedures in Forensic Dentistry: Results from an Umbrella Review.

: Age estimation is an important tool when dealing with human remains or undocumented minors. Although the skull, the skeleton or the hand-wrist are used in age estimation as maturity indicators, they often present a lack of good conditions for a correct identification or estimation. Few systematic reviews (SRs) have been recently published; therefore, this umbrella review critically assesses their level of evidence and provides a general, comprehensive view.

Profiling oral health status, values, and related quality of life in patients with oral cancer: a pilot study.

Patients diagnosed with oral cancer frequently exhibit an increased likelihood of experiencing common dental conditions, lower dental health literacy, and a decline in their overall quality of life. However, there is limited understanding on the impact of oral health values on these patients. This study aims to explore the oral health status and their oral health determinants and reported outcomes in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) at the .

Osseodensification versus lateral window technique for sinus floor elevation with simultaneous implant placement: A randomized clinical trial on patient-reported outcome measures.

Objectives: To compare patient-reported outcome measures and additional surgical outcomes after sinus floor elevation (SFE) with osseodensification (OD) versus lateral window (LW), both with simultaneous implant placement.

Materials And Methods: Twenty participants requiring single-implant rehabilitation with residual bone height (RBH) ≤4 mm were enrolled. Pain experience, quality of life (QoL) via the Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14), analgesics intake, and other symptoms were self-reported for a week on a daily basis.

Revisiting Oral Antiseptics, Microorganism Targets and Effectiveness.

A good oral health status is mostly dependent on good oral hygiene habits, which knowingly impacts systemic health. Although controversial, chemical oral antiseptics can be useful in adjunct use to mechanical dental plaque control techniques in the prevention and management of local and overall health and well-being. This review aims to revisit, gather and update evidence-based clinical indications for the use of the most popular oral antiseptics, considering different types, microorganism targets and effectiveness in order to establish updated clinical recommendations.

Spectrophotometric Analysis of Coronal Discoloration In Vitro Induced by Bioceramic Cements.

The aim of this study was to evaluate and quantify, in vitro, the extent of coronal discoloration induced by bioceramic materials over time. In total, 44 human monoradicular teeth were divided into four groups ( = 11), according to the applied material: Negative control (NC); White MTA ProRoot (WMTAP); Biodentine (BD); and TotalFill BC RRM Putty (TF). Teeth were immersed in saline solution and incubated at 37 °C; the following periods of time were defined: before incubation: [t0]-without bioceramic material, t1-immediately after the bioceramic material placement; after incubation: t24h-24 h, t7d-7 days, and 30d-30 days.

Self-Management Ability Questionnaire Validation in Portuguese Adults With Periodontitis.

Objectives: We aimed to test the psychometric validity of the adapted and translated Self-Management Ability Questionnaire-Short Form (SMAQ-12) to Portuguese.

Methods: The translation and adaptation of the SMAQ-12 followed international guidelines. We included 280 participants with chronic periodontitis from the Department of Periodontology of the Egas Moniz Dental Clinic.

Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes and Maternal Periodontal Disease: An Overview on Meta-Analytic and Methodological Quality.

This umbrella review aims to appraise the methodological quality and strength of evidence on the association between maternal periodontitis and adverse pregnancy outcomes (APOs). PubMed, CENTRAL, Web-of-Science, LILACS, and Clinical Trials were searched until February 2023, without date or language restrictions. Two authors independently screened studies, extracted data, performed the risk-of-bias analysis, and estimated the meta-analytic strengths and validity and the fail-safe number (FSN).

Enhanced Proliferative and Osteogenic Potential of Periodontal Ligament Stromal Cells.

Cell-based therapies using periodontal ligament stromal cells (PDLSC) for periodontal regeneration may represent an alternative source for mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) to MSC derived from bone marrow (MSC(M)) and adipose tissue (MSC(AT)). We aimed to characterize the osteogenic/periodontal potential of PDLSC in comparison to MSC(M) and MSC(AT). PDLSC were obtained from surgically extracted healthy human third molars, while MSC(M) and MSC(AT) were obtained from a previously established cell bank.

Comparison of the Efficacy of Two Protocol Treatments in Patients with Symptomatic Disc Displacement without Reduction: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of arthrocentesis followed by hyaluronic acid infiltration treatment (ASH) and mandibular exercise therapy (MET) in patients with symptomatic disc displacement without reduction (DDwoR) by examining pain intensity (VAS), mandibular range of motion (MO), and quality of life (QoL). Fifty-two patients were randomly allocated into two groups, MET (N = 26) and ASH (N = 26), and therapy was applied at the baseline and one month after. Patients were followed up at 1 and 12 months after the baseline assessment.

Revisiting Alpha-Synuclein Pathways to Inflammation.

Alpha-synuclein (α-Syn) is a short presynaptic protein with an active role on synaptic vesicle traffic and the neurotransmitter release and reuptake cycle. The α-Syn pathology intertwines with the formation of Lewy Bodies (multiprotein intraneuronal aggregations), which, combined with inflammatory events, define various α-synucleinopathies, such as Parkinson's Disease (PD). In this review, we summarize the current knowledge on α-Syn mechanistic pathways to inflammation, as well as the eventual role of microbial dysbiosis on α-Syn.

Dental Implant Surface Decontamination and Surface Change of an Electrolytic Method versus Mechanical Approaches: A Pilot In Vitro Study.

Dental implants are the preferred fixed oral rehabilitation for replacing lost teeth. When peri-implant tissues become inflamed, the removal of plaque accumulating around the implant becomes imperative. Recently, several new strategies have been developed for this purpose, with electrolytic decontamination showing increased potential compared to traditional mechanical strategies.

Preclinical dental students self-assessment of an improved operative dentistry virtual reality simulator with haptic feedback.

To test and evaluate the second installment of DENTIFY, a virtual reality haptic simulator for Operative Dentistry (OD), on preclinical dental students, by focusing on user performance and self-assessment. Twenty voluntary unpaid preclinical dental students, with different background experience, were enrolled for this study. After the completion of an informed consent, a demographic questionnaire, and being introduced to the prototype (on the first testing session), three testing sessions followed (S1, S2, S3).

Non-Surgical Periodontal Treatment Impact on Subgingival Microbiome and Intra-Oral Halitosis.

The purpose of this study was to characterize and compare subgingival microbiome before and after periodontal treatment to learn if any changes of the subgingival microbiome were reflected in intra-oral halitosis. We tested the hypothesis that intra-oral halitosis (Volatile sulfur compounds levels) correlates with corresponding subgingival bacterial levels before and after periodontal treatment. Twenty patients with generalized periodontitis completed the study.

Caries Experience and Risk Indicators in a Portuguese Population: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Oral health surveys are essential for assessing the dental caries experience and to influence national policies. This retrospective cross-sectional study aims to analyze dental caries experience for which dental treatment was sought in a reference university dental hospital at the Lisbon Metropolitan Area between January 2016 and March 2020. Full-mouth examination, and sociodemographic, behavior, and medical information were included.