Relationship Between Periodontal Screening and Recording Index Scores and Need for Periodontal Access Surgery.

Background: The validity of using pretreatment Periodontal Screening and Recording (PSR) index sextant scores to estimate periodontal access surgery needs is evaluated in patients with chronic periodontitis before and after completion of non-surgical periodontal therapy.

Methods: In 110 adults, pretreatment probing data identified 486 sextants with PSR scores of 4 and 125 sextants with PSR scores of 3. Periodontal access surgery needs for all sextants were determined prior to treatment and after completion of non-surgical periodontal therapy for 213 sextants in 38 patients by two experienced periodontist examiners.

Impact of plasma histones in human sepsis and their contribution to cellular injury and inflammation.

Introduction: Circulating histones have been identified as mediators of damage in animal models of sepsis and in patients with trauma-associated lung injury. Despite existing controversies on actual histone concentrations, clinical implications and mechanism of action in various disease conditions, histone levels in human sepsis, association with disease progression and mediated effects on endothelial and immune cells remain unreported. This study aimed to determine histone levels and its clinical implication in septic patients and to elucidate histone-mediated effects ex-vivo.

Thrombin generation as marker to estimate thrombosis risk in patients with abnormal test results in lupus anticoagulant routine diagnostics.

Background: Lupus anticoagulant (LA) is known to inhibit thrombin generation although patients have an increased risk to develop thrombosis. We tried to determine whether thrombin generation is altered in plasma samples of patients with abnormal test results in LA routine diagnostics and whether its measurement may improve the risk assessment of thrombosis.

Methods: Samples from 63 patients (39 with abnormal test results; 24 controls) were included in the study.

Using chlorhexidine varnish to prevent early childhood caries in American Indian children.

Objectives: To test the efficacy of 10% chlorhexidine (CHX) dental varnish applied to the mothers' dentition in preventing caries in American Indian children.

Methods: This was a placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized clinical trial. Mother-child pairs were enrolled when the child was 4.

Rediscovering Sig Socransky, the genius and his legacy.

Some individuals make contributions so vital to their field of knowledge that their names become almost synonymous with that field. This is the case of Sig Socransky and the field of periodontal microbiology. Sig Socransky, or simply Sig, was born in Toronto, Canada and received his DDS degree from the University of Toronto in 1957.

Halitosis: an overview of epidemiology, etiology and clinical management.

Halitosis is an unpleasant condition that causes social restraint. Studies worldwide indicate a high prevalence of moderate halitosis, whereas severe cases are restricted to around 5% of the populations. The etiological chain of halitosis relates to the presence of odoriferous substances in exhaled air, especially the volatile sulphur compounds (VSC) produced by bacteria.

Influence of hydroxyethyl starch (HES) 130/0.4 on hemostasis as measured by viscoelastic device analysis: a systematic review.

Purpose: Hydroxyethyl starch solutions (HES) are plasma volume expanders which affect hemostasis. Newer HES 130/0.4 is said to be safer.

Benefits of additional courses of systemic azithromycin in periodontal therapy.

The use of systemic antimicrobials such as doxycycline, metronidazole, and azithromycin in conjunction with debridement has achieved results superior to those produced by debridement alone. The purpose of the present study was to determine if previous results could be improved upon by administering repeated doses of azithromycin during the hygiene phase. One hundred patients with moderate to advanced periodontitis were treated with scaling and root planing plus three courses of azithromycin during the hygiene phase.

Bacterial and salivary biomarkers predict the gingival inflammatory profile.

Background: The aim of this human investigation is to explore the relationship of gingivitis with salivary biomarkers, periodontal pathogens, and interleukin (IL)-1 polymorphism after a transient inflammatory burden.

Methods: Thirty healthy human participants were randomized by IL-1 genotype status to control for potential influences of this particular single nucleotide polymorphism on the inflammatory profile. Oral hygiene practices ceased for 21 days to induce gingivitis (induction), after which home care was reinstated until 35 days (resolution).

Issues of recruitment and rationale for conducting clinical trials on mutans streptococci suppression in mothers.

The aims of this study are (1) to describe issues related to recruitment of mothers participating in a clinical trial of transmission of mutans streptococci (MS) from mother to child in Bauru, Brazil and (2) to perform cross-cultural and temporal comparisons of levels of infection of the MS in mothers of Bauru. A total of 1422 mothers were visited at their domiciles. Cutoff levels for the MS were established at ≥10(5) CFU/mL saliva.

Periodontal disease activity measured by the benzoyl-DL-arginine-naphthylamide test is associated with preterm births.

Background: Infection is a risk factor for preterm birth. This study was conducted in the field and addressed the link between periodontal pathogens measured with the benzoyl-DL-arginine-naphthylamide (BANA) test and preterm birth.

Methods: This prospective study was performed in Changhua, Taiwan.

Dental caries and periodontitis: contrasting two infections that have medical implications.

Both dental decay and periodontal disease are diagnosable and treatable bacterial infections. They are distinctly different infections, with dental decay occurring on the supragingival surfaces of the teeth and periodontal infections occurring in the gingival tissue approximating the subgingival plaque. The bacteria involved and the pathophysiology of these infections are distinctly different.

Anaerobic dental flora and the acute coronary syndrome.

Objective: Evidence exists that coronary heart disease is influenced by anaerobic bacterial flora and gingival inflammation. We assessed the association of periodontal bacteria, coronary artery disease, and acute coronary events.

Methods: The benzoyl-DL-arginine naphthylamide test, which detects several periodontal pathogens, and the papillary bleeding score were used to quantify gingival health.

The transmission of BANA-positive periodontal bacterial species from caregivers to children.

Background: The purpose of the authors' study was to use the N-benzoyl-DL-arginine-2-naphthy-lamide (BANA) test (BANAMet LLC, Ann Arbor, Mich.) to obtain information regarding the prevalence of an enzyme unique to certain periodontal pathogens in plaque samples of children, as well as the potential transmission of these pathogens from caregivers to children.

Methods: The authors tested 218 subjects (3 to 10 years old) and 195 care-givers at four pediatric dentistry clinics in Taipei, Taiwan.

The diagnosis of periodontal disease in private practice.

Background: Periodontal disease is an inflammatory reaction to the bacteria in dental plaque. The present study compared the prevalence of periodontal disease in patients using as a diagnostic either probing depth measurements, an inflammatory marker such as numbers of white blood cells in plaque samples, or microbiological markers such as the microscopic count and the benzoyl-DL-arginine naphthylamide (BANA) test.

Methods: Teeth with the most inflammation and/or deepest pockets in each quadrant were probed and subgingival plaque was sampled from 1,043 consecutive new patients enrolled in a private practice.

Dental flossing and interproximal caries: a systematic review.

Our aim was to assess, systematically, the effect of flossing on interproximal caries risk. Six trials involving 808 subjects, ages 4 to 13 years, were identified. There were significant study-to-study differences and a moderate to large potential for bias.

The transmission of anaerobic periodontopathic organisms.

The oral microbial flora is unique, and available evidence indicates that it is passed vertically from parents to children. In this investigation, we used a chairside assay for the N-benzoyl-DL-arginine-2-naphthylamide (BANA)-sensitive enzyme found in Porphyromonas gingivalis, Treponema denticola, and Tannerella forsythensis, to determine the prevalence of these BANA-positive species in young children and their caregivers. We predicted that if the BANA enzyme was found in plaque samples of children, it would also be present in the plaque samples of the caregivers.

On the Acquisition of Periodontopathic Bacteria by Children from Mothers: A Randomized Double-Masked Placebo-Controlled Trial in Bauru, Brazil.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was two-fold: 1) to determine the effects of mechanical and chemical modalities treatments on periodontal clinical and microbiological parameters of mothers; and 2) to determine the subsequent colonization of periodontal pathogens in tongue samples from their infants. DESIGN: A total of 168 mothers met inclusion criteria to participate in a randomized double-masked placebo-controlled clinical trial. Of those, 121 mothers (and their infants) of 158 seen at baseline provided complete data during study protocols from when their infants were 3 months old until the infants were about 2 years old.

Compliance with Xylitol and Sorbitol Chewing Gum Regimens in Clinical Trials.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate compliance of long-term xylitol and sorbitol chewing gum regimens in adult women participating in a double-blind randomized controlled clinical trial. DESIGN: The participants included 122 mothers (age range: 16-35 years) residing in the city of Bauru, São Paulo, Brazil. Compliance with the xylitol and sorbitol chewing gum regimens was assessed by weighing, with a precision balance, all used gums returned in zip-lock bags during the study period of 33 months.

The nonsurgical treatment of patients with periodontal disease: results after 6.4 years.

In a previous study involving patients at the dental clinic of the Detroit Receiving Hospital, 87% of teeth that initially had been recommended for surgery or extraction were spared either treatment through a combination of debridement and short-term usage of antimicrobial agents. The object of the present study was to determine what changes occurred to these teeth after 6.4 years in the maintenance phase of treatment.

Microbiology and Treatment of Halitosis.

The many thousands of individuals who experience oral malodor that stems from the overgrowth of proteolytic, anaerobic bacteria on their tongue surfaces can be successfully treated by a regimen that includes tongue brushing and tooth brushing, often in combination with a mouthrinse containing an antibacterial agent. Several candidate mouthrinses containing essential oils (Listerine; Warner-Lambert, Morris Plains, NJ), ZnCl(2), chlorine dioxide, or an oil:water-cetylpyridium chloride mouthrinse have reduced the organoleptic scores of individuals with moderate levels of oral malodor in the absence of tongue brushing. Very little long-term data beyond 6 weeks of use are available.

Diversity of bacterial populations on the tongue dorsa of patients with halitosis and healthy patients.

The primary purpose of the present study was to compare the microbial profiles of the tongue dorsa of healthy subjects and subjects with halitosis by using culture-independent molecular methods. Our overall goal was to determine the bacterial diversity on the surface of the tongue dorsum as part of our ongoing efforts to identify all cultivable and not-yet-cultivated species of the oral cavity. Tongue dorsum scrapings were analyzed from healthy subjects with no complaints of halitosis and subjects with halitosis, defined as an organoleptic score of 2 or more and volatile sulfur compound levels greater than 200 ppb.

Microbiology and treatment of halitosis.

The prevalence of oral malodor is probably high in the United States, although precise epidemiological data are missing. The many thousands of individuals who experience oral malodor from the overgrowth of proteolytic, anaerobic bacteria on their tongue surfaces can be successfully treated by a regimen that includes tongue brushing, toothbrushing and possibly the usage of mouthrinses containing various agents. Several candidate mouthrinses containing essential oils (Listerine), ZnCl2, or an oil, water and cetylpyridum chloride mouthrinse have reduced the organoleptic scores of individuals with moderate levels of oral malodor in the absence of tongue brushing.