Microgravity and the intervertebral disc: The impact of space conditions on the biomechanics of the spine.

The environmental conditions to which astronauts and other military pilots are subjected represent a unique example for understanding and studying the biomechanical events that regulate the functioning of the human body. In particular, microgravity has shown a significant impact on various biological systems, such as the cardiovascular system, immune system, endocrine system, and, last but not least, musculoskeletal system. Among the potential risks of flying, low back pain (LBP) has a high incidence among astronauts and military pilots, and it is often associated with intervertebral disc degeneration events.

Prevalence and treatment of retrograde peri-implantitis: a retrospective cohort study covering a 20-year period.

Objectives: The aims of this retrospective study were to report data on the prevalence of retrograde peri-implantitis (RPI) in a single-center in a 20-year observation period and to evaluate implant survival after surgical treatment.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted screening all patients who underwent implant treatment in a private practice. Patients were enrolled if they had one or more implants showing a radiolucency around the implant apex, without implant mobility.

Correlation between endodontic pulpal/periapical disease and retrograde peri-implantitis: A case series.

Retrograde peri-implantitis is a symptomatic complication, characterised by radiographic detection of bone loss at the periapex of the implant. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible endodontic aetiology, evaluating the effectiveness of surgical treatment without endodontic therapy of adjacent teeth. In the 10-year interval, three patients reported symptoms of retrograde peri-implantitis after a mean period of 30.

Could early rheumatoid arthritis resolve after periodontitis treatment only?: case report and review of the literature.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an immune-mediated polyarthritis; currently no pathogenic agent has been identified as a disease trigger. A patient with RA, presumably caused by periodontal infection, whose remission has been observed after periodontitis treatment in absence of specific RA therapy, is reported here for the first time, to our knowledge. A 61-year-old male patient presented migrant arthritis associated with antibodies against citrullinated protein antigens positivity.

Clinical significance of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans in young individuals during orthodontic treatment. A 3-year longitudinal study.

The aim of the present study was: (1) to assess longitudinally the occurrence of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans (Aa) in young subjects wearing fixed orthodontic appliances compared to matched appliance-free controls; (2) to determine whether the presence of the micro-organism at baseline could influence the periodontal status assessed 3 years later. 70 subjects, 27 male and 43 female, aged between 12 and 20 years participated in the study: 35 subjects under orthodontic treatment with fixed appliances for at least 6 months, and 35 appliance-free individuals matched for age and gender. All subjects were free of clinically demonstrable loss of attachment.

Subpedicle connective tissue graft versus free gingival graft in the coverage of exposed root surfaces. A 5-year clinical study.

The authors compared the clinical results obtained in gingival recession correction treatment using free gingival and bilaminar connective subpedicle grafts. 35 patients were treated with free gingival grafts (Group A) and 35 with subpedicle grafts (Group B). Class I and II Miller gingival recessions were chosen for treatment by the 2 procedures.

Occurrence of Porphyromonas gingivalis, Bacteroides forsythus, and Treponema denticola in periodontally healthy and diseased subjects as determined by an ELISA technique.

The aim of this study was to assess by means of an ELISA technique, the occurrence of 3 putative periodontopathogens, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Bacteroides forsythus, and Treponema denticola, in 3 clinically-defined adult periodontal conditions. Thirty systemically-healthy subjects were selected and grouped into 3 categories according to their periodontal health: 1) 10 periodontitis subjects (PS), having moderate adult chronic periodontitis; 2) 10 untreated gingivitis subjects (UGS), exhibiting no signs of periodontal destruction but presenting with clinical signs of mild gingivitis; and, 3) 10 treated gingivitis subjects (TGS), having the same clinical status as UGS, but who received a thorough prophylaxis treatment within the past 7 to 14 days prior to the baseline examination. A total of 60 samples were collected subgingivally from the six Ramfjord teeth per subject in each group and ELISA analysis was carried out to give a semiquantitative estimate of P.

Occurrence of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans in patients wearing orthodontic appliances. A cross-sectional study.

The aim of the present study was to assess: (1) the occurrence of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans (Aa) in subgingival plaque from young patients undergoing orthodontic treatment with fixed appliances; (2) a possible relationship between the presence of Aa and the clinical conditions; (3) a relation between the duration of orthodontic treatment and the microbiological and clinical parameters; (4) whether differences exist when taking into consideration the different type of appliances, i.e., bands or brackets.

Flow cytometric approach to human polymorphonuclear leukocyte activation induced by gingival crevicular fluid in periodontal disease.

In gingival pockets of patients with periodontal disease, polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) are in contact with a peculiar exudate, the gingival crevicular fluid (GCF). Because of the pivotal role played by PMN in periodontal disease, we evaluated the ability of GCF in modulating normal human PMN. GCF was obtained from two gingival sites with severe periodontitis (SP) and two gingival sites with only mild periodontitis (MP) in 12 patients.

Influence of gingival crevicular washing on the expression of polymorphonuclear leukocyte membrane receptors before and after periodontal therapy.

Extensive data demonstrate that polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) are the predominant cell type involved in periodontal disease and that gingival crevicular fluid constituents are influenced by the inflamed gingiva. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the ability of gingival crevicular washing (GCW) (a dilution of gingival crevicular fluid) from periodontal sites in different clinical conditions of modulating the PMN membrane receptors involved in motility, adhesion and phagocytosis before and after periodontal treatment. 10 patients affected by adult periodontitis (AP) were selected.

[Interleukin-1 beta in the gingival tissues of patients with periodontitis: immunohistochemical data].

Interleukin-1 beta (Il-1 beta) is a cytokine which is considered to play a role in inducing the inflammatory reaction and the bone resorption that takes place in periodontal disease. With the aim of studying the presence and location of Il-1 beta positive cells in this disease, human gingival tissues from 12 patients with periodontitis and from 4 healthy control subjects were examined by immunohistochemical analysis. The cytokine was detected in all the patients having untreated periodontitis, although its content in gingival tissues revealed considerable variations among subjects.

[The clinical and microbiological evaluation of the efficacy of oral irrigation on the periodontal tissues of patients wearing fixed orthodontic appliances].

The aim of the present study has been the evaluation of the effectiveness of oral irrigation with or without toothbrushing and dental flossing, in individuals treated with fixed orthodontic appliances, on controlling the development of dental plaque and, hence, of gingivitis. Eight individuals with a good general and oral status have been chosen. Before the experimental period, they received instructions about oral hygiene with toothbrushing and dental flossing and then they have been monitored to verify they were doing well.

[The anatomical characteristics of the root furcations in the molar teeth].

The aim of the present study has been to realize a morphometrical and morphological study on the anatomical characteristics of molar teeth root furcations. Two hundred ninety four molars (147 upper and 147 lower teeth), after extraction and elimination of periodontal ligament residuals by trypsin, have been morphometrically evaluated recording the principal anatomical characters of the furcal and radicular region (root and radicular trunk lengths, mesio-distal and vestibulo-palatal diameters at the cementum-enamel junction, inter-radicular angle width and furcal area extension). By the Pearson's correlation test data such obtained were analyzed to verify the existence of statistically significant correlations among the above mentioned anatomical characteristics.

[The comparative evaluation of the efficacy of surgical and nonsurgical periodontal therapy in relation to the oral hygiene conditions and the severity of the lesions].

A retrospective longitudinal study was carried out to evaluate the efficacy of surgical and nonsurgical periodontal therapy in reducing pocket depth values. This evaluation was made in relation to the strictness with which patients observed professional and domestic oral hygiene and in relation to pretreatment pocket depth values. Results showed that the two forms of periodontal therapy offer comparable results in terms of pockets reduction of either restricted or considerable depth, whereas the most important element in order to achieve therapeutic success was the observation of an effective professional and domestic plaque control.

General considerations in the treatment of periodontal disease: infection control, medications, and wound healing.

Although it is difficult to accurately predict the results of periodontal therapy, it may be possible to improve the success of therapy if the patient is considered from an immunologic, microbiologic, social, and behavioral point of view, as a heterogenous entity. The success or failure of a particular treatment can be related to the host's personal response to a therapeutic procedure rather than to the technique used.

[Modifications in the clinical and microbiological parameters of the periodontal tissues after the removal of overhanging class-II amalgam fillings].

A short-term longitudinal study was carried out to assess how microbiological and clinical characteristics, measured surrounding periodontal sites with amalgam class II fillings intentionally made to overhang, vary following their replacement with a correct form of filling. The results of the study showed a significant reduction of the total bacterial count and the percentages of Gram-negative and anaerobic organisms spreading from overhanging fillings to non-overhanging fillings. The paper concludes that, as has been already demonstrated in the case of onlays, there are both qualitative and quantitative variations in the subgingival plaque in the presence of overhanging fillings which can lead to periodontal damage.

[Periodontal therapy. II. The possible interpretations of the therapeutic results from surgical and nonsurgical treatment].

The authors put forward four different explanations to justify the similarity of published results on the efficacy of different techniques of periodontal therapy. It is stressed that over and above the purely doctrinal evaluation of results obtained using different forms of periodontal therapy, it is indispensable to draw up a treatment protocol for each case taking into account the specific conditions and requirements of the patient to be treated.

[The reliability of different groups of sample teeth in assessing the status of periodontal disease in epidemiological studies].

The possibility of evaluating periodontal disease status in a given population by examining a limited number of sample teeth is of undoubted value in epidemiological studies. To this end, a cross-section study was performed to assess whether the dental sample proposed by Ramfjord effectively reflects the entire dentition status in terms of the main Clinical Indices of Periodontal Disease, in particular pocket depth. In addition, two randomly selected samples of six teeth were also evaluated using the same criteria.

[Periodontal therapy. I. The working philosophies].

Periodontal treatment has recently been evaluated by numerous research projects which have confirmed its validity and clarified the indications and limits of treatment. In this review the authors discuss and analyse the results achieved using different techniques of periodontal therapy; moreover, attention is focused on the apparent similarity of results obtained using conservative and surgical methodologies.

[Use of the interproximal brush].

Interdental brushes are often recommended for interdental cleaning in people with destruction of periodontal tissue and open interproximal spaces. The purpose of this investigation was to determine how frequently interdental brush can reach the interdental spaces in individuals with and without papilla destruction. An outstanding percentage of brush-penetration trough interproximal spaces has been observed in patients with no gingival recession and no loss of attachment.

[Role of endotoxins in periodontal disease].

The Authors, through a review of the literature, analyzed the role played by Endotoxins in the pathogenesis of the periodontal lesions. It is furthermore considered the therapeutic problem of the necessity of a complete removal of such substances from the dental root in arder to obtain a radicular surface which could allow a good healing of the periodontal lesions.

[The age factor in periodontics].

In the past, the age of an individual was considered an important factor in the development of periodontal disease and its treatment. Elderly patients were considered to be at higher risk and have a worse prognosis than younger patients who constituted a low risk category for serious periodontal destruction. Through a critical review of the literature it is pointed out that at the moment age as such can no longer be considered a conditioning factor in the evolution of periodontitis and in its treatment.

[Antiinflammatory drugs in periodontology. Therapeutic perspectives].

The authors, through a critical review of the literature, describe the effects of antiinflammatory drugs on periodontal disease as they result from experimental trials and epidemiological observations. Furthermore the authors emphasize the possible application of such pharmacological substances in the near future as an additional instrument in the therapy of periodontal disease.