Oral health, dental treatment, and cardiac valve surgery outcomes.

The aim of this study was to determine whether not treating chronic dental infection during the admission for cardiac valve surgery would increase the morbidity and mortality of patients. Patients were divided into three groups: dentally unhealthy and untreated (Group A), dentally healthy not requiring treatment (Group B), and dentally unhealthy and treated (Group C). Hospital computer records and phone interviews were used to assess morbidity and mortality as assessed through the Social Security Death Index.

A 10-year prospective clinical and radiographic study of one-stage dental implants.

Objective: The purpose of this prospective study was to evaluate one-stage dental implants clinically and radiographically after 10 years in function.

Material And Methods: Twenty-five patients with a total of 68 implants [46 hollow screws (HS) and 22 hollow cylinders (HC)] who previously participated in 5-year prospective clinical study returned for a 10-year follow-up. For each patient, informed consent was obtained, medical and dental history was reviewed and soft and hard tissue conditions were evaluated using the modified plaque index, modified sulcus bleeding index, probing depth, suppuration, attachment level, distance from the implant crown margin to the coronal border of the peri-implant mucosa keratinized mucosa and periapical radiographs to calculate crestal bone-level changes.

Teaching alternatives to the standard inferior alveolar nerve block in dental education: outcomes in clinical practice.

Surveys were sent to Harvard School of Dental Medicine students and graduates from the classes of 2000 through 2006 to determine their current primary means of achieving mandibular anesthesia. Orthodontists and orthodontic residents were excluded. All subjects received clinical training in the conventional inferior alveolar nerve block and two alternative techniques (the Akinosi mandibular block and the Gow-Gates mandibular block) during their predoctoral dental education.

The effect of aspirin on gingival crevicular fluid levels of inflammatory and anti-inflammatory mediators in patients with gingivitis.

Background: Inflammatory and anti-inflammatory mediators may play a significant role in patients with gingivitis. The purpose of this study was to assess the short-term effects of the systemic administration of two different concentrations of aspirin (81 and 325 mg/day, by mouth) on clinical periodontal parameters and gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) levels of 15-epi-lipoxin A4 (15-epi-LXA4), lipoxin A4, leukotriene B4 (LTB4), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), and interleukin (IL)-6 and -1beta in a sample of naturally occurring gingivitis patients.

Methods: At day 0, after initial screening for entry, baseline periodontal parameters, including bleeding on probing (BOP), periodontal probing depths (PDs), and plaque index (PI) were measured, and GCF was sampled from 12 intrasulcular sites with filter paper strips for the measurement of six types of inflammatory and anti-inflammatory mediators using competitive enzyme immunoassay and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (prevalues).

Folic acid-containing supplement consumption during pregnancy and risk for oral clefts: a meta-analysis.

Background: There is equivocal evidence in the published literature that folic acid supplementation during pregnancy may protect against the common congenital anomalies cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CLP) and cleft palate alone (CP). We undertook this meta-analysis to test the hypothesis that nonsyndromic oral cleft birth prevalences are different for those whose mothers took folic acid-containing supplements and for those whose mothers did not.

Methods: Human studies published in English were identified through MEDLINE, bibliography reviews, and contacting experts in the field.

Risk assessment criteria applied to a screening exam: implications for improving the efficiency of a sealant program.

Objectives: The present study aimed to determine the ability of first-grade screening exam findings to predict carious lesions in permanent first molars by fourth grade. The ability to identify high-risk children would be useful in the rational allocation of limited public health resources, such as the application of sealants.

Methods: Screening exams were performed on 204 children in 1st grade and 4th grade.

Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase polymorphisms and the risk of gestational hypertension.

Background: Evidence on the association of 5,10 methylentetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T and A1298C polymorphisms in women with gestational hypertension is inconsistent. It is also unknown whether the fetal genotype is relevant, or whether folic acid supplementation modifies this association.

Methods: The study population was composed of U.

The effect of aspirin intake on bleeding on probing in patients with gingivitis.

Background: Bleeding indices are used as a screen for periodontal disease activity, a measure of disease prevalence, and a measure of effectiveness in clinical trials. Bleeding on probing (BOP) is widely interpreted as a sign of disease activity whereas its absence is interpreted as both a sign and predictor of health. Aspirin use has become increasingly common in the prevention of cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases.

IgG antibody levels to Porphyromonas gingivalis and clinical measures in children.

Background: Periodontopathic clinical markers are poorly understood in the pediatric population. Several studies have proposed Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis) and an antibody response to the microorganism as factors in periodontal tissue destruction in children.

Tutoring in a problem-based curriculum: expert versus nonexpert.

Many studies have examined whether being an "expert" influences the success of a tutor in a problem-based learning curriculum. There are, however, no established standards by which to determine expertise. The purpose of this study was to examine whether students evaluate expert and nonexpert tutors comparably and to determine whether setting different standards to determine expertise influences the outcome of the above findings.

Learning disabilities in dental education: trends, management, and concerns in U.S. dental schools.

The prevalence of learning disabilities (LD) in higher education has drawn significant attention at the undergraduate level. College freshmen reporting learning disabilities have increased significantly in the past twenty years. Although anecdotal evidence suggests an increase in the number of dental students with learning disabilities, nothing has been published regarding how dental education is affected by this general trend.