Publications by authors named "Shuji Awano"

Periodontal maintenance is crucial for long-term periodontal stability, but some patients do not undertake maintenance following their initial treatment. To date, the motivations, backgrounds, and concerns of patients who underwent maintenance have not been researched. Therefore, we analyzed the subject's intentions and the behavior of the patient affected by periodontal maintenance using Step for Coding and Theorization (SCAT).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Large language models (LLMs), including ChatGPT and others, were analyzed for their effectiveness as educational tools in the dental field by using questions from a Japanese national examination.
  • The study found that GPT-4 had the highest accuracy at 75.3%, with various models performing differently across question categories, particularly excelling in disease mechanism-related questions.
  • The overall results indicate that while GPT-4 stands out as the most effective tool currently, the abilities of these LLMs are continually evolving, suggesting a promising future for their use in education.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Aim: Malnutrition is a prevalent health issue among hemodialysis patients. Oral frailty, a condition characterized by impairments in multiple oral health aspects and functions, has been associated with nutritional status in the general population. We aimed to determine whether oral frailty was associated with nutritional status in hemodialysis patients aged ≥50 years.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background/purpose: There are reports on the relationship between periodontal treatment and the whole body. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of periodontal initial treatment on brain function activity by improving periodontal tissue and the occlusal status of subjects with periodontitis.

Materials And Methods: The subjects were 13 patients with periodontitis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background/purpose: Rapid advancements in AI technology have led to significant interest in its application across various fields, including medicine and dentistry. This study aimed to assess the capabilities of ChatGPT-4V with image recognition in answering image-based questions from the Japanese National Dental Examination (JNDE) to explore its potential as an educational support tool for dental students.

Materials And Methods: The dataset used questions from the JNDE, which was conducted in January 2023, with a focus on image-related queries.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: In this study, we have introduced a case in which the effective blood oxygenation level-dependent signal on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was altered by the improvement of periodontal tissue and occlusal function in a patient with periodontitis Stage II Grade B. . A 61-year-old female patient requiring periodontal treatment was diagnosed as having periodontitis Stage II Grade B via clinical and radiographic examinations.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Polymer-infiltrated ceramic network materials (PICNs) have high mechanical compatibility with human enamel. However, the wear properties of PICN against natural human enamel have not yet been clarified. We investigated the in vitro two-body wear behaviors of PICNs and an enamel antagonist.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This study aimed to develop a novel polymer-infiltrated ceramic network (PICN) composite fabricated via a slip-casting method for a dental training model tooth with machinability compatible to human enamel. A PICN model tooth comprised of silica/acrylic-resin was fabricated via the slip-casting method. A commercial resin-based model tooth and human enamel were used as the control sample.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Soluble tumor necrosis factor receptors 1 and 2 (sTNF-R1 and sTNF-R2) are reported to protect against excessive TNF-α, a primary mediator of systemic responses to infection. This study aimed to investigate the levels of TNF-α, sTNF-R1, and sTNF-R2 in saliva and to verify whether their dynamics are associated with periodontal health. The study population comprised 28 adult patients.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background/purpose: In Japan, medical and dental care is provided by the universal health insurance system. The Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare (MHLW) in Japan sets the rules for health care services provided by health insurance. The MHLW issued a notice in 2020 permitting telemedicine and dental telemedicine for the first visit and for follow-up visits to prevent the spread of COVID-19 infection.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Aim: To evaluate the association between periodontal disease and pneumonia mortality in haemodialysis patients.

Materials And Methods: This prospective cohort study included 211 patients (mean age, 64.4 years) undergoing haemodialysis at a single medical centre.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A disintegrin and metalloprotease 17 (ADAM17) is a tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-converting enzyme and was first identified as the enzyme that cleaves the prodomain of TNF-α, a proinflammatory cytokine that plays a central role in immune regulation and a variety of inflammatory responses in destructive periodontal disease. The aim of the present study was to verify the presence of ADAM17 in the gingival epithelium and elucidate its involvement in the release of TNF-αin oral keratinocytes. Immunohistochemical analyses of ADAM17 were performed in gingival tissues obtained from patients and in human oral keratinocytes (HOKs).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Pathologic subjective halitosis is known as a halitosis complaint without objective confirmation of halitosis by others or by halitometer measurements; it has been reported to be associated with social anxiety disorder. Olfactory reference syndrome is a preoccupation with the false belief that one emits a foul and offensive body odor. Generally, patients with olfactory reference syndrome are concerned with multiple body parts.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Periodontitis is common among dialysis patients. The current cross-sectional study aimed to explore associations between periodontitis and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among hemodialysis patients Data from 188 dentate patients undergoing hemodialysis between May and July 2008 at a medical center in Kitakyushu city, Japan, were analyzed while applying modified Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/American Academy of Periodontology periodontitis case definitions to categorize the participants into the following three groups: severe, moderate, and no/mild periodontitis, respectively. HRQoL was assessed by the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) where a higher score indicates better health status.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The relationship between mortality and impaired cognitive function has not been thoroughly investigated in a very elderly community-dwelling population, and little is known about the association of disease-specific mortality with Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) subscale scores. Here we evaluated these data in Japanese community-dwelling elderly. In 2003, 85 year-olds (n=207) were enrolled; 205 completed the MMSE for cognitive function and were followed-up for 10 years, during which time 120 participants died, 70 survived, and 17 were lost to follow-up.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Little is known about the association between total cholesterol (TC) and all-cause mortality in the elderly (especially the very elderly). Here we examined the association between TC and all-cause mortality in 207 very elderly (85-year-old) participants. In 2003, we performed a baseline laboratory blood examination, and blood pressure (BP) and body mass index (BMI) measurements, and lifestyle questionnaires were completed by the participants.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Recent studies indicate that tonsilloliths (tonsil stones) are more common than earlier reports suggested, with a detection rate of 46.1% found through CT scans, compared to only 7.3% via panoramic radiographs.
  • The characteristics of tonsilloliths include small dot-like figures located within the palatine tonsils, typically measuring about 3 or 4 mm in length, with detection increasing in older individuals.
  • The study highlights limitations of panoramic radiographs in visualizing tonsilloliths, showing a significant correlation between detection rates and various factors such as CT numbers and size.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Neutral endopeptidase (NEP) is present on various epithelial cells and inactivates numerous physiologically active peptides. Neutral endopeptidase may regulate proinflammatory signals in oral mucosal epithelium. However, the function of NEP in oral mucosal epithelium is unknown.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: A growing body of evidence has indicated a possible association between oral and gastrointestinal (orodigestive) cancers and periodontal disease or tooth loss. However, the evidence remains contradictory. This study investigated whether tooth loss, which is indicative of poor oral health and a potential source of oral infections, is associated with death from orodigestive cancer.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sobrinus are associated with the development of dental caries in humans. However, previous diagnostic systems are unsuitable for monitoring viable cell numbers in oral specimens. Assessing the relationship between the numbers of viable and dead bacterial cells and oral status is important for understanding oral infectious diseases.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Little is known about the relationship between disease-specific mortality and high-level activities of daily living in the elderly. We examined whether mortality is associated with high-level activities of daily living in an octogenarian population.

Methods: We conducted a population-based cross-sectional and prospective cohort study in 693 older persons aged 80 years and living in Japan's Fukuoka Prefecture.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Aims: Although total mortality is likely to be higher in elderly individuals with frailty or impaired activities of daily living (ADL), little is known about the relationships between disease-specific mortality and ADL dependency in the elderly. Therefore, we examined whether 12-year disease-specific mortality may be associated with ADL dependency in an 80-year-old population.

Methods: In 1998, of 1,282 community-dwelling residents of Japan's Fukuoka Prefecture, 824 (64.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Although many investigations examined the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and mortality, little is known about the possible associations between BMI and disease-specific mortality in very elderly people. Here we evaluated this association in an 80-year-old population. In 1998, 675 residents in Japan's Fukuoka Prefecture participated.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans is the etiological agent of periodontitis, and there is a strong association between clone JP2 and aggressive periodontitis in adolescents of African descent. The JP2 clone has an approximately 530-bp deletion (∆530) in the promoter region of the lkt/ltx gene, which encodes leukotoxin, and this clone has high leukotoxic activity. Therefore, this clone is very important in aggressive periodontitis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF