Is Diet a Determining Factor in the Induction of Gingival Inflammation by Dental Plaque? A Secondary Analysis of Clinical Studies.

The aim was to determine the association between plaque and gingival inflammation reported by dietary interventions. Data of four clinical studies dealing with changed nutrition and gingival examination were reanalyzed with regard to gingival inflammation (GI), plaque (PI), and bleeding on probing (BOP). Dietary changes basically involved avoiding sugar, white flour and sweetened drinks and focusing on whole foods for 4 weeks.

Impact of the uninstructed use of a herbal, ayurvedic toothpaste on parameters of gingival health in periodontal aftercare patients: A randomized, double-blinded, two-arm parallel-group study.

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the uninstructed use of a toothpaste containing herbal ayurvedic ingredients on parameters of gingival health in a cohort of periodontal aftercare patients affected by gingival inflammation compared to the use of a standard, non-herbal toothpaste.

Materials And Methods: The monocentric, randomized, double-blinded, two-arm parallel-group intervention was performed in a cohort of 88 periodontal aftercare patients with clinical signs of gingival inflammation. At baseline, bleeding on probing (BoP), gingival index (GI) and Quigley-Hein plaque index (QHI) were recorded.

Impact of Dietary Nitrate on the Recovery of Therapy-related Vascular Health Impairments Following Standard Periodontal Aftercare Therapy: a Hypothesis-generating Subanalysis.

This follow-up study assessed the impact of a nitrate-rich diet on salivary nitrate/nitrite levels and the recovery of therapy-induced vascular impairments in a cohort of 39 periodontitis patients treated by standard subgingival mechanical plaque removal (PMPR). At baseline, saliva samples for nitrate/nitrite analysis were collected, and peripheral/central blood and augmentation pressure was documented using the Arteriograph recording system. Immediately after, PMPR vascular parameters were reassessed.

Clinical benefits of systemic amoxicillin/metronidazole may depend on periodontitis stage and grade: An exploratory sub-analysis of the ABPARO trial.

Aim: Assessment of treatment response after systemic amoxicillin/metronidazole adjunctive to subgingival instrumentation (SI) according to stages and grades of the 2018 classification of periodontal diseases.

Materials And Methods: We carried out exploratory re-analysis of the placebo-controlled, multi-centre ABPARO trial (52; 45/60 years of age; 205 males, 114 active smokers). Patients were randomized to SI with systemic amoxicillin 500 mg/metronidazole 400 mg (three times a day for 7 days, n = 205; ANTI) or placebo (n = 200; PLAC) and maintenance therapy every 3 months.

Long-term changes in the subgingival microbiota in patients with stage III-IV periodontitis treated by mechanical therapy and adjunctive systemic antibiotics: A secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial.

Aim: To explore whether adjunctive antibiotics can relevantly influence long-term microbiota changes in stage III-IV periodontitis patients.

Materials And Methods: This is a secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial on periodontal therapy with adjunctive 500 mg amoxicillin and 400 mg metronidazole or placebo thrice daily for 7 days. Subgingival plaque samples were taken before and 2, 8, 14 and 26 months after mechanical therapy.

Impact of a Specific Collagen Peptide Food Supplement on Periodontal Inflammation in Aftercare Patients-A Randomised Controlled Trial.

This controlled clinical trial evaluated the impact of a specific collagen peptide food supplement on parameters of periodontal inflammation in aftercare patients. A total of 39 study patients were enrolled. At baseline, bleeding on probing (BoP; primary outcome), gingival index (GI), plaque control record (PCR), recession (REC) and probing pocket depth (PPD) for the calculation of the periodontal inflamed surface area (PISA) were documented.

Oral health status of adult hypophosphatasia patients: A cross-sectional study.

Aim: This study evaluated the oral health status of adult patients with hypophosphatasia (HPP).

Materials And Methods: Parameters of oral health assessment comprised decayed/missing/filled teeth (DMFT) index, probing pocket depth and clinical attachment level (CAL) as well as documentation of tooth loss and periodontal health status according to CCD/AAP criteria. Findings were compared with national reference data (DMS V survey) reporting oral health status in age-related controls.

The Role of Polymorphisms at the Interleukin-1, Interleukin-4, GATA-3 and Cyclooxygenase-2 Genes in Non-Surgical Periodontal Therapy.

Periodontitis is a multifactorial disease. The aim of this explorative study was to investigate the role of Interleukin-(IL)-1, IL-4, GATA-3 and Cyclooxygenase-(COX)-2 polymorphisms after non-surgical periodontal therapy with adjunctive systemic antibiotics (amoxicillin/metronidazole) and subsequent maintenance in a Caucasian population. Analyses were performed using blood samples from periodontitis patients of a multi-center trial (ClinicalTrials.

On the Role of Dietary Nitrate in the Maintenance of Systemic and Oral Health.

The assessment of the significance of nitrates ingested with food has undergone a fundamental change in recent years after many controversial discussions. While for a long time, a diet as low in nitrates as possible was advocated on the basis of epidemiological data suggesting a cancer-promoting effect of nitrate-rich diets, more recent findings show that dietary nitrate, after its conversion to nitrite by nitrate-reducing bacteria of the oral microbiota, is an indispensable alternative source for the formation of nitric oxide (NO), which comprises a key element in the physiology of a variety of central body functions such as blood pressure control, defense against invading bacteria and maintenance of a eubiotic microbiota in the gut and oral cavity. This compact narrative review aims to present the evidence supported by clinical and in vitro studies on the ambivalent nature of dietary nitrates for general and oral health and to explain how the targeted adjuvant use of nitrate-rich diets could open new opportunities for a more cause-related control of caries and periodontal disease.

Outside the limits of bacterial viability: Postbiotics in the management of periodontitis.

Periodontitis is a major cause of tooth loss in adults worldwide and is caused by an unbalanced oral microbiota in a susceptible host, ultimately leading to tissue breakdown and bone loss. Traditionally, the treatment for periodontitis is scaling and root planing; however, some cases require adjuvant therapy, such as antibiotics administration or surgery. Various factors are involved in the pathogenesis and interact in an unpredictable way, increasing the complexity of the disease and making it difficult to manage.

Impact of a two-stage subgingival instrumentation scheme involving air polishing on attachment gain after active periodontal therapy.

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether clinical attachment level gain (ΔCAL) in deep untreated periodontal lesions may be improved by a two-stage, subgingival instrumentation scheme involving air polishing.

Methods: This 6-month, randomized, controlled, examiner-masked clinical trial was performed in 44 patients with periodontitis with untreated periodontal lesions ≥6 mm. At baseline, day 28, 84, and 168 CAL, probing depth (PD), bleeding on probing (BOP), and plaque control record (PlaCR) were recorded.

The utilization of dental emergency services during COVID-19 pandemic in a German university center: Do we lose vulnerable patients?

Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic poses a major challenge to health care worldwide. As a part of the virus containment strategy, health care services were limited to the treatment of essential emergencies. The aim was to evaluate the influence of COVID-19 pandemic on patients' utilization of dental emergency services, focusing on patients vulnerable to severe courses of COVID-19.

Nitrate-rich diet alters the composition of the oral microbiota in periodontal recall patients.

Background: This follow-up study evaluated microbiome changes in periodontal recall patients after consuming a nitrate-rich diet that led to a marked decrease of gingival inflammation.

Methods: Subgingival microbial samples of 37 patients suffering from gingival inflammation with reduced periodontium were taken before professional mechanical plaque removal (baseline) and subsequently after 2 weeks of regularly consuming a lettuce juice beverage (day 14) containing a daily dosage of 200 mg of nitrate (test group, n = 18) or being void of nitrate (placebo group, n = 19). Three hundred base pairs paired-end sequencing of the V3-V4 hypervariable region of the 16S rDNA was performed.

Impact of a toothpaste with microcrystalline hydroxyapatite on the occurrence of early childhood caries: a 1-year randomized clinical trial.

The aim of this trial was to determine whether a toothpaste with microcrystalline hydroxyapatite is not inferior to a fluoride toothpaste in prevention of caries in children. This double-blinded randomized control trial compared two toothpastes regarding the occurrence of caries lesions using International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS) ≥ code 1 on the primary dentition within 336 days. The test group used a fluoride-free hydroxyapatite toothpaste three times daily while control group used a toothpaste with fluoride.

Impact of 0.1% octenidine mouthwash on plaque re-growth in healthy adults: a multi-center phase 3 randomized clinical trial.

Objectives: To investigate plaque inhibition of 0.1% octenidine mouthwash (OCT) vs. placebo over 5 days in the absence of mechanical plaque control.

A Multicenter Trial on the Long-term Performance of Direct Composite Buildups in the Anterior Dentition – Periodontal Health.

Purpose: This sub-analysis of our multicenter trial was to assess the long-term periodontal health (PH) of teeth, esthetically reshaped by means of direct composite buildups.

Materials And Methods: 198 patients who received 667 direct composite buildups on 585 treated teeth (TT) between 01/2001 and 12/2013 were included. PH was assessed for each TT and for an untreated control tooth (CT) by recording the pocket probing depths (PPD), clinical attachment level (CAL), sulcus bleeding index (SBI), and Turesky's modification of the Quigley Hein plaque index (PI).

Investigation of the levels of different salivary stress markers in chronic periodontitis patients.

Background And Aim: In this study, we aimed to determine the salivary levels of cortisol, α-amylase, β-endorphin, and chromogranin (CgA) in saliva and to investigate their relationship with periodontitis.

Methods: Thirty-seven female and 43 male periodontitis patients who presented to the Periodontology Department of the XXX University Faculty of Dentistry participated in the study. The individuals were divided into three groups: mild, moderate, or severe chronic periodontitis.

Significant Short-Term Shifts in the Microbiomes of Smokers With Periodontitis After Periodontal Therapy With Amoxicillin & Metronidazole as Revealed by 16S rDNA Amplicon Next Generation Sequencing.

The aim of this follow-up study was, to compare the effects of mechanical periodontal therapy with or without adjunctive amoxicillin and metronidazole on the subgingival microbiome of smokers with periodontitis using 16S rDNA amplicon next generation sequencing. Fifty-four periodontitis patients that smoke received either non-surgical periodontal therapy with adjunctive amoxicillin and metronidazole (n = 27) or with placebos (n = 27). Subgingival plaque samples were taken before and two months after therapy.

Novel molecular cues for dental defects in hypophosphatasia.

Mineralization disorders with a broad range of etiological factors represent a huge challenge in dental diagnosis and therapy. Hypophosphatasia (HPP) belongs to the rare diseases affecting predominantly mineralized tissues, bones and teeth, and occurs due to mutations in the ALPL gene, which encodes tissue-nonspecific alkaline phosphatase (TNAP). Here we analyzed stem cells from bone marrow (BMSCs), dental pulp (DPSCs) and periodontal ligament (PDLSCs) in the absence and presence of efficient TNAP inhibitors.

Effect of periodontal therapy on adipokine biomarkers in overweight.

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of non-surgical periodontal therapy on circulating levels of the systemic inflammation-associated biomarkers orosomucoid (ORM), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), chemerin, and retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4) in overweight or normal-weight patients with periodontitis at 27.5 months after therapy.

Materials And Methods: This exploratory subanalysis includes patients from the ABPARO-trial (ClinicalTrials.

Proposal of a Clinical Endpoint for Periodontal Trials: The Treat-to-Target Approach.

The selection of proper outcome measures is a critical step in clinical research. Most randomized clinical trials (RCTs) assessing the effects of initial anti-infective periodontal therapies use surrogate outcomes as primary outcome variables, such as mean changes in probing depth (PD) or in clinical attachment. However, these parameters do not reflect disease remission/control at patient level, which has led to subjective interpretations of the data from RCTs and Systematic Reviews.

Long-term outcome of adhesive fragment reattachment in crown-root fractured teeth.

Background/aims: Adhesive fragment reattachment (AFR) is one treatment option for crown-root fractured teeth. However, there are no studies investigating the long-term outcome of this approach. The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the long-term outcome of AFR and periodontal health in crown-root fractured teeth by assessing complications and periodontal status.

Consumption of Lactobacillus reuteri-containing lozenges improves periodontal health in navy sailors at sea: A randomized controlled trial.

Background: The objective of this trial was to evaluate whether the regular consumption of probiotics may improve the known deterioration of periodontal health in navy sailors during deployments at sea.

Methods: 72 healthy sailors of a naval ship on a practicing mission at sea were recruited and randomly provided with a blinded supply of lozenges to be consumed twice daily for the following 42 days containing either the probiotic strains Lactobacillus reuteri (DSM 17938 and L. reuteri (ATTC PTA 5289) (test n = 36) or no probiotics (placebo n = 36).

Status of periodontal health in German patients suffering from chronic kidney disease-Data from the GCKD study.

Aim: To assess the prevalence and severity of periodontitis in patients with moderate chronic kidney disease (CKD) and comparing the results with the self-reported periodontitis awareness of the study subjects.

Material And Methods: The periodontal status of 270 patients with moderate CKD randomly selected from a cohort of 5,217 subjects participating in the prospective observational German Chronic Kidney Disease (GCKD) project was analysed by recording bleeding on probing (BOP), probing pocket depth (PPD) and clinical attachment level (CAL). Furthermore, the awareness of the study subjects of their periodontal conditions was evaluated by a self-reported questionnaire.