Prediabetes Associates with Matrix Metalloproteinase-8 Activation and Contributes to the Rapid Destruction of Periodontal Tissues.

Objective:  The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the relationship between periodontitis, potential periodontitis oral fluid biomarkers, and prediabetes.

Materials And Methods:  This study included 150 Greek adults aged 25 to 78 years who were tested with an Hemoglobin A1C (HBA1c) diagnostic system, an active-matrix metalloproteinase-8 (aMMP-8) point-of-care (PoC) test, and several salivary biomarkers enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay tests and gelatin zymography. A full-mouth clinical examination was performed to assess their periodontal and oral health status.

Association of Periodontal Disease with Hypertension in Nigerian Patients: A Comparative Study.

Background: Periodontal diseases are chronic and inflammatory in nature, and have been associated with hypertension, a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Hypertension is prevalent among Nigerians. However, controlled studies on the relationship between hypertension and periodontal disease in Nigeria are limited.

aMMP-8 Oral Fluid PoC Test in Relation to Oral and Systemic Diseases.

The manuscript uses the previously published literature and highlights the benefits of active-matrix metalloproteinase (aMMP)-8 chairside/point-of-care (PoC) diagnostic tools as adjunctive measures in oral and systemic diseases. Previous studies suggest that as a biomarker, aMMP-8 is more precise than total MMP-8, MMP-9, MMP-2, MMP-3, MMP-13, MMP-7, MMP-1, calprotectin, myeloperoxidase (MPO), human neutrophil elastase (HNE), tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase (TIMP)-1, and bleeding of probing (BOP). Therefore, aMMP-8 could be implemented as the needed key biomarker for the new disease classification for both periodontitis and peri-implantitis.

Ability of matrix metalloproteinase-8 biosensor, IFMA, and ELISA immunoassays to differentiate between periodontal health, gingivitis, and periodontitis.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the diagnostic utility of an MMP-8 biosensor assay in differentiating periodontal health from gingivitis and periodontitis and compare it with an established time-resolved immunofluorescence assay (IFMA) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

Background: Currently available antibody-based assays display a wide variability in their ability to accurately measure matrix metalloproteinase-8 (MMP-8) levels in saliva.

Methods: Salivary MMP-8 levels were analyzed in 189 systemically healthy participants using an antibody-based biosensor prototype that operates using a surface acoustic wave technology and compared with IFMA and ELISA antibody assays.

The COVID-19 pandemic and dental residency training in Nigeria.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has had wide-ranging effects on dental practice across the world. In particular, if has also affected the training of dental residents, who are specialists in training. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, perception and attitude of dental residents in Nigeria to the pandemic and its perceived impact on the dental residency training programme across the country.

Nigerian undergraduate dental students' knowledge, perception, and attitude to COVID-19 and infection control practices.

Purpose/objectives: The current coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected most countries. Infection, Prevention, and Control training is important in mitigating the spread of COVID-19. The closure of universities by the Nigerian government has hampered academic activities of dental students.

Association of Elevated C-Reactive Protein with Severe Periodontitis in Hypertensive Patients in Lagos, Nigeria: A Pilot Study.

Background: Epidemiological studies have shown that individuals with chronic periodontitis have a significantly higher risk of developing cardiovascular complications, which might be attributed to the increased production of inflammatory cytokines initiated by the complex microbiota in dental biofilm.

Aim: The study aims to evaluate the association between chronic periodontitis and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in a group of hypertensive individuals in Nigeria.

Materials And Methods: The investigator enrolled 50 hypertensive patients with chronic periodontitis into the study from the medical outpatient clinic of a teaching hospital in Lagos, Nigeria.

Evaluation of the Attached Gingival Width and Sulcus Depth in an Adult Nigerian Population - A Pilot Study.

Background: The attached gingiva is an important anatomical component of the periodontium with clinical implications. Variations exist in the width of the attached gingiva reported in the literature. Concerns had been previously raised over the width that was considered adequate for a healthy periodontium.

Effect of Calcium Channel Blockers on Gingival Tissues in Hypertensive Patients in Lagos, Nigeria: A Pilot Study.

Background: Long-term treatment of common chronic cardiac conditions such as hypertension with calcium channel blockers (CCBs) has long been associated with gingival hyperplasia. This oral side effect may affect esthetics and function, yet often overlooked and therefore underreported among Nigerians.

Aim: This study aimed to determine the association of CCBs with gingival overgrowth (GO) in hypertensive patients.

Relevance of routine blood pressure assessment among dental patients in Lagos, Nigeria.

Aim: To determine the relevance of routine blood pressure (BP) measurement in patients attending the dental clinic.

Materials And Methods: This was a retrospective survey of patients who attended the dental clinic in the Preventive Dentistry Department of a tertiary Hospital in Lagos, Nigeria over an eighteen month period. Data retrieved from the patient's hospital records included age, sex, BP and history of hypertension.

Severe presentation of necrotizing ulcerative periodontitis in a Nigerian HIV-positive patient: a case report.

Objective: To report a case of severe necrotizing ulcerative periodontitis (NUP) with a rarely associated sequestrum formation in a Nigerian HIV-positive patient.

Clinical Presentation And Intervention: A 47-year-old HIV-positive male patient with no history of previous dental visits presented with a severe toothache in his lower jaw of 4 weeks' duration, which had affected his ability to chew properly. Clinical examination revealed marked gingival inflammation, moderate gingival recession and mobility of some of his lower anterior teeth: 31, 32, and 33.