Oral disease burden in northern Manhattan patients with diabetes mellitus.

Objectives: We explored the association between diabetes mellitus and oral disease in a low-socioeconomic-status urban population.

Methods: Dental records of 150 adults with diabetes and 150 nondiabetic controls from the dental clinic at Columbia University in Northern Manhattan matched by age and gender were studied.

Results: There was a 50% increase in alveolar bone loss in diabetic patients compared with nondiabetic controls.

Cranial base surgery.

Surgery of the cranial base presents significant challenges for the surgeon and patient alike. The goal of ablative surgery-to obtain disease-free margins-contrasts with the patient's functional and esthetic needs. This comes into sharp juxtaposition in cranial base surgery.

Bilateral canalicular adenomas of the upper lip.

An unusual case of canalicular adenomas appearing bilaterally and simultaneously as separate nodules of the right and left upper lip is described. Upon histological examination, both nodules revealed tumor islands within their respective capsules, as well as outside their capsules and extending into normal salivary gland tissues. The article describes this unusual case and reviews the significance of the extracapsular tumor islands.

Periodontal changes in children and adolescents with diabetes: a case-control study.

Objective: To evaluate the level of oral disease in children and adolescents with diabetes.

Research Design And Methods: Dental caries and periodontal disease were clinically assessed in 182 children and adolescents (6-18 years of age) with diabetes and 160 nondiabetic control subjects.

Results: There were no differences between case and control subjects with respect to dental caries.

Infection patterns in chronic and aggressive periodontitis.

Background: We revisited the postulate that localized aggressive periodontitis (LAP) patients have robust serum antibody (ab) responses to periodontal pathogens while patients with generalized aggressive periodontitis (GAP) show weak responses. We also studied ab responses in localized chronic (LCP) and generalized chronic periodontitis (GCP).

Methods: Fifty-seven patients (14-74 years, 25% male, 70% Hispanic, 26% African American) were studied (15 LAP, 19 GAP, 11 LCP, 12 GCP patients).

Tobacco attitudes, practices, and behaviors: a survey of dentists participating in managed care.

Tobacco cessation knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of dentists participating in a large national managed care dental plan were assessed using a mailed survey. The survey was administered to dentists recruited to participate in an evaluation of a CD-ROM and supportive electronic detailing to promote increased tobacco cessation activities. General dentists who met specific technological criteria, had an active E-mail account, and at least 200 adult patients were eligible to participate in this study.

Population studies of microbial ecology in periodontal health and disease.

It has been established that the bacterial diversity in any given environment is severely underestimated when assessed by means of culture-based techniques. Yet, almost all currently available knowledge related to the periodontal microbiota in health and disease has been generated either by culture-based surveys or by methods that require prior species identification by culture. A handful of recent studies using culture-independent molecular methods providing 16S rRNA sequences for both cultivable and not yet cultivated species of human periodontal bacteria demonstrated a high bacterial diversity in the oral cavity.

Models for delivering school-based dental care.

School-based health centers (SBHCs) often are located in high-need schools and communities. Dental service is frequently an addition to existing comprehensive services, functioning in a variety of models, configurations, and locations. SBHCs are indicated when parents have limited financial resources or inadequate health insurance, limiting options for primary care and preventive services, or within low-access areas such as dental health professional shortage areas.

Root fracture. Report of case supporting decreased splint times.

This is a case presentation of a root fracture that was treated and followed intermittently for 23 years. The treatment outcome supports the newly evolving protocol that root fractures are most successfully treated using a flexible splint over a relatively short duration.

Contemporary space maintenance for the pediatric patient.

Primary teeth play a critical role in the growth and development of a child. In addition to their role in esthetics, eating, speech, and to encourage normal function and resultant expected growth, the other main function of a primary tooth is to hold space for the permanent successor until it is ready to erupt. Space maintenance forms an integral part of preventive and interceptive orthodontics.

Oral candidiasis in pediatric HIV patients.

Oral candidiasis can be an early sign of illness or disease progression in HIV/AIDS and other immuno-compromised states. Oral lesions associated with fungal infections present in a variety of forms, including a few of previously unknown etiology. Diagnosing these variants of disease can be challenging because of their atypical clinical presentation.

Parotid enlargement in patient with HIV.

Patients with bilateral parotid swellings are seen in the dental office. The swellings may be initiated by HIV. Diagnosis demands a thorough clinical examination combined with imaging.

Markers of periodontal infection and preterm birth.

Objective: This study was undertaken to explore the relationship between clinical, microbiologic, and serologic markers of periodontitis and preterm birth (PTB).

Study Design: We compared women with a singleton gestation giving birth before the 37th week (cases, n = 83) with term delivery controls (n = 120). Periodontal examination and collection of dental plaque and blood samples were performed within 48 hours after delivery.

Dental erosion due to wine consumption.

Background: Dental erosions can result from numerous causes, but extrinsic dietary factors are the most common. Because of wine's acidity, it may have a deleterious effect on teeth. Its use must be considered during an evaluation of erosive dental changes.

The use of 'academic detailing' to promote tobacco-use cessation counseling in dental offices.

Background: The authors conducted this study to ascertain the feasibility of face-to-face educational outreach visits, also called "academic detailing," as a methodology to promote dentists' adoption and incorporation of tobacco-use cessation counseling activities into their practices.

Methods: The authors obtained a sampling frame of one dental health maintenance organization's, or DHMO's, enrolled dentists who practiced in one of four Northeastern states and who had more than 300 DHMO patients. Of 507 eligible dentists, 88 agreed to participate, and the authors randomly assigned them to either intervention (an academic detailing program) or control (practice as usual) conditions.