For two decades, in periodontology, the effects of periodontal disease on pregnancy, low birth weight or premature birth have been investigated. Even hypertensive diseases during pregnancy have an ...influence on pregnancy possibly leading to the death of the untreated mother. Due to the stable increase in birth rates,in addition to women’s employment and careers, this topic has become more relevant in dentistry than ever before. Rates of prematurity and reduced birth weight are both increasing worldwide and are the main cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. The need for action regarding the prevention, education and health care of pregnant women is given worldwide. This article first gives an overview of the topic and further discusses the necessary interdisciplinary gynecological and dental therapy. In the daily practice, dentists will be able to make a small but not insignificant contribution to improving the situation of affected women and their children.
Abstract Objective To assess whether the use of cartilaginous contours at the femoral condyles instead of bony contours significantly changes femoral torsion measurements in children. Materials and ...Methods Femoral torsion was measured in 32 girls (mean age 10.1 years ± 2.3 standard deviation) and 42 boys (10.9 years ± 2.5) on axial magnetic resonance (MR) images by two independent readers (R1,R2). The femoral condyle angle was measured using each the cartilaginous and bony contours of the distal femur. Cartilage thickness at femoral condyles was assessed. Intraclass-correlation-coefficient (ICC) and Pearson‘s correlation were used for statistical analysis. Results Mean difference between cartilaginous and bony femoral torsion in girls was −1.1° ± 1.75 (range, −5.4° to 3.1°) for R1 and −1.64° ± 1.67 (−6.3° to 2.1°) for R2, in boys −1.5° ± 1.87(−8.4° to 1.1°) for R1 and −2.28° ± 1.48 (−4.3° to 9.7°) for R2. Weak-to-moderate correlations between difference of cartilaginous-versus-bony measurements and cartilage thickness (r = −0.15 to −0.55, P < 0.001-0.46) or age (r = −0.33 to 0.46, P < 0.001-0.006) were found for both genders. Intermethod-ICC for cartilaginous versus bony femoral torsion measurements was 0.99/0.99 for R1/R2 in girls, and 0.99/0.98 in boys. Conclusion There is only a small difference when measuring femoral torsion through cartilaginous versus bony contours, and no major difference in this between boys and girls.
Objectives
To evaluate possible differences in periodontal inflammatory, microbiological and clinical parameters between women with preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM) and controls with ...uncomplicated pregnancies.
Materials and methods
Fifty-six women (32 test (PPROM) and 24 controls (uncomplicated pregnancies)) were examined at three time-points (T1: gestational weeks 20–35, T2: within 48 h after parturition, T3: 4–6 weeks after parturition). The examinations included assessment of the Periodontal Screening Index, collection of gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) and subgingival as well as vaginal bacterial sampling.
Results
Periodontal inflammation was found to be higher in the test compared with the control group (
p
< 0.05) and decreased over time in both groups (
p
< 0.05). Microbiological outcomes showed no intergroup differences (
p
> 0.05) in prevalence of bacteria, but a decrease in subgingival periodontopathogens from T1 to T2 in the test group (
p
< 0.05) was observed. Interleukin (IL)-1β levels in GCF at T2 were not different between groups (
p
> 0.05). In women with PPROM, GCF levels of IL-8 (
p
< 0.05) and C-reactive protein (
p
< 0.05) were lower and IL-10 levels higher (
p
< 0.05) compared with controls.
Conclusions
Periodontal inflammation is elevated during pregnancy and seems to be more pronounced in women with PPROM.
Clinical relevance
The findings of the present study revealed an association between periodontal inflammation and PPROM, thus emphasizing the importance of optimizing self-performed oral hygiene in pregnant women.
Objectives: Dental satisfaction is associated with continuity of dental care, compliance with dentist advice, and positive health outcomes. It is expected that people with higher dental fear might ...have less dental satisfaction because of more negative dental experiences. The objective of this study was to examine satisfaction and reasons for satisfaction with dental practitioners in Switzerland and variations by dental fear.
Methods: A national sample of 1,129 Swiss residents aged 15‐74 (mean = 43.2 years) completed a personal interview at their home with questions assessing dental fear, dental service use, general satisfaction with their dentist, and reasons for satisfaction or dissatisfaction.
Results: Overall, 47.9 percent of participants responded that they were satisfied with their dentist and 47.6 percent that they were very satisfied. Satisfaction differed significantly by gender, language spoken, region of residence, and educational attainment. Greater dental fear was significantly associated with greater dissatisfaction with the dentist. The percentage of people who were very satisfied with the dentist ranged from 56.0 percent among people with no fear to 30.5 percent for participants with “quite a lot” of fear but was higher (44.4 percent) for people who stated that they were “very much” afraid of the dentist. The most common reasons attributed for satisfaction with dentists were interpersonal characteristics of the dentist and staff. People with “quite a lot” of fear were found to endorse these sentiments least.
Conclusions: Although higher dental fear was associated with more dissatisfaction with the dentist, the level of satisfaction among fearful individuals in Switzerland is still high.
Aim
To characterize the subgingival microbiota within a cohort of adult males (n = 32) naïve to oral hygiene practices, and to compare the composition of bacterial taxa present in periodontal sites ...with various probing depths.
Material and Methods
Subgingival plaque samples were collected from single shallow pocket pocket probing depth (PPD)≤3 mm and deep pocket (PPD≥6 mm) sites from each subject. A polymerase chain reaction based strategy was used to construct a clone library of 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes for each site. The sequences of ca. 30–60 plasmid clones were determined for each site to identify resident taxa. Microbial composition was compared using a variety of statistical and bioinformatics approaches.
Results
A total of 1887 cloned 16S rRNA gene sequences were analysed, which were assigned to 318 operational taxonomic units (98% identity cut‐off). The subgingival microbiota was dominated by Firmicutes (69.8%), Proteobacteria (16.3%), and Fusobacteria (8.0%). The overall composition of microbial communities in shallow sites was significantly different from those within deep sites (∫‐Libshuff, p < 0.001).
Conclusions
A taxonomically diverse subgingival microbiota was present within this cohort; however, the structures of the microbial communities present in the respective subjects exhibited limited variation. Deep and shallow sites contained notably different microbial compositions, but this was not correlated with the rate of periodontal progression.
This second and final part of the publication on the topic of sustainability in dental practices deals with the so-called workplace management, which describes the work processes and the consumption ...of energy and materials in the practice itself. Waste management is also addressed, which discusses the path of resources from the practice to disposal and recycling. Finally, an example from materials research is presented using implants.
Sustainability in dental practices is playing an increasingly important role. External and internal factors have an influence on the emissions of a practice. The external factors include the domains ...of politics, science, and education. It is eminent that the discussion on the environmental impact in healthcare finds its way into these three domains, as it lays the foundation for behavioural change and thus paves the way for a greener future. The internal factors include practice operations, supply chain, employees, and patients. Overall, the topic of sustainability is hardly prevalent in the dental workplace. This first article of a two-part series highlights how sustainability in dentists' practices and work is influenced by many environmental factors which, taken together, can affect the interplay between the environment and dentistry.
The aim of this prospective, randomized, controlled clinical study was to compare the clinical outcomes of the subgingival treatment with erythritol powder by means of an air-polishing (EPAP) device ...and of scaling and root planing (SRP) during supportive periodontal therapy (SPT).
40 patients enrolled in SPT were randomly assigned to two groups of equal size. Sites had to show signs of inflammation (bleeding on probing BOP-positive) and a probing pocket depth (PPD) of ≥ 4 mm, however, without presence of detectable subgingival calculus. During SPT, these sites were treated with EPAP or SRP, respectively. Full mouth and site-specific plaque indices, BOP, PPD, and clinical attachment level (CAL) were recorded at baseline (BL) and at 3 months, whereas the percentage of study sites positive for BOP (BOP+) was considered as primary outcome variable. Additionally, patient comfort using a visual analog scale (VAS) and the time needed to treat per site was evaluated.
At 3 months, mean BOP level measured 45.1% at test sites and 50.6% at control sites, respectively, without a statistically significant difference between the groups (P > .05). PPD and CAL slightly improved for both groups with comparable mean values at 3 months. Evaluation of patient tolerance showed statistically significantly better values among patients receiving the test treatment (mean VAS 0-10, 1.51) compared to SRP (mean VAS 0-10, 3.66; P = .0012). The treatment of test sites was set to 5 seconds per site. The treatment of control sites, on the other hand, lasted 85 seconds on average.
The new erythritol powder applied with an air-polishing device can be considered a promising modality for repeated instrumentation of residual pockets during SPT.
With regard to clinical outcomes during SPT, similar results can be expected irrespective of the two treatment approaches of hand instrumentation or subgingival application of erythritol powder with an air-polishing device in sites where only biofilm removal is required.
The present study validated the accuracy of data from a self-reported questionnaire on smoking behaviour with the use of exhaled carbon monoxide (CO) level measurements in two groups of patients. ...Group 1 included patients referred to an oral medicine unit, whereas group 2 was recruited from the daily outpatient service. All patients filled in a standardized questionnaire regarding their current and former smoking habits. Additionally, exhaled CO levels were measured using a monitor. A total of 121 patients were included in group 1, and 116 patients were included in group 2. The mean value of exhaled CO was 7.6 ppm in the first group and 9.2 ppm in the second group. The mean CO values did not statistically significantly differ between the two groups. The two exhaled CO level measurements taken for each patient exhibited very good correlation (Spearman's coefficient of 0.9857). Smokers had a mean difference of exhaled CO values of 13.95 ppm (
p
< 0.001) compared to non-smokers adjusted for the first or second group. The consumption of one additional pack year resulted in an increase in CO values of 0.16 ppm (
p
= 0.003). The consumption of one additional cigarette per day elevated the CO measurements by 0.88 ppm (
p
< 0.001). Based on these results, the correlations between the self-reported smoking habits and exhaled CO values are robust and highly reproducible. CO monitors may offer a non-invasive method to objectively assess current smoking behaviour and to monitor tobacco use cessation attempts in the dental setting.
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