A fully digital technique for retrofitting a new crown to a removable partial denture (RPD) is presented. The conventional crown preparation was followed by intraoral scanning of the preparation, the ...antagonists, and the occlusal relationship and by scanning the RPD both in situ and outside the oral cavity. All the standard tessellation language (STL) files were indexed in a design software program, and the new crown was designed. After conventional dynamic adaptation against the antagonist teeth in the software program, the existing RPD was designated as the antagonist cast, and a second regular static adaptation was performed. This straightforward approach produced a crown which fit the occlusal rest and reciprocating arm without sending the existing prosthesis to the dental laboratory.
Burn healing should be regarded as a dynamic process consisting of two main, interrelated phases: (a) the inflammatory phase when neutrophils and monocytes infiltrate the injury site, through ...localized vasodilation and fluid extravasation, and (b) the proliferative-remodeling phase, which represents a key event in wound healing. In the skin, both canonical autophagy (induced by starvation, oxidative stress, and environmental aggressions) and non-canonical or selective autophagy have evolved to play a discrete, but, essential, “housekeeping” role, for homeostasis, immune tolerance, and survival. Experimental data supporting the pro-survival roles of autophagy, highlighting its Yang, luminous and positive feature of this complex but insufficient explored molecular pathway, have been reported. Autophagic cell death describes an “excessive” degradation of important cellular components that are necessary for normal cell function. This deadly molecular mechanism brings to light the darker, concealed, Yin feature of autophagy. Autophagy seems to perform dual, conflicting roles in the angiogenesis context, revealing once again, its Yin–Yang features. Autophagy with its Yin–Yang features remains the shadow player, able to decide quietly whether the cell survives or dies.
A wide range of mediators are released from the pulp tissue because of bacterial invasion which causes inflammation. Interleukins (ILs) and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) have a leading role in ...initiating and spreading of inflammation because of their synergic action. Biomarkers such as ILs and MMPs can be identified via several methods, establishing the inflammatory response of the dental pulp. The aim of this systematic review is to evaluate the levels of ILs and/or MMPs in human dental pulp. PubMed, OVID, Cochrane, Scopus, Web of Science and Wiley online library databases were searched for original clinical studies. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, a quality assessment of studies was performed based on a modified Newcastle-Ottawa scale. In the review were included articles that evaluated the presence of ILs and/or MMPs in pulp tissue using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) or western blot or multiplex assay. Six articles were included in the present synthesis. Although various diagnostic methods were used, statistically significant higher levels of ILs and/or MMPs were mostly found in the experimental groups compared to healthy pulp samples. The biomarkers studied can be a promising tool to evaluate pulp tissue health or even in pulpitis treatment.
This paper’s primary aim is to outline relevant aspects regarding the biocompatibility of PMMA (poly(methyl methacrylate))-based materials used for obtaining interim prosthetic restorations, such as ...the interaction with oral epithelial cells, fibroblasts or dental pulp cells, the salivary oxidative stress response, and monomer release. Additionally, the oral environment’s biochemical response to modern interim dental materials containing PMMA (obtained via subtractive or additive methods) is highlighted in this review. The studies included in this paper confirmed that PMMA-based materials interact in a complex way with the oral environment, and therefore, different concerns about the possible adverse oral effects caused by these materials were analyzed. Adjacent to these aspects, the present work describes several advantages of PMMA-based dental materials. Moreover, the paper underlines that recent scientific studies ascertain that the modern techniques used for obtaining interim prosthetic materials, milled PMMA, and 3D (three-dimensional) printed resins, have distinctive advantages compared to the conventional ones. However, considering the limited number of studies focusing on the chemical composition and biocompatibility of these modern interim prosthetic materials, especially for the 3D printed ones, more aspects regarding their interaction with the oral environment need to be further investigated.
Oxidative stress is implicated in the pathogenesis of many systemic and oral diseases such as periodontal disease. The main aim of this study is to explore a possible association between salivary ...markers of OS and alveolar bone loss.
The study included 20 patients with chronic periodontitis and 20 controls. Salivary OS biomarkers 8-hidroxy-desoxguanosine (8-HOdG), malondialdehyde (MDA), uric acid, total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) were evaluated. Bone loss markers such as C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (CTX I), matrix metalloproteinases-8 (MMP-8), osteocalcin and 25-hydroxy vitamin D3 (25- OH D) were detected in this study. The methods included general biochemical tests and ELISA.
Salivary 8-OHdG, MDA levels were significantly higher in the chronic periodontitis group compared with controls (p < 0.05). Salivary activities for uric acid, TAC and GPx were significantly decreased in patients with chronic periodontitis vs controls (p < 0.05). Salivary levels for CTX I, MMP-8, 25-OH D and Osteocalcin were significantly higher in the chronic periodontitis group compared to the controls (p < 0.05). A significant positive correlation was observed between salivary levels of MDA and CTX I. Significant negative correlations between uric acid and CTX I and between MMP-8 and uric acid have been found. Significant positive correlations were observed between CTX I, MMP-8, 25-OH D, osteocalcin and clinical parameters of periodontal disease.
Important oxidative stress associated with alveolar bone loss biomarkers can be detected in saliva of patients with periodontal disease.
Inflammation in primary teeth (PT) is commonly associated with a lower sensibility to painful stimuli, compared to permanent teeth, and usually leads to late presentation for dental treatment. Data ...obtained on the molecular assessments of dental pulp and clinical examinations could guide practitioners to conduct precise diagnoses and correct treatments. The aim of our pilot study was to assess the levels of several biomarkers (e.g., mineralization, oxidative stress, and inflammation) in primary teeth. The research included 46 dental pulp specimens collected from the primary teeth of children and adolescents between the ages of 6 and 12. The experimental groups consisted of 18 samples collected from primary teeth with acute pulpitis and 15 samples from chronically inflamed pulp tissues. The control group was represented by 13 specimens acquired from clinically healthy primary teeth. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique was used to determine the protein expression of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), superoxide dismutase-3 (SOD-3), osteocalcin, and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) in the lysates. Our results revealed that all of the studied parameters presented statistically significant (p ≤ 0.05) increased levels in both experimental groups compared to the control samples. Furthermore, osteocalcin presented statistically significant increased concentrations in chronically- versus acute-inflamed pulp samples (p ≤ 0.05). The studied molecules may have an influential role in acute and chronic pulp inflammation in primary teeth.
Dental pulp inflammation, caused by the evolution of caries, involves numerous interrelated activities at a cellular and molecular level. Cytokines, proteases, growth factors, and other biomarkers of ...the host response may take part in dental pulp’s immune defense. The aim of this pilot study was to determine the levels of inflammation, oxidative stress, and extracellular matrix degradation biomarkers in healthy and symptomatic irreversibly inflamed dental pulp samples from children and adolescents. Twenty-three dental pulp samples were collected from permanent teeth with irreversible inflammation, while nineteen healthy dental pulp samples were obtained from teeth extracted for orthodontic reasons. Pulp lysates were obtained and the levels of IL-2, IL-17, TNF-α, SOD3, TGF-β1, catalase, osteocalcin, MMP-7, and MMP-9 were determined using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique. We detected significantly higher levels (p < 0.001) of IL-2, IL-17, TNF-α, SOD3, osteocalcin, and TGF-β1 in pulp samples with irreversible inflammation than in controls. Catalase and MMP-7 showed higher levels in the experimental group, while MMP-9 showed slightly increased levels in the control group, but none of these differences were statistically significant (p = 0.064/p = 0.061/p = 0.625). Inflamed dental pulp samples showed an up-regulation of IL-2, IL-17, TNF-α, SOD3, osteocalcin, and TGF-β1. These biomarkers appear to have a powerful role in the inflammation process of human dental pulp.
The duration of denture use, oral hygiene, smoking and male sex were identified as risk factors for oral mucosal lesions. As it is well known, all the oral mucosal lesions associated with risk ...factors have an important degree of malignity. Chronic mechanical irritation can be another cause of oral cancer and it is produced by the constant action of a deleterious agent from the oral cavity. Autophagy represents a complex evolutionary conserved catabolic process in which cells self-digest intracellular organelles in order to regulate their normal turnover and remove the damaged ones with compromised function to further maintain homeostasis. Autophagy is modulated by mTOR kinase and indirectly by PI3K/AKT survival pathway. Due to its dual capacity to either induce cell death or promote cell survival, important evidence pointed that autophagy has a two-faced role in response to chemotherapy in cancer. In conclusion, understanding how to overcome cytoprotective autophagy and how to take advantage of autophagic cell death is critical in order to enhance the cancer cells sensitivity to particular therapeutic agents.
Molecular mechanisms of cancer involve mutations of several genes triggering various pathway alterations. Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) represents approximately 10% of the head and neck cancers ...and is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in Central and Eastern Europe. The main aim of this review article is to present an overview of one of the major actors in cellular processes’ regulation that are key features of cancer molecular events - the PI3K/AKT signalling pathway. The altered molecular signalling pathways in OSCC have been discussed, emphasizing the frequent disruption of the PI3K/AKT pathway in cancer. Thus, the aspects presented in this article highlight this pathway as an important target for new therapeutic strategies.
The fabrication of fixed dental prostheses using aesthetic materials has become routine in today’s dentistry. In the present study, three-unit full zirconia fixed prosthetic restorations obtained by ...computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) technology were tested by bending trials. The prostheses were intended to replace the first mandibular left molar and were manufactured from four different types of zirconia bioceramics (KatanaTM Zirconia HTML and KatanaTM Zirconia STML/Kuraray Noritake Dental Inc.; NOVAZir® Fusion float® ml/NOVADENT/Dentaltechnik; and 3D PRO Zirconia/Bloomden Bioceramics). In total, sixteen samples were manufactured—four samples per zirconia material. Additionally, the morphology, grain size area distribution, and elemental composition were analyzed in parallelepiped samples made from the selected types of zirconia in three different areas, noted as the upper, middle, and lower areas. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis highlighted that the grain size area varies with respect to the researched area and the type of material. Defects such as microcracks and pores were also noted to a smaller extent. In terms of grain size area, it was observed that most of the particles in all samples were under 0.5 μm2, while the chemical composition of the investigated materials did not vary significantly. The results obtained after performing the bending tests showed that a zirconia material with fewer structural defects and an increased percentage of grain size area under 0.5 µm2, ranging from ~44% in the upper area to ~74% in the lower area, exhibited enhanced mechanical behavior. Overall, the resulting values of all investigated parameters confirm that the tested materials are suitable for clinical use.