The NADPH oxidase NOX2 plays a role in periodontal pathologies

Oxidative stress plays an important role in periodontal health and disease. The phagocyte nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase NOX2 is most likely one of the key sources of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in periodontal tissues. This review will discuss three clinical aspects of NOX2 function. We will first focus on oral pathology in NOX2 deficiency such as chronic granulomatous disease (CGD). CGD patients are thought to suffer from infections and sterile hyperinflammation in the oral cavity. Indeed, the periodontium appears to be the most common site of infection in CGD patients; however, as periodontitis is also common in the general population, it is not clear to which extent these infections can be attributed to the disease. Secondly, the role of oxidative stress in periodontal disease of diabetic patients will be reviewed. Diabetes is indeed a major risk factor to develop periodontal disease, and increased activity of leukocytes is commonly observed. Enhanced NOX2 activity is likely to be involved in the pathomechanism, but data remains somewhat preliminary. The strongest case for involvement of NOX2 in periodontal diseases is aggressive periodontitis. Increased ROS generation by leukocytes from patients with aggressive periodontitis has clearly been documented. This increased ROS generation is to be caused by two factors: (1) genetically enhanced ROS generation and (2) oral pathogens that enhance NOX function. NOX enzymes in the oral cavity have so far received little attention but are likely to be important players in this setting. New therapies could be derived from these new concept

Treatment of residual pockets with photodynamic therapy, diode laser, or deep scaling. A randomized, split-mouth controlled clinical trial

The objective of this work was to compare the effects of antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (PDT), diode soft laser therapy (DSL), and thorough deep scaling and root planing (SRP) for treatment of residual pockets. Thirty-two subjects with a history of non-surgical treatment for chronic periodontitis were included. Residual pockets >4mm and bleeding upon probing were debrided with an ultrasonic device and then subjected to either PDT, DSL, or SRP. Pocket probing depth (PPD), bleeding on probing (BOP), and gingival recession were monitored over 6months. Counts of four microorganisms were determined by direct hybridization with RNA probes. PPD decreased from 5.6 ± 1.0 to 3.8 ± 1.1 in 6months (p 4mm with BOP depended on initial PPD (p = 0.036) and was higher if treated with DSL (p = 0.034). Frequencies of three microorganisms were significantly lower in PDT- and SRP-treated than in DSL-treated quadrants (p = 0.02) after 14days, but not at months 2 and 6. All three treatments resulted in a significant clinical improvement. PDT and SRP suppressed Porphyromonas gingivalis, Tannerella forsythia, and Treponema denticola stronger, and resulted in fewer persisting pockets after 6months, than DSL applicatio

Effect of periodontal treatment on peak serum levels of inflammatory markers

Background and objective: Some subjects with untreated periodontitis exhibit elevated levels of distinct inflammatory markers in serum. The aim of the study was to assess whether nonsurgical periodontal therapy changes the levels of these markers and lowers these peaks. Methods: Forty periodontally diseased subjects received nonsurgical periodontal therapy (full-mouth scaling and root planing within 48h) with either adjunctive systemic amoxicillin and metronidazole (n = 19) or placebo (n = 21). Serum samples, obtained at baseline (BL) and 3months after treatment (M3), were evaluated for 15 cytokines and 9 acute-phase proteins using the Bio-Plex bead array multianalyte detection system. For each analyte, peak values were defined as greater than the mean + 2 standard deviations (SD) of measurements found in 40 periodontally healthy persons. Proportions were compared using Fisher's exact test. Results: At M3, a significantly better primary clinical outcome (persisting pockets of >4mm with bleeding on probing) was obtained in patients treated with scaling and root planing plus antibiotics compared to those receiving placebo (3.3 ± 5.1 vs. 6.8 ± 7.8 pockets per patient, p < 0.05). The levels of cytokines and acute-phase proteins of periodontitis patients were usually below the mean + 2 SD threshold of healthy persons. However, values above threshold were found in some individuals. Eleven patients showed a peak value of one analyte, and seven patients showed two peaks. In the remaining 12 patients, between three and ten analytes showed peak values. Therapy greatly reduced the number of subjects with four or more peaks (BL, 11 subjects; M3, 1 subject, p = 0.003). With regards to the reduction of peaks, no specific benefit of adjunctive antibiotics could be seen. Conclusion: Subjects with untreated periodontitis may show high peaks for several inflammatory markers in serum simultaneously. Nonsurgical periodontal treatment with or without antibiotics reduced most of these peak levels

Percutaneous revascularization for ischemic left ventricular dysfunction: Cost-effectiveness analysis of the REVIVED-BCIS2 trial

BACKGROUND: Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is frequently undertaken in patients with ischemic left ventricular systolic dysfunction. The REVIVED (Revascularization for Ischemic Ventricular Dysfunction)-BCIS2 (British Cardiovascular Society-2) trial concluded that PCI did not reduce the incidence of all-cause death or heart failure hospitalization; however, patients assigned to PCI reported better initial health-related quality of life than those assigned to optimal medical therapy (OMT) alone. The aim of this study was to assess the cost-effectiveness of PCI+OMT compared with OMT alone. METHODS: REVIVED-BCIS2 was a prospective, multicenter UK trial, which randomized patients with severe ischemic left ventricular systolic dysfunction to either PCI+OMT or OMT alone. Health care resource use (including planned and unplanned revascularizations, medication, device implantation, and heart failure hospitalizations) and health outcomes data (EuroQol 5-dimension 5-level questionnaire) on each patient were collected at baseline and up to 8 years post-randomization. Resource use was costed using publicly available national unit costs. Within the trial, mean total costs and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) were estimated from the perspective of the UK health system. Cost-effectiveness was evaluated using estimated mean costs and QALYs in both groups. Regression analysis was used to adjust for clinically relevant predictors. RESULTS: Between 2013 and 2020, 700 patients were recruited (mean age: PCI+OMT=70 years, OMT=68 years; male (%): PCI+OMT=87, OMT=88); median follow-up was 3.4 years. Over all follow-ups, patients undergoing PCI yielded similar health benefits at higher costs compared with OMT alone (PCI+OMT: 4.14 QALYs, £22 352; OMT alone: 4.16 QALYs, £15 569; difference: −0.015, £6782). For both groups, most health resource consumption occurred in the first 2 years post-randomization. Probabilistic results showed that the probability of PCI being cost-effective was 0. CONCLUSIONS: A minimal difference in total QALYs was identified between arms, and PCI+OMT was not cost-effective compared with OMT, given its additional cost. A strategy of routine PCI to treat ischemic left ventricular systolic dysfunction does not seem to be a justifiable use of health care resources in the United Kingdom

Arrhythmia and death following percutaneous revascularization in ischemic left ventricular dysfunction: Prespecified analyses from the REVIVED-BCIS2 trial

BACKGROUND: Ventricular arrhythmia is an important cause of mortality in patients with ischemic left ventricular dysfunction. Revascularization with coronary artery bypass graft or percutaneous coronary intervention is often recommended for these patients before implantation of a cardiac defibrillator because it is assumed that this may reduce the incidence of fatal and potentially fatal ventricular arrhythmias, although this premise has not been evaluated in a randomized trial to date. METHODS: Patients with severe left ventricular dysfunction, extensive coronary disease, and viable myocardium were randomly assigned to receive either percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) plus optimal medical and device therapy (OMT) or OMT alone. The composite primary outcome was all-cause death or aborted sudden death (defined as an appropriate implantable cardioverter defibrillator therapy or a resuscitated cardiac arrest) at a minimum of 24 months, analyzed as time to first event on an intention-to-treat basis. Secondary outcomes included cardiovascular death or aborted sudden death, appropriate implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) therapy or sustained ventricular arrhythmia, and number of appropriate ICD therapies. RESULTS: Between August 28, 2013, and March 19, 2020, 700 patients were enrolled across 40 centers in the United Kingdom. A total of 347 patients were assigned to the PCI+OMT group and 353 to the OMT alone group. The mean age of participants was 69 years; 88% were male; 56% had hypertension; 41% had diabetes; and 53% had a clinical history of myocardial infarction. The median left ventricular ejection fraction was 28%; 53.1% had an implantable defibrillator inserted before randomization or during follow-up. All-cause death or aborted sudden death occurred in 144 patients (41.6%) in the PCI group and 142 patients (40.2%) in the OMT group (hazard ratio, 1.03 [95% CI, 0.82–1.30]; P =0.80). There was no between-group difference in the occurrence of any of the secondary outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: PCI was not associated with a reduction in all-cause mortality or aborted sudden death. In patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy, PCI is not beneficial solely for the purpose of reducing potentially fatal ventricular arrhythmias. REGISTRATION: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov ; Unique identifier: NCT01920048

Inflammatory side effects associated with orthodontic tooth movement

Orthodontic tooth movement is induced my mechanical stimuli and facilitated by the remodeling of the periodontal ligament and alveolar bone. The remodeling activities and the ultimately tooth displacement are the consequence of an inflammatory process. Vascular and cellular changes were the first events to be recognized and described. With the advancement of research techniques an important number of inflammatory mediators, growth factors, neuropeptides and metabolites of arachidonic acid have been detected in the surrounding periodontal tissue. Most of them are produced in sufficient amounts to diffuse into the gingival crevicular fluid and their analysis has been used to evaluate the local cellular metabolism that accompanies bone remodeling process during orthodontic tooth movement. Gingival inflammation, discomfort or pain and root resorption are common undesirable side effects of orthodontic treatment. Gingival health is compromised during orthodontic treatment because of alterations in the composition of bacterial plaque and consequently the development of gingivitis, especially when fixed orthodontic appliances are used. Discomfort or pain is reported by most patients during the first day or couple of days of treatment and comes from the compression of periodontal ligament after application of the orthodontic force. As for root resorption, it has been reported that almost all roots, shortly after the application of orthodontic force present histologically small areas of surface resorption. In most cases this resorption does not decrease the functional capacity of the involved teeth, but in other cases the degree of resoprtion may become important, resulting in an unfavourable crown/root ratio and thus less periodontal support for the tooth, decreasing its longevity. In the present thesis, the following questions are addressed: • What are the clinical and biochemical characteristics accompanying the inflammatory process of periodontal tissues around teeth subjected to forces by fixed orthodontic appliances? • Does the composition of gingival crevicular fluid change in relation to the type of force exerted on the periodontium (tension or compression) during the early phase of orthodontic treatment? • Does a common orthodontic procedure such as the placement of elastic separators result in discomfort or pain to the patients and is there an association between the expression of pain-related molecules in the GCF and the perceived intensity of pain? • Do the standardized clinical periodontal parameters obtained during orthodontic treatment could be related to the cervical root resorption observed after tratement? • What is the diagnostic accuracy of digitized periapical radiographs in detecting orthodontically induced apical root resorption? • Does the use of orthopantomograph can help the clinician to make the decision on continuation and /or possible modification of orthodontic treatment because of orthodontically induced root resorption

Knowledge and practices of oral health care during pregnancy: a survey among swiss dentists

To evaluate the knowledge and practices of Swiss dentists concerning oral care during pregnancy