Drug delivery systems for dental applications

Inevitable caries formation and other tooth related diseases are one of the most common factors affecting human quality of life, as they are often followed by loss of teeth. Significant research efforts have been devoted to establishing control and preventive solutions. It is clearly known that fluoride is one of the promising chemical substances with anti-carious activity. The elimination of the microbial infection, especially the multispecies infections induced by aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, is a current challenge of the endodontic therapy. Using antibiotics or other active agents (from ions, nanoparticles to natural products) loaded in specific drug carrier systems seems to be ideal approach in treating and controlling dental diseases, even if, the drug delivery systems used in dental applications are less established comparing with other tissues/organs. Based on the importance of biomedical drug delivery systems the present study aims to give a brief review on the improvements of drug delivery systems for dental applications. © Springer Japan 2016.Unitatea Executiva pentru Finantarea Invatamantului Superior, a Cercetarii, Dezvoltarii si InovariiThe work has been funded by PN-II-PT-PCCA-2013-4-0891 project "Innovative dental products with multiple applications - LavEndo" funded by UEFISCDI

Plasma Tissue Factor Levels and Salivary Tissue Factor Activities of Periodontitis Patients with and without Cardiovascular Disease

The association between periodontal and cardiovascular disease has received considerable attention. Studies have demonstrated a higher incidence of atherosclerotic complications in patients with periodontal disease. Tissue factor (TF) has been known as a key initiator of the coagulation cascade, and the TF pathway is the primary physiological mechanism of initiation of blood coagulation. Recently, it has been shown that the circulating pool of TF in blood is associated with increased blood thrombogenicity in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Various tissues and saliva have been known to have TF activity. Consequently, the aim of this study was to investigate plasma TF levels and TF activity of saliva in periodontitis patients with and without diagnosed CAD. Twenty-six patients with a diagnosis of CAD and 26 systemically healthy patients were examined in the dental clinic, and the Community Periodontal Index Treatment Needs (CPITN) scores were recorded. Plasma TF levels were determined using commercially available ELISA kit. Salivary TF activities were determined according to Quick's one-stage method. Plasma TF levels were significantly increased in patients with CAD when compared with the control group. There was no difference in salivary TF activities between the 2 groups, but there was a strong and negative correlation between salivary TF activities and CPITN indexes in both groups. In order to determine the possible role of TF activity as a salivary marker in CAD and periodontitis and to fully understand the negative correlation between salivary TF activities and CPITN, TF activity of gingival crevicular fluid that may also affect saliva can be evaluated. Copyright (C) 2011 S. Karger AG, Base