Periodontal Status of Postmenopausal Women

The objective of this study was to compare the periodontal status in postmenopausal women with osteopenia and osteoporosis. Material and Methods: We examined 43 postmenopausal women aged from 55 to 74 years. Material assessment of bones in every patient was performed by means of dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) from two points on the skeleton – part of the femur neck and between the first and fourth lumbar vertebrae. A lipid blood test was done for patients of both groups. All patients were divided into two groups (the 1st with osteopenia, and the 2nd with osteoporosis). All patients were subjected to an oral clinical examination: the periodontal examination was composed of Plaque Index (PI), Pocket Score (PS), and Papillary Bleeding Index (PBI). X-ray analysis was performed for every patient. Results: The results of the clinical periodontal examination demonstrated that the mean PBI in patients in the 1st group had no significant differences from the PBI in patients in the 2nd group. PI value and PS findings in patients with general osteoporosis also had no statistical differences from the same parameters in patients with osteopenia. Conclusion: Under the circumstances of these patients’ characteristics and within the limits of the present study, we concluded that there is no significant difference in the periodontal status of postmenopausal women with systemic osteopenia and with osteoporosis

The Influence of a Hemostatic Agent on Adhesion Strength and Microleakage of Composite Resin Restorations

The aim of the present study was to assess the side effect of an aluminum chloride hemostatic agent on adhesion strength and microleakage of composite resin restorations bonded with the one-bottle total-etch adhesive system. Methods: We prepared 10 human tooth samples (extracted premolars for orthodontic purposes) in accordance with the Ultratest technique for the assessment of shear bond strength (SBS), and another 10 human tooth samples for microleakage assessment. The SBS tooth samples (n=10) were subjected to the two following tests: In Test 1, before traditional adhesive protocol, the aluminum chloride hemostatic agent was rubbed into a surface dentin for 60 sec with the help of a metal dento-infusor tip and washed with distilled water. In Test 2, just traditional wet bonding was performed. In the group of teeth (n=10) for microleakage assessment, we prepared two round artificial cavities of similar size (3 mm in diameter, 1 mm deep) in each tooth sample on the proximal surfaces with half in enamel and another half in root dentin. All created cavities (n=20) were divided into two subgroups. In cavities of Subgroup 1 (n=10), the adhesive protocol and filling with composite resin were performed after preliminary rubbing-in of the hemostatic agent. In Subgroup 2 (n=10), cavities were merely restored according to the rules for applying the one-bottle total-etch adhesive system. Assessment of microleakage was performed at the enamel margin and dentin margin. Scanning electron microscopy was used to evaluate the microstructure morphology of a hybrid layer, formed without the side effect of a hemostatic agent and after application of it. Results: The average score of SBS was 7.42±3.5 kg in Test 2 and 3.87±2.45 kg in Test 1. Therefore, the side effect of the aluminum chloride hemostatic agent was detrimental to the bond strength of the composite resin to human dentin and significantly decreased the quality of adhesion by 1.92 times (P0.05). However, the visual analysis of the dentin-composite junction of sectioned tooth samples demonstrated 2.1 times more microleakage in Subgroup 1 (1.7±0.95 CU) than in Subgroup 2 (0.8±0.79 CU), but the difference was not significant (P>0.05). In view of clinical situations with no possibility to escape the application of a hemostatic agent in cases of possible capillary hemorrhage and crevicular fluid leakage, it could be wise before running an adhesive protocol to cut off the portion of surface dentin that was exposed to an aluminum chloride hemostatic agent side effect