A Role for Non-Antimicrobial Actions of Tetracyclines in Combating Oxidative Stress in Periodontal and Metabolic Diseases: A Literature Review

This review addresses the role of adjunctive tetracycline therapy in the management of periodontal diseases and its efficacy in reducing inflammatory burden, oxidative stress and its sequelae in patients with coexisting features of metabolic syndrome. Removal of the dimethylamine group at C4 of the tetracycline molecule reduces its antibiotic properties, enhancing its non-antimicrobial actions; this strategy has aided the development of several chemically modified tetracyclines such as minocycline and doxycycline, by altering different regions of the molecule for focused action on biological targets. Tetracyclines are effective in reducing inflammation by inhibiting matrix metalloproteinases, preventing excessive angiogenesis, inhibiting apoptosis and stimulating bone formation. There are important applications for tetracyclines in the management of diabetic, dyslipidaemic periodontal patients who smoke. The diverse mechanisms of action of tetracyclines in overcoming oxidative stress and enhancing matrix synthesis are discussed in this review

Toothguide Training Box for dental color choice training.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of the Toothguide Training Box (TTB) for training dental students in color identification. The seventy-four volunteers who took part in the study attended a seminar on the Vita 3D Master Guide (MG) and the TTB system as well as a demonstration of the equipment before training began. At the end of the training they took the TTB final test. In addition, the participants were asked to recognize ten MG shade tabs in a blind manner before and after TTB training. The training times and percentages of correct answers were compared using the paired t-test. Variations in scores with training times and percentages of correct answers before and after training were compared using the ANOVA test. Training times between thirty-one and thirty-eight minutes provided a significantly higher mean score than training times of over thirty-eight minutes (p=0.036). The percentage of correct answers obtained with the MG before and after training shows a positive correlation. High TTB scores are associated with a greater number of correct answers in MG shade tab selection