Soft Tissue Contour Impression with Analogic or Digital Work Flow: A Case Report

Transferring precise information to the dental laboratory is one of the key factors to achieving clinical success. The aim of the present study was to describe classical and digital work-flows used to rehabilitate an implant with a convergent collar in the aesthetic zone following the BOPT (biologically oriented preparation technique) approach and to report the three years follow-up outcomes of two patients rehabilitated following such procedures

Comparison of the Clinical Outcomes of Titanium and Zirconia Implant Abutments: A Systematic Review of Systematic Reviews

Background: Dental implants are widely used and in order to answer to esthetic demands, zirconia has been introduced as an abutment material as an alternative to titanium. Several studies have been published on this topic, but the results have been often inconsistent. The objective of the present study is to systematically analyze the existing literature comparing clinical outcomes of titanium and zirconia implant abutments. The study was designed as a systematic review of systematic reviews. Methods: This systematic review is in accordance with the Transparent Reporting of Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses. A MEDLINE/PubMed, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and SCOPUS literature search was performed up to and including June 2021. Data were extracted independently by two reviewers and tAMSTAR2 was used to assess the quality of the systematic reviews. Results: The electronic search identified 1146 papers, and 175 duplicates were removed. After manual screening, 954 studies were excluded and the final analysis was conducted on 11 papers. Both mechanical and esthetic outcomes and biological complications were analyzed. Conclusions: It can be concluded that titanium abutments have a better mechanical resistance than zirconia ones. Plaque accumulation is reported to be slightly higher on titanium but without any significant inflammatory process. The esthetic outcomes seem to be more related to the thickness (>3 mm) of the soft tissues than to the abutment material

Prediction of Titanium Implant Success by Analysis of microRNA Expression in Peri-Implant Tissue. A 5-Year Follow-Up Study

The aim of the present study is to evaluate the expression of microRNA (miRNA) in peri-implant soft tissue and to correlate epigenetic information with the clinical outcomes of the implants up to the five-year follow-up. Seven patients have been rehabilitated with fixed screw-retained bridges each supported by implants. Peri-implant bone resorption and soft tissue health parameters have been recorded over time with a five-year follow-up. Mini-invasive samples of soft peri-implant tissue have been taken three months after implant insertion. miRNA have been extracted from cells of the soft tissue samples to evaluate gene-expression at the implant sites by microarray analysis. The epigenomic data obtained by microarray technology has been statistically analyzed by dedicated software and compared with measured clinical parameters. Specific miRNA expression profiles predictive of specific clinical outcomes were found. In particular, some specific miRNA signatures appeared to be \u201cprotective\u201d from bone resorption despite the presence of plaque accumulation. miRNA may be predictors of dental implant clinical outcomes and may be used as biomarkers for diagnostic and prognostic purposes in the field of implant dentistry

Effects of abutment materials on peri-implant soft tissue health and stability: A network meta-analysis.

PURPOSE This systematic review aimed to evaluate the effect of the abutment material on peri-implant soft tissue health and stability. STUDY SELECTION An electronic and hand search was conducted until February 2022. Only prospective randomized trials (RCTs) and controlled clinical trials (CCTs) comparing titanium abutments with abutments made of different materials, with a follow-up of at least 6 months, were selected by two independent reviewers. Data on marginal bone loss (MBL) and peri-implant tissue indexes, i.e., plaque index (PI), bleeding on probing (BOP), probing depth (PD), and recession (REC), were collected. The risk of bias for RCTs and non-RCTs was evaluated according to the tool reported in the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions and the ROBINS-I tool, respectively. Both pairwise and network meta-analyses (NMA) were performed. RESULTS We included 18 relevant studies from 1,437 identified studies. Overall, 612 patients were treated, and 848 abutments were inserted. Five studies presented a low risk of bias. Pairwise meta-analysis showed that, as compared to titanium, zirconia abutments presented a significantly reduced MBL (0.20 mm, 95% Confidence Interval CI [0.14-0.26], P < 0.00001). No significant differences were found for the other outcomes. In the NMA, zirconia abutments demonstrated an 83.3% probability of achieving the highest rank in PI, an 87.0% in BOP, and a 65.0% in PD outcome, suggesting that zirconia abutments generally performed better than titanium and alumina abutments. CONCLUSIONS Within the limits of the present study, zirconia abutments seem a viable alternative to titanium ones

Hygienic and dietetic guidelines for implant-supported full-arch immediate loading prostheses

Introduction: Proper oral hygiene and diet are important considerations for success in implant prosthodontics. However, detailed hygienic and dietetic guidelines for patients rehabilitated with implant-supported, immediate loading prostheses are lacking in the literature. Methods: The authors have developed a dietary and hygienic protocol for patients rehabilitated with implant-supported, full-arch, immediate loading prostheses in order to avoid occlusal overloads during osseointegration and optimize healing. Results: The dietary and hygienic guidelines provided in this paper emphasize the importance of maintaining proper oral hygiene and diet to support osseointegration and soft tissue healing during postsurgery healing periods. Conclusions: The protocol presented has been an effective instrument to obtain and maintain osseointegration in patients rehabilitated with full-arch, immediate loading prostheses

Effect of plaque accumulation and occlusal overload on peri-implant bone loss

This paper presents a case report where the influence of plaque accumulation and overload on a dental implant was observed. The patient presented crown loss on one implant affected by peri-implant bone resorption and gingival inflammation associated with poor oral hygiene. After 12 months a single crown was delivered, but as soon as the occlusal load was applied bone loss and implant failure occurred. In the present case report the dental implant remained stable as long as the implant was not loaded, although a 100% plaque index and bleeding on probing were present during the entire followup period. In contrast, as soon as an occlusal load was applied periimplant bone loss and implant failure occurred. These observations suggest that plaque accumulation alone is not a triggering factor for peri-implant bone loss and implant failure. On the contrary, occlusal load, when not properly controlled, might cause bone resorption

Effect of argon plasma pre-treatment of healing abutments on peri-implant microbiome and soft tissue integration: a proof-of-concept randomized study

Purpose: Biofilm-free implant surface is ultimate prerequisite for successful soft and bone tissue integration. Objective of the study was to estimate the effects of argon plasma healing abutment pre-treatment (PT) on peri-implant soft-tissue phenotype (PiSP), inflammation, plaque accumulation and the microbiome (PiM) between non-treated (NPT) and treated (PT) abutments following 3-months healing period. The hypothesis was that cell-conductive and antimicrobial properties of PT would yield optimal conditions for soft tissue integration. Material and Methods: Two months following second-phase surgery, microbiological and clinical parameters were assessed around thirty-six healing abutments with two types of microtopography, smooth surface (MACHINED) and ultrathin threaded microsurface (ROUGH). A two level randomization schema was used to achieve equal distribution and abutments were randomly divided into rough and machined groups, and then divided into PT and NPT groups. PiM was assessed using next-generation DNA sequencing. Results: PiM bacterial composition was highly diverse already two months post-implantation, consisting of key-stone pathogens, early and late colonizers, while the mycobiome was less diverse. PT was associated with lower plaque accumulation and inflammation without significant impact on PiSP, while in NPT clinical parameters were increased and associated with periopathogens. NPT mostly harbored late colonizers, while PT exerted higher abundance of early colonizers suggesting less advanced plaque formation. Interaction analysis in PT demonstrated S. mitis co-occurrence with pro-healthy Rothia dentocariosa and co-exclusion with Parvimonas micra, Porphyromonas endodontalis and Prevotella oris. PiSP parameters were generally similar between the groups, but significant association between PiM and keratinized mucosa width was observed in both groups, with remarkably more expressed diversity in NPT compared to PT. PT resulted in significantly lower BOP and PI around rough and machined abutments, respectively, without specific effect on PiM and PiSP. Conclusions: PT contributed to significantly the less advanced biofilm accumulation and inflammation without specific effects on PiSP

Bitter tastants and artificial sweeteners activate a subset of epithelial cells in acute tissue slices of the rat trachea

Bitter and sweet receptors (T2Rs and T1Rs) are expressed in many extra-oral tissues including upper and lower airways. To investigate if bitter tastants and artificial sweeteners could activate physiological responses in tracheal epithelial cells we performed confocal Ca2+ imaging recordings on acute tracheal slices. We stimulated the cells with denatonium benzoate, a T2R agonist, and with the artificial sweeteners sucralose, saccharin and acesulfame-K. To test cell viability we measured responses to ATP. We found that 39% of the epithelial cells responding to ATP also responded to bitter stimulation with denatonium benzoate. Moreover, artificial sweeteners activated different percentages of the cells, ranging from 5% for sucralose to 26% for saccharin, and 27% for acesulfame-K. By using carbenoxolone, a gap junction blocker, we excluded that responses were mainly mediated by Ca2+ waves through cell-to-cell junctions. Pharmacological experiments showed that both denatonium and artificial sweeteners induced a PLC-mediated release of Ca2+ from internal stores. In addition, bitter tastants and artificial sweeteners activated a partially overlapping subpopulation of tracheal epithelial cells. Our results provide new evidence that a subset of ATP-responsive tracheal epithelial cells from rat are activated by both bitter tastants and artificial sweeteners

Creating a WhatsApp Dataset to Study Pre-teen Cyberbullying

Although WhatsApp is used by teenagers as one major channel of cyberbullying, such interactions remain invisible due to the app privacy policies that do not allow ex-post data collection. Indeed, most of the information on these phenomena rely on surveys regarding self-reported data. In order to overcome this limitation, we describe in this paper the activities that led to the creation of a WhatsApp dataset to study cyberbullying among Italian students aged 12-13. We present not only the collected chats with annotations about user role and type of offense, but also the living lab created in a collaboration between researchers and schools to monitor and analyse cyberbullying. Finally, we discuss some open issues, dealing with ethical, operational and epistemic aspects

Comparative Trial of <i>N</i>-Acetyl-Cysteine, Taurine, and Oxerutin on Skin and Kidney Damage in Long-Term Experimental Diabetes

This study analyzes the effect of chronic treatment with different antioxidants (N-acetyl-cysteine [NAC], taurine, a combination of NAC and taurine, and oxerutin) on long-term experimental diabetes induced by streptozotocin in rats. Glycoxidative damage was evaluated in the skin; glomerular structural changes were studied with morphometry and immunohistochemistry. Oxerutin treatment and the combined NAC plus taurine treatment resulted in reduced accumulation of collagen-linked fluorescence in skin in comparison with untreated diabetic rats. All treatments except taurine reduced glomerular accumulation of Nε-(carboxymethyl)lysine and protected against the increase in glomerular volume typical of diabetes; furthermore, the apoptosis rate was significantly decreased and the glomerular cell density was better preserved. Glycoxidative markers in the skin turned out to be good indicators of the glomerular condition. The findings that emerged from our study support the hypothesis that glomerular damage in diabetes can be prevented or at least attenuated by supplementation with specific antioxidants. Treatment with oxerutin and combined treatment with NAC plus taurine gave the most encouraging results, whereas the results of taurine-only treatment were either negligible or negative and therefore suggest caution in the use of this molecule in single-drug treatment courses