The world haunted by Covid-19

In this time of confinement due to COVID-19 pandemic some reflections have been made e it has never been as clear as people can benefit from science. From the simple gesture of washing your hands like many others used during the quarantine, they have been identified by previous studies. In this way, we reinforce the need to maintain investments in the science.In this time of confinement due to COVID-19 pandemic some reflections have been made e it has never been as clear as people can benefit from science. From the simple gesture of washing your hands like many others used during the quarantine, they have been identified by previous studies. In this way, we reinforce the need to maintain investments in the science.In this time of confinement due to COVID-19 pandemic some reflections have been made e it has never been as clear as people can benefit from science. From the simple gesture of washing your hands like many others used during the quarantine, they have been identified by previous studies. In this way, we reinforce the need to maintain investments in the science

Analysis of familial incidence of non-syndromic cleft lip and palate in a Brazilian population

Background: The purpose of this study is to follow the familial incidence of non-syndromic or isolated cleft lip, with or without cleft palate (NSCL/P), and to analyze the relationships between the type of NSCL/P in the affected individual and his/her parent, looking at children in the first grade. Material and Methods: To investigate the familial incidence of NSCL/P we analyzed the records of 185 patients from 2004-2008, retrospectively. Detailed histories were collected regarding the familial incidence of NSCL/P. For the 185 individuals, the relationship between the type of NSCL/P and the sociodemographic and personal characteristics of the affected person and her/his cleft relatives was obtained. Results: The individuals were 42 carriers of CL, 109 with CLP (joined in one group) and 34 with CP (p<0.001). Of the total of participants, 65 (35.13%) presented a positive history of cleft in their families and 120 (64.86%) presented a negative history (p<0.001). There were differences between the cleft groups according to types of cleft and positive familial history (p<0.001). In both groups, the relatives with higher incidence of NSCL/P were cousins, with the same pattern of distribution between the two groups (p=0.175). Conclusions: Most frequently, fissures result from CL/CLP with no familial history. However, CL/CLP was found in familial cases and cousins were the relative type more likely to be affected

Clinical and Research Activities of the Brazilian Productivity Fellows in Oral Medicine and Oral Pathology during the COVID-19 Era

Objective: To evaluate the effect of the COVID-19 impacts on the activities of researchers in the field of Oral Medicine (OM) and Oral Pathology (OP). To assess the research activities and training of human resources by Brazilian productivity fellows in research (BPFR) in OM and OP in the COVID-19 Era . Material and Methods: Thirty-six BPFR in OM and OP areas, funded by National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), received a virtual structured questionnaire by e-mail, on the Google Forms (Google®) platform, with questions regarding research activities and training of human resources (supervision of undergraduate and postgraduate students), during the COVID-19 pandemic. From the thirty-six BPFR in OM and OP, twenty-seven (75.0%) answered the questionnaire. Results: Most of them were males (n=20; 74.1%) and were distributed in four Brazilian regions and ten states of the federation, including the Federal District. Twenty-four (88.9%) BPFR reported having suspended clinical activities, while sixteen (59.3%) answered that histopathology practices are suspended. Twenty-five (92.6%) BPFR mentioned difficulties in conducting research projects and 55.5% stated having no difficulties in the supervision of undergraduates, master’s and PhD students . Conclusion: The current scenario may significantly impact the diagnosis of oral diseases in Brazil. Moreover, a decrease in the scientific production of BPFR in OM and OP in the coming years is also considered

Specialized Dental Care in the Brazilian Unified National Health System (SUS)

Objective: To analyze specialized dental care through access, demand and the work processes provided by the CEO\u27s, using secondary data from the cycles of the PMAQ-CEO. Material and Methods: Cross-sectional study using public domain data. Variables of interest were selected from the external evaluation instrument data matrices and were grouped in categories. The categories were geographic distribution, structural, human resources, work processes and access and coordination. Results: The total of 932 CEO’s were evaluated in 2014 and 1,042 in 2016, most of them type II, present in the Northeast region. In both cycles, the highest average of dentists worked in the endodontic specialty (2.4 professionals per CEO) and the lowest in oral medicine (0.8 professionals per CEO). Of the two cycles, 91.5% of the CEO’s had a manager, 79.5% performed action planning activities and 74.5% realized internal self-assessment processes. There was an increase in the mean number of days to be seen at the CEO in all analyzed specialties (p&lt;0.001) and 85.2% of the CEO\u27s managers reported that there is a reference for oral cancer confirmed cases. Conclusion: Between the PMAQ-CEO cycles the number of CEO has increased, but there are still a big pent-up demand and the presence of care gaps. However, an expansion and improvement of the CEO’s actions was evidenced, mainly related to the work processes

The quality of life of disease-free Brazilian breast cancer survivors

O objetivo deste estudo foi comparar a qualidade de vida de mulheres que sobreviveram ao câncer de mama e de mulheres que não tiveram a doença, e identificar os fatores associados. Trata-se de um estudo transversal no qual o grupo de comparação envolve as sobreviventes de câncer de mama com idade entre 40 e 69 anos. Foram incluídas 154 mulheres, 70 sobreviventes do câncer de mama e 84 sem a doença. O questionário SF-36 foi utilizado para avaliar a qualidade de vida. O teste Qui-Quadrado e os modelos lineares multivariados foram utilizados para comparar os grupos. A média estimada dos componentes físicos e mentais foi significativamente melhor para o grupo que sobreviveu à doença (51,10 e 52,25, respectivamente) quando comparado ao grupo sem câncer (47,26 e 47,93, respectivamente). O estudo indicou que as sobreviventes do câncer de mama tinham melhor qualidade de vida quando comparadas a mulheres sem a doença.Se apuntó a comparar la calidad de vida de mujeres sobrevivientes al cáncer de mama con la de mujeres que no sufrieron la enfermedad, e identificar los factores asociados. Estudio transversal en el que el grupo de comparación envuelve a las sobrevivientes de cáncer de mama con entre 40 y 69 años. Fueron incluidas 154 mujeres, 70 sobrevivi-entes del cáncer de mama y 84 no afectadas. El cuestionario SF-36 fue utilizado para evaluar la calidad de vida. El test Chi-cuadrado y los modelos lineales multivariados fueron utilizados en la comparación de los grupos. La media estimada de los componentes físicos y mentales fue significativamente mejor para el grupo que sobrevivió a la enfermedad (51,10 y 52,25, respectivamente), en comparación al grupo sin cáncer (47,26 y 47,93, respectivamente). El estudio indicó que las sobrevivientes al cáncer de mama tenían mejor calidad de vida comparadas con aquellas que no padecieron la enfermedad.The objective of this study was to compare the quality of life of women who survived breast cancer and women who have not had the disease, and to identify associated factors. It is cross-sectional study in which the comparison group includes survivors of breast cancer aged between 40 and 69 years. One hundred and fifty-four women were included, 70 with breast cancer and 84 without the disease. The SF-36 was used to evaluate quality of life. The chi-square test and multivariate linear models were used to compare the groups. The estimated mean physical and mental components were significantly better for the group who survived the disease (51.10 and 52.25, respectively) compared to the group without cancer (47.26 and 47.93, respectively). The study indicates that survivors of breast cancer had a better quality of life compared to women without the disease

Rare Diseases and COVID-19: How are the Patients?

Dear Editor, When searching the scientific literature COVID-19-associated syndromes in addition to syndromes middle eastern respiratory syndrome (MERS), severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), some cardiovascular syndromes and post intensive care syndrome [1,2], we found the syndromes of Guillain-Barré, Miller Fisher, polyneuritis cranialis, Kawasaki, Inflammatory multisystem syndrome, and syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion [3-29]. Of these, only Guillain-Barré syndrome and Miller Fisher syndrome, Kawasaki diseases and Inflammatory multisystem syndrome have currently present cranio-facial manifestation (Table 1), but possibly others will become know when the damage of COVID-19 becomes known.Although there is no standardized definition of rare diseases, the classification of rare diseases is closely related to a definition according to point prevalence in the current political and legislative context, and such definitions are based on a prevalence threshold directly or implied. According to the World Health Organization (WOS) and adopted by the Ministry of Health of Brazil, a rare disease affects up to 65 per 100,000 individuals [30]. Each rare disease, taken separately, affects a limited number of people. Considering, however, that there are up to 8,000 types of rare diseases worldwide, when grouped under a single category, their epidemiological impact may become quite significant. About 80% of those are caused by genetic factors, and the rest by other factors, such as environmental, infectious and immunologicalones [31]. Thus, rare diseases are a global challenge that must be overcome. A multi-professional and interdisciplinary team, including pediatric dentistry, oral medicine and pathology, is essential for success throughout the process

COVID-19 pandemic: oral repercussions and its possible impact on oral health

Many viral infections cause oral manifestations, including disorders in odontogenesis, resulting in dental malformations. In this review, based on current knowledge, we will discuss the likely dental and oral consequences of COVID-19. In this article, we review currently available data associated with vertical transmission of COVID-19 and odontogenesis, oral manifestations, and the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on a diagnosis of oral diseases. Owing to the severity of the pandemic, the population's anxiety and fear of becoming infected with COVID-19 may underestimate the signs and symptoms of serious illnesses, besides discourage patients from seeking health, medical or dental services to determine the diagnosis of oral lesions. Thus, the COVID-19 pandemic could be an additional and aggravating factor for the delay of serious illness diagnosis, such as oral squamous cell carcinoma resulting in higher morbidity and worse prognosis. Several changes and oral lesions have been described as oral manifestations of COVID-19, such as dysgeusia, oral ulcers, petechiae, reddish macules, desquamative gingivitis, among others. Besides, it can cause major systemic changes and predispose opportunistic infections. As with other viral infections, oral manifestations, including dental anomalies, can occur as a direct result of SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, further studies are needed to guide and clarify possible oral changes20

Specialized Dental Care in the Brazilian Unified National Health System (SUS)

Objective: To analyze specialized dental care through access, demand and the work processes provided by the CEO's, using secondary data from the cycles of the PMAQ-CEO. Material and Methods: Cross-sectional study using public domain data. Variables of interest were selected from the external evaluation instrument data matrices and were grouped in categories. The categories were geographic distribution, structural, human resources, work processes and access and coordination. Results: The total of 932 CEO’s were evaluated in 2014 and 1,042 in 2016, most of them type II, present in the Northeast region. In both cycles, the highest average of dentists worked in the endodontic specialty (2.4 professionals per CEO) and the lowest in oral medicine (0.8 professionals per CEO). Of the two cycles, 91.5% of the CEO’s had a manager, 79.5% performed action planning activities and 74.5% realized internal self-assessment processes. There was an increase in the mean number of days to be seen at the CEO in all analyzed specialties (p<0.001) and 85.2% of the CEO's managers reported that there is a reference for oral cancer confirmed cases. Conclusion: Between the PMAQ-CEO cycles the number of CEO has increased, but there are still a big pent-up demand and the presence of care gaps. However, an expansion and improvement of the CEO’s actions was evidenced, mainly related to the work processes

Non-syndromic oral clefts and risk of cancer: a systematic review

Objective: To discuss the risk of cancer among relatives of individuals with cleft lip and palate (CL/P), as well as the risk of CL/P among relatives of individuals with cancer, since studies published currently have suggested  an increased risk of cancer among relatives of cleft individuals. Design: A systematic literature review was carried out in accordance with the Cochrane Collaboration Group protocol, including literature search strategy, selection of papers through the inclusion and exclusion criteria, data extraction and quality assessment. PubMed, Scopus and ISI - Web of Science databases were systematically searched using the fallowing search strings: “cleft lip and palate” AND “cancer”, “oral clefts” AND “cancer” and “orofacial clefts” AND “cancer”. Results: From 653 studies accessed, 8 comprised the final sample: 6 investigating CL/P index cases and their family history of cancer and 2 investigating individuals with cancer and their family history for CL/P. The sample sizes were not homogeneous. Oral clefts, the type of cancer and the degree of kinship family were not categorized in all studies. Leukemia, breast cancer and colon cancer were the most cited types, even as first-and-second degree relatives. Conclusions: An increased risk of cancer among relatives of cleft individuals could not be entirely confirmed. However, studies with this specific purpose suggest that first-and-second degrees relatives of cleft individuals have some types of cancer more often than unexposed families, highlighting that future studies should expand their samples to investigate possible common molecular mechanisms that allow relating oral clefts and cancer

Orofacial features of Treacher Collins syndrome

Treacher Collins syndrome (TCS) is a rare autosomal dominant disorder of craniofacial development. Major features include midface hypoplasia, micrognathia, microtia, conductive hearing loss, and cleft palate. The present study is on the orofacial features of 7 Brazilian patients with sporadic TCS aged 4 to 38 years. All patients presented the typical down-slanting palpebral fissures, colobomas, zygomatic and mandibular hypoplasia, partial absence of the lower eyelid cilia, and abnormalities of the ears. Malocclusion was present in all patients, and an anterior open bite was found in 3 patients. None of the patients had a cleft palate