Post-EMS exchange risk trends: A comparative perspective between Euro, British Pound and Japanese Yen excess returns against US Dollar

This paper studies the exchange rate risk of Euro, Pound and Yen against US Dollar before and after the EMU. The key question is to analyse the impact of the Euro to exchange rate risks. The risk is measured by estimating risk price coefficient (RPC) from an excess return equation. A conditional heteroskedastic variance model with time-varying mean is estimated for this purpose. Recursive estimates are used to examine the evolution of the parameters and to find out time-varying risk premia. Results show that after a period of adaptation following the introduction of the Euro, the Euro/US Dollar RPC decreased.Exchange rate risk, GARCH-M, risk-price, times series, recursive estimation

Dental management of patients with inflammatory bowel disease

Ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease are the most common forms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), both of unknown aetiology. These conditions are characterised by the chronic and recurrent inflammation of different parts of the gastrointestinal tract, but while in CD, chronic inflammation may affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract, in UC, mucosal inflammatory changes are confined to the colon. IBD is currently on the increase, and it is important for the dental professional to be familiar with the condition as patients with IBD may present oral manifestations of the underlying disease. Such manifestations of IBD may precede the onset of intestinal radiographic lesions by as much as a year, or even more. Treatments used to manage IBD can affect the delivery of routine dental care

Dental considerations in patients with heart disease

Summary: Cardiovascular diseases are one of the main causes of death in the developed world, and represent the first cause of mortality in Spain. In addition to their associated morbidity, such disorders are important due to the number of affected individuals and the many patients subjected to treatment because of them. Objective: An update is provided on the oral manifestations seen in patients with arterial hypertension, ischemic heart disease, arrhythmias and heart failure, and on the dental management of such patients. Material and methods: A Medline-PubMed search was conducted of the literature over the last 10 years using the keywords: “cardiopathy”, “dental management”, “endocarditis”, “hypertension” and “arrhythmia”. A total of 31 articles were reviewed, of which 22 were literature reviews, three were expert committee guides, four clinical trials and two case series. Results: The drug treatments used by these patients can give rise to oral manifestations in the form of xerostomia, lichenoid reactions, burning mouth sensation, loss of taste sensation, gingival hyperplasia and bleeding, as well as extraoral manifestations such as sialadenosis. An inadequately controlled cardiological patient constitutes a risk case in dental practice; dental surgeons therefore must take a series of aspects into account before treating such patients, in order to avoid complications

Dental management of patients with endocrine disorders

Introduction: The endocrine system is responsible for hormonal secretion and is closely related to the central nervous system, as it diversifies its functions through the hypothalamus and pituitary glands. It controls physiological processes and maintains homeostasis. The neuroendocrine system is responsible for adaptation to environmental changes. Therefore, in dentistry, it is important to be aware of the risks and difficulties that may arise during the dental management of patients with endocrine disorders, and that visits to the dental clinics often represent a stressful situation. Objectives: To review the literature on oral manifestations and dental management in patients with endocrine disorders (disorders of the thyroid, parathyroid and adrenal glands). Material and Methods: For the literature review, we carried out a search in Pubmed / Medline database using limits and keywords according to the controlled vocabulary “Medical Subject Headings” (MeSH). We obtained a total of 19 articles (ten literature reviews, one case-control study, and eight clinical case series). Results and discussion: We describe the most common oral manifestations in patients with endocrine disorders and the special dental management that should be carried out on these patient

Dental considerations for the patient with diabetes

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the most frequent pathologies that dentists encounter, due to its high prevalence worldwide. It is diagnosed by the repeated obtaining of fasting plasma glucose levels of 126 mg/ dl or higher, or glycosylated hemoglobin of 6’5% or higher. Diabetes (especially if it is not well controlled) brings with it a greater risk of periodontal disease, which is the most frequent complication. On the other hand, the possible influence of periodontal disease on glycemic control is still not well established. Other reported manifestations are xerostomia, sialadenosis and burning mouth syndrome. With regard to dental caries, oral lichen planus and candidosis, recent studies have not revealed a significantly higher incidence in these patients. For dental treatment, the type of diabetes suffered, the treatment given for the disease, and the glycemic control status (using the glycosylated hemoglobin test) should be known. Patients should receive short morning appointments to reduce stress. The dentist has to be aware of the possible occurrence of an acute complication (hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia). Furthermore, these patients suffer from delayed wound healing and major susceptibility to infections

Dental considerations in pregnancy and menopause

The present study offers a literature review of the main oral complications observed in women during pregnancy and menopause, and describes the different dental management protocols used during these periods and during lactation, according to the scientific literature. To this effect, a PubMed-Medline search was made, using the following key word combinations: “pregnant and dentistry”, “lactation and dentistry”, “postmenopausal and dentistry”, “menopausal and dentistry” and “oral bisphosphonates and dentistry”. The search was limited to reviews, metaanalyses and clinical guides in dental journals published over the last 10 years in English and Spanish. A total of 38 publications were evaluated. Pregnancy can be characterized by an increased prevalence of caries and dental erosions, worsening of pre-existing gingivitis, or the appearance of pyogenic granulomas, among other problems. Although routine dental treatment is generally safe in pregnant patients and posteriorly during the lactation period, certain dental procedures can have potentially damaging effects, such as the use of ionizing radiations, the administration of drugs, or the generation of pain and stress. In postmenopausal women, alterations of the oral cavity are related to the hormone alterations that characterize these patients and to physiological aging of the oral tissues, potentially giving rise to periodontitis, burning mouth syndrome and xerostomia. As a result of the development of osteoporosis, these patients may be receiving treatment with oral bisphosphonates, which in turn may require changes in the dental management plan

Cardiovascular diseases in dental practice : Practical considerations

Coronary heart disease is the principal cause of death in the industrialized world. Its most serious expression, acute myocardial infarction, causes 7.2 million deaths each year worldwide, and it is estimated that 20% of all people will suffer heart failure in the course of their lifetime. The control of risk cardiovascular factors, including arterial hypertension, obesity and diabetes mellitus is the best way to prevent such diseases. The most frequent and serious cardiovascular emergencies that can manifest during dental treatment are chest pain (as a symptom of underlying disease) and acute lung edema. Due to the high prevalence and seriousness of these problems, the dental surgeon must be aware of them and should be able to act quickly and effectively in the case of an acute cardiovascular event. In patients with a history of cardiovascular disease, attention must center on the control of pain, the reduction of stress, and the use or avoidance of a vasoconstrictor in dental anesthesia. In turn, caution is required in relation to the antiplatelet, anticoagulant and antihypertensive medication typically used by such patients

Drug-induced oral lichenoid reactions: a literature review

The terms oral lichenoid reactions or oral lichenoid lesions refer to lesions histologically and clinically similar to oral lichen planus, though with the particularity that in these cases the underlying cause is identifiable. In addition, these lesions are described according to the causal factor involved, including alterations resulting from direct contact with dental restoration materials, drug-related lesions, and lesions associated to graft-versus-host disease. Drug-induced oral lichenoid reactions or oral lichenoid lesions were first cited in 1971 by Almeyda and Levantine. Since then, many drug substances have been associated with such lesions. The most common agents are nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors

Palatal perforations secondary to inhaled cocaine abuse: presentation of five cases

The estimated incidence of complications associated with cocaine abuse is 4.8%. Palatal perforation is a very infrequent condition within the range of complications associated with cocaine abuse. No epidemiological cha- racteristics relating to patient age or gender have been established, and the diagnosis of the disorder requires a detailed clinical history, including antecedents of cocaine abuse. The clinical and radiological studies show palatal bone erosion and perforation of the soft or hard palate. The present study describes five cases of palatal perforation secondary to inhaled cocaine abuse. As a result of the increase in cocaine use in recent years, particularly among young adults, clinicians must be alerted to the need to include this condition when establishing a differential diagnosis

Lichen sclerosus of the oral mucosa : a case report

Lichen sclerosus or lichen sclerosus et atrophicus is a chronic inflammatory disease predominantly affecting the genital mucosa and skin. Clinically, it is characterized by white atrophic plaques in the anogenital region. The lesions are generally asymptomatic, but may cause discomfort with itching and pain. Extragenital mucosal involvement is very unusual, and lesions limited to the oral mucosa are even less frequent. Knowledge of such lesions is important in order to establish a differential diagnosis with other white oral lesions, and histological confirmation is required. We present the case of a 31-year-old woman with a well delimited, pearly white lesion located in the upper gingival mucosa, lip mucosa and adjacent skin. The lesion had led to loss of periodontal attachment of the affected tooth (2.3), causing pain in response to tooth brushing. The biopsy confirmed lichen sclerosus, and treatment was provided in the form of intralesional corticoid injections, followed by improvement of the mucosal lesion, though without recovery of the periodontal loss