Dental Status of Firefighters of Rio de Janeiro State and Comparison with Brazilian Oral Health Surveys

Objective: This cross-sectional study aimed to assess clinical dental status in military firefighters of Rio de Janeiro State and compare data with Brazilian National and Regional oral health surveys. Material and Methods: A sample of 926 military firefighters was examined using the visible biofilm index, the DMFT index and the Community Periodontal Index (CPI). Clinical exams were performed by 15 trained dentists. The Kruskal-Wallis test and Mann-Whitney test with Bonferroni correction were used. Results: Higher biofilm accumulation was associated with increased age. The mean DMFT index for the whole sample of this study was 12.74 (±7.03), and the ‘filled’ component was the most prevalent (69.9%), whereas the ‘decayed’ and ‘missing’ components were, respectively, 8.4% and 21.7%. There was a higher prevalence of periodontal diseases with increasing age, ranging from 57.1% in firefighters of 34 years or less to 70.5% in the ones between 35 and 44 years old and 75.4% in participants at age 45 years or older. Clinical dental status of the military firefighters who belonged to the age group 35-44 was better than the one observed for the Brazilian population at the same age range. However, pathological conditions that can be solved with health promotion strategies associated with dental procedures of low complexity still persist. Conclusion: These results suggest that the availability of dental health care services itself does not represent the most effective approach to the oral health problems found in the studied population

Erosive effect of an antihistamine liquid formulation on bovine teeth: influence of exposure time

evaluate, in vitro, the effect of an oral antihistamine liquid formulation on roughness and topography of bovine enamel and the influence of exposure time on its erosive effect. Methods: Forty-one bovine enamel blocks were prepared leaving an exposed window of 0.8 mm2. Thirtynine blocks were divided into three treatment groups according to media immersion: antihistamine formulation (Histamin®), 0.6% citric acid (positive control), and distilled water (negative control). Before immersion of the samples, pH, titratable acidity, calcium, phosphate and fluoride contents of all media were verified. Enamel roughness was evaluated at baseline, and after 5, 15, and 30 min of immersion (9 samples per group). Two specimens from each group and exposure time, and 2 additional specimens representing baseline, were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Data were analyzed by the Kruskal-Wallis test, and the Mann-Whitney test using the Bonferroni correction (á=0.017). Results: Specimens immersed in citric acid showed the highest roughness (P<.001). SEM images showed a progressive erosion pattern in samples immersed in citric acid and in antihistamine formulation. Conclusions: The antihistamine liquid formulation did not promote significant alterations of enamel roughness. Nevertheless, SEM demonstrated that the antihistamine eroded bovine enamel, and the erosion pattern was influenced by exposure time

Erosive effect of an antihistamine liquid formulation on bovine teeth: Influence of exposure time

Aim : To evaluate, in vitro, the effect of an oral antihistamine liquid formulation on roughness and topography of bovine enamel and the influence of exposure time on its erosive effect. Methods: Forty-one bovine enamel blocks were prepared leaving an exposed window of 0.8 mm 2 . Thirty-nine blocks were divided into three treatment groups according to media immersion: antihistamine formulation (Histamin® ), 0.6% citric acid (positive control), and distilled water (negative control). Before immersion of the samples, pH, titratable acidity, calcium, phosphate and fluoride contents of all media were verified. Enamel roughness was evaluated at baseline, and after 5, 15, and 30 min of immersion (9 samples per group). Two specimens from each group and exposure time, and 2 additional specimens representing baseline, were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Data were analyzed by the Kruskal-Wallis test, and the Mann-Whitney test using the Bonferroni correction ((=0.017). Results: Specimens immersed in citric acid showed the highest roughness (P<.001). SEM images showed a progressive erosion pattern in samples immersed in citric acid and in antihistamine formulation. Conclusions : The antihistamine liquid formulation did not promote significant alterations of enamel roughness. Nevertheless, SEM demonstrated that the antihistamine eroded bovine enamel, and the erosion pattern was influenced by exposure time

Topical effect of a medically prescribed pediatric antibiotic on dental biofilm: a cross-over, in situ study.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the possible topical effect of a broad-spectrum antibiotic on dental biofilm formed in situ in the absence or presence of sucrose. METHODS: A crossover study was conducted in three phases of 14 days each, during which 11 volunteers wore palatal devices containing 6 enamel blocks covered with meshes to allow biofilm formation. Dental blocks were extraorally submitted to a 20% sucrose solution at three different frequencies of exposure (0, 3 and 8 times/day), and to a suspension of amoxicillin/clavulanate potassium (A/CP) or a placebo (P) suspension at an 8-hour time interval application regimen. On the 14(th) day of each phase, biofilms were collected for microbiological (conventional culture) and molecular (Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis--DGGE) analyses. RESULTS: In the absence of sucrose exposure (SE) and at the 3-time daily frequency, dental biofilms treated with A/CP showed lower total biofilm weight and lower counts of total microbiota than the ones treated with P (p>0.05). A/CP presented higher counts of Candida spp. when compared with P in the presence of SE, especially at the 8-time daily frequency (p<0.05). Considering the DGGE analysis, the mean number of bands was higher for P (p>0.05), regardless of SE. However, DGGE profiles demonstrated large interindividual variability. CONCLUSION: Both conventional culture and DGGE have demonstrated some differences on total microbiota of dental biofilms when exposed to the A/CP or P suspensions, mainly in the absence of sucrose, which suggests a possible topical effect of the sugar-free A/CP suspension on dental biofilm

Mean number and mean rank of bands according to treatments (amoxicillin/clavulanate potassium or placebo) and daily frequency of sucrose exposure (0 – no exposure; exposure – 3 or 8 times/day).

<p>SD: standard deviation; <i>n</i> = 11.</p><p>With regard to the mean number and the mean rank of bands, no statistical significance was found either for different treatments (<i>p</i>>0.05; Paired T-test) or for different frequencies of sucrose exposure (<i>p</i>>0.05; Repeated Measures ANOVA test).</p><p>Note: Although 54 distinct bands have been detected in the DGGE profile analyses, none of the volunteers presented all of them in their profile.</p

DGGE profiles of PCR-amplified bacterial 16S rDNA gene fragments from biofilm samples of six volunteers.

<p>All samples were treated with Placebo (P) or Amoxicillin/Clavulanate Potassium (A/CP) without additional sucrose exposure (0) and at an 8-time daily frequency of 20% sucrose exposure. Comparisons were made for the same volunteer.</p