Risk of Periodontal Disease: Is there a Correlation with the Type of Antihypertensive Medication?

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of long-term oral antihypertensive treatment using centrally acting sympatho-inhibitory drugs (clonidine) and beta-blockers (metoprolol) on capillary microcirculation in the labial and periodontal mucosa. Methods: Sixty subjects were recruited for the study: 20 patients affected by hypertension in treatment with centrally-acting sympatho-inhibitory drugs (64.28 ± 11.78 years); 20 patients in treatment with beta-blockers (62.03 ± 9.84 years) and 20 healthy subjects (62.06 ± 6.72 years). We use the videocapillaroscopic technique to evaluate in vivo the microcirculation of the labial mucosa corresponding to the lower lip and of the periodontal mucosa corresponding to the central superior incisor. Results: Capillaroscopy revealed a significant increase in the length, diameter, tortuousity and density (P <0.05) of capillaries in patients affected by hypertension in treatment with centrally acting sympatho-inhibitory drugs, while beta-blockers had a lower effect on the labial and periodontal microcirculation compared to the healthy population. Conclusions: The capillaroscopic has revealed substantial modifications of the oral microcirculatory pattern in hypertensive patients in treatment with centrally-acting sympatho-inhibitory drugs than with beta-blockers. Keywords: Hypertension, antihypertensive drug, oral videocapillaroscopy

Good Oral Health and Diet

An unhealthy diet has been implicated as risk factors for several chronic diseases that are known to be associated with oral diseases. Studies investigating the relationship between oral diseases and diet are limited. Therefore, this study was conducted to describe the relationship between healthy eating habits and oral health status. The dentistry has an important role in the diagnosis of oral diseases correlated with diet. Consistent nutrition guidelines are essential to improve health. A poor diet was significantly associated with increased odds of oral disease. Dietary advice for the prevention of oral diseases has to be a part of routine patient education practices. Inconsistencies in dietary advice may be linked to inadequate training of professionals. Literature suggests that the nutrition training of dentists and oral health training of dietitians and nutritionists is limited

Anisotropic flows and shear viscosity of the Quark-Gluon plasma within a transport approach

In this talk we discuss the build up of elliptic flow v2 and high order harmonics v3, v4 and v5 for a fluid at fixed η/s by mean of an event-by-event transport approach. We discuss the effect of the η/s ratio on the build up of the vn(pT). In particular we study the effect of a temperature dependent η/s for two different beam energies: RHIC for Au+Au at p s = 200GeV and LHC for Pb+ Pb at p s = 2.76 TeV. We find that for the two different beam energies considered t he suppression of the vn(pT) due to the viscosity of the medium have different contributions coming from the cross over or QGP phase. In ultra-central collisions the vn(pT) show a strong sensitivity to the η/s ratio in the QGP phase and this sensitivity increase with the increase of the order of the harmonic

Palatal Rugae as a Discriminating Factor in Determining Sex: A New Method Applicable in Forensic Odontology?

The purpose of this study is a new method that can help to identify the sex through the study of palatal rugae, comparing sagittal sections of the hard palate using Cartesian coordinates and evaluating the assistance given by digital technology and its applicability in this method. In this study, 57 digital impressions were examined and divided in two groups based on sex. Results: 2223 impression sections were studied and 145 coordinates that were present with a frequency greater than 50% in one or both groups were obtained: 52 discriminating traits (DT) in the male group, 29 discriminating traits in the female group, and 64 common traits (CT). The DTs in the female group showed no statistically significant difference from the same coordinates in the male one (p = 0.832). Statistically significant differences were observed in the DTs in the male group compared to the same coordinates in the female group (p = 0.018). No statistically significant differences were observed in the frequency of DTs in both sexes (p = 0.056). Further research in forensic odontology is needed to determine its scientific certainty. It is certain that digital technology may one day be a valuable support for the forensic odontologist but to date the lack of dedicated and certified programs limits its reliability

The Exponential Rise of Teledentistry and Patient-Oriented Protective Measures in Southeast Asian Dental Clinics: Concerns, Benefits, and Challenges

In the Southeast Asian region, various policies have been advocated by health regulatory bodies that entail protective measures such as face masks, gloves, maintaining distance in public areas, and more. These protective measures are aimed at helping reverse the growth rate of the coronavirus. Dentists in this region have incorporated several changes to their practices to help minimize risks of person-to-person transmission inside dental offices. This narrative review aimed to provide an in-depth overview of the current situation in the Southeast Asian region regarding the use of teledentistry during the pandemic. Teledentistry involves the transfer of patient information across remote distances for online consultation and treatment planning. A few years back, it used to be a lesser-known entity but has seen an exponential rise in its incorporation into dental practices all around the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) region. Many clinics in the Southeast Asian region have started using online consultations to ensure that patients can be diagnosed or followed up during their treatment. Teledentistry is the clear answer in the coming months as it will help reduce the risk of virus transmission and help patients get access to oral healthcare and dentists to see their patients. This article reviews the current pandemic situation in the ASEAN region, the recent evidence, and the scope of teledentistry. It also provides recommendations for the future and sheds light on the different types of teledentistry and how it can be incorporated into practices by regulatory authorities in this region

Validity and reliability of an inertial sensor device for specific running patterns in soccer

Electronic performance tracking devices are largely employed in team sports to monitor performance and improve training. To date, global positioning system (GPS) based devices are those mainly used in soccer training. The aim of this study was to analyse the validity and reliability of the inertial sensor device (ISD) in monitoring distance and speed in a soccer-specific circuit and how their performance compare to a GPS system. 44 young male soccer players (age: 14.9 ± 1.1, range 9– 16, years, height: 1.65 ± 0.10 m, body mass: 56.3 ± 8.9 kg) playing in a non-professional soccer team in Italy, participated in the study. We assessed the players trough a soccer running sport-specific circuit. An ISD and a GPS were used to assess distance and speed. Data was compared to a video reference system, and the difference were quantified by means of the root mean square error (RMSE). Significant differences were found for both GPS and ISD devices for distance and speed. However, lower error for distance (dRMSE 2.23 ± 1.01 m and 5.75 ± 1.50 m, respectively) and speed (sRMSE 0.588 ± 0.152 m*s–1 and 1.30 ± 0.422 m*s–1, respectively) were attained by the ISD compared to the GPS. Overall, our results revealed a statistically significant difference between systems in data monitoring for either distance and speed. However, results of this study showed that a smaller error was obtained with the ISD than the GPS device. Despite caution is warranted within the interpreta-tion of these results, we observed a better practical applicability of the ISD due to its small size, lower cost and the possibility to use the device indoor

LinguAPP: An m-Health Application for Teledentistry Diagnostics

An Android/iOS application for low-cost mobile devices to aid in dental diagnosis through questionnaire and photos is presented in this paper. The main purposes of our app lie in the ease of use even for nonexperienced users, in the limited hardware requirements that allow a wide diffusion, and in the possibility to modify the questionnaire for different pathologies. This tool was developed in about a month at the beginning of the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic and is still in use in Italy to allow support to patients without going to the hospital, if not strictly necessary

Automated Stabilization, Enhancement and Capillaries Segmentation in Videocapillaroscopy

Oral capillaroscopy is a critical and non-invasive technique used to evaluate microcirculation. Its ability to observe small vessels in vivo has generated significant interest in the field. Capillaroscopy serves as an essential tool for diagnosing and prognosing various pathologies, with anatomic–pathological lesions playing a crucial role in their progression. Despite its importance, the utilization of videocapillaroscopy in the oral cavity encounters limitations due to the acquisition setup, encompassing spatial and temporal resolutions of the video camera, objective magnification, and physical probe dimensions. Moreover, the operator’s influence during the acquisition process, particularly how the probe is maneuvered, further affects its effectiveness. This study aims to address these challenges and improve data reliability by developing a computerized support system for microcirculation analysis. The designed system performs stabilization, enhancement and automatic segmentation of capillaries in oral mucosal video sequences. The stabilization phase was performed by means of a method based on the coupling of seed points in a classification process. The enhancement process implemented was based on the temporal analysis of the capillaroscopic frames. Finally, an automatic segmentation phase of the capillaries was implemented with the additional objective of quantitatively assessing the signal improvement achieved through the developed techniques. Specifically, transfer learning of the renowned U-net deep network was implemented for this purpose. The proposed method underwent testing on a database with ground truth obtained from expert manual segmentation. The obtained results demonstrate an achieved Jaccard index of 90.1% and an accuracy of 96.2%, highlighting the effectiveness of the developed techniques in oral capillaroscopy. In conclusion, these promising outcomes encourage the utilization of this method to assist in the diagnosis and monitoring of conditions that impact microcirculation, such as rheumatologic or cardiovascular disorders

Association of vital pulp therapy outcomes with tooth type, arch location, treatment type, and number of surfaces destroyed in deciduous teeth: A retrospective study

There is a paucity of information concerning vital pulp treatment outcomes in the undergraduate teaching setting. This study aimed to determine which type of deciduous molar, arch location, type of vital pulp therapy, and the number of carious surfaces involved had a better prognosis when carried out by undergraduate dental students. The method used was the review of clinical records of 590 patients with 600 deciduous molars, that visited the outpatient undergraduate dental clinics for vital pulp therapy. Statistical analysis used to determine the associations of tooth type, arch location, treatment type, and the number of carious surfaces involved in successful outcomes was logistic regression analysis with significance set at p &lt; 0.05. According to the regression analysis model results, there was a significant association based on tooth type (p &lt; 0.05) and arch location (p = 0.003). In addition, there was a significant association based on the type of treatment performed (p = 0.036). However, there was no significant association in success rates based on the number of carious surfaces involved (p = 0.873). In conclusion, second deciduous molars and maxillary deciduous molars had a better overall prognosis, and indirect pulp therapy was revealed to be more highly associated with successful treatment outcomes in comparison to ferric sulfate pulpotomy in our setting

Comparison of Interactive Teaching in Online and Offline Platforms among Dental Undergraduates

In recent years, the educational system has focused more on the holistic development of an individual. Modern technology has changed the educational environment to provide students with better academic opportunities. Along with the education system, teaching techniques and learning tools have also changed with digital evolution. This research was undertaken to assess the academic performance of interactive teaching methods in offline and online platforms in Periodontics among BDS undergraduates at a dental college in India. This prospective study was conducted among 49 students: Group I (n = 24, online class through Zoom) and Group II (n = 25, offline classes). The subject was divided into three modules and was covered in one week. The topics covered, teaching methods, lectures, and activities were similar for both groups. A formative assessment mark was obtained from written tests during the module, whereas the summative assessment mark was recorded from exams conducted towards the end of the module. In the results, a statistically significant difference was not observed in terms of formative assessment between Group I (77.88 ± 12.89) and Group II (77.80 ± 16.09) (p = 0.98). In addition, a statistically significant difference was not observed in terms of summative assessment between Group I (80.54 ± 8.39) and Group II (80.28 ± 11.57) (p = 0.93). Overall, this study suggests that interactive teaching methods in both offline and online platforms in Periodontics showed equivalent performance by the undergraduate dental students