Type 2 diabetes mellitus and the prevalence of apical periodontitis and endodontic treatment in an adult Brazilian population

Introduction This cross-sectional study evaluated the prevalence of apical periodontitis (AP) and endodontic treatment in type 2 diabetic individuals as compared with nondiabetics from an adult Brazilian population. Methods Full-mouth radiographs from 30 type 2 diabetic and 60 age- and sex-matched nondiabetic individuals were examined, and the presence of AP lesions in untreated and root canal-treated teeth was recorded. The number of teeth and the prevalence of root canal treatment were also evaluated. Results AP was significantly more present in teeth from diabetic individuals (98/652, 15%) than in nondiabetic controls (162/1,368, 12%) (P = .05). A separate analysis of untreated and treated teeth revealed that significance was mostly because of the prevalence of AP in untreated teeth, which was 10% in diabetics and 7% in nondiabetics (P = .03). No significant difference between diabetics and nondiabetics was observed for the other parameters under study, including the prevalence of AP in root canal–treated teeth, the number of teeth in the oral cavity, the number of treated teeth per individual, the number of individuals with at least 1 AP lesion or 1 root canal treatment, and the number of teeth with AP per individual (P > .05). Conclusions AP was significantly more prevalent in untreated teeth from type 2 diabetics. This suggests that diabetes may serve as a disease modifier of AP in the sense that individuals with diabetes can be more prone to develop primary disease. However, findings do not confirm that diabetes may influence the response to root canal treatment because treated teeth had no increased prevalence of AP when compared with controls

Comparing the Bacterial Diversity of Acute and Chronic Dental Root Canal Infections

This study performed barcoded multiplex pyrosequencing with a 454 FLX instrument to compare the microbiota of dental root canal infections associated with acute (symptomatic) or chronic (asymptomatic) apical periodontitis. Analysis of samples from 9 acute abscesses and 8 chronic infections yielded partial 16S rRNA gene sequences that were taxonomically classified into 916 bacterial species-level operational taxonomic units (OTUs) (at 3% divergence) belonging to 67 genera and 13 phyla. The most abundant phyla in acute infections were Firmicutes (52%), Fusobacteria (17%) and Bacteroidetes (13%), while in chronic infections the dominant were Firmicutes (59%), Bacteroidetes (14%) and Actinobacteria (10%). Members of Fusobacteria were much more prevalent in acute (89%) than in chronic cases (50%). The most abundant/prevalent genera in acute infections were Fusobacterium and Parvimonas. Twenty genera were exclusively detected in acute infections and 18 in chronic infections. Only 18% (n = 165) of the OTUs at 3% divergence were shared by acute and chronic infections. Diversity and richness estimators revealed that acute infections were significantly more diverse than chronic infections. Although a high interindividual variation in bacterial communities was observed, many samples tended to group together according to the type of infection (acute or chronic). This study is one of the most comprehensive in-deep comparisons of the microbiota associated with acute and chronic dental root canal infections and highlights the role of diverse polymicrobial communities as the unit of pathogenicity in acute infections. The overall diversity of endodontic infections as revealed by the pyrosequencing technique was much higher than previously reported for endodontic infections

Department of Pathogenic Fungi, Division of Fungal Resources and Development

<p>Average relative abundance of bacterial phyla composition in root apex samples from teeth with post-treatment apical periodontitis.</p

Antibacterial Activity of Root-end Filling Materials

Svrha istraživanja bila je ocijeniti i usporediti antibakterijsku učinkovitost pet retrogradnih punila korijenskih kanala. Materijal i metode: Metodom difuzije u agru ocijenjena je zona inhibicije bakterijskog rasta na podlozi pet retrogradnih punila korijenskih kanala: Pro Root MTA, cementa Portland, Super-EBA, IRM-a, Sealera 26 te amalgama. Za ciljane mikroorganizme bilo je odabrano pet anaeroba (Porphyromonas gingivalis, Parvimonas micra, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Propionibacterium acnes i Eubacterium saburreum) te dva fakultativna (Actinomyces viscosus i Enterococcus faecalis). Rezultati: Sealer 26 postigao je najveću inhibiciju rasta. Punila IRM i Super-EBA spriječila su rast samo Porphyromonas gingivalis, ali učinak je bio znatno slabiji u usporedbi s djelovanjem Sealera 26. Kao neučinkovita antibakterijska sredstva pokazali su se MTA, cement Portland i amalgam. Zaključak: Rezultati istraživanja potvrdili su da Sealer 26 ima najjače antibakterijsko djelovanje u usporedbi s ostalim često upotrebljavanim apikalnim punilima korijenskih kanala.Purpose: The present study was undertaken to evaluate and compare the antibacterial effectiveness of five root-end filling materials. Material and methods: The agar diffusion method was employed to evaluate the inhibition zone provided by the following root-end filling materials: Pro Root MTA, Portland cement, Super-EBA, IRM, Sealer 26, and silver amalgam. The target microorganisms included five anaerobic bacterial species (Porphyromonas gingivalis, Parvimonas micra, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Propionibacterium acnes and Eubacterium saburreum) and two facultative bacterial species (Actinomyces viscosus and Enterococcus faecalis). Results: Sealer 26 demonstrated the largest inhibitory effects on all species tested. IRM and Super-EBA were inhibitory only to P. gingivalis, but this effect was far less pronounced as compared to Sealer 26. MTA, Portland cement, and amalgam proved ineffective against all species tested. Conclusion: These findings revealed that Sealer 26 has more pronounced antibacterial effects when compared to other commonly used root-end filling materials

Antibacterial Activity of Root-end Filling Materials

Svrha istraživanja bila je ocijeniti i usporediti antibakterijsku učinkovitost pet retrogradnih punila korijenskih kanala. Materijal i metode: Metodom difuzije u agru ocijenjena je zona inhibicije bakterijskog rasta na podlozi pet retrogradnih punila korijenskih kanala: Pro Root MTA, cementa Portland, Super-EBA, IRM-a, Sealera 26 te amalgama. Za ciljane mikroorganizme bilo je odabrano pet anaeroba (Porphyromonas gingivalis, Parvimonas micra, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Propionibacterium acnes i Eubacterium saburreum) te dva fakultativna (Actinomyces viscosus i Enterococcus faecalis). Rezultati: Sealer 26 postigao je najveću inhibiciju rasta. Punila IRM i Super-EBA spriječila su rast samo Porphyromonas gingivalis, ali učinak je bio znatno slabiji u usporedbi s djelovanjem Sealera 26. Kao neučinkovita antibakterijska sredstva pokazali su se MTA, cement Portland i amalgam. Zaključak: Rezultati istraživanja potvrdili su da Sealer 26 ima najjače antibakterijsko djelovanje u usporedbi s ostalim često upotrebljavanim apikalnim punilima korijenskih kanala.Purpose: The present study was undertaken to evaluate and compare the antibacterial effectiveness of five root-end filling materials. Material and methods: The agar diffusion method was employed to evaluate the inhibition zone provided by the following root-end filling materials: Pro Root MTA, Portland cement, Super-EBA, IRM, Sealer 26, and silver amalgam. The target microorganisms included five anaerobic bacterial species (Porphyromonas gingivalis, Parvimonas micra, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Propionibacterium acnes and Eubacterium saburreum) and two facultative bacterial species (Actinomyces viscosus and Enterococcus faecalis). Results: Sealer 26 demonstrated the largest inhibitory effects on all species tested. IRM and Super-EBA were inhibitory only to P. gingivalis, but this effect was far less pronounced as compared to Sealer 26. MTA, Portland cement, and amalgam proved ineffective against all species tested. Conclusion: These findings revealed that Sealer 26 has more pronounced antibacterial effects when compared to other commonly used root-end filling materials

Root Decomposition of Elephant Grass Pastures Grazed at Different Management Intensities

Grazing management may alter chemical composition of plant components affecting nutrient cycling. Among pasture management tools, adjustment of stocking rate (SR) and N fertilization have potential to affect nutrient cycling in the grassland ecosystem (Dubeux et al. 2007). Excreta from grazing animal and litter are the two major pathways of nutrient return on grazed pastures (Thomas 1992). Fertilization and SR may alter these pathways by different forms. Increasing fertilization generally increases pasture net primary productivity. Stocking rate affects different pasture and animal responses. Regarding nutrient cycling, increasing SR will likely increase proportion of nutrient returned through excreta as opposed to litter, increasing as a result nutrient losses (Dubeux et al. 2006). Root system may also be affected by management intensity. Frequent defoliation and low plant nutrition level may reduce root biomass (Richards 1993) and affect its decomposition. This study evaluated the effect of different SR´s and N fertilization levels on the decomposition of elephant grass roots

As-yet-uncultivated oral bacteria: breadth and association with oral and extra-oral diseases

It has been shown that 40&#x2013;60% of the bacteria found in different healthy and diseased oral sites still remain to be grown in vitro, phenotypically characterized, and formally named as species. The possibility exists that these as-yet-uncultivated bacteria play important ecological roles in oral bacterial communities and may participate in the pathogenesis of several oral infectious diseases. There is also a potential for these as-yet-uncultivated oral bacteria to take part in extra-oral infections. For a comprehensive characterization of physiological and pathogenic properties as well as antimicrobial susceptibility of individual bacterial species, strains need to be grown in pure culture. Advances in culturing techniques have allowed the cultivation of several oral bacterial taxa only previously known by a 16S rRNA gene sequence signature, and novel species have been proposed. There is a growing need for developing improved methods to cultivate and characterize the as-yet-uncultivated portion of the oral microbiome so as to unravel its role in health and disease

Distinctive features of the microbiota associated with different forms of apical periodontitis

Microorganisms infecting the dental root canal system play an unequivocal role as causative agents of apical periodontitis. Although fungi, archaea, and viruses have been found in association with some forms of apical periodontitis, bacteria are the main microbial etiologic agents of this disease. Bacteria colonizing the root canal are usually organized in communities similar to biofilm structures. Culture and molecular biology technologies have demonstrated that the endodontic bacterial communities vary in species richness and abundance depending on the different types of infection and different forms of apical periodontitis. This review paper highlights the distinctive features of the endodontic microbiota associated with diverse clinical conditions