Assessment of psychopatologic traits in a group of patients with adult chronic periodontitis: Study on 108 cases and analysis of compliance during and after periodontal treatment

Objectives: Although there is nowadays wide agreement on bacteria being the main etiologic agents of periodontal disease, their sole presence cannot damage periodontal tissues in all subjects. This suggests that an individual response and an adaptation to a certain quantity of bacterial biofilm can occur without the disease progressing and vice versa. Depression, stress and anxiety have not been confirmed yet as risk conditions but, in some observational studies, they have been identified as potential risk factors of periodontal disease. The current study aims at investigating the role which these psychological disorder have in the onset and progression of advanced stage periodontitis. Materials and methods: The case selection was carried out by means of clinical and radiological periodontal assessment involving a total of 108 subjects, both male and female, aged between 24 and 67. Patients were then divided in two groups of 54 patients each: the first group included patients with severe periodontal disease, the second group was formed by periodontally healthy subjects. Clinical assessment was performed by a sole examiner who selected and divided periodontopathic patients from non-periodontopathic ones. From the current study were excluded: patients with systemic pathologies; smokers; patients taking antidepressant drugs; pregnant women. Results: For what concerns depression, in the group of periodontopathic patients it was found that the 62.5% of them were depressed, against the 38.86% in the group of periodontally healthy subjects. For the other two psychological conditions taken into consideration, anxiety and stress, it emerged a different percentage of subjects with anxiety in the periodontal group (31.48%) against healthy controls (20.37%). Conclusions: For each of the psychological variables considered (depression, anxiety, stress), a significant correlation could be observed with periodontal disease, it can be therefore be suggested that the importance these disturbs have in the onset and progress of the dental disease which supports the existing available data in literature. The innovative aspect of this research was the focus on the assessment of compliance, monitoring the ability of periodontal patients to follow oral hygiene instructions aiming at the improving and keeping their own periodontal condition, even though this takes more time than the control group

Effectiveness of Dental and Maxillary Transverse Changes in Tooth-Borne, Bone-Borne, and Hybrid Palatal Expansion through Cone-Beam Tomography: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Background and Objectives: Palatal expansion is a common orthodontic technique able to increase the transverse changes for subjects with constricted maxillary arches. The aim of the present investigation was to evaluate through a systematic review the tomography effectiveness of different palatal expander approaches. Materials and Methods: The database used to perform the screening and determine the eligibility of the clinical papers was PubMed (Medline). Results: The database search included a total of 284 results, while 271 articles were excluded. A total of 14 articles were included for the qualitative assessment. Conclusions: The effectiveness of the present studies reported that skeletal expansion was a useful approach to increase the transverse changes for subjects with constricted maxillary arches

Acute Delta Hepatitis in Italy spanning three decades (1991–2019): Evidence for the effectiveness of the hepatitis B vaccination campaign

Updated incidence data of acute Delta virus hepatitis (HDV) are lacking worldwide. Our aim was to evaluate incidence of and risk factors for acute HDV in Italy after the introduction of the compulsory vaccination against hepatitis B virus (HBV) in 1991. Data were obtained from the National Surveillance System of acute viral hepatitis (SEIEVA). Independent predictors of HDV were assessed by logistic-regression analysis. The incidence of acute HDV per 1-million population declined from 3.2 cases in 1987 to 0.04 in 2019, parallel to that of acute HBV per 100,000 from 10.0 to 0.39 cases during the same period. The median age of cases increased from 27 years in the decade 1991-1999 to 44 years in the decade 2010-2019 (p < .001). Over the same period, the male/female ratio decreased from 3.8 to 2.1, the proportion of coinfections increased from 55% to 75% (p = .003) and that of HBsAg positive acute hepatitis tested for by IgM anti-HDV linearly decreased from 50.1% to 34.1% (p < .001). People born abroad accounted for 24.6% of cases in 2004-2010 and 32.1% in 2011-2019. In the period 2010-2019, risky sexual behaviour (O.R. 4.2; 95%CI: 1.4-12.8) was the sole independent predictor of acute HDV; conversely intravenous drug use was no longer associated (O.R. 1.25; 95%CI: 0.15-10.22) with this. In conclusion, HBV vaccination was an effective measure to control acute HDV. Intravenous drug use is no longer an efficient mode of HDV spread. Testing for IgM-anti HDV is a grey area requiring alert. Acute HDV in foreigners should be monitored in the years to come