Desarrollo de la periodontología en Santiago de Cuba / Development of periodontology in Santiago de Cuba

Se realizó una investigación de carácter histórico con el fin de exponer brevemente el desarrollo de la periodontología en Santiago de Cuba desde 1974 hasta la actualidad. Esta especialidad se ha venido fomentando de forma paulatina y hoy día cuenta con profesionales preparados integralmente para brindar una atención estomatológica especializada de calidad; también se vincula a la actividad docente-asistencial, con un claustro de 14 profesores altamente calificados. Puede afirmarse, entonces, que la formación del capital humano se ha cumplimentado por años -de acuerdo a la demanda poblacional y a los requerimientos del Sistema Nacional de Salud-, pues se ha contribuido, en gran medida, al perfeccionamiento y la preparación de estos especialistas con vistas a preservar, durante el presente y en el futuro, la salud periodontal de la población santiaguera.

An investigation of historical character aimed at briefly exposing the development of periodontology was carried out in Santiago de Cuba from 1974 to the present time. This specialty has been encouraging gradually and nowadays it has integrally prepared professionals to offer a specialized stomatological care with quality; it is also linked to the teaching-assistance activity, with a staff of 14 highly qualified professors. It can be affirmed then, that the human capital training has been fulfilled per years -according to the populational demand and the requirements of the National Health System-, because it has been contributed, in such an extent, to the improvement and preparation of these specialists aiming at preserving, during present and future times, the periodontal health of people from Santiago de Cuba.

Periodontal Medicine: 100 Years of Progress.

Periodontal medicine is a term used to describe how periodontal infection/inflammation may impact extraoral health. Periodontitis has been linked to over 50 systemic diseases and conditions. As part of the Journal of Dental Research's Centennial Celebration, this narrative review discusses periodontal medicine research done over the past 100 y, with particular focus on the effects of periodontal disease on 3 pathological conditions: cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, and adverse pregnancy outcomes. We selected 29 total studies that were the "first" of their kind, as they provided novel observations or contributed to shifting paradigms as well as important studies that made strong contributions to progress in understanding relationships to the systemic conditions. These studies were organized in an overview timeline and broken down into timelines by topic: cardiovascular disease (n = 10), diabetes (n = 12), and adverse pregnancy outcomes (n = 7). Overall, the majority of cross-sectional, case-control, and longitudinal studies have revealed positive associations between poor periodontal status and cardiovascular disease, diabetes metabolic control, and a number of adverse pregnancy outcomes, and these associations are upheld in systematic reviews. Findings from randomized controlled trials testing the effects of periodontal therapy on systemic health outcomes were conflicting and inconsistent. While there has been a great deal of progress, we highlight lessons learned and make comments and suggestions on a number of key aspects, including the heterogeneity of case definitions of periodontal disease across studies, accounting for features of the periodontal phenotype that are most relevant to the biological link between periodontitis and systemic outcomes, the role of other comorbid inflammatory conditions, selection of study participants, and timing and intensity of the periodontal intervention.

Periodontal Diagnosis and Treatment in the Coming Decades.

The purpose of this article is to review the dominant paradigms and thinking behind periodontal diagnosis and treatment over the last 150 years, including the clinical characteristics paradigm, the classical pathology paradigm, and the infection/ host response paradigm, and to predict what changes may occur in the next 50 years, such as the molecular ecology paradigm.

H-classic: a new method to identify classic articles in Implant Dentistry, Periodontics, and Oral Surgery.

INTRODUCTION: The study of classic papers permits analysis of the past, present, and future of a specific area of knowledge. This type of analysis is becoming more frequent and more sophisticated. Our objective was to use the H-classics method, based on the h-index, to analyze classic papers in Implant Dentistry, Periodontics, and Oral Surgery (ID, P, and OS). MATERIAL AND METHODS: First, an electronic search of documents related to ID, P, and OS was conducted in journals indexed in Journal Citation Reports (JCR) 2014 within the category 'Dentistry, Oral Surgery & Medicine'. Second, Web of Knowledge databases were searched using Mesh terms related to ID, P, and OS. Finally, the H-classics method was applied to select the classic articles in these disciplines, collecting data on associated research areas, document type, country, institutions, and authors. RESULTS: Of 267,611 documents related to ID, P, and OS retrieved from JCR journals (2014), 248 were selected as H-classics. They were published in 35 journals between 1953 and 2009, most frequently in the Journal of Clinical Periodontology (18.95%), the Journal of Periodontology (18.54%), International Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Implants (9.27%), and Clinical Oral Implant Research (6.04%). These classic articles derived from the USA in 49.59% of cases and from Europe in 47.58%, while the most frequent host institution was the University of Gothenburg (17.74%) and the most frequent authors were J. Lindhe (10.48%) and S. Socransky (8.06%). CONCLUSION: The H-classics approach offers an objective method to identify core knowledge in clinical disciplines such as ID, P, and OS.

A Latin American perspective of periodontology.

Periodontal diseases occur worldwide, and Latin American populations are significantly affected by different manifestations of periodontal disease. The interest in periodontics and periodontal therapy first developed in the early 1930s in the southernmost countries of Latin America, and spread, as the years went by, throughout the region. Today, periodontal research is vibrant in Latin America. The aim of this volume of Periodontology 2000 was to present an overview of the periodontal research currently being performed in different countries of Latin America. The epidemiology of periodontal diseases in adults, children and adolescents, and the pathogenesis of such diseases (including microbiological characteristics and risk factors), are discussed. The role of systemic antibiotic therapy and the effect of smoking are discussed in relation to the progression and the treatment of periodontitis. In addition, the benefit of lasers in periodontal therapy is evaluated. Latin American research groups have been active in exploring new venues of regenerative periodontal treatment, addressing the role of cementum proteins, growth factors and oral mesenchymal stem cells in tissue engineering. Finally, basic research to study cancerization is reported.

Ian Needleman: 'the spirit of positivity at London 2012 was incredible'. Interview by Ruth Doherty.

Ian Needleman talks to the BDJ about his research study at the London 2012 Olympic Games, the future of periodontology and his top tips for dental students.

Learned and unlearned concepts in periodontal diagnostics: a 50-year perspective.

In the past 50 years, conceptual changes in the field of periodontal diagnostics have paralleled those associated with a better scientific understanding of the full spectrum of processes that affect periodontal health and disease. Fifty years ago, concepts regarding the diagnosis of periodontal diseases followed the classical pathology paradigm. It was believed that the two basic forms of destructive periodontal disease were chronic inflammatory periodontitis and 'periodontosis'- a degenerative condition. In the subsequent 25 years it was shown that periodontosis was an infection. By 1987, major new concepts regarding the diagnosis and pathogenesis of periodontitis included: (i) all cases of untreated gingivitis do not inevitably progress to periodontitis; (ii) progression of untreated periodontitis is often episodic; (iii) some sites with untreated periodontitis do not progress; (iv) a rather small population of specific bacteria ('periodontal pathogens') appear to be the main etiologic agents of chronic inflammatory periodontitis; and (v) tissue damage in periodontitis is primarily caused by inflammatory and immunologic host responses to infecting agents. The concepts that were in place by 1987 are still largely intact in 2012. However, in the decades to come, it is likely that new information on the human microbiome will change our current concepts concerning the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of periodontal diseases.