Complications of oral piercing: a review of the literature and two case reports.

The practice of piercing has been used since ancient times, and nowadays is coming back in fashion among adolescents and young adults. Teenagers wearing oral piercings are frequently observed during routine examination, and there are, also, recurrent harmful consequences attributed to the devices. Unfortunately, piercings are usually placed by unlicensed individuals, lacking the appropriate anatomical knowledge, and therefore unable to provide sufficient information regarding the potential risks, especially when compared to the ones known by the patients. In this regard, the relevant legislation is frayed both vertically (that is within the framework of State and Regional competences), and horizontally (within the competences between the various regions). With the present study, through an accurate review of the literature and the description of two case reports, we underline the importance of informing both the patients and the dental professionals about the dental consequences undergoing the application of piercing. Both patients examined presented the common complications related to the application of piercing. The aim of this study is to underline the importance of being informed for both the dental professional and the person who undergoes piercing about its consequences for the whole oral system as well as the possible risks of infections and complications. We want to underline the key role of the dentist as a promoter of prevention of oral disorders as well as being able to deal with the possible complications which may occur.

The relationship between TMJ symptoms and orthodontic treatments: a survey on 236 orthodontic patients.

The study analyzes how and if temporomandibular joint symptoms are influenced by different types of orthodontic therapy. Two-hundred-and-thirty-six adult orthodontic patients treated by different clinicians, were asked to complete a survey in which factors as the age, the gender and the type of device were considered. The questions were about the typical symptoms of temporomandibular disorders, in particular headache, bruxism, clenching, pain while opening the mouth and joint's noise. It was highlighted if these symptoms changed during the therapy and if they increased or decreased. The answers to our questionnaire revealed that the only statistically significative difference was related to bruxism, because we found a higher rate in patients treated with aligners than patients treated with metal braces, so we can suggest the fixed technique in the orthodontic patient who suffers of bruxism, even if further studies are required.

Fibre post cementation: instrumental analysis.

The loss of dental substance due to the presence of decay, to wide conservative repairs, to the preparation of prosthetics or to enamel-dentine fractures, often causes an important structural weakening in the element that is endodontically treated (1-15). It is therefore necessary to use endocanal posts in the coronal reconstruction. Mineral fibre posts and epoxy resins that are available at present, fixed with resinous cements, thanks to their excellent integration, exceed the concept of reconstruction, meant as assembly of heterogeneous materials, arranging homogeneous materials according to a similar flexibility module (16-18). This allows to get a "post dentine cement monobloc", which is ideal for the morphofunctional tooth resetting (19-35). The aim of our experimental study was to analyse and compare the surface characteristics of same posts that are available at present by observing them in their relationship with cement and dental materials (36-44).