Microbial Profile and Dental Caries in Cleft Lip and Palate Babies Between 0 and 3 Years Old.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the microbiological changes in newborn babies with cleft lip palate from birth up to age 3 and to correlate them with their caries levels and mothers' microbiological data and to compare with normal infants. BASIC RESEARCH DESIGN: Prospective. SETTINGS: Marmara University, Faculty of Dentistry, Pediatric Dentistry Clinic, and Sisli Hamidiye Etfal Education and Research Hospital New Born Clinic. PATIENTS/PARTICIPANTS: Cleft lip palate (n = 21) and healthy (n = 13) newborns and their mothers. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Intraoral samples were taken from babies in each group at least 3 times over the 3 years. Saliva samples of the mothers were collected just after the birth of the babies and examined microbiologically. Dental caries was noted as either present or absent. RESULTS: The most frequent microorganisms were candida, found at birth (n = 9, 42%) in cleft palate with or without cleft lip (CP±L) group. The number of babies infected with Lactobacilli were found to be significantly higher in the CP±L group than in the control group at birth ( P = .029) and after eruption of the first primary tooth ( P = .030). Mutans Streptococci were found in 10% of babies with CP±L at birth. Initial caries was identified in 20% of the babies with an oral cleft compared with 0% of the controls after eruption of the first primary incisors. CONCLUSION: The results show that the CP±L babies must be considered as a group with an increased caries risk.

The effects of the pentoxifylline on survival of the skin flaps in streptozotocin-diabetic rats.

Skin flaps are frequently performed for diabetic patients in spite of countless detrimental effects of diabetes on flap survival. This study was planned because only a few clinical experiments have been performed on the effect of pentoxifylline (PTX) on the flaps in diabetic-animals. We studied 4 groups of rats: group 1, diabetic PTX treatment; group 2, diabetic control; group 3, nondiabetic PTX treatment; group 4, nondiabetic control. For the diabetic groups, diabetes mellitus was induced via intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (55 mg/kg). For treatment groups, PTX injections were started at the end of the 6th week of the experiment and procedures were carried out for 4 weeks during the experiment. Modified McFarlane flaps were elevated from all animals at the end of the 10th week of the experiment. Surviving areas of the flaps were measured at the end of the 11th week. Flap survival of the nondiabetic control and diabetic PTX treatment groups were significantly higher than of the diabetic control group (P < 0.01). Also, flap survival of the diabetic PTX treatment group was not statistically different than of the nondiabetic control group, but flap survival of the nondiabetic PTX treatment group was not statistically different from that of the nondiabetic control group. PTX appears to help decrease the harmful effects of diabetes on survival of the skin flaps.

Effects of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus on perforator-based flaps in streptozotocin diabetic rats.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) on the viability of perforator-based flaps (pbf) in diabetic rats. Random-pattern flaps were also used as a control flap group. Wistar Albino rats, female, n = 60, were used. The study was done with four groups: Group 1 (diabetic rats, pbf), Group 2 (non-diabetic rats, pbf), Group 3 (diabetic rats, McFarlane flap), and Group 4 (non-diabetic rats, McFarlane flap). Streptozocin (STZ, 55 mg/kg) in a vehicle (sodium citrate, pH 4.5) was injected into the rats intraperitonally to create an IDDM model in the diabetic groups. Only the vehicle without STZ was injected into the rats intraperitonally in the non-diabetic groups. All flaps were elevated 10 weeks after injections. Measurements of the surviving areas of the flaps, and microangiographic and histopathologic studies were done 7 days after flap elevation. Blood glucose levels of the diabetic rats were significantly higher than those of the non-diabetic groups ( p < 0.001). The surviving flap areas were 41 +/- 21 percent in Group 1, 65 +/- 25 percent in Group 2, 49 +/- 10 percent in Group 3, and 66 +/- 10 percent in Group 4. The surviving flap areas of the diabetic groups were significantly less than those of the non-diabetic groups ( p < 0.001). Specific histopathologic changes of IDDM were seen only in the diabetic groups. Microangiographies in the diabetic and non-diabetic groups were very similar. The surviving flap areas of the perforator-based and random-pattern skin flaps in the diabetic rats were decreased by IDDM. If a flap is planned for diabetic wounds, it should be kept in mind that the area of flap necrosis may be larger than those of non-diabetics.