Clinical effectiveness of polynucleotide TMJ injection compared with physiotherapy: a 3-month randomised clinical trial.

Joint visco-supplementation is an effective therapeutic approach against the degenerative signs and symptoms of osteoarthrosis/osteoarthritis of the mandibular condyle. Supplements of choice are usually delivered inside the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) by intra-articular infiltration. The present study aimed to assess the clinical effectiveness of pericapsular injection of polinucleotides (PN) and hyaluronic acid (HA). Sixty patients suffering from TMJ osteoarthrosis were recruited and divided into two groups (test group: n = 30, pericapsular injection; control group: n = 30, self-delivered physiotherapeutic exercises). For each patient, maximum opening, right and left lateral excursion, and visual analogue scale (VAS) scores were recorded at four different timepoints by a blinded investigator. Paired Student's t tests were used to compare consecutive measurements of the parameters evaluated within the groups, and unpaired Student's t tests were used for between-group comparisons. All investigated parameters displayed a progressive clinical improvement in both groups, which was more accentuated in the test group. The decrease in VAS score differed significantly between groups (p < 0.0001). Maximum opening showed a continuous increase from baseline (mean (SD) 37.70 (8.33) mm) to T3 (39.68 (7.64) mm), reflecting a progressive improvement, but it was not statistically significant (p = 0.089 at T3 with respect to T0). PN HA pericapsular injection is a minimally invasive treatment that effectively reduces pain and improves mandibular kinematics.

Comparison of facial features in fetuses and newborns following natural delivery with cephalic presentation: a pilot study

BACKGROUND: Malocclusions are usually diagnosed around 3-4 years of age according to specific criteria. The purpose of this protocol is to validate a method to understand how the type of delivery can influence the development of malocclusions. MATERIALS: This pilot study, conducted at the Fondazione IRCCS Cà Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico of Milan, evaluated the relationship between the type of delivery, fetal presentation, and the presence of malocclusions in children. The sample included 5 healthy term newborns, all born to healthy mothers with uncomplicated pregnancies by vaginal delivery. Measurements were taken, via ultrasound, at the 37th week of gestation (T0) and on the second day of life (T1), using a craniometer, caliper and goniometer, including head circumference, lower facial angle, frontonasal angle, labial fissure length, and interpupillary distance. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that further research is necessary to better understand the influence of delivery mode and fetal presentation on the development of malocclusions. This study represents an important first step, highlighting the need for larger samples and more in-depth investigation methods to obtain more conclusive results.

Premature loss of primary molars in children: space recovery through molar distalisation. A literature review.

AIM: The integrity of primary dentition is essential in the development of the jaws and permanent occlusion. The consequences of a premature loss of primary molars are: space loss, crowding, risk of impaction of the permanent teeth, ectopic eruption, anomalous inclination of the teeth adjacent to the loss molar, reduction of arch length. The mesial displacement of the posterior permanent teeth during eruption can cause a loss of space, which can be regained with orthodontic appliances. Therefore, a careful diagnosis is of great importance to be able to decide what appliance is indicated to recover from this situation. Molar distalisation consists in displacing permanent molars distally, allowing them to reach class I relationship and to recover the correct space for the second bicuspids when the second deciduous molar has been lost early. METHODS: The aim of this study is to carry out a narrative literature review regarding the different appliances and their effectiveness in regaining space after premature loss of the upper primary molars. CONCLUSION: The paediatric dentist should be aware of the advantages and disadvantages related to each device and select the most appropriate distalisation appliance based on an individual plan of diagnosis and a careful treatment. The distalisation of the upper molar must be adequately stabilised and so it is important to consider also some retainers such as Nance's appliance, the Palatal Plate, the extraoral traction, the utility arch, or II Class elastic bands.

SALIVA-based diagnostic approach for diabetes mellitus: a step towards non-invasive detection - a scoping review.

OBJECTIVE: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic autoimmune disease whose main feature is chronic hyperglycemia. The causes of DM are impaired insulin secretion, impaired insulin action, or both. Saliva is a biofluid that can be considered as a "mirror" reflecting our body's health status; with the rapid advancement in salivaomics, saliva, being a non-invasive and safe source, could be a substitute for blood in the diagnosis and prognosis of diseases. As there are no precise guidelines about the salivary biomarkers correlated with the diagnosis of diabetes, a review was conducted to verify whether saliva analysis can be feasible and which biomarkers are more reliable, for the diagnosis of this disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A literature search was performed through PubMed, Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, LILACS, Open Grey, and Cochrane Library databases. The "PRISMA" guidelines were used for the following review, and thirty-three studies were analyzed. RESULTS: Almost all salivary glucose studies suggest that the estimation of this biomarker can be used as a potential indicator. Furthermore, studies that considered other biomarkers such as 1,5-anhydroglucitol, alpha-amylase, N-acetyl-ß-D-hexosaminidase, asprosin, resistin, and fructosamine reported that these biomarkers resulted to be potentially useful for diabetes screening and diagnosis, with the exception of the cystatin SA. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, several salivary biomarkers could be useful for monitoring DM, but it would be necessary to further expand the research and define precise values for each marker in order to predict with reasonable confidence if an individual is healthy or suffering from diabetes. Finally, standardized saliva collection and processing techniques are key to minimizing interindividual variability in saliva composition.

Influence of the type of breastfeeding as a risk or protective factor for the onset of malocclusions: a systematic review.

AIM: The correlation between malocclusions in deciduous dentition and type of breastfeeding has been described by many authors in numerous articles. The aim of this article is to investigate the literature about this important topic. MATERIALS: The research was conducted by querying the following databases: PubMed, EBMR, Cochrane Library, Web of Sciences, Medline, Web of Sciences, Ovid and Embase. The key words were: "infant" OR "baby", AND "breastfeeding" AND "malocclusion". As with similar literature review papers, the PRISMA-P (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews Protocols) was used. The examined articles were of the following types: randomised controlled trials (RCTs), case-control studies and cohort studies. For the qualitative analysis of the selected studies, it was employed the NOS scale (Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale). CONCLUSION: Two hundred and fifty articles were selected. After filtering out the articles deemed irrelevant or with obvious bias, only 16 articles were left. From our results, it can be concluded that breastfeeding seems to play a decisive role in preventing the onset of posterior cross-bites and Class II malocclusions, and that this protective effect appears to be time-dependent.

Survey of Oral Hygiene Habits and Knowledge among School Children: a cross-sectional study from Italy.

AIM: This study is aimed to investigate the oral hygiene practice, knowledge and attitude of young adults, assessing their awareness about the impact of a certain "risk" behaviour on their oral and dental health. MATERIALS: This is a cross-sectional survey study conducted on 829 students (350 males and 479 females, mean age 13-20 years) attending high school in Milan and surrounding areas. They were asked to complete anonymous questionnaire during the first semester of the 2019-2020 school year, under the supervision of a teacher and/or an assigned interviewer. The questionnaire was created by "Laboratorio Adolescenza", in collaboration with the International Alliance of Responsible Drinking (IARD) Research Institute and the University of Milan. All of the data was compiled into table or graph form and analysed. CONCLUSION: There is a general awareness among Italian school children about the risks of bad oral habits, however, there is a need to improve the oral health knowledge, attitude and practices in the target population with emphasis on improvement of oral hygiene practices.

What is the use of nutraceuticals in dentistry? A scoping review.

OBJECTIVE: Recently, nutraceuticals have been widely explored in many medical fields and their use is also increasing in oral and dental problems. Since the nutraceutical evidence landscape in the literature has not been fully elucidated yet, this review aims to examine the effects of commercially available nutraceuticals and their potential evidence and applications in dentistry. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A scoping review was conducted following the "Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR)" checklist. The electronic search was performed using PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, and Web of Science on March 2022. The inclusion criteria include humans, clinical trials, randomized controlled trials (RCT), reviews, and systematic reviews published over the last ten years. RESULTS: 18 studies met the eligibility criteria. There were 2 RCTs, 11 systematic reviews, and four narrative reviews. In most studies, the clinical indications were oral leucoplakia, periodontitis, osseointegration of implants, oral mucositis, oral clefts, and oral health. Probiotics, prebiotics, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and vitamins A, B, C, D, and E were the most common nutraceuticals used in dentistry. CONCLUSIONS: Nutraceuticals are foods that, according to the literature, may be useful for preventing and treating dental diseases.

Salivary proteomic profile of young healthy subjects.

Background: The incidence of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) has been rapidly ramped up worldwide. Hence, there is an urgent need to non-invasively detect NCDs possibly by exploiting saliva as a 'liquid biopsy' to identify biomarkers of the health status. Since, the absence of standardized procedures of collection/analysis and the lack of normal ranges makes the use of saliva still tricky, our purpose was to outline a salivary proteomic profile which features healthy individuals. Methods: We collected saliva samples from 19 young blood donors as reference population and the proteomic profile was investigated through mass-spectrometry. Results: We identified 1,004 proteins of whose 243 proteins were shared by all subjects. By applying a data clustering approach, we found a set of six most representative proteins across all subjects including Coronin-1A, F-actin-capping protein subunit alpha, Immunoglobulin J chain, Prosaposin, 78 kDa glucose-regulated protein and Heat shock 70 kDa protein 1A and 1B. Conclusion: All of these proteins are involved in immune system activation, cellular stress responses, proliferation, and invasion thus suggesting their use as biomarkers in patients with NCDs.

Open bite and atypical swallowing: orthodontic treatment, speech therapy or both? A literature review.

AIM: The cause-effect relationship between anterior open bite and atypical swallowing, two frequently associated conditions, is currently not completely understood. These conditions are often accompanied by speech disorders and represent a problem for both young patients and untreated adult patients. Treatment of these complex cases may be orthodontic, logopedic therapy or both. The purpose of this review is to compare the various types of treatment to determine their effectiveness in improving skeletal condition, normalisation of muscle activity, and temporal stability. METHODS: The present systematic review was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyzes (PRISMA) guidelines. In order to find the most appropriate articles for inclusion, an electronic and manual search was performed using PubMed and The Cochrane Library on May 23, 2021. No language restrictions or time limits were applied. Only human studies describing cases of patients in the developmental stage of dentition, i.e., deciduous dentition or mixed dentition with an anterior open bite related to a type of swallowing with tongue interposition between the arches, undergoing three different types of treatment (orthodontic only, myofunctional/logopedic only, combined) were included. CONCLUSION: The most effective treatment in cases of anterior open bite associated with atypical swallowing is a combination of the traditional orthodontic therapy and myofunctional therapy. Further studies are needed to devise an effective and universal logopaedic protocol to be followed in these cases.