Is the Quality of Toothache-Related Information Published in Brazilian Websites Adequate to Assist People in Seeking Dental Treatment?

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the readability and the quality of toothache-related information found in Brazilian websites. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-five websites retrieved from Google Search, Baidu, Yahoo! and Bing were evaluated by two independent examiners using the DISCERN questionnaire, the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmark criteria and the Flesch Reading Ease adapted to Brazilian Portuguese (FRE-BP). Additionally, the websites were categorised according to their information, adopting four criteria related to: (i) endodontic pain, (ii) toothache relief or treatment, (iii) the self-resolution of pain, and (iv) the promotion of home remedies usage. The statistical analysis was performed using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient, Mann-Whitney U test, hierarchical clustering analysis by Ward's minimum variance method, Kruskal-Wallis test, post-hoc Dunn's test and Chisquare test. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The overall means (± SD) of DISCERN and FRE-BP were, respectively, 31.02 (± 5.56) and 61.20 (± 11.79), without quality-based differences between the websites with health- and non-health-related authors, and distinct clusters. CONCLUSION: Therefore, the quality of toothache-related information found in this sample of Brazilian websites was classified as simple, accessible and of poor quality, which can hamper the personal decision-making process of seeking dental treatment, leading to damages caused by the non-effective self-management of toothache.

Effects of PBM in different energy densities and irradiance on maintaining cell viability and proliferation of pulp fibroblasts from human primary teeth.

This study aimed to compare the effects of photobiomodulation (PBM) in different energy densities and irradiances on maintaining cell viability, and proliferation of pulp fibroblasts from human primary teeth (HPF) were cultured in DMEM and used between the fourth and eighth passages. Then, HPF were irradiated with the following different energy densities: 1.25 J/cm2 (a), 2.50 J/cm2 (b), 3.75 J/cm2 (c), 5.00 J/cm2 (d), and 6.25 J/cm2 (e); but varying either the time of irradiation (groups 1a-1e) or the output power (groups 2a-2e). Positive (groups 1f and 2f) and negative controls (groups 1g and 2g), respectively, comprised non-irradiated cells grown in regular nutritional conditions (10% fetal bovine serum [FBS]) and under nutritional deficit (1% FBS). Cell viability and proliferation were respectively assessed through MTT and crystal violet (CV) assays at 24, 48, and 72 h after irradiation. Statistical analysis was performed by two-way ANOVA, followed by Tukey test (P < 0.05). The negative controls showed significantly lower viability in relation to most of the corresponding subgroups, both for MTT and CV assays. For both assays, the intragroup comparison showed that the periods of 24 h exhibited lower viability than the periods of 48 and 72 h for most of the subgroups, except the negative controls with lower viability. The different irradiation protocols (equal energy densities applied with different irradiances) showed no statistically significant differences on cell viability and proliferation at the evaluated periods. The proposed PBM in different energy densities and irradiance did not affect the viability and proliferation of pulp fibroblasts from human primary teeth.

Low-level laser therapy as an alternative for pulpotomy in human primary teeth.

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) on pulpal response of primary teeth. Twenty mandibular primary molars were randomly divided into the following groups: group I Buckley's formocresol (diluted at 1:5), group II calcium hydroxide, group III LLLT + zinc oxide/eugenol, and group IV LLLT + calcium hydroxide. LLLT parameters were set at 660-nm wavelength, 10-mW power output, and 2.5 J/cm(2) energy density for 10 s in continuous mode (InGaAlP laser, Twin Laser®, MMOptics, Sao Carlos, Sao Paulo, Brazil). The teeth were extracted at the regular exfoliation period. The dentin-pulp complex was graded by an established histopathological score system. Statistical analysis was performed by Kruskal-Wallis and chi-square test. The histopathological assessment revealed statistically significant differences among groups (P < 0.05). The lowest degree of pulpal inflammation was present in LLLT + calcium hydroxide (P = 0.0296). Calcium hydroxide showed the highest rate of hard tissue barrier (P = 0.0033), odontoblastic layer (P = 0.0033), and dense collagen fibers (P = 0.0095). On the other hand, formocresol showed the highest incidence of internal resorption (P = 0.0142). Based on this study, low-level laser therapy preceding the use of calcium hydroxide exhibited satisfactory results on pulp tissue healing. However, further clinical studies on human teeth with long-term follow-up are needed to test the low-level laser therapy efficacy.