Survey on patients' attitude towards the nutritional counselling in the dental setting.

AIM: A healthy diet could help to prevent both oral and systemic diseases, with dentists and nutritionists supplementing their skills. The dental setting, where patients periodically refer to seeking oral health care, represents a powerful opportunity for nutritional counselling. To the best of our knowledge, no study is available on patients' attitudes towards dietary counselling in the dental setting. This cross-sectional study investigates patients' attitude towards receiving nutritional support within the dental setting and it elucidates whether a transdisciplinary approach would be well accepted. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A questionnaire was administered to patients attending three different clinics: a private clinic, a hospital dental clinic of the national healthcare system and the private dental practice within the same hospital. RESULTS: Three hundred thirteen questionnaires were collected. Most dental patients acknowledged receiving nutritional advice from both dentists and nutritionists. The nutritionist within the dental setting was positively perceived, providing useful advice to prevent oral and systemic diseases and also drawing up a diet with periodic follow-ups. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: These findings support the positive attitude of patients towards receiving nutritional counselling within the dental setting. The dental clinics can be pivotal in oral and systemic disease screening and prevention and a multidisciplinary approach is highly encouraged.

Genetics/epigenetics of oral premalignancy: current status and future research.

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the oral and oropharyngeal region is the sixth most common malignancy in the world today. Despite numerous advances in treatment, long-term survival from this disease remains poor. Early detection can decrease both morbidity and mortality associated with this neoplasm. However, screening for potentially malignant disease is typically confounded by difficulty in discriminating between reactive/inflammatory lesions vs those lesions that are premalignant in nature. Furthermore, the histologic diagnosis of dysplasia can be subjective and is thus prone to a considerable range of interpretation. Similarly, no definitive, validated criteria exist for predicting which dysplastic lesions are most likely to progress to cancer over time. Given this state of science, the presence of dysplasia can only be used to indicate that an oral lesion may have an increased risk of malignant transformation. Molecular biomarkers capable of identifying the subset of lesions likely to progress to cancer are required to eliminate this clinical diagnostic dilemma. The purpose of this review is to assess the current state of knowledge regarding genetic/epigenetic alterations observed in oral mucosal premalignancy. In addition, recommendations for future research studies directed at defining the predictive capacity of specific biomarkers in this modeling are presented.

Electrochemical surface modification of titanium for implant abutments can affect oral bacteria contamination.

PURPOSE: This research concerns the characterization of an electrochemical surface treatment applied to titanium, focused especially on the treatment of the transmucosal area of dental implants and abutments. The treatment is applied to improve soft tissue adhesion, to control and limit bacteria adhesion and proliferation, and to improve the aesthetic performance through a proper colorization of the metal surface. METHODS: The electrochemical treatment considered, obtained on titanium by Anodic Spark Deposition technique (ASD), was performed in a calcium phosphate enriched solution. The bacteria behaviour was assessed by in vitro and in vivo tests. RESULTS: The investigated ASD treatment showed some antibacterial effect. No negative cytocompatibility effects were found on MG63 - human osteosarcoma cell lines and L929 - murine fibroblasts. CONCLUSIONS: The ASD modified treatment was found capable of modifying the titanium oxide layer providing a prevalent anatase crystalline structure and a microporous morphology, which can play an important role in the tissue integration process. The treatment was found capable of enriching the surface with calcium, providing improved biocompatibility and a light gray colorization. This last point is important for the aesthetic improvement of dental implant systems in the transgingival area.