Photodynamic therapy as adjunctive treatment of single-rooted teeth in patients with grade C periodontitis: A randomized controlled clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: The present study aimed to evaluate the adjunctive effect of an antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) protocol on single-rooted teeth of patients with grade C periodontitis. METHODS: Sixty-four single-rooted teeth (14 patients) were included in each group of this double-blinded split-mouth randomized clinical trial. The teeth were randomly divided into scaling and root planing + aPDT (test group) and scaling and root planing+sham aPDT (control group). The aPDT protocol consisted of incubation with 1% methylene blue for 5 min, rinsing, and application of a diode laser (wavelength of 660 nm, power of 100 mW) for 10 s. aPDT was repeated after 7 days. Bleeding on probing (BoP), probing depth (PD), gingival recession (GR), and clinical attachment loss (CAL) were recorded before and 3 months after treatment. A 5% significance level was adopted for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Final PD was significantly (P = 0.02) lower in the test group (2.87 ± 1.40 mm) compared to control (3.12 ± 1.69 mm). The test group showed a significantly higher percentage of sites with PD≤4 mm and concomitant BoP compared to control (91%x86%;P < 0.001). At sites with baseline PD>4 mm, final PD and CAL were significantly (P = 0.01) lower in the test group (4.11 ± 1.66 and 4.89 ± 2.49 mm, respectively) compared to control (4.88 ± 1.99 and 5.89 ± 2.74 mm, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: aPDT combined with scaling and root planning provided slightly better periodontal clinical results than the latter procedure alone, exerting a superior effect at sites with greater baseline PD. aPDT might be used as adjunctive treatment in grade C periodontitis affecting single-rooted teeth since it improves the response to conventional periodontal treatment.

O papel do cirurgião dentista do diagnóstico do câncer de boca / The role of the dentistry professional in diagnosing mouth cancer

O diagnóstico precoce de alterações malignas na cavidade bucal é de fundamental importância para a expectativa de vida do paciente. O carcinoma escamocelular é a neoplasia maligna mais comum na cavidade oral, sendo considerado um problema de saúde pública. O instituto Nacional do Câncer estima para o ano de 2008 de 2500 casos de carcinoma oral para a região Nordeste, e ainda de 7,28 casos a cada 100.000 homens, e 3,52 a cada 100.000 mulheres. A sua etiologia é multifatorial, tendo o fumo e o álcool como principais fatores de risco. Seu caráter maligno e bastante agressivo torna de suma importância o papel do cirurgião dentista do diagnóstico precoce da lesão. Este trabalho tem como objetivo relatar um caso clínico de carcinoma escamocelular em borda lateral de língua com provável comprometimento da cadeia gaglionar cervical, bem como mostrar todas as etapas para chegar aso seu diagnóstico