Nonrestorative Caries Treatment: A Systematic Review Update.

Caries is the most prevalent chronic noncommunicable disease. Strategies to prevent its onset and early interventions to arrest the progression of early lesions have been emphasised throughout recent decades to avoid or delay the restorative spiral of the tooth. More individuals are retaining their natural teeth into old age, thereby necessitating ongoing restorative dentistry intervention for their maintenance. The aim of this systematic review was to update the state of the art regarding clinical studies reporting the effectiveness of different nonrestorative caries treatment options in the 5-year period from 2017 to 2022. Relevant articles were retrieved from 2 electronic databases, including randomised clinical trials (RCTs) published from January 2017 until April 2022, assessing effectiveness and secondary effects of at least one nonrestorative caries treatment option, carried out with adults and/or children with noncavitated or cavitated carious lesions on either primary or permanent teeth and diagnosed by radiographs or visual/tactile assessment. All 35 included articles presented the results of RCTs with a follow-up period ranging from 6 to 84 months. Most of these studies were considered high-quality articles with a low risk of bias. Sealants and fluoride gels and varnishes were mentioned in 12 studies as effective strategies to prevent the onset of caries lesions and to arrest them in the early stages. Resin infiltration reported high caries arresting rates in noncavitated proximal lesions in 10 publications. Silver diammine fluoride presented high caries-arresting rates in open dentin lesions, both in primary and permanent dentitions as well as in root caries lesions that were accessible for cleansing. New evidence has been published between 2017 and 2022 as the result of numerous clinical studies providing further evidence of the effectiveness of nonrestorative caries treatment options.

Amoxicillin/metronidazole or scaling and root planing in the treatment of chronic periodontitis

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the treatment with amoxicillin or metronidazole in comparison to scaling and root planing in the treatment of chronic periodontitis. Randomised clinical trials were searched in the databases MEDLINE, EMBASE, SciELO, Cochrane and Scopus from 1989 to 2010. The search started with 2895 articles.. From this initial number of articles, 10 publications were selected and included in the study according to fixed criteria. Studies included adult patients of both sexes aged between 21 and 80, diagnosed with chronic periodontitis and treated with amoxicillin and/or metronidazole or scaling and root planning. From each article, details were abstracted relating to sample size, design, sex, age, oral hygiene habits, the exposure to drug (doses, schedule), and results such as clinical effect, analysis methods, stratification variables. Conclusion: this meta-analysis showed absence of statistically significant difference between the effects studied.

El objetivo del presente estudio fue evaluar el tratamiento con amoxicilina o metronidazol en comparacion con el raspado y alisado radicular en el tratamiento de la periodontitis cronica. Ensayos clinicos aleatorios se seleccionaron de las bases de datos MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scielo, Cochrane, y Scopus desde el ano 1989 a 2010. La busqueda comenzo con 2895 articulos. A partir de este numero inicial de articulos, 10 publicaciones fueron seleccionadas e incluidas en el estudio de acuerdo a los criterios fijados. Los estudios incluyeron pacientes adultos de ambos sexos, con edades entre 21 y 80 anos, diagnosticados con enfermedad periodontal cronica y tratados con amoxicilina y/o metronidazol o raspaje y alisado radicular. De cada articulo se extrajo el tamano muestral, diseno, genero y edad, habitos de higiene oral, medicacion (dosis y esquema), resultado clinico, metodo de analisis y variables de estratificacion. Conclusion: este meta-analisis mostro ausencia de significacion estadistica entre los efectos estudiados.

Amoxicillin/metronidazole or scaling and root planing in the treatment of chronic periodontitis.

UNLABELLED: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the treatment with amoxicillin or metronidazole in comparison to scaling and root planing in the treatment of chronic periodontitis. Randomised clinical trials were searched in the databases MEDLINE, EMBASE, SciELO, Cochrane and Scopus from 1989 to 2010. The search started with 2895 articles. From this initial number of articles, 10 publications were selected and included in the study according to fixed criteria. Studies included adult patients of both sexes aged between 21 and 80, diagnosed with chronic periodontitis and treated with amoxicillin and/or metronidazole or scaling and root planning. From each article, details were abstracted relating to sample size, design, sex, age, oral hygiene habits, the exposure to drug (doses, schedule), and results such as clinical effect, analysis methods, stratification variables. CONCLUSION: this meta-analysis showed absence of statistically significant difference between the effects studied.

Comparison of oral hygiene habits among university students from Argentina, Spain and Italy / Comparação das práticas de higiene bucal e consequência clínicas em estudantes universitários da Argentina, Espanha e itália

Apresenta-se neste trabalho, um estudo das práticas de higiene bucal entre estudantes universitários da Argentina, Itália e Espanha. A comparação das práticas de higiene bucal e repercussões clínicas nos permite avaliar as necessidades atuais e futuras de assistência buco-dental entre os estudantes universitários dos três países. Para a análises estatística foi tomada uma mostra aleatória (n = 150) de estudantes de diferentes faculdades (Odontologia, Filosofia e Ciências Humanas, Arquitetura, Ciências Econômicas e Engenharia), de ambos os sexos entre 18 e 29 anos. Realizou-se um estudo transversal com questões estruturadas com opções, odontograma, registro de placa bacteriana e inflamação gengival. A maioria dos estudantes apresentou placa e inflamação gengival, sendo menor a porcentagem dos estudantes italianos. A presença de cáries ativas foi maior entre os estudantes da Argentina e Espanha, enquanto uma maior quantidade de obturações observou-se em estudantes italianos. Por meio de análises de correspondência, observou-se que a presença de cáries e obturações foram mais comuns entre os estudantes espanhóis de Ciências Econômicas e as cáries ativas relacionaram-se com os estudantes italianos de Odontologia e Arquitetura. Finalmente, depois de se analisar os diferentes indicadores e parâmetros pôde-se concluir que as carreiras universitárias não associam-se com as condutas preventivas de saúde bucal e que as práticas de higiene bucal entre os estudantes não foram totalmente incorporadas devido ao alto nível de cáries observado.

The aim of this work is to compare oral hygiene habits among university students from Argentina, Italy and Spain. A random sample was selected of students (n = 150) of both sexes aged 18-29 years studying dentistry, architecture, economics, engineering and philosophy. A transversal study was performed with a structured multiple choice survey. Odontograms were recorded as well as plaque and gingivitis indices. These indices were found to be highest in Argentina and Spain. Active caries prevalence was highest in Argentina and Spain, while obturations were observed in a larger number of Italian students. Correlation analysis showed that decayed teeth and obturations were more common among economic science students from Spain, and cavities were correlated with Italian dental and architectural students. Choice of university degree was not associated with general preventive oral health habits, or with plaque and gingival indices.