Apical periodontitis and incident cardiovascular events in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Ageing.

AIM: To evaluate whether the presence of apical periodontitis (AP), root canal treatment (RCT) and endodontic burden (EB) - as the sum of AP and RCT sites - were associated with long-term risk of incident cardiovascular events (CVE), including cardiovascular-related mortality, using data on participants in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Ageing (BLSA). METHODOLOGY: This retrospective cohort included 278 dentate participants in the BLSA with complete medical and dental examinations. Periodontal disease (PD) and missing teeth were recorded. The total number of AP and RCT sites was determined from panoramic radiographs. EB was calculated as the sum of AP and RCT sites. Oral inflammatory burden (OIB) was calculated combining PD and EB. The main outcome was incident CVE including angina, myocardial infarction and cardiovascular-related death. Participants were monitored for up to 44 years (mean = 17.4± 11.1 years) following dental examination. Relative risks (RRs) were calculated through Poisson regression models, estimating the relationship between AP, RCT, EB, PD, OIB and incident CVE. RESULTS: Mean age at baseline was 55.0 ±16.8 years and 51.4% were men. Sixty-two participants (22.3%) developed CVE. Bivariate analysis showed that PD, EB, number of teeth and OIB were associated with incident CVE. Multivariate models, adjusted for socio-demographic and medical variables, showed that age ≥60 years (RR = 3.07, 95% CI =1.68-5.62), hypertension (RR = 2.0, 95% CI = 1.16-3.46) and EB ≥3 (RR = 1.77, 95% CI = 1.04-3.02) were independently associated with incident CVE. The association between OIB and incident CVE was reduced to nonsignificance after adjustments (RR = 1.97, 95% CI = 0.83-4.70). CONCLUSIONS: EB in midlife was an independent predictor of CVE amongst community-dwelling participants in the BLSA. Prospective studies are required to evaluate cardiovascular risk reduction with the treatment of AP.

Edentulism, use of dentures and consumption of fruit and vegetables in south Brazilian community-dwelling elderly.

There is evidence suggesting that edentulous older persons modify their diet, avoiding foods that are difficult to chew, such as fruit and vegetables; meanwhile, the consumption of these foods is associated with prevention of chronic diseases. However, few studies evaluated whether a poor oral status without prosthetic rehabilitation is associated with a reduction in the consumption of fruit and vegetables in community-dwelling older persons. We evaluated the association of oral status with emphasis on complete dentures use with the daily consumption of at least 400 g of fruit and vegetables, following the recommendations of the WHO. A random sample of 282 south Brazilians ≥60 years of age was evaluated. Measurements included a questionnaire to assess sociodemographic, behaviour, and health data; consume of fruit and vegetables by means of a 24-h diet recall, and oral status assessment, by means of oral examinations assessing the number of teeth and use of dental prosthesis. Multivariate Poisson regression showed that the only variable significantly associated with inadequate consumption of fruit and vegetables was edentulism with the use of only one denture [PR=1·75 (1·11-2·74)]. Edentulous participants wearing only one denture were less likely to consume at least 400 g day(-1) of fruit and vegetables. These results indicate that, in edentulous community-dwelling elderly, oral health rehabilitation might play an important role in the maintenance of consumption of adequate amounts of fruit and vegetables, which is an important component of a healthy diet and also in the prevention of chronic diseases.

Impacto da perda dentária na qualidade de vida de idosos independentes / The impact of tooth loss on quality of life in independent elderly people

O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar o impacto da perda dentária na qualidade de vida em indivíduos idosos. Foram avaliados 28 idosos independentes do grupo de terceira idade do Centro Humanístico Vida, de Porto Alegre, RS. A amostra foi por conveniência e o protocolo foi aprovado pelo CEP-PUCPRS. Os indivíduos foram avaliados quanto ao número de dentes presentese, posteriormente, divididos em 2 grupos de acordo com o seguinte critério: grupo 1 = indivíduos com 0 a 7 dentes e grupo 2 = indivíduos com 8 ou mais dentes. Para determinar a qualidade de vida foi utilizado Inventário de qualidade de vida WHOQoL-breve. Diferenças entre grupos foram verificadas com o teste de Mann-Whiney, e a consistência interna do WHOQoL-breve com o teste Cronbach . O valor para regeição da hipótes nula foi p<0,05. O número médio de dentes dos indivíduos do grupo 1 foi 2,2 e do grupo 2 foi 10,7. O número de dentes naurais foi importante para determinar diferenças relacionadas à qualidade de vida(domínio meio ambiente), pois os idosos que possuiam 8 ou mais dentes apresentaram uma qualidade de vida melhor.

Alterações morfológicas em epitélio lingual de camundongos expostos ao álcool etílico a 40° GL / Morphological changes in epithelium of the tongue of mice exposed to 40° GL alcohol solution

O álcool nunca foi apontado como um carcinógeneo isoladamente, a literatura se refere ao álcool como um elemento que facilitaria a atuação de um carcinógeneo ou um elemento que agiria em sinergia juntamente com tabaco no desenvolvimento do câncer bucal. Buscando avaliar o papel do álcool, como modificador da morfologia da mucosa da língua realizamos o experimento com 60 camundongos divididos em três grupos-controle, Álcool Tópico- durante o período de um ano. Os animais do Grupo-Álcool contínuo seguiram com a alimentação normal tendo sido substituída a bebida por álcool a 40°GL e a dos grupo Álcool Tópico recebiam aplicação tópica de álcool 40° GL duas vezes por semana, simulando um consumo eventual. Através de amostras retiradas do dorso da língua, no início do experimento e depois a cada seis meses, fez-se a análise de alterações morfológicas no epitélio (camada basal e intermediária). Através de análise estatística dos resultados verificamos alterações significativas em quase todos os itens avaliados. Concluímos que o álcool pode ser apontado como um agente modificador da morfologia da mucosa do dorso da língua quando ingerido ou aplicado topicamente