The Association Between Long-Term Corticosteroids Use and Dental Caries: A Systematic Review.

Corticosteroids (CSs) are a group of medications prescribed regularly to treat a wide range of inflammatory and immune-related conditions with great benefit. The impact of long-term use of CSs on the oral cavity has been reported before, including increased risk of periodontal disease and dental caries. Thus, the aim of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of dental caries in patients using CSs. A literature review was completed using PubMed and Cochrane search engines. The search was based on questions related to adults and children (P); corticosteroids (I); no corticosteroids (C); and dental caries (O) (PICO questions) using the keywords "steroids" and "caries" with all relevant variations and MeSH terms. Decay missing filling tooth/decay missing filling surface (DMFT/DMFS) scores were selected as parameters to assess the effects of CSs on caries prevalence. Data was extracted and analyzed for comparisons. The search yielded 1,206 articles from January 2001 to January 2023, of which 21 papers were eligible for analysis. Overall, 14 studies reported an increase in caries with CSs use. However, seven studies failed to report an association of caries prevalence with CSs use. Current evidence supports the correlation between increased risk of caries with chronic CSs use, specifically for inhaler formulation. Future studies with randomized controlled clinical studies are warranted to confirm these findings.

Germination and Outgrowth of Bacillus subtilis Spores in the Presence of Selected Antioxidants.

Germination and outgrowth of Bacillus subtilis spores was investigated using laboratory media containing butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) and propyl gallate (PG). Although all antioxidants inhibited or retarded germination initiation and outgrowth, only BHA and TBHQ were effective at relatively low concentrations (150 and 100 ppm, respectively). Furthermore, BHA and TBHQ (150 ppm) were also shown to reduce spore growth by approximately 1 and 4 log10 within 72 and 6 h, respectively. The difference in the number of survivors between thermally (10 min at 80°C) and BHA (150 ppm)-treated germinated spores indicated that the antioxidant was effective against only a certain portion of the total heat-sensitive spore population. Sporostasis caused by BHA appeared reversible by the addition of Tween 80.