Relationship between gingival bleeding and associated factors with reports of verbal bullying in adolescents.

BACKGROUND: Dentofacial features are related to increased bullying episodes in young people. The aim of this study was to assess the association between gingival bleeding and reports of verbal bullying among adolescents. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study conducted with a representative sample of 608 12-year-old adolescents from southern Brazil. The occurrence of verbal bullying was verified through adolescents' self-report. Oral health measurements included the presence of gingival bleeding, dental fracture, dental fluorosis, and dental caries experience. Gingival bleeding was assessed through adolescent self-perception by the following question: "Did you notice any bleeding in your gums?" Demographic, socioeconomic, and psychosocial variables were also evaluated. Poisson regression models with robust variance were used to evaluate the influence of gingival bleeding on the occurrence of verbal bullying. Results are presented as prevalence ratio (PR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI). RESULTS: Out of 608 adolescents evaluated, 577 answered bullying questions. The prevalence of self-reported verbal bullying was 12.8%. Adolescents who presented gingival bleeding had an 80% higher prevalence of verbal bullying than their counterparts (PR 1.80; 95% CI 1.01 -3.19). Dental shame, speech difficulties and influence of dental condition on studies also impacted the higher prevalence of bullying. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the presence of gingival bleeding negatively impacts the social life of adolescents, causing more episodes of verbal bullying. These findings encourage public health policies aimed at reducing oral health inequities, thus reflecting on the well-being and quality of life of this target population.

Periradicular inflammatory response, bone resorption, and cementum repair after sealing of furcation perforation with mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA Angelus™) or Biodentine™.

OBJECTIVE: This study assessed tissue responses after furcation perforation and immediate sealing with either Biodentine™ or MTA Angelus™. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Sixty male Wistar rats were used (n = 6 per group/period). The mandibular first molars had the furcation mechanically exposed and sealed with either MTA or Biodentine™ and restored with silver amalgam. In an additional test group, teeth were sealed only with Biodentine™. Furcation sealing with gutta-percha and silver amalgam restoration served as positive control, and healthy untreated teeth were the negative control. Histological evaluation was performed after 14 or 21 days. Kruskal-Wallis and Dunn's post hoc tests were performed to analyze the extent and intensity of tissue inflammation, bone resorption, and cementum repair (p < 0.05). RESULTS: Biodentine™ and MTA presented satisfactory results, showing a milder inflammatory response when compared to the control, regardless of the material used for coronal sealing and of the experimental period evaluated (p < 0.0001). All test groups showed less bone resorption than the positive control after 21 days (p < 0.05), and such differences were more pronounced in teeth restored with silver amalgam. Cementum repair was performed in 30% of MTA and Biodentine™ samples but not carried out in any positive control specimen. CONCLUSIONS: Biodentine™ and MTA promoted similar responses when used to seal furcation perforations and should therefore be regarded as a promising alternative. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Knowledge about tissue responses to restorative materials is essential for improving root perforation sealing protocols. The present results showed that both Biodentine™ and MTA promoted appropriate periradicular tissue reactions in a preclinical test for evaluating furcation perforation treatments.

Computed tomography assessment of three techniques for removal of filling material.

In this study, computed tomography (CT) was used to assess three techniques for root canal filling removal. Seventy-five roots of extracted human lower incisors were filled with zinc oxide-eugenol sealer and gutta-percha and separated into three groups before gutta-percha removal (group 1, Gates Glidden burs + K-type hand instrumentation; group 2, K-type reciprocating instrumentation + NSK TEP E16R; group 3, ProTaper rotary instrumentation + NSK NAC E16R). Specimens were CT-scanned before and after filling removal. The mean rate of filling removal was 94.88%. Reciprocating instrumentation was the most effective and manual instrumentation associated with Gates Glidden burs was the least effective technique. Removal rate was significantly different for the three groups according to one-way anova (P = 0.049). The Tukey test showed a significant difference between groups 1 and 2 (P = 0.039) only. CT proved to be a reliable method for assessing root filling removal techniques.