Evaluation of effect of a vitamin-based barrier cream on the clinical severity of actinic cheilitis: A preliminary study.

BACKGROUND: Actinic Cheilitis (AC) is a pathological condition of the labial mucosa considered potentially malignant. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of treatment of AC with daily use of a vitamin-based barrier cream. MATERIAL AND METHODS: For this clinical study, 36 participants with lower-lip AC were recruited from three oral medicine services. At baseline, participants were evaluated by clinical examination and clinical severity of AC was classified as grade I to IV. All participants were dispensed a tube of a barrier cream containing vitamins A, D, E and ZnO to apply once nightly for 90 consecutive days. Monthly follow-up was performed to reclassify AC clinial severity. The primary outcome of interest was clinical remission of AC at 90-day follow-up compared to baseline. RESULTS: Progressive remission of AC lesions was observed as early as the first month and throughout the assessment period (p = 0.000). The 3-month period was insufficient for remission of lesions, especially among male participants (p = 0.002) and with a longer sun exposure in years (p = 0.007). CONCLUSIONS: Daily use of the vitamin-based barrier cream had a promissing positive impact on the severity of actinic cheilitis. However, a 90-day course of treatment was not sufficient to achieve lesions remission. The findings of this study suggest a promising new avenue for the treatment of lower-lip AC. Key words:Actinic cheilitis, vitamins, retinoids, vitamin D, therapeutics.

Effect of heat treatment on cytotoxicity of self-adhesive resin cements: Cell viability analysis.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to assess, in vitro, the influence on cytotoxicity of heat treatment applied before photopolymerization, while mixing three self-adhesive resin cements, in an NIH/3T3 fibroblast cell culture, based on cell viability measures. METHODS: Samples were divided into three groups: (1) no heat treatment while mixing (control), (2) 37°C, and (3) 60°C heat treatment while mixing. Cements were light-cured immediately after mixing and immersed in Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Media for the extraction of possibly uncured products after 24 h and 7 days. Cultures contained 0.5 mL of NIH/3T3 fibroblasts per well at a concentration of 0.4 × 105 cells/mL and specific extracts for each sample. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Data were statistically analyzed with ANOVA and post hoc Student-Newman-Keuls (significance of 5%). RESULTS: Cement cytotoxicity increased with time, as shown by the higher values observed at 7 days. There was a slight difference in intragroup cytotoxicity levels between 24 h and 7 days. Heat treatment at 60°C was associated with a major decrease in cytotoxicity levels in all three groups, both at 24 h and at 7 days, with no differences among the cements. CONCLUSIONS: Heat treatment at 60°C should be considered as a strategy to reduce cytotoxicity of self-adhesive resin cements, as evidenced by the results observed at 24 h and 7 days of analysis.

A successful approach to conrol burning mouth syndrome using matricaria recutita and cognitive therapy.

The burning mouth syndrome (BMS) has no specific clinical and laboratory signs. Its etiology is yet to be elucidated, but it is considered to be affected by multifactorial, psychological, and local and systemic factors. This condition is considered of great morbidity, and the main complaint of patients maybe associated with xerostomia, thirst, and altered taste. The present study aims to report two cases of BMS and to evaluate the outcome of cognitive therapy (CT) plus phytotherapy in the control of BMS. The patients were female, Caucasian, and aged between 58 and 69 years. The most BMS-affected anatomical parts were the lips and the tongue. In the clinical approach, oral and systemic evaluation, and disease management with CT plus chamomile tea were done. The patients were reassured, and their response to therapy one year after was found to be excellent despite few exacerbations in periods of great emotional stress. Thus, we conclude that psychological treatment is vital in the management of BMS, as CT, along with Matricaria recutita phytotherapy, displayed excellent results in the control of BMS. Key words:Anxiety, chamomile tea, xerostomia, psychosomatic.

Novas alternativas terapêuticas para prevenção do câncer labial com produtos à base de extratos naturais com potencial fotoprotetor: uma revisão de literatura

Objetivo: o presente trabalho realiza uma revisão da literaturaa respeito do potencial fotoprotetor de extratos naturaiscontra os efeitos deletérios da radiação solar, dandoênfase à carcinogênese oral e ressaltando os principaistipos de plantas fotoprotetoras nos cenários mundiale nacional. Revisão de literatura: atualmente os extratosde plantas vêm ganhando destaque em pesquisas científicaspor serem considerados uma fonte de fotoproteçãonatural. Vários estudos avaliaram a ação fotoprotetorade produtos naturais contra a radiação ultravioleta, comobjetivo de buscar novas opções de plantas medicinais,para evitar o desenvolvimento de doenças relacionadasà radiação ultravioleta. Alguns extratos representam umafonte segura e eficaz, com condições de contribuir positivamentena prevenção do câncer labial. Entretanto,este campo de estudo é amplo, e muitos biomas regionaiscom potencial ainda não foram amplamente estudados.Dessa forma, mais pesquisas experimentais e clínicassão necessárias para consolidar a ação de produtosnaturais na proteção contra o câncer labial e o câncer depele. Considerações finais: além dos benefícios fotoprotetoresencontrados em extratos de plantas, a utilizaçãode princípios ativos derivados de produtos naturais podegerar um relevante impacto social, uma vez que estimulaa economia da região, promovendo, assim, uma diferenciaçãono crescimento regional.

Assessment of noise intensity in a dental teaching clinic.

OBJECTIVES/AIMS: The aim of this study is to evaluate if the duration of the consultation has influence on the intensity of noise in the dental clinic environment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The measurement was performed using the decibelmetre IDETEC 300. It was turned on among 10 dental equipment at basal time (BT) and in the first, second and third hours of activity by 10 times with 1-week interval. RESULTS: The average noise was 67.39±1.11 dB for BT and 82.38±3.85, 80.99±4.78, and 70.06±6.95 dB for hours 1 to 3, respectively, representing a significant difference (ANOVA, F(3.36)=29.28, P<0.0001). CONCLUSION: In the first and second hours of clinical care there was more noise intensity in the work environment compared to BT and to the third time. Furthermore, the noise peaks became closer to the limit of 85 dB, which can threaten hearing loss with repeated exposure throughout a dentist's career. DISCUSSION: The findings presented here show how much the dental surgeon is exposed to the level of noise since his time of study.

Actinic cheilitis: proposition and reproducibility of a clinical criterion.

OBJECTIVES/AIMS: The actinic cheilitis (AC) is a precancerous lip lesion seen as a consequence of chronic sun exposure. Clinically, the border between the lip's skin and the semimucosa could be blurred; in the more aggressive cases, leucoplakia and ulcers also represent its clinical feature. It seems that no clinical criterion is universally accepted for this disease yet. Therefore, this study was carried out to make a proposition of a clinical score to actinic cheilitis (Grade I starting from dryness of vermilion to endured ulcers representing Grade IV) and to assess its reproducibility. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty subjects were assessed, most of whom were male, Caucasian farmers, with an average age of 46.12 (18-74) years. The obtained data were analysed by means of descriptive statistics and by Kappa test to assess the inter-examiners and the clinical Golden-Pattern concordance (95% CI). RESULTS: During calibration, 15 patients were examined three times a week by each examiner (4) until Kappa test observed k=0.8 or more. In the main experiment, the inter-examiner concordance was classified between good (k=0.779; P<0.05) and very good (k=0.925; P<0.05) from the 35 examined subjects. With the Golden-Pattern, it was considered very good (k=0.812; P<0.05 to k=0.925; P<0.05). DISCUSSION: Four examiners with different experiences could strongly suggest that after adequate calibration, it could be well applied by examiners with as much experience as a dental student. CONCLUSIONS: The authors concluded that the proposed classification was easily applied and had a very good reproducibility.

Nicotinic stomatitis: positive correlation with heat in maté tea drinks and smoking.

OBJECTIVE: The etiology of nicotinic stomatitis is strongly linked with nicotine compounds; however, high temperature can be synergistic to the damage of tobacco compounds. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the separate and combined effects of smoking and heat applied by hot drinks as predictors for the development of nicotinic stomatitis in a population from southern Brazil. METHOD AND MATERIALS: In a case-control study, 53 patients of both sexes with a median age of 43 years (18 to 83 years) with the clinical diagnosis of nicotinic stomatitis were selected consecutively. They were paired with 53 control subjects, matched for sex, race, and smoking and tea, maté (chimarrão), alcohol, and coffee consumption. The collected data were analyzed by means of descriptive statistics; chi-square test and risk estimation were also employed. The independent variables considered significant were analyzed using a multivariate model of multinomial logistic regression (P < .05 was considered statistically significant). RESULTS: Nicotinic stomatitis was more prevalent in smokers (60.00%) than nonsmokers (39.21%) (OR = 2.32; CI 95% 1.06-5.06), and in subjects who drank hot drinks (maté drink and regular tea or coffee) than in subjects who did not drink this combination (OR = 2.84; CI 95% 1.05-7.63). CONCLUSION: The combination of smoking and heat from hot drinks could best predict the appearance of nicotinic stomatitis.