Impact of Tooth Loss on Quality of Life

Objective: To evaluate the impact of tooth loss on the quality of life of patients at the Cesmac University Center. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed, whose sample was composed of 224 volunteers from various health units of the selected health service with at least 12 years of age and one missing tooth. Quality of Life (QOL) was assessed using the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP -14) and tooth loss was assessed with the dental chart. A structured interview that assessed the socio-economic condition of the individual was also applied. For interpretation of the OHIP-14, values were assigned using the multiplicative method: 0-3 points = no impact; 3.01 to 6 points = low impact; 6.01 to 10 points = moderate impact; and> 10.01 points = high impact. All volunteers received guidance on oral health and, when necessary, a referral to the dental care provided by this institution was performed. Results: The mean OHIP ranged from no impact (30.9%) to high impact (27.8%). The correlation between the number of missing teeth and QOL scores was statistically significant (p <0.05), as well as the correlation between number of missing teeth and age of volunteers (p <0.0001). The dimensions of the OHIP-14 that showed the most influenced domains were pain, psychological discomfort, psychological disability. Conclusion: Increasing age has shown influence on tooth and tooth loss affected the QOL of volunteers. QOL may be influenced by other factors such as loss of anterior teeth and schooling.

Effects of ketogenic diets on the occurrence of pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus of rats.

Two sources of medium-chain triglycerides--triheptanoin with anaplerotic properties and coconut oil with antioxidant features--have emerged as promising therapeutic options for the management of pharmacoresistant epilepsy. We investigated the effects of ketogenic diets (KDs) containing coconut oil, triheptanoin, or soybean oil on pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus (SE) in rats. Twenty-four adult male Wistar rats were divided into 4 groups and fed a control diet (7% lipids) or a KD containing soybean oil, coconut oil, or triheptanoin (69.8% lipids). The ketogenic and control diets had a lipid:carbohydrate + protein ratio of 1:11.8 and 3.5:1, respectively. SE was induced in all rats 20 days after initiation of the dietary treatment, through the administration of pilocarpine (340 mg/kg; i.p.). The latency, frequency, duration, and severity of seizures before and during SE were observed with a camcorder. SE was aborted after 3 h with the application of diazepam (5 mg/kg; i.p.). The rats in the triheptanoin-based KD group needed to undergo a higher number of seizures to develop SE, as compared to the control group (P < 0.05). Total weight gain, intake, energy intake, and feed efficiency coefficient, prior to induction of SE, differed between groups (P < 0.05), where the triheptanoin-based KD group showed less weight gain than all other groups, less energy intake than the Control group and intermediate values of feed efficiency coefficient between Control and other KDs groups. Triheptanoin-based KD may have a neuroprotective effect on the establishment of SE in Wistar rats.