How many implants are necessary to stabilise an implant-supported maxillary overdenture?

Data sources Pubmed and EMBASE databases were searched from 2000 to 2017 and complemented by manual searching of the references of reviews and the full-text articles assessed for inclusion.Study selection The inclusion criteria were: (i) Randomised clinical trials (RCT), prospective or retrospective studies, and case series or case reports including at least ten totally edentulous patients rehabilitated with maxillary implant-supported overdenture; (ii) analysed one of the following outcomes: survival rate of the implants, survival rate of the overdenture and patient-reported results; (iii) had at least two years of follow-up; (iv) and were written in English language.Data extraction and synthesis The data extraction was performed by two independent reviewers. The comparison of the analysed outcomes was performed by nonparametric Fisher Test for unpaired data according to the number of implants and to the splinting technique. A meta-analysis was performed for the odds ratio (OR) for implant failure between four splinted implants and more than four splinted implants.Results Twenty-eight studies were included in the systematic review. The survival rate of implants appeared to be higher when at least four implants were placed to support the overdenture, compared to less than four implants. The survival rate of overdentures and the patient satisfaction were not influenced by the number of implants.The metanalysis could only be performed to compare the implant survival rate of a four splinted implants group and more than 4 splinted implants group, without significant differences between both groups (OR = 0.39; 95 % CI: 0.14, 1.14; p = 0.09).Conclusions Although the placement of at least four implants to support a maxillary overdenture seems to report higher implant survival rates, further studies are needed to confirm this conclusion. No differences were found for overdenture survival rates or patient satisfaction according to the number of implants.

No evidence to support benefit of 14-day courses of amoxicillin-plus-metronidazole as adjunct to non-surgical periodontal treatment at three months.

Data sources Databases including Embase, MEDLINE, The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and the WHO International Clinical Trial Register Platform were screened by two reviewers. A manual search has been performed in references from included articles and relevant reviews.Study selection Blinded, placebo-controlled, randomised clinical trials (RCTs) with a minimum follow-up of three months were included. Primary outcomes were periodontal pocket depth (PD) and clinical attachment level (CAL) changes after non-surgical periodontal treatment with adjunctive use of amoxicillin/metronidazole vs placebo in periodontitis patients. Secondary outcomes were adverse events and compliance.Data extraction and synthesis Data were extracted and compiled in a spreadsheet. Studies were grouped according to duration (seven days or fourteen days) and dose of amoxicillin/metronidazole regimen (lower dose (mg): 250/200, 375/250, 375/500, 500/250 and higher dose (mg): 500/400, 500/500). Meta-analyses were performed using inverse-variance method. Random-effect models were applied and weighted mean differences were estimated for PD reduction and CAL changes at three months. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration tool.Results Eighteen studies were identified and included in the systematic review. Among them, 15 were pooled for meta-analysis. The use of a wide range of antibiotics concentrations (amoxicillin (from 250 to 500 mg) and metronidazole (from 200 to 500 mg)) was reported and the duration of antibiotic administration ranged from three to 14 days. Eleven studies were performed in chronic periodontitis patients and six in aggressive periodontitis patients. No significant differences were found regarding mean PD and mean CAL changes according to the duration or dose of administered antibiotics (Table 1). Risk differences for adverse events in the higher dose and longer duration groups were minimally greater (0.04 and 0.05 respectively).Conclusions Longer courses (14 days) of antibiotics adjuvant to non-surgical therapy do not appear to provide better results in terms of PD reduction or CAL gain at three months. No differences were found between high and low dose groups. In this context, 400/500 mg or 500/500 mg of amoxicillin/metronidazole three times per day should be recommended for seven days.

Association between periodontitis and arterial hypertension: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Several studies have shown that periodontal diseases are associated with hypertension (HT). However, heterogeneity among populations, diagnosis criteria, and shared risk factors represent some difficulties in terms of interpretation. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the magnitude of the association between periodontal diseases and HT. METHODS AND RESULTS: A systematic review and meta-analysis, including studies published up to June 2016, have been performed. Sixteen studies assessing the association between periodontal diseases and HT have been included. The meta-analysis considering all included studies (moderate to severe periodontitis) showed that the presence of HT was associated with the presence of periodontal diseases (OR, 1.50; 95% CI, 1.27-1.78). To reduce potential bias, a stratified analysis has been performed illustrating the impact of inclusion criteria and adjustments on the magnitude of the association. Interestingly, when only studies with secure diagnosis of severe periodontitis and HT were considered, an OR=1.64 (95% CI, 1.23-2.19) has been measured. CONCLUSIONS: Periodontal diseases are associated with a higher risk of HT especially for severe periodontitis. However, no conclusions could be made regarding the causative involvement of periodontal diseases mainly due to the reduced number of available prospective studies and remaining questions regarding underlying biological mechanisms.

Clinical efficacy of probiotics as an adjunctive therapy to non-surgical periodontal treatment of chronic periodontitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

FOCUSED QUESTION: What is the clinical influence of probiotics as an adjunctive therapy of scaling and root planing (SRP) when compared with SRP alone or in combination with placebo in the treatment of chronic periodontitis (CP). METHODS: Electronic databases were searched up to July 2015. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing SRP + probiotic versusSRP were included. PPD reduction and CAL gain were selected as primary outcome variables. RESULTS: Independent screening resulted in four eligible publications for the systematic review and three were included in the meta-analysis. Meta-analysis showed a statistically significant CAL gain (-0.42 mm, p = 0.002) and bleeding on probing (BOP) reduction (-14.66, p = 0.003) for SRP + probiotic treatment versusSRP at short-term. Only a tendency (p = 0.06) has been observed in terms of overall PPD reduction, whereas results were significant when stratified for moderate (-0.18, p = 0.001) and deep pockets (-0.67, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Within the limitations of this study, the findings of this meta-analysis seem to support the adjunctive use of L. reuteri to SRP in CP treatment at short-term, especially in deep pockets. Heterogeneity and limited available data may reduce the impact of these conclusions. Future long-term RCTs evaluating the clinical efficacy of adjunctive probiotics to SRP are needed.

Peri-implantitis management in a patient with erosive oral lichen planus. A case report.

Oral lichen planus did not seem to influence the peri-implant healing. Oral lesions with malignant potential can mimic peri-implantitis, and a biopsy should be performed in cases of progression or nonregression of the lesion after initial treatment.

Optimization of Connective Tissue Graft Length by Graft Splitting: A Case Series.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this case series was to assess the feasibility of a graft modification to increase its length when treating multiple adjacent gingival recessions with only one harvesting site at the palate and respecting the safety zone. CASE SERIES: Nineteen recessions were treated in four consecutive patients with a modified coronally advanced tunnel and a modified connective tissue graft. An 8-mm height connective tissue graft was harvested by the single-incision technique, the graft was split longitudinally, achieving 4-mm height and double the length. Changes in recession depth, keratinized tissue height, mean and complete root coverage, and esthetic score were analyzed at 6 months. The technique allows to harvest a connective tissue graft up to 58-mm length with a single palatal site. Complete root coverage was achieved in 15/19 recessions (78.94%), with a mean root coverage of 82.90%. The mean recession depth was reduced by 1.31 mm and the keratinized tissue increased by 0.69 mm. The esthetic outcome score was 9.26/10. CONCLUSION: This graft modification technique allows increasing significantly the graft length up to 58 mm without any modification of the surgical harvesting procedure. Therefore, it can be suggested to reduce the morbidity.