Potential use of optical coherence tomography in oral potentially malignant disorders: in-vivo case series study.

BACKGROUND: Evidence confirms that the use of Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) in oral medicine can be a reliable aid for the diagnosis and management of Oral Potentially Malignant Disorders (OPMDs). Several authors described the ability of this system to detect the structural changes of the epithelia involved by the OPMDs. The purpose of this case series is to provide a suggestion for interpretation of OCT images from different OPMDs, compared to OCT images of healthy tissues. METHODS: A sample of 11 OPMDs patients was recruited and analyzed with OCT. The images obtained were then compared with an OCT repertoire image. In this work the reflectance degree was considered, together with the analysis of the increased/decreased thicknesses of the various layers. Keratin Layer (KL), Epithelial Layer (EP), Lamina Propria (LP), Basal Membrane (BM) assessment, for each lesion, was performed. RESULTS: OCT measurements of KL, EP and LP layers, together with BM assessing, should aid the physicians to recognize and describe different oral lesions, relating them to the corresponding oral pathology. CONCLUSION: More studies like this, on larger samples, are needed to validate the results and provide, in the future, a kind of manual that could guide clinicians to correctly interpret the OCT images in relation to the causing pathologies. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The present trial has been registered with ISRCTN (#17,893,224).

Evaluation of the correlation between oral infections and systemic complications in kidney transplant patients: a retrospective pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Data regarding the efficacy of the dental clearance required prior to kidney transplantation (KT) for preventing post-transplant complications is controversial. The aim of this retrospective study was to investigate a possible correlation between any untreated oral infectious foci and the onset of systemic complications in KT patients. METHODS: Patients scheduled for regular check-ups during the post-transplant period were visited at the C.I.R. Dental School in Turin, Italy. Patients were asked to bring orthopantomography (OPT) acquired prior to transplantation to compare the possible presence of untreated infectious foci at the time of transplantation with the time of their post-transplant visit. Patients were then divided, according to the evaluation of the OPT obtained prior to the transplantation, into two groups according to their dental status prior to the transplant. "Group Infected" was comprised of patients with no dental clearance, and "Group Clear" included patients with dental clearance. The medical records were then retrospectively reviewed for the evaluation of any systemic complications that occurred after transplantation. The following medical complications were considered: fever, pneumonia, urinary tract infections, systemic infections, kidney rejection, and death. Complications were divided in two groups: early complications, which occurred within 100 days of transplantation, and late complications, which occurred more than 100 days after transplantation. RESULTS: A total of 77 patients were enrolled in the study. Group Infected was composed of 19 subjects (25%), while Group Clear was composed of 58 patients (75%). In Group Infected, 13 (68%) patients developed complications within 100 days of transplantation, and 11 (58%) did so after 100 days. In Group Clear, 31 (53%) patients had complications within 100 days of the transplant, and 23 (40%) did after 100 days. Patients in Group Infected had a statistically significant increase in episodes of fever (p = 0.03), compared to Group Clear, with a higher relative risk (RR) of 3.66 in the first 100 days after transplantation. CONCLUSION: Within the limitations of the present retrospective pilot study, and based on the results, a correlation between the absence of dental clearance prior to KT and a higher RR of developing a fever within the first 100 days post transplantation was highlighted. The present results encourage doctors to continue research on the topic, which remains controversial. Further prospective studies are required to confirm the results of the present study.

Efficacy of Anti-Inflammatory and Analgesic of Superpulsed Low Level Laser Therapy After Impacted Mandibular Third Molars Extractions.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate anti-inflammatory and analgesic efficacy of superpulsed low level laser therapy (SLLLT) after bilateral extraction of impacted mandibular third molars. Many studies in the literature show the anti-inflammatory and analgesic efficacy of laser therapy after oral surgery.The authors report the preliminary results of 25 patients who underwent bilateral extraction of mandibular eighths included in a single surgery. This is a split-mouth study, a site was randomized chosen to be treated with SLLLT at T0, 24 hours and 48 hours with a GaAs laser diode, whereas the other surgical site was evaluated as control. The suture was removed at 7 days and healing was controlled at 14 days. During the sessions were monitored and recorded the pain, using visual analog scale, and oedema with the visual analog scale and cephalometric measurements of cutaneous points (TR-GO, GO-CA, GO-SP, GO-PO). Each patient received only antibiotic prophylaxis and analgesic therapy as needed.Results indicate that in the treated site SLLLT determines a reduction in pain and swelling statistically significant compared with the control site (P < 0.05). The authors found that the effectiveness of laser therapy is in the first 5 days after surgery, showing a significant reduction of pain and swelling in the treated site than the control site.This study suggests that the SLLLT has a potential in reducing the postoperative discomfort after impacted third molar extractions, due to a reduction in postoperative pain and swelling. Superpulsed low level laser therapy has no side effects and is well tolerated by patients. It also seems to have a role in reducing the intake of drugs.

Effects of Superpulsed, Low-Level Laser Therapy on Neurosensory Recovery of the Inferior Alveolar Nerve.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of superpulsed, low-level laser therapy (SLLLT) on neurosensory recovery of the inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) after oral surgical injury. BACKGROUND DATA: A survey of the literature reveals the uncertainty of outcomes for the surgical management of IAN injury and the efficacy of low-level laser therapy in the treatment of IAN injury. METHODS: In this study, the authors report the results for SLLLT in 57 patients affected by paresthesia of the lip, chin, gingival, and buccal regions. Each patient was subjected to 10 laser treatments, once a week, with a GaAs diode laser. Clinical neurosensory tests (soft touch, 2-point discrimination, pin prick, thermal test) and the visual analogue scale were used before every treatment to evaluate the extent of neurosensory recovery. RESULTS: The authors' results demonstrate that 83.3% of the patients had a significant neurosensory recovery, as evident in the objective and subjective tests. CONCLUSION: The results reported in this study indicate that SLLLT has the potential to improve neurosensory recovery in patients with IAN paresthesia.

Surgical treatment of denture-induced fibrous hyperplasia with plasma rich in growth factors.

Denture-induced fibrous hyperplasia is a fibrous connective tissue lesion that commonly occurs in oral mucosa in patients showing important alveolar ridge atrophy. In this study, we propose Plasma Rich in Growth Factors (PRGF) to overcome constrains of traditional surgical treatment. Herein, we demonstrated that PRGF represents an autologous source of growth factors able to reduce the healing time of the alveolar mucosa and the discomfort of those patients. These properties are the result of PRGF's precise biological features that result in the following: reduction of duration and intensity of postsurgical pain, acceleration of re-epithelialization of the wound, and reduction of bleeding events and of edema. In conclusion, we showed that using PRGF on patients affected by denture-induced fibrous hyperplasia allows a short healing time, thereby reducing complications and overall improving their quality of life. The aims of this study were to evaluate the influence of PRGF-ENDORET on secondary re-epithelialization in vestibuloplasty after excision of denture irritation fibrous hyperplasia, with an explorative randomized case control trial with 10 patients, 5 patients treated with PRGF and 5 patients with traditional hemostasis, and to analyze differences with simple surgery, considering postoperative rapidity of re-epithelialization, comfort, and discomfort of patients, pain, swelling, and infections.

Hyaluronic Acid Treatment of Post-Extraction Tooth Socket Healing in Subjects with Diabetes Mellitus Type 2: A Randomized Split-Mouth Controlled Study.

The present study aimed to investigate the effect of HA in improving post-extraction socket healing in subjects with diabetes mellitus (DM) type 2. DM patients requiring bilateral extraction of the homologous teeth were visited at the C.I.R. Dental School, University of Turin. After the extractions, one site was randomly assigned to the test (T) group (postoperative application of HA), while the other site was assigned to the control group (C, no treatment). Patients were then followed after 3, 7, 14, and 21 days. Primary outcomes were the healing index and socket closure. The Mann-Whitney test or the Student's t-test was used for nonparametric or parametric distributed variables. The chi-square test was used if the estimated data in any given cell were >5, otherwise the Fisher test was adopted. A p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. In total, 36 patients (n = 36) were enrolled in this study for a total of 72 extractions (n = 72). Sockets treated with HA showed significantly (p < 0.05) better healing index values at day 7 (p = 0.01) and at day 14 (p = 0.02) and significantly (p < 0.05) better socket closure values at day 3 (p = 0.04), day 7 (p = 0.001) and day 14 (p = 0.001) compared to the C group. Based on the clinical results, HA seems to be promising in improving the timing and the quality of post-extractive wound healing in DM patients. Further clinical research, as well as histological investigations, are required to confirm the results.

Programmed-release intraosseus anesthesia as an alternative to lower alveolar nerve block in lower third molar extraction: a randomized clinical trial.

Background: Intraosseous anesthesia is the process by which an anesthetic solution, after penetration of the cortical bone, is directly injected into the spongiosa of the alveolar bone supporting the tooth. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of the traditional inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) and computerized intraosseous anesthesia in the surgical extraction of impacted lower third molars, compare their side effects systemically by monitoring heart rate, and assess patients' a posteriori preference of one technique over the other. Methods: Thirty-nine patients with bilaterally impacted third molars participated in this study. Each patient in the sample was both a case and control, where the conventional technique was randomly assigned to one side (group 1) and the alternative method to the contralateral side (group 2). Results: The traditional technique was faster in execution than anesthesia delivered via electronic syringe, which took 3 min to be administered. However, it was necessary to wait for an average of 6 ± 4 min from the execution to achieve the onset of IANB, while the latency of intraosseous anesthesia was zero. Vincent's sign and lingual nerve anesthesia occurred in 100% of cases in group 1. In group 2, Vincent's sign was recorded in 13% of cases and lingual anesthesia in four cases. The average duration of the perceived anesthetic effect was 192 ± 68 min in group 1 and 127 ± 75 min in group 2 (P < 0.001). The difference between the heart rate of group 1 and group 2 was statistically significant. During infiltration in group 1, heartbeat frequency increased by 5 ± 13 beats per minute, while in group 2, it increased by 22 ± 10 beats per minute (P < 0.001). No postoperative complications were reported for either technique. Patients showed a preference of 67% for the alternative technique and 20% for the traditional, and 13% of patients were indifferent. Conclusion: The results identified intraosseous anesthesia as a valid alternative to conventional anesthesia in impacted lower third molar extraction.