Outcome of non‐surgical re‐treatment

The purpose of this review was to critically analyze the relevant literature in order to synthesize an overview on the clinical outcomes (radiographically judged periapical healing and tooth survival) following root canal re‐treatment and the factors influencing them. A further aim was to explain the findings on the basis of current knowledge and understanding. The relevant literature was captured and critiqued using the principles of a systematic review. The data were classified into a coherent structure for analyses and presentation but are not presented as a systematic review; rather, the authors have chosen a narrative style to enable integration of the clinical outcomes with relevant findings from laboratory and animal studies. Overall, the outcomes were similar to those for teeth undergoing primary treatment with common factors influencing the outcomes. The major differences between the outcomes of primary and secondary root canal (re‐)treatment reside only in the ability to predictably access and negotiate the root canal system to the (residual) apical infection. The data offer a very favorable prognosis for non‐surgical root canal re‐treatment performed to guideline standards.     

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma in non‐smoking and non‐drinking patients with multiple tumors: etiologic significance of p53 and Ki‐67 in non‐tumorous epithelium

Background: Non‐smoking and non‐drinking patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma have different clinical characteristics than their smoking and drinking counterparts. They are predominantly older female patients with oral cavity tumors, however, both groups show the same percentage of second primary tumors. Expression of tumor suppressor gene p53 and proliferation marker Ki‐67 in mucosal epithelial cells was analyzed to study whether biomarker expression is associated with a history of smoking and drinking and with single and multiple tumors. Methods: Non‐smoking and non‐drinking patients with multiple (n = 18) and single tumors (n = 15), smoking and drinking patients with multiple (n = 15) and single tumors (n = 14) were selected. For all groups, p53 and Ki‐67 expression patterns in non‐tumorous (tumor‐adjacent) mucosa including positivity of dispersed single cells and clusters for p53 and for suprabasal expression of Ki‐67 were immunohistochemically analyzed and compared. Results: p53 expression was significantly higher in users of tobacco and alcohol than in non‐users. Ki‐67 expression was not affected by tobacco and alcohol usage. Both Ki‐67 and p53 were similarly expressed in the groups with single and multiple tumors and hence not significantly related to the number of tumors. Conclusions: Non‐smoking and non‐drinking patients with squamous cell carcinoma have the same risk for developing multiple tumors as their smoking and drinking counterparts. As this occurs without an increased expression of p53 or Ki‐67, the significance of these proteins as biomarkers indicating pre‐malignant mucosal alterations is doubtful. Further research is needed to clarify this predisposition for developing multiple head and neck cancer.     

Antifungal activity of histatin‐5 against non‐albicans Candida species

Fungicidal effects of histatin‐5 against 26 oral isolates belonging to 5 non‐albicans Candida species were examined. Fifty μM of histatin‐5 killed more than 95% of Candida tropicalis and Candida guilliermondii isolates and more than 90% of Candida parapsilosis and Candida krusei. However, Candida glabrata was less sensitive to the peptide (mean 62.9%). Our results, taken together, demonstrated that histatin‐5 possessed the fungicidal activity against Candida species other than C. glabrata.     

A multi‐country comparison of reasons for dental non‐attendance

The purpose of this study was to describe differences across countries with respect to the reasons for dental non‐attendance by Europeans currently 50 yr of age and older. The analyses were based on retrospective life‐history data from the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe and included information on various reasons why respondents from 13 European countries had never had regular dental visits in their lifetime. A series of logistic regression models was estimated to identify reasons for dental non‐attendance across different welfare‐state regimes. The highest proportion of respondents without any regular dental attendance throughout their lifetime was found for the Southern welfare‐state regime, followed by the Eastern, the Bismarckian, and the Scandinavian welfare‐state regimes. Factors such as patients’ perception that regular dental treatment is ‘not necessary’ or ‘not usual’ appear to be the predominant reason for non‐attendance in all welfare‐state regimes. The health system‐level factor ‘no place to receive this type of care close to home’ and the perception of regular dental treatment as ‘not necessary’ were more often referred to within the Southern, Eastern, and Bismarckian welfare‐state regimes than in Scandinavia. This could be relevant information for health‐care decision makers in order to prioritize interventions towards increasing rates of regular dental attendance.     

Colonization of Candida: prevalence among tongue‐pierced and non‐pierced immunocompetent adults

Oral Diseases (2010) 16 , 176–175 Objective: To evaluate the colonization of Candida at the tongue‐piercing site of immunocompetent individuals. Subjects and methods: Swabs samples were obtained from the anterior lingual mucosa of healthy young adults with tongue piercing (N = 115); 86 subjects with (non‐intra‐oral) facial piercing served as a comparison group. Candida colonization was examined by light microscopy after 5‐day incubation. Positive specimens were re‐cultured on Chromagar?Candida plates for species identifying. Results: Candida colonization was more prevalent among tongue‐pierced (20.0%) than facial‐pierced subjects (9.4%; P = 0.048). All colonies were of Candida albicans. No difference was found between current tongue ornament wearers (21.2%) and non‐wearers (19.5%; P = 0.803). In multivariate analysis, the only significantly positive influencing factors on colonization were tongue piercing (P = 0.034) and daily smoking of more than 10 cigarettes (P = 0.024). Conclusions: Piercing of the tongue was found to be a risk factor for colonization of Candida albicans, without an influence of whether or not an ornament is in place.