Calcifications of the pulp chamber: prevalence and implicated factors

The objectives of this study were to describe the prevalence of pulp chamber calcifications in a sample of Turkish dental patients and to report associations between presence of pulp chamber calcifications and dental status, gender, age, and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Data were collected through radiographic examination of periapical and bitewing radiographs of 15,326 teeth from 536 dental patients, comprising 270 male and 266 female patients aged between 13 and 65 years. Definite radiopaque focuses inside the radiolucent pulp chamber were defined as pulp chamber calcifications. When the pulp chamber was completely radiolucent, that tooth was scored as tooth without pulp chamber calcification. The dental status was scored as intact, carious, restored, or restored + carious. Pulp chamber calcifications were identified in 204 (38%) patients examined. Of the 15,326 teeth, 747 (4.8%) had pulp chamber calcifications. Gender and dental status were found to be correlated with the presence of pulp chamber calcifications. The high prevalence of pulp chamber calcifications in carious, restored, and restored + carious teeth support the view that the occurrence of pulp chamber calcifications can be a response to long-standing irritants. However, to report any associations between occurrence of pulp chamber calcifications and different dental or clinical status, further studies are still needed.     

Experimental induction of an incomplete hard-palate cleft in the rat

Incomplete clefts of the hard palate with soft-palate integrity are among the rarest malformations found in human beings. They appear as oval-shaped openings in the midline of the hard palate and do not extend along its whole length. The amniotic-sac-puncture technique was used to induce such clefts in 10 percent of a group of rat fetuses at day 15.3 of pregnancy. The upper jaws of such fetuses, either 17.3 or 21.3 days old, were examined in the scanning electron microscope and in serial Epon sections. At day 17.3 incomplete clefts of the hard palate were extending toward the soft palate, with the anterior portion of palatal shelves still in the vertical position and with the soft palate already fused. At day 21.3, the incomplete hard-palate clefts were smaller in both extension and width. These observations support the idea that fusion of the soft palate can occur independently of fusion in the hard-palate region.     

Bruxism-induced parotitis: A retrospective case series analysis

ABSTRACT

Objective: A group of patients with recurrent parotitis had clinical symptoms suggesting an obstruction of the glandular duct system, though without any signs of sialoliths or other ductal pathologies.

Methods: Clinical and radiological data of five patients with recurrent obstructive parotitis and long-standing definite bruxism were reviewed retrospectively. Ultrasonography, MRI, and sialendoscopy were performed for evaluation of ductal pathologies as the cause of glandular obstruction. Electromyography was used to evaluate the activity of masticatory muscles in all patients. The parotitis was treated with injection of botulinum toxin into the buccinator muscle.

Results: Dilatation of the Stensen’s duct proximal to the area of the buccinator muscle was shown in radiological examination with no evidence of ductal strictures. Electromyography revealed an abnormal activity of the ipsilateral buccinator muscle. All patients were free of disease after treatment of the buccinator muscle.

Discussion: Bruxism should be considered as a possible cause of recurrent parotitis.     

The efficacy of Xialine<Superscript>®</Superscript> in patients with Sjögren’s syndrome: a single-blind,cross-over study

Sjögren syndrome (SS) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease of unknown cause whose main characteristic is severe dryness of the eyes and the mouth. The decreased functional capacity of the lacrimal and salivary glands which is the result of the inflammatory process and lymphocytic infiltration observed in SS is accountable for this complication. Twenty-nine patients with SS whose ages were ranging between 24–77, who were under treatment in Ege University Faculty of Medicine Department of Rheumatology, participated in the study, and their informed consents were obtained upon enrollment. Each patient recorded their subjective complaints on a separate questionnaire. The baseline and subsequent evaluation of the subjective findings on predetermined times (1 h after application of the material, at the end of the 1st, 7th, and 14th days) were also recorded on separate questionnaire sheets. Throughout the 14-day treatment period, no statistically significant differences were noted between the Xialine® and placebo groups with regard to burning tongue, diminished taste, and waking up at night to sip water (p?=?0.925, 0.527, and 0.066, respectively). However, patients’ satisfaction with placebo decreased by 25.63% at the end of the test period, whereas it increased by 16.37% after Xialine® administration. Overall, the patients preferred Xialine® at the end of the study (p?=?0.011). The main motive to administer saliva substitute is to improve lubrication and hydration of oral tissues. The results of this study indicated that Xialine® is helpful in the management of xerostomia-related symptoms of SS patients. However, further investigations in larger scale group of patients are recommended to provide the effects of these agents on various complaints of xerostomia.