Using NHANES oral health examination protocols as part of an esophageal cancer screening study conducted in a high-risk region of China

Background

The oral health status of rural residents in the People's Republic of China has not been extensively studied and the relationship between poor oral health and esophageal cancer (EC) is unclear. We aim to report the oral health status of adults participating in an EC screening study conducted in a rural high-risk EC area of China and to explore the relationship between oral health and esophageal dysplasia.

Methods

National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) oral health examination procedures and the Modified Gingival Index (MGI) were used in a clinical study designed to examine risk factors for esophageal cancer and to test a new esophageal cytology sampling device. This study was conducted in three rural villages in China with high rates of EC in 2002 and was a collaborative effort involving investigators from the National Institutes of Health and the Cancer Institute of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.

Results

Nearly 17% of the study participants aged 40–67 years old were edentulous. Overall, the mean number of adjusted missing teeth (including third molars and retained dental roots) was 13.8 and 35% had 7 contacts or less. Women were more likely to experience greater tooth loss than men. The average age at the time of first tooth loss for those with no posterior functional contacts was approximately 41 years for men and 36 years for women. The mean DMFT (decayed, missing, and filled teeth) score for the study population was 8.5. Older persons, females, and individuals having lower educational attainment had higher DMFT scores. The prevalence of periodontal disease (defined as at least one site with 3 mm of attachment loss and 4 mm of pocket depth) was 44.7%, and 36.7% of the study participants had at least one site with 6 mm or more of attachment loss. Results from a parsimonious multivariate model indicate that participants with poor oral health wemore likely to have esophageal dysplasia (OR = 1.59; 95% CI 1.06, 2.39).

Conclusion

This report describes the first use of NHANES oral health protocols employed in a clinical study conducted outside of the United States. The extent and severity of poor oral health in this Chinese study group may be an important health problem and contributing factor to the prevalence of EC.     

Safety of dental implant surgery in patients undergoing anticoagulation therapy: a prospective case-control study

Objectives: Several studies have described oral surgical procedures in patients receiving anticoagulant therapy, but no prospective studies on dental implant surgery during anticoagulant treatment are currently available, and only a limited number of case reports refer to endosseous dental implant treatment in these patients. In the setting of oral surgery, it has been suggested that anticoagulant treatment is not required when the International Normalized Ratio (INR) is <4 and local haemostatic measures are applied. The purpose of this preliminary study was to evaluate the incidence of bleeding complications following surgical implant therapy in a group of 50 consecutive patients receiving oral anticoagulant therapy (warfarin) without interruption or modifications to their therapy (group A). Materials and methods: One hundred and nine otherwise healthy patients comparable for age, sex, extent and site of the implant surgical procedure formed the control group (group B). In both groups, a standard protocol of local haemostasis, including non‐reabsorbable sutures and compressive gauzes soaked with tranexamic acid, was applied. Surgeons, blind to the group allocation, performed all the procedures in an outpatient setting. Results: Two and three late‐bleeding complications were reported in group A and group B, respectively, without significant difference in the bleeding risk (relative risk = 1.45; P= 0.65; 95% confidence interval 0.2506–8.4271). These complications were managed using a compressive gauze soaked with tranexamic acid at the site of the surgical wound. Conclusion: According to our preliminary results, local haemostasis in dental implant surgery is able to prevent bleeding complications in patients on oral anticoagulants, allowing these surgical procedures to be performed on an outpatient basis. To cite this article:
Bacci C, Berengo M, Favero L, Zanon E. Safety of dental implant surgery in patients undergoing anticoagulation therapy: a prospective case–control study.
Clin. Oral Impl. Res. 22 , 2011; 151–156.
doi: 10.1111/j.1600‐0501.2010.01963.x     

Serum cytokine levels in periodontitis patients in relation to the bacterial load

Background: Periodontitis is a local inflammatory disease that also has some systemic effects. We investigated the levels of interferon (IFN)‐γ, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‐α, and interleukin (IL)‐2, ‐4, ‐5, and ‐10 in the serum of patients with periodontitis in relation to the bacterial load in the dental plaques. Methods: Serum cytokine levels in patients with generalized periodontitis and healthy control groups were determined using the cytometric bead array kit. Bacterial load in the dental plaque was determined semiquantitatively by real‐time polymerase chain reaction. The proportions of different lymphocyte subsets were determined in the peripheral blood of patients with periodontitis by flow cytometry. Finally, relationships between the bacterial load in the subgingival plaques of patients with periodontitis and levels of cytokines and counts of lymphocyte subsets were established. Results: Serum levels of IFN‐γ, TNF‐α, and IL‐10 were significantly increased, whereas those of IL‐2 were significantly decreased in patients with periodontitis compared to healthy controls. Increased serum levels of IFN‐γ and TNF‐α in patients with periodontitis were associated with the enhanced dental plaque load with Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (previously Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans) and Porphyromonas gingivalis, respectively. Finally, as revealed by analysis of lymphocyte populations, the presence of A. actinomycetemcomitans and Trepomena denticola was associated with an increased population of CD3^?/CD16⁺ and CD3⁺/CD8⁺ cells, respectively. Conclusion: Certain periodontal pathogens could be associated with an increased level of proinflammatory cytokines in the peripheral blood and thus increased risk of systemic diseases.     

Molar Distalization with Different Pendulum Appliances: In Vitro Registration of Orthodontic Forces and Moments in the Initial Phase

Abstract. Aim: Registration of the orthodontic forces and moments acting with different types of pendulum appliance for non-compliance upper molar distalization in an in vitro study. Material and Methods: The purpose-designed test set-up comprised the following components: artificial maxilla with anchorage unit and two electrothermodynamic (ETD) molars, electronic measuring unit for temperature control and regulation, and a sensor unit with force-moment sensor, analog/digital converter and data readout unit. This set-up permitted virtually authentic simulation of in vivo conditions on the one hand and precise determination of the force systems on the other.The appliances investigated were the standard pendulum appliance with U-loop activation according to Hilgers and with uprighting activation according to Byloff, the M-pendulum with U-loop activation according to Scuzzo, and the Pendulum K with initial uprighting activation, toe-in bend and incorporated distal screw according to Kinzinger. Results and Conclusions: The effects shown by the standard pendulum appliance and the M-pendulum over a 3 mm simulated distalization increment were a marked decrease in the distally directed forces, and an increase in the intrusive and palatally directed forces as well as in the distoinclinatory, mesially inward, and palatally rotating moments.Activations in the U-loop region of the pendulum springs induced an increase in distally and buccally directed forces and in uprighting and buccally rotating moments as well as a marked rise in extrusive forces. Whereas the activation described by Hilgers led to mesially outward rotating moments, activation according to Scuzzo resulted in a further increase in the mesially inward rotating moments.In the measured standard pendulum appliances, uprighting activation at the end of the pendulum according to Byloff led to an increase in distally and buccally directed as well as in mildly intrusive forces, and to an increase in uprighting as well as in buccally and mesially outward rotating moments.With the Pendulum K according to Kinzinger, the initial toe-in bend and uprighting activation in the region of the end of the pendulum spring together with regular adjustment of the incorporated distal screw permitted virtually translatory molar distalization: constantly distalizing forces with slight intrusive, buccally directed, and rotating side effects.     

Sinus floor augmentation with simultaneous placement of dental implants in the presence of platelet-rich plasma or recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-7

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the possible benefit of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) in sinus grafting as compared with recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-7 (rhBMP-7). For this purpose, we performed a bilateral sinus augmentation with anorganic bovine bone and simultaneous insertion of a titanium screw implant in five miniature pigs. Six hundred microliters of PRP and 15%-vol. autologous bone, which was collected with a trap during preparation of the implant recipient site, were added to the right sinus and 420 microl rhBMP-7 to the left sinus. A polychrome sequential labeling was performed. The animals were sacrificed 6 weeks after surgery. Undecalcified ground sections were evaluated by microradiography, digitized histomorphometry and under fluorescent light. The mean bone-implant contact using rhBMP-7 was 45.8% and 5.7% under PRP (P=0.002). The mean height of newly mineralized bone in the augmented area using rhBMP-7 amounted to 8.3 mm as opposed to 3.6 mm under PRP (P=0.013). Using PRP, the mean area of the newly formed bone was enhanced (51.3%) as compared with rhBMP-7 (33.1%); however, this difference was not statistically significant (P=0.081). In conclusion, under the selected experimental conditions the use of rhBMP-7 led to superior outcomes with regard to the osseointegration of dental implants and the height of new bone as compared with the use of PRP.     

Bone formation after sinus augmentation with engineered bone

Objectives: The aim of the following investigation was to quantify the resorption rate of tissue-engineered bone grafts in the maxillary sinus using volume measurements. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Sinus floor augmentation using autologous bone grafts from the iliac crest (n=17, group 1) was compared with commercially produced transplants of human cells seeded on polyglycolid-polylactid (PLGA) scaffolds (Oral Bone) (n=14, group 2). RESULTS: The total resorption rate for autologous transplants 3 months post operation was 29%, while the tissue-engineered bone showed a resorption rate of 90%. The autologous bone had a bone density of up to 266-551 Hounsfield units (HU), while sufficient mineralization of tissue-engineered bone was found in only one case (152 HU). CONCLUSION: In this clinical study, the use of autologous cancellous bone grafts in sinus augmentation was more reliable than scaffolds containing cultured osteoblasts. Further tissue-engineered bone transplants should be examined to draw general conclusions about the use of tissue-engineered grafts compared with autologous bone grafts for maxillary sinus augmentation.     

Growth of oral and skin fibroblasts from patients with oral submucous fibrosis

The purpose of the investigation was to evaluate and compare the proliferation (growth) of mouth fibroblasts and skin fibroblasts from patients with oral submucous fibrosis (OSF). Material comprised fibroblasts from fibrous bands situated in the buccal mucosa and from the inner aspect of the forearm of 8 patients with classic features of OSF as well as fibroblasts from 6 buccal mucosa and 8 skin biopsy specimens from healthy non-areca nut chewing individuals. Cells were cultured for 8 days according to standard techniques. Their growth was monitored daily, under optimal conditions as well as exposure to concentrations of arecoline. The data were analyzed using regression analysis, analysis of variance and the Kruskal-Wallis test. We found no statistically significant differences between the proliferation patterns of oral and skin fibroblasts from patients or between those from patients and controls. The reaction of the cells exposed to concentrations of arecoline was similar; at low concentrations (0.1–10 μg/ml) normal growth was maintained, while 100 μg/ml inhibited growth. It is concluded that fibroblasts from mouths affected by OSF have proliferation patterns which fall within normal parameters, that the excessive collagen formation in established OSF is not due to increased fibroblast proliferation and that arecoline does not stimulate fibroblast proliferation.