Efficacy and Safety of Postoperative Medications in Reducing Pain after Nonsurgical Endodontic Treatment: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-analysis

IntroductionThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of postoperative medications in decreasing pain after nonsurgical endodontic treatment using a network meta-analytic approach.MethodsMEDLINE, Embase, CENTRAL, CINAHL, and Scopus were searched (until July 31, 2019). Two reviewers selected eligible randomized controlled trials and extracted and meta-analyzed data to estimate the treatment effects of pain assessed on a 0–100 scale (mean difference [MD]); 95% credible interval [CrI], and surface under the cumulative ranking curve [SUCRA]) at 6–8, 12, 24, and 48 hours postoperatively after the administration of various interventions. The Cochrane risk of bias tool was applied to eligible trials. The overall quality of evidence was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach obtained from the CINeMA Web application (University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland).ResultsEight interventions among 11 studies were identified: nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), NSAIDs + acetaminophen, NSAIDs + benzodiazepines, NSAIDs + opioids, corticosteroids, opioids, acetaminophen, and placebo. Compared with placebo, nonsurgical endodontic treatment pain 6–8 hours postoperatively improved with NSAIDs + acetaminophen (MD = −22; 95% CrI, −38 to −7.2; SUCRA = 73%; moderate confidence) and NSAIDs (MD = −21; 95% CrI, −34 to −7.6; SUCRA = 68%; very low confidence). At 12 and 24 hours, only NSAIDs were effective in decreasing postoperative pain. At 48 hours, no treatment resulted in significant pain reduction. Corticosteroids and opioids did not significantly decrease pain. No major safety concerns were reported.ConclusionsVery low- to moderate-quality evidence suggests that NSAIDs or NSAIDs + acetaminophen administered after nonsurgical endodontic treatment lead to a clinically relevant decrease in postoperative pain for patients with irreversible pulpitis or pulpal necrosis and are the most effective treatments available. Postoperative corticosteroids or opioids did not significantly decrease postoperative pain.     

Preliminary report of the use of a microvascular coupling device for arterial anastomoses in oral and maxillofacial reconstruction

Our aim was to record our preliminary use of a microvascular coupler for arterial anastomoses with free flap transfer in the reconstruction of oral and maxillofacial defects in 45 patients with defects that were repaired with anterolateral thigh, fibular, and radial forearm flaps. The microvascular coupler was used for both the venous and the arterial anastomoses. The site of the defect, type of flap, recipient artery, duration of operating time for the anastomosis, size of coupler, and survival of the flap were recorded and analysed. A total of 45 consecutive patients had microsurgical reconstructions in the head and neck, including 16 radial forearm, 18 fibular, and 11 anterolateral thigh free flaps. The sizes of coupler required ranged from 1.5-2.5 mm, with most flaps (n = 30) requiring a 2.0 mm coupler. The mean (SD) operating time for arterial anastomoses was 7 (2) mins. One arterial crisis occurred during an operation, and required a sutured anastomosis instead. There were no complications related to the technical performance of the coupler. The coupler is reliable for arterial anastomoses of free tissue transfers in reconstructions of the head and neck. With proper selection of vessels and enough experience in using the microvascular coupler, it may be used in an expeditious, safe, and reliable fashion with minimal morbidity. Though not common, the use of the coupler for arterial anastomoses saves a lot of time, and is a viable alternative to a sutured anastomosis.     

Survival of oral mucosal melanoma according to treatment,tumour resection margin,and metastases

Because of the poor prognosis and of oral mucosal melanoma, and patients’ short survival, large, randomised, clinical studies are difficult. We have investigated its demographic characteristics and analysed the effect of treatment, resection margins, and metastases on survival. We recorded age, sex, site of primary tumour, and types of treatment, survival, and metastases in 74 patients treated at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Seoul National University Dental Hospital. Survival was analysed based on bony invasion, depth of invasion, and resection margins, and we found that it varied depending on the primary site (p = 0.002), and declined with liver (p = 0.001) or brain (p = 0.033) metastases. The two-year survival according to the primary site was as follows: palate 85% (n = 32), anterior maxillary gingiva 53% (n = 13), mandible 58% (n = 13), and posterior maxillary gingival 74% (n = 10) and buccal mucosa 50% (n = 4). The two-year survival was 34% (n = 8) in patients with liver metastases and 23% (n = 7) in patients with brain metastases. In cases of bony invasion (p = 0.005), depth of invasion (p = 0.042), unclear resection margin (p = 0.023), or higher T stages (p = 0.009), the survival declined considerably. Neck dissection did not affect survival (p = 0.343). Survival of the patients given chemotherapy was significantly lower (p = 0.013) and the two-year survival was 54.0%. The patients given radiotherapy showed no significant difference in survival compared with those not given radiotherapy (p = 0.107). In conclusion, primary site, bony invasion, resection margins, depth of invasion and systemic metastases were critical to predict prognosis and selection of treatment of oral mucosal melanoma.     

Age-related changes in oral motor-control strategies during unpredictable load demands in humans

To investigate age-related changes in oral motor strategies in response to unpredictable load demands. Sixty-five healthy children (aged 3–17 yr) were divided into five age-groups based on their dental eruption stages and compared with a group of healthy adults (aged 18–35 yr). Each participant was asked to perform a standardized motor control task involving ‘pulling’ and ‘holding’ a force transducer with the anterior teeth. Different loads were attached to the force transducer in an unpredictable manner. The temporal force profile was divided into two time-segments (an initial segment and a later segment). The peak force and peak force rate during the initial time-segment, and the holding force and intra-trial variability (coefficient of variation) during the later time-segment, were measured. The results showed no differences in the peak force, peak force rate, holding force, and force variability in children compared with adults. However, the trends in the data evaluated using a segmented regression analysis showed that a breakpoint (abrupt change) consistently occurred in the late-mixed dentition group (age 9–11 yr) for most of the outcome variables. The results indicate that while the motor control strategies in children appear to be similar to those in adults, there is a shift in the oral motor developmental trend during the late-mixed dentition stage.     

Impact of sarcopenia on postoperative surgical site infections in patients undergoing flap reconstruction for oral cancer

Sarcopenia is characterized by progressive and generalized loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength. The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of skeletal muscle mass on surgical site infection (SSI) in flap reconstruction for defects after oral cancer resection. The subjects were a non-randomized, retrospective cohort of 106 patients who underwent this procedure after preoperative abdominal-lumbar computed tomography (CT). Cross-sectional areas (cm²) of skeletal muscles in the L3 region were measured by manual outlining on CT images. These areas were then normalized for height (cm²/m²) and defined as the skeletal muscle index (SMI). Recipient site SSI occurred in 28 patients (26.4%). Lower body mass index, haemoglobin and SMI were significantly related to recipient site SSI in univariate analysis (P<0. 05). In a multiple logistic regression model, lower SMI was a significant risk factor for recipient site SSI (odds ratio = 3.95 per 10 cm²/m² decrease, P=0. 005). This result suggests that increasing skeletal muscle mass by exercise or nutrition before surgery may prevent recipient site SSI after resection of oral cancer and subsequent reconstruction.     

Developmental problems concerning children's oral functions,based on a questionnaire administered to dentists and guardians

ObjectivesThis study aimed to clarify the importance of dental support for eating problems of infants, young children and disabled children, based on a questionnaire survey administered to dentists and guardians.Materials and methodsThe respondents consisted of 1001 dentists, pediatric dentistry administrators randomly selected by each prefectural or municipal dental association, and 1031 guardians of preschoolers who attended kindergartens or children's day-care centers. Answers were received from 712 dentists and 844 guardians. We compared answers to question No. 16 for dentists and questions No. 23 & 26 for guardians. Furthermore, we compared free comments to question No. 16 for dentists and answers to No. 27 for guardians. Question No. 27 for dentists and question No. 21 for guardians similarly asked about children's eating problems, and we thus next compared the tendencies noted in answers to these questions. In addition, a componential analysis was conducted for free text answers to question No. 31 for dentists and question No. 34 for guardians to qualitatively examine “free comments to children's eating problems”. Free comments were statistically analyzed using a text-mining approach in IBM SPSS Text Analytics for Surveys.ResultsThe results revealed that guardians had more concerns about the following issues (relative to dentists): “vegetables” (23-fold) and “picky eating/fad eating/biased eating” (eight-fold). Issues of more concern to dentists (relative to guardians) were “mastication/chewing” (two-fold) and “dental caries/decay” (1.3-fold).ConclusionsThis study suggested that guardian's anxieties regarding children's eating problems have variable background factors.     

白细胞介素35对口腔扁平苔藓患者外周血辅助性T细胞17与调节性T细胞平衡的影响

目的探讨外源性白细胞介素(interleukin,IL)35对口腔扁平苔藓(oral lichen planus,OLP)患者外周血中辅助性T细胞17(helper T cell 17,Th17)与调节性T细胞(regulatory T cell,Treg)平衡的影响。方法选取2016年10至12月就诊于贵州医科大学附属医院口腔内科黏膜专科门诊的12例OLP患者外周血(OLP组)(男性1例,女性11例,26~68岁;其中非糜烂型OLP4例,糜烂型OLP 8例),同期收集贵州医科大学附属医院体检中心的13名健康人外周血(健康对照组)(男性1名,女性12名,20~68岁),无菌提取两组外周血单个核细胞,流式细胞术(flow cytometry,FCM)分选外周血CD4+T细胞,采用实时荧光定量PCR(quantitative real-time PCR,qPCR)检测两组外周血CD4+T细胞中Th17、Treg细胞特异转录因子维甲酸相关孤核受体γt(retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptorγt,RORγt)、叉头状转录因子(forkhead box3,Foxp3)mRNA表达水平;将OLP患者外周血分选出的CD4+T细胞分为实验组与对照组,实验组加入重组人IL-35蛋白(recombinant human IL-35,rhIL-35),对照组加入等体积磷酸盐缓冲液,分别进行细胞体外培养,收集培养结束后的细胞,qPCR检测上述因子的表达水平。结果OLP组CD4+T细胞中Foxp3、RORγt mRNA的相对表达量[M(Q25,Q75)分别为0.15(0.09,0.30)和1.04(0.45,2.15)]均显著大于健康对照组[分别为0.04(0.02,0.06)和0.10(0.05,0.11)](Z=-4.134,P<0.01;Z=-3.699,P<0.01)。OLP组RORγt/Foxp3 mRNA比值[6.22(3.67,15.34)]显著大于健康对照组[2.50(1.24,5.23)](Z=-2.665,P=0.007)。OLP患者外周血实验组CD4+T细胞Foxp3 mRNA相对表达量[0.40(0.21,1.22)]显著大于对照组[0.15(0.11,0.26)](Z=-2.510,P=0.012),两组RORγt mRNA表达差异无统计学意义(P>0.05),实验组RORγt/Foxp3 mRNA比值[3.44(1.55,8.16)]显著小于对照组[6.22(4.43,12.21)](Z=-2.746,P=0.006)。结论OLP患者外周血中存在Th17细胞占优势的Th17/Treg平衡异常,外源性IL-35可通过促进Treg细胞扩增,实现对OLP患者外周血中Th17/Treg平衡的调节。     

Patient,radiological, and operative factors associated with surgical difficulty in the extraction of third molars: a systematic review

The aim of this systematic review was to determine the patient, radiological, and operative variables associated with surgical difficulty in the extraction of third molars, according to a visual analogue scale completed by the surgeon, operative time, or surgical technique. Searches of the PubMed (MEDLINE), Scopus, and Cochrane Library databases were conducted by two independent reviewers. Randomized and non-randomized clinical trials and prospective cohort studies evaluating surgical difficulty in the extraction of impacted mandibular or maxillary third molars according to patient, radiological, and operative variables were included. The full texts of 21 of the 859 articles initially retrieved were analysed, and 15 articles were included in the final systematic review. All 15 reported prospective cohort studies. The following variables were found to be on the spectrum of highly difficult or complex cases: older patient age and being overweight (patient variables), surgeons with little experience and the use of complex surgical techniques requiring tooth sectioning linked to hard tissue impaction (operative variables), and adverse radiological factors such as deep impaction, unfavourable angulation and root morphology, and a close relationship with the second molar, maxillary sinus, or the inferior alveolar nerve canal (radiological variables).