Soaking oro-pharyngeal pack with triamcinolone acetonide lowers discomfort in functional endoscopic sinus surgeries / Pack orofaringeo con triamcinolone disminuye molestias luego de cirugía endoscópica sinusal

BACKGROUND: Postoperative sore throat (POST) is defined as pain or discomfort in the throat following general anesthesia. Throat packs are used by many surgical subspecialties for different benifits, however they may increase the incidence of POST. Many interventions can be used to decrease incidence of POST. Triamcinolone acetonide (TA) is a moderately potent topical corticosteroid preparation. In this study, we hypothesized that soaking the throat pack with TA may decrease POST. METHODS AND MATERIAL: This prospective interventional comparative study was performed on 54 patients planned for Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgeries (FEES) surgery. After endotracheal intubation, a standard length of oro-pharyngeal pack was placed, then patients were randomly allocated into: Group I: Oro-pharyngeal packs were soaked with 15 mg Triamcinolone acetonide 0.1% and Group II: packs were soaked with the same volume of lubricating gel (K-Y gel®). The patients were postoperatively asked about: sore throat, dysphagia, hoarseness of voice and nausea and vomiting. RESULTS: Thirty minutes and 24 hours after extubation, Group I patients showed lower but statistically insignificant sore throat scores. Two to six hours after extubation, Group I showed a statistically significant reduction in sore throat scores. Six patients suffered dysphagia in group I compared with 8 patients in group II. Hoarseness of voice occurred in 1 patient in group I and 3 patients in group II. No patient complained of nausea or vomiting. cONCLUSIÓN: Soaking oropharyngeal pack with triamcinolone acetonide in orabase gel was able to decrease POST in FESS patients.

Periodontitis: A Cellular Tactic to Escape Cancer

During acute inflammation of gingiva (gingivitis), the cells can resist apoptosis and, at the same time, serve as a barrier to tumour formation. However, during chronic inflammation (periodontitis), the cells will undergo degradation which also helps in tumour restraining. Unlike the cellular senescence during cancer, periodontal cells undergo a unique senescence activity due to the microbial infection from the dental biofilm. The distinctive senescence activity of the inflamed periodontal cells results in the cell cycle arrest which leads to an inevitable degradation of periodontal tissues superpose the regeneration of them. If this activity is not resolved, continuous destruction of the supporting periodontal tissues may eventually result in the loss of teeth. In this mini-review, we discussed briefly the cellular senescence and its sequelae in periodontitis and cancer.

Biaxial flexural strength of Turkom-Cera core compared to two other all-ceramic systems

Advances in all-ceramic systems have established predictable means of providing metal-free aesthetic and biocompatible materials. These materials must have sufficient strength to be a practical treatment alternative for the fabrication of crowns and fixed partial dentures. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to compare the biaxial flexural strength of three core ceramic materials. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Three groups of 10 disc-shaped specimens (16 mm diameter x 1.2 mm thickness - in accordance with ISO-6872, 1995) were made from the following ceramic materials: Turkom-Cera Fused Alumina [(Turkom-Ceramic (M) Sdn Bhd, Puchong, Selangor, Malaysia)], In-Ceram (Vita Zahnfabrik, Bad Säckingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany) and Vitadur-N (Vita Zahnfabrik, Bad Säckingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany), which were sintered according to the manufacturer's recommendations. The specimens were subjected to biaxial flexural strength test in an universal testing machine at a crosshead speed of 0.5 mm/min. The definitive fracture load was recorded for each specimen and the biaxial flexural strength was calculated from an equation in accordance with ISO-6872. RESULTS: The mean biaxial flexural strength values were: Turkom-Cera: 506.8±87.01 MPa, In-Ceram: 347.4±28.83 MPa and Vitadur-N: 128.7±12.72 MPa. The results were analyzed by the Levene's test and Dunnett's T3 post-hoc test (SPSS software V11.5.0 for Windows, SPSS, Chicago, IL, USA ) at a preset significance level of 5 percent because of unequal group variances (P<0.001). There was statistically significant difference between the three core ceramics (P<0.05). Turkom-Cera showed the highest biaxial flexural strength, followed by In-Ceram and Vitadur-N. CONCLUSIONS: Turkom-Cera core had significantly higher flexural strength than In-Ceram and Vitadur-N ceramic core materials.