Gingival fibromatosis: a case report.

AIM: Gingival Fibromatosis is characterised by a large increase in the gingival dimension which extends above the dental crowns, covering them partially or completely. The causes of the disease may have a genetic origin, in which case gingival hyperplasia may occur in isolation or be part of a syndrome, or acquired origin, which comes from specific drugs administered systemically. A form of gingival fibromatosis of idiopathic origin has been described. The therapy involves mainly the surgical removal of the hyperplastic gingival tissue, although in these cases recurrences are frequent. CASE REPORT: A 9 years old male patient came to observation at the Clinic of Pediatric Dentistry of the Tor Vergata Polyclinic of Rome. After Primary Gingival Fibromatosis was diagnosed, the therapeutic choice was to wait and postpone gingivectomy at the end of the development phase.

Oral manifestations of coeliac disease.: A clinical-statistic study.

AIM.: The aim of the clinical-statistic study was to evaluate the prevalence of the different oral manifestations in a sample of coeliac patients, in comparison with a control group of healthy subjects. Moreover, a second objective was to determine if the clinical oral examination is useful as a diagnostic tool of screening for atypical forms of coeliac disease (CD). METHODS.: The enrolment of 300 coeliac patients, aged between 4 and 13 years (mean age 8.16), was carried out at the Pediatric Dentistry Unit in patients sent from the Pediatric Gastroenterology Unit of the PTV Hospital, University of Rome Tor Vergata. The control group was composed of 300 healthy subjects, age-matched (mean age 8.29), enrolled from the Pediatric Dentistry Unit. The patients were examined for hard tissues (enamel hypoplasia, dental caries), soft tissues (recurrent aphthous stomatitis RAS, atrophic glossitis, geographic tongue) and delay dental eruption. Enamel defects were classified according to Aine's criteria, while dental caries was recorded as dmft/DMFT indices. Statistical analysis was carried out by using SPSS/PC+ Software. Differences between case and control groups were tested using Paired samples T-test, and Chi-Square Test, depending on the variable considered. The minimal level of significance of the differences was fixed at p≤0.05 for all the procedures. RESULTS.: Statistical differences between groups were observed for the prevalence of enamel defects (p=0.0001), RAS (p=0.005), delay in dental eruption (p=0.0001), but not for the prevalence of atrophic glossitis (p=0.664). Differences in symmetrical distribution and a chronologic coherence of enamel defects were statistically significant between CD and control groups (p=0.0001). Regarding dental caries, the coeliac patients had higher indexes of caries than healthy subjects, both in deciduous teeth (dmft 2.31±1.84 vs 1.42±1.13; p= 0.021) and permanent teeth (DMFT 2.97±1.74 vs 1.74±1.64; p=0.0001). CONCLUSIONS.: The clinical oral examination should be considered a diagnostic tool for the characterization of subjects affected by silent-atypical forms of CD.

Analysis of clinical efficacy of interceptive treatment of Class II division 2 malocclusion in a pair of twins through the use of two modified removable appliances.

UNLABELLED: The interceptive therapeutic approach of a functional type is indicated for the treatment of Class II Division 2 mandibular retrusion with deep bite, where improvement is required not only in occlusal relationships but also in skeletal and aesthetic parameters. PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to assess, in two identical twins suffering from the same malocclusion, the effectiveness and clinical stability of functional interceptive Class II division 2 treatment during puberty by mandibular retro-positioning associated with deep bite, and to compare skeletal changes and dental and dental-alveolar changes induced by the application of two different modified removable appliances: Clark's Twin block and Bergersen's Occlus-o-guide. RESULTS: The results show that both devices allowed for circumvention of the pre-functional therapy phase aimed at correcting the upper labial segment, and for the conversion of the Class II division 1 incisor relationship, they were able to promote significant and obvious clinical effects. CONCLUSIONS: The study shows that Class II Division 2 functional type interceptive treatment of mandibular retrusion with deep bite conducted in the puberal phase through clinical use of modified Bergersen's Occlus-o-guide(®) allowed for simultaneous resolution of the skeletal, dental-alveolar and dental problems in one step, while that using modified Clark's Twin-block still requires a second phase of treatment necessary to resolve the alignment, levelling, inter-cuspidation of the arches, optimization of the dental overjet and overbite parameters and to the stabilization of the basal Class I.

Comparing the efficacy in reducing dentin hypersensitivity of a new toothpaste containing 8.0% arginine, calcium carbonate, and 1450 ppm fluoride to a benchmark commercial desensitizing toothpaste containing 2% potassium ion: an eight-week clinical study in Rome, Italy.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this double-blind dentin hypersensitivity clinical study was to investigate the effectiveness of a new desensitizing toothpaste containing 8.0% arginine, calcium carbonate, and 1450 ppm fluoride as sodium monofluorophosphate (MFP), compared to that of a benchmark commercially available desensitizing toothpaste containing 2% potassium ion, dosed as 5.0% potassium nitrate, and 1450 ppm fluoride as sodium fluoride (NaF). METHODS: A total of 80 subjects were entered into the study, and stratified into two balanced groups according to their baseline mean tactile and mean air blast sensitivity scores. The two groups were randomly assigned to use either the new arginine toothpaste or the benchmark commercially available desensitizing toothpaste containing 2% potassium ion. Subjects were instructed to brush their teeth twice daily (morning and evening) for one minute with their assigned toothpaste and a commercially available soft-bristled toothbrush. Dentin hypersensitivity examinations, which included tactile and air blast sensitivity measures, were conducted at baseline, one week, two weeks, four weeks, and eight weeks. Subject examinations were conducted by the same dental examiner at each examination period. RESULTS: This clinical study demonstrated that the new toothpaste, containing 8.0% arginine and 1450 ppm fluoride as MFP in a calcium carbonate base, provided a significant reduction in dentin hypersensitivity when used over a period of eight weeks. The study also showed that the new arginine toothpaste provided significantly greater reductions (p < 0.05) in dentin hypersensitivity in response to tactile (38.9%, 28.8%, and 11.6%) and air blast (16.8%, 26.4%, and 33.8%) stimuli than the benchmark commercial desensitizing toothpaste containing 2% potassium ion and 1450 ppm fluoride as NaF in a silica base, after two weeks, four weeks, and eight weeks of product use, respectively. CONCLUSION: A new toothpaste containing 8.0% arginine, calcium carbonate, and 1450 ppm fluoride as MFP provides significantly increased hypersensitivity relief (p < 0.05) as compared to a benchmark commercial desensitizing toothpaste containing 2% potassium ion, dosed as potassium nitrate, after two weeks, four weeks, and eight weeks of product use.

MTA applications in pediatric dentistry.

The aim of this paper is to show and asses the clinical applications of the Mineral Trioxide Aggregate (MTA) in pediatric dentistry, either on primary teeth or on immature apex permanent teeth. We have described the primary tooth pulpotomy technique using MTA, that is characterized by a superior biocompatibility and a sealing ability that make it a more suitable compound compared to other materials in terms of result prediction on a long-term basis. We have also reported the direct capping technique using MTA on immature apex teeth; in these particular cases, MTA is undoubtedly preferable to conventional materials, especially in what its sealing characteristics concern. Furthermore, we have explained the apexogenesis clinical procedure, in which after a chamber pulpotomy on incomplete root development teeth, MTA is used in direct contact with the pulpar stump in order to save the root pulp vitality, allowing the apex and relative canal walls physiological maturation to take place. In case of necrotic teeth with immature apex, we describe the possibility of using MTA as an apical barrier making the apexification treatment faster and predictable, taking profit from its biocompatibility quality, its sealing ability and setting characteristic in humid environments. In all described applications, MTA has demonstrated to be a very versatile and extremely trustworthy material. Either literature and results obtained from the present experience, show how the use of MTA in Pediatric Dentistry, compared to commonly used materials, translates into pulp or periapical tissues being less swollen and, thus, guaranteeing a higher prediction of the therapeutic result on a short-term basis and on a long-term one.