Survival and success rate of spiral implants inserted mandible.

The rehabilitation of the edentulous mandible is a relatively common clinical problem and dentatl implants are popular medical device routinely use in daily practice. Recently a new type of two-piece spiral implants has been introduced in the market. Here a retrospective study is reported. A total of 54 two-piece implants were inserted in mandible in the period between June and December 2017, 30 in female and 24 in males. The median age was 53 ± 8. Implants replaced 11 incisors, 6 cuspids, 23 premolars and 14 molars. Implant' length was 10 mm, 11,50 mm and 13 mm in 16, 19 and 19 cases, respectively. Implant' diameter was 3.3 mm, 3.75 mm and 4.2 mm in 22, 13, 19 cases, respectively. Twenty two fixtures were placed in totally edentulous patient and 32 in partially edentulous subjects. There were 4 single crowns, 28 implants bearing two or greater bridges, 4 removable dentures and 18 supporting Toronto bridge. The overall mean follow-up was 13 ± 2 months. One implant was lost so that survival rate (SVR) was 98.15%. Then peri-implant bone resorption (success rate, SCR) was used to investigate peri-implant bone stability. No implant have a crestal bone resorption greater than 1.5 mm so that the implants studied are reliable devices for oral rehabilitation with a very high SCR and SVR.

Screening of periodontopathic bacteria in Italian patients affected by periodontitis.

Periodontal disease (PD) is among the most common infectious diseases in the world, caused by pathogenic bacteria that trigger innate, inflammatory, and adaptive immune responses, leading to the destruction of supporting periodontal tissues and, if untreated, tooth loss. This study included 3593 patients, of them 1963 had a complete dataset and thus were analysed: 1088 (55%) were from Northern Italy, 749 (38%) from Central and 126 (7%) from Southern. Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Porphyromonas gengivalis, Treponema denticola, and Tannerella forsythia, Campylobacter rectus, Fusobacterium nucleatum, and total bacterial load were investigated. There was a significant difference in geographic distribution as regard A. actinomycetemcomitans (p<0.001), C. rectus (p<0.001), F. nucleatum (p<0.001) and total bacterial load (p<0.001). No differences were detected as regard gender, whereas a significant higher F. nucleatum load was observed in younger patients.

Use of the orbital fat pad in eyelid reconstruction.

Eyelid reconstruction, though challenging, can produce a functional, esthetically pleasing lid. This should preferably be accomplished with a one-stage procedure, using robust, well-vascularized tissues similar to those being replaced, with minimal associated donor morbidity. According to the experience with Bichat pedicled flap in oral reconstruction, the authors propose the use of pedicle infraorbital fat pad for repair of conjunctival defect. Seven patients underwent eyelid reconstruction of full-thickness oncological or post-traumatic defects. In all cases, the reconstruction involved an orbital fat pad flap for the posterior lamella in addition to local flaps for the anterior lamella. All of the flaps survived. The transferred fat flap had a complete epithelization, histologically documented. No tumor relapse occurred in oncological cases. The results have been satisfactory both for clinical evaluation and for the patients. Reconstruction of the palpebral inner lamella with the orbital fat pad is a simple and low-morbidity procedure that has good morphological and functional results.

Brown jaw tumors: today's unusual presentation of primary hyperparathyroidism.

Primary hyperparathyroidism (pHPT) has changed its clinical features in the last decade becoming a mild biochemical disease, in which the classical fibrous cystic osteitis is a rare complication. The more frequent bone involvement in primary hyperparathyroidism is observed at the distal 1/3 of the radius, where the cortical bone is primarily represented. However, lumbar and femoral osteopenia or osteoporosis prevalently affect hyperparathyroid post-menopausal women. We report two, otherwise healthy, young male patients, who presented a painful jaw swelling. In both patients standard radiographic imaging revealed a low-density well-defined lesion, which caused jaw bone destruction. High levels of serum calcium (14.1-16.6 mg/dl, n.v. 8.1-10.4) and PTH (1172-1928 pg/ml, n.v. 10-65) indicated the presence of pHPT associated with hypertension, asymptomatic renal involvement and osteoporosis with normal serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels in both patients. A single huge parathyroid adenoma was successfully removed and within 2 months jaw lesions were almost completely re-mineralized without any other therapeutic intervention in both patients. In conclusion, although brown jaw tumors are a rare complication of the hyperparathyroidism, they should be considered and identified in young patients with severe pHPT. Moreover, such a complication seems to be independent from vitamin D deficiency, suggesting the involvement of other pathogenetic factors.

Temporal galeal fascia cover of custom-made gold lid weights for correction of paralytic lagophthalmos: long-term evaluation of an improved technique.

BACKGROUND: Chronic paralytic lagophthalmos is a condition that is often conservatively treated with ophthalmic ointments and eye drops, but usually requires definitive surgical correction. PURPOSE: An effective modification of the gold lid loading technique is described, which we have found to be the simplest and most reliable method for lid reanimation. MATERIAL: After empiric evaluations with lead fisherman's weights 'glued' to the eyelid, a custom-made gold lid weight is made by a jeweller on the basis of the tarsal dimensions of the individual patient, and then sutured to the tarsus under local anaesthesia and covered with a fine sheet of temporal galea. Other ancillary procedures (lower lid suspension, lateral tarsal strip, lateral tarsoplasty) are added as required. METHODS: Between 1990 and 1996, 27 patients underwent this type of surgery, of whom 24 were re-evaluated after a mean follow-up period of 73.2 months (range 36-96 months), 14 of these for a minimum of 5 years. RESULTS: None of the gold weights was extruded, all 24 patients experienced marked improvement of their dry-eye symptoms and expressed a high degree of satisfaction. Six patients underwent further minor surgery (lateral McLaughlin tarsorrhaphy) in order to improve relative underaction. Two patients had ptosis (less than 2 mm of asymmetry) of the affected side but refused further correction. CONCLUSION: The use of custom-made gold lid weights and a protective galeal layer is a simple, reliable and successful means for permanently rehabilitating paralysed eyelids.