The Association of Developmental Dental Defects and the Clinical Consequences in the Primary Dentition: A Systematic Review of Observational Studies.

Purpose: Assess whether children with developmental defects of enamel (DDE) in primary teeth have a higher risk of having dental caries or a higher prevalence of clinical consequences due to the disease than those without DDE. Methods: Search was performed in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science™, Cochrane Library, LILACS, BBO, Embase databases and in gray literature. Three independent reviewers were involved in study selection, data extraction, and bias assessment. Risk of bias was evaluated by the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. DDE and its subtypes (demarcated opacities, hypoplasia, hypomineralized second primary molars (HSPM), and fluorosis) were regarded as exposure. Dental caries and clinical consequences of untreated caries were also assessed. In the meta-analyses, odds ratio (OR) was used in the random effects model for dichotomous outcomes. Quality of evidence was assessed using the Grading Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE). Results: The search yielded 5,750 studies, 39 of which were included in the systematic review and 20 in the meta-analysis. The risk of bias ranged from 4 to 9 points. Children with DDE were more prone to primary tooth caries (OR=2.79; 95% CI:1.29-6.03), and so were those with demarcated opacities (OR=1.75; 95% CI:1.09-2.78), hypoplasia (OR=2.84; 95% CI:1.73-4.67), and HSPM (OR=2.89; 95% CI:1.65-5.06). Fluorosis was not associated with caries (OR=1.39; 95% CI:0.97-1.98). Regarding tooth as a unit of analysis, DDE was highly associated with caries (OR=2.34; 95% CI:1.74-3.16). As for the clinical consequences of caries, only the qualitative analysis was conducted and there was no consensus in the studies. Conclusion: DDE is associated with higher primary tooth caries experience.

Spotlight on Biomimetic Systems Based on Lyotropic Liquid Crystal.

The behavior of lyotropic biomimetic systems in drug delivery was reviewed. These behaviors are influenced by drug properties, the initial water content, type of lyotropic liquid crystals (LLC), swell ability, drug loading rate, the presence of ions with higher or less kosmotropic or chaotropic force, and the electrostatic interaction between the drug and the lipid bilayers. The in vivo interaction between LCC-drugs, and the impact on the bioavailability of drugs, was reviewed. The LLC with a different architecture can be formed by the self-assembly of lipids in aqueous medium, and can be tuned by the structures and physical properties of the emulsion. These LLC lamellar phase, cubic phase, and hexagonal phase, possess fascinating viscoelastic properties, which make them useful as a dispersion technology, and a highly ordered, thermodynamically stable internal nanostructure, thereby offering the potential as a sustained drug release matrix for drug delivery. In addition, the biodegradable and biocompatible nature of lipids demonstrates a minimum toxicity and thus, they are used for various routes of administration. This review is not intended to provide a comprehensive overview, but focuses on the advantages over non modified conventional materials and LLC biomimetic properties.

Increase in severity of molar-incisor hypomineralization and its relationship with the colour of enamel opacity: a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Predicting risk of posteruptive enamel breakdown (PEB) of molar-incisor hypomineralization (MIH) opacity is a difficult but important clinical task. Therefore, there is a need to evaluate these aspects through longitudinal studies. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this longitudinal study was to analyse the relationship between colours of MIH opacity of children aged 6-12 (baseline) and other clinical and demographic variables involved in the increase in severity of MIH. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A blinded prospective 18-month follow-up was conducted with 147 individuals presenting mild MIH. Tooth-based incidence of increase in severity of MIH (PEB or atypical restorations) was used as dependent measurement. Enamel opacities were recorded according to colour shades of white, yellow and brown, allowing assessment of susceptibility to structural loss over time, according to colour of MIH opacity. Poisson regression models were used to adjust the results for demographic and clinical variables. RESULTS: Brown and yellow MIH opacities were at higher risk for PEB and atypical restorations than those of white ones, even after adjustment for clinical and demographic variables. CONCLUSION: Teeth presenting mild MIH severity associated with yellow and brown enamel opacities were at high risk for increase in severity of MIH than lighter ones. This result could help clinicians determine a risk-based treatment for children with MIH.