Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) improves alveolar bone healing in rats.

The main objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) in enhancing bone healing in irradiated alveolus post-tooth extraction. Sixty male Wistar rats (180 ± 10 g) were used in the present study. The left maxillary first molars were extracted, and the alveolar region was irradiated by diode laser device (GaAlAs) immediately after extraction and for more 3-day daily applications. The animals were randomly assigned into two groups: control group (n = 30, with left maxillary molar extraction-CG) and experimental group (n = 30, with tooth extraction and low-level laser therapy applied to the dental alveolus for 42 s-EG). These groups were divided into subgroups (five rats per subgroup) according to the observation time point-1, 2, 3, 5, 7, and 10 days-post-tooth extraction. The maxillary bone was separated, and the specimens were stained with hematoxylin and eosin, Masson's trichrome, and picrosirius red and immunohistochemistry for RUNX-2. Parametric and nonparametric tests were used with a significance level of 5%. LLLT accelerated bone healing with mature collagen fiber bundles and early new bone formation. Histomorphometric analysis revealed an increase of osteoblast (RUNX-2) and osteoclast (TRAP) activity and in the area percentage of cancellous bone in the lased alveolus compared to the control group. This increase was statistically significant (p < 0.05). Application of LLLT with a GaAlAs diode laser device enhanced bone healing and mineralization on alveolar region.

The Effect of Cigarette Smoking And Low-Level Laser Irradiation in RANK/RANKL/OPG Expression.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) and cigarette smoke on alveolar socket osteoclastogenesis signaling after tooth extraction, in rats. Sixty male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to four groups with 15 animals each: Control Group (with right maxillary molar extraction - ME), Experimental I (with ME and LLLT), Experimental II (with ME and cigarette smoke) and Experimental III group (with ME, LLLT and cigarette smoke). Euthanasia was performed at 3, 7 and 14 days postoperative. qRT-PCR was used to evaluate expression of Tnfrsf11a (RANK), Tnfsf11 (Rankl) and Tnfrsf11b (OPG). Data were submitted to statistical analysis using two-way ANOVA followed by Bonferroni test (α=0.05). There was an upregulation of RANK, RANKL and OPG genes over all the time of healing in Exp I group compared to control group. Exp II group showed a decreased expression of all genes over time, whereas Exp III genes expression were higher than Exp II values but lower than Control and Exp I values over time. The results of this study concluded that the LLLT had a positive effect, whereas cigarette smoke had a negative effect on RANK, RANKL and OPG gene expression in bone remodeling process.

Effects of chlorhexidine varnish on caries during orthodontic treatment: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

This study aimed to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of chlorhexidine varnish on the reduction of caries incidence during fixed orthodontic treatment. The literature searches involved The Cochrane Library, Medline, Scopus, OpenSigle databases and manual searches. The search on OpenSigle did not produce any additional articles. Clinical studies conducted in patients with orthodontic fixed appliances that used professional application of chlorhexidine varnish were included. The effect-size was calculated and a meta-analysis was performed. From 182 abstracts, a total of six articles fulfilled the inclusion criteria. After reading the full articles, one was excluded because of lack of a control group. Three articles were used for continuous data analysis, and two articles were used for the dichotomous data analysis. The pooled meta-analysis with continuous data demonstrated chlorhexidine varnish effectiveness on caries reduction (p = 0.003), with a mean difference and confidence interval of -1.49 [-2.47, -0.51]. On the basis of the pooled meta-analysis of continuous data, we were able to conclude that professional application of chlorhexidine varnish is effective in caries incidence reduction during fixed orthodontic treatment.

Effects of chlorhexidine varnish on caries during orthodontic treatment: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract This study aimed to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of chlorhexidine varnish on the reduction of caries incidence during fixed orthodontic treatment. The literature searches involved The Cochrane Library, Medline, Scopus, OpenSigle databases and manual searches. The search on OpenSigle did not produce any additional articles. Clinical studies conducted in patients with orthodontic fixed appliances that used professional application of chlorhexidine varnish were included. The effect-size was calculated and a meta-analysis was performed. From 182 abstracts, a total of six articles fulfilled the inclusion criteria. After reading the full articles, one was excluded because of lack of a control group. Three articles were used for continuous data analysis, and two articles were used for the dichotomous data analysis. The pooled meta-analysis with continuous data demonstrated chlorhexidine varnish effectiveness on caries reduction (p = 0.003), with a mean difference and confidence interval of −1.49 [−2.47, −0.51]. On the basis of the pooled meta-analysis of continuous data, we were able to conclude that professional application of chlorhexidine varnish is effective in caries incidence reduction during fixed orthodontic treatment.

Aspectos clínicos e moleculares da agenesia dentária congênita / Molecular and clinical aspects of congenital dental agenesis

A agenesia dentária consiste em uma anomalia comum de desenvolvimento, que resulta na alteração do número de dentes preentes na cavidade bucal e afeta aproximadamente 20% da população. Sua etiologia está associada a fatores ambientais, como infecções, traumas, quimioterapia, radioterapia e causas genéticas. Atualmente a etiologia mais aceita para explicar a ocorrência das anomalias dentárias é a alteração na expressão de genes específicos. Com base no conhecimento dos genes e fatores de transcrição envolvidos na odontogênese, presume-se que diferentes formas fenotípicas de agenesia dentária são causadas por mutações em diferentes genes. Os genes envolvidos na agenesia dentária em humanos incluem os fatores de transcrição (MSX1 e PAX9) que desempenham um papel crítico durante o desenvolvimento craniofacial e o gene que codifica uma proteína envolvida na via de sinalização canônica Wnt (AXIN2). Dessa maneira, a proposta do presente estudo é discorrer sobre os principais genes que têm sido relatados como reguladores da formação dental e a ocorrência de mutações nestes genes que poderiam resultar em agenesias dentárias

Dental agenesis is a common developmental anomaly which affects approximately 20% of the population and results in a reduction of number of teeth present in the oral cavity. The etiology is associated with environmental factors, such as infections, trauma, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and genetic causes. Currently the widely accepted theory to explain the occurrence of dental agenesis is the change in the expression of specific genes. Different phenotypic patterns of dental agenesis are caused by mutations in genes and transcription factors involved in odontogenesis. In humans those genes include transcription factors (MSX1 and PAX9) that play a critical role during development and the gene coding for a protein involved in the canonical Wnt signaling (AXIN2). Therefore, the purpose of this study is to discuss about dental agenesis and the key genes that have been reported as regulators of dental formation and how the occurrence of mutations in these genes could result in dental agenesis