An Online Cross-Sectional Survey on Oral Healthcare Among School-Age Children During COVID-19 Epidemic in Wuhan, China.

Background: Since the outbreak of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the government of China adopted many measures which changed people's lifestyle including oral health-related lifestyle to control the transmission. The aim of this study was to investigate oral health status, oral healthcare behaviors, and parental attitudes toward oral healthcare among school-age children in Wuhan during the COVID-19 outbreak and what the status would be when the outbreak is under control. Methods: This study was an online cross-sectional survey facing elementary school students in Wuhan. The questionnaire was completed by children's parents or other family members. The information on demographic data, oral health status, oral healthcare behaviors, and parental attitudes toward oral healthcare was collected at the end of school closure. The chi-square test was used to test the association of different questionnaire items. Results: A total of 18,383 subjects aged 6-13 years with complete data were included in this investigation, and 44.2% of them suffered pain or discomfort related to teeth and gums during the epidemic. While there might be an increasing need and concern of oral healthcare during the outbreak and even when the outbreak was controlled, the worry of infection made it difficult for people to meet their demands of dental attendance. Conclusion: The risk of cross-infection during the treatment had a negative influence on parental attitudes toward dental attendance. Effective measures should be taken to meet people's demands of dental attendance.

Impact of COVID-19 on the oral health of adults in Wuhan and China: results of a nationwide online cross-sectional questionnaire survey.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 has seriously threatened the health and lives of people. This study aimed to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on the oral health of adults in Wuhan and other places of China amid the epidemic and to evaluate attitudes towards dental care in the post-epidemic period. METHODS: An online cross-sectional survey based on a questionnaire of 22 questions was conducted. RESULTS: A total of 3352 valid questionnaires were collected. Participants from Wuhan tended to be relatively psychologically affected and more concerned about future dental treatment. Toothbrushing frequency did not differ significantly between participants from Wuhan and other places and was associated with the prevalence of oral problems people encountered. Gingival bleeding, bad breath and oral ulcers were the three most common oral problems amid the epidemic, and significantly more participants in Wuhan experienced oral problems than other places in China. CONCLUSION: The three most common oral problems amid the epidemic were gingival bleeding, bad breath and oral ulcers. Adults in Wuhan tended to be more seriously affected and suffered more oral problems than people from other places in China. Maintaining good oral health behaviours plays an important role in preventing dental problems. It is crucial to establish and to follow the standard guidelines for the provision of dental care during and after the epidemic.

The impact of coronavirus lockdown on oral healthcare and its associated issues of pre-schoolers in China: an online cross-sectional survey.

BACKGROUND: The sudden outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic influenced people's daily life. During lockdown of Wuhan city, the oral health and its associated issues of preschool children were investigated and guidance for dental clinics when the epidemic were controlled in the future were also provided. METHODS: A national online survey was conducted among preschool children and completed by their caregivers. The questionnaire related to children's oral health status and care behaviour, caregivers' attitudes. The information was statistically analyzed between Wuhan residents and others residents. RESULTS: 4495 valid questionnaires were collected. In oral health status, during Wuhan lockdown, 60.8%, 35.5% and 18.3% children had self-reported dental caries, toothache and halitosis respectively. In oral health attitudes, respondents who would increase attention to oral health was more than that would decrease. In oral hygiene behaviour, compared to non-Wuhan children, the children in Wuhan became more active in brushing their teeth. In utilization of dental services in the future, less Wuhan residents would choose to have dental visit directly, 28.5% Wuhan residents and 34.7% non-Wuhan residents agreed all of procedures could be done if proper protected. CONCLUSIONS: Oral health status and associated issues of preschool children in Wuhan were significantly different from that of others during lockdown of Wuhan city and in the future. Effective measures should be taken as early as possible to protect children's oral health.

Long intergenic non-coding RNA 668 regulates VEGFA signaling through inhibition of miR-297 in oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Recently, long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been reported to have crucial regulatory efficiency in human cancer biology. Long intergenic non-coding RNA 668 (LINC00668) was regarded as an oncogene in multiple cancers. However, the underlying molecular mechanism of LINC00668 in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) has not been studied. In this study, we first demonstrated that LINC00668 expression was up-regulated, which was correlated with tumor progression, and miR-297 down-regulated in OSCC tissues and cells. Importantly, LINC00668 expression was negatively correlated with miR-297 expression in OSCC tissues. Loss-of-function of LINC00668 revealed that LINC00668 functioned as a ceRNA for miR-297 to facilitate VEGFA expression, promoting OSCC progression. Furthermore, LINC00668 knockdown suppressed tumor growth and reduced the expression of proliferation antigen ki-67 in vivo. Finally, we confirmed that LINC00668 promoted OSCC activity through VEGFA signaling. In conclusion, these results suggest that LINC00668 promotes OSCC tumorigenesis via miR-297/VEGFA axis, which may provide a new target for the diagnosis and therapy of OSCC disease.

Long non-coding RNA FTH1P3 facilitates oral squamous cell carcinoma progression by acting as a molecular sponge of miR-224-5p to modulate fizzled 5 expression.

A growing body of evidence has indicated that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) function as competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) during tumorigenesis. In this study, the qRT-PCR results revealed that the lncRNA ferritin heavy chain 1 pseudogene 3 (FTH1P3) was over-expressed in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and decreased the survival rate of OSCC patients. Ectopic expression of FTH1P3 facilitates cell proliferation and colony formation in OSCC cells. Moreover, FTH1P3 acted as a competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA), effectively becoming sponge for miR-224-5p and thereby modulating the expression of fizzled 5. Importantly, expression analysis revealed that both FTH1P3 and fizzled 5 were up-regulated in OSCC cell lines and tissues, and over-expression of fizzled 5 also functioned as an oncogene in OSCC cells. Our data demonstrated FTH1P3 facilitated OSCC progression by acting as a molecular sponge of miR-224-5p to modulate fizzled 5 expression. Thus, targeting the ceRNA network referring FTH1P3 may be a therapeutic target for treatment of OSCC.

Ultrastructural analysis of the teeth affected by amelogenesis imperfecta resulting from FAM83H mutations and review of the literature.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the ultrastructure and chemical compositions of two teeth affected by amelogenesis imperfecta (AI) with specific FAM83H mutations. STUDY DESIGN: Mutation analysis was performed by sequencing the candidate FAM83H gene. Two extracted teeth were collected: one from a new family and the other from a previously reported family with FAM83H mutation (Q452X). The specimens were prepared for ultrastructure detection using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and elemental analysis by energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX). RESULTS: An FAM83H mutation R325X was identified in the new family. In the two specimens, the affected enamel showed irregular, broken, and collapsing enamel rods with decreased numbers and widened interrod spaces; the affected dentine exhibited thickened peritubular dentine and irregular, narrowed, or partially obliterated dentinal tubules. EDX analysis showed the affected enamel with a higher carbon content, nitrogen content, and carbon/oxygen ratio. CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrates that FAM83H mutations could influence enamel biomineralization and dentine formation.

Comparison of cleaning efficiency and deformation characteristics of Twisted File and ProTaper rotary instruments.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the following study is to compare the cleaning efficiency and deformation characteristics of Twisted File (TF) and ProTaper (PT) nickel-titanium rotary instruments in root canal preparation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 52 canals from 26 extracted maxillary first molars were randomly assigned into two groups of each including 13 mesiobuccal and 12 distobuccal (DB) canals. Two DB canals were as blank controls. After preparation with TF and PT, we recorded the preparation time and evaluate the amounts of debris and smear layer at apical, middle and coronal canals under scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Three cross-sections of canals at 3 mm, 5 mm and 7 mm from the apex foramens were scanned before and after preparation under micro-computed tomography. Changes of the cross-section area (CSA) at the three levels were calculated with Photoshop CS4. File deformation was also investigated under SEM. Two groups were statistically compared with Mann-Whitney test and independent sample t-test. RESULTS: Less debris and smear layer were found in coronal regions of canals prepared with TF (P = 0.006, P = 0.001, respectively). TF group displayed more CSA change than PT group (P = 0.045) at cross-sections of 5 mm from the apex foramens and took significantly less preparation time than PT group did (P = 9.06 × 10(-28)). All five TF files without obvious micro-cracks and two out of 25 PT files with many micro-cracks showed visible unwound deformation. CONCLUSION: Neither TF nor PT achieves complete cleanliness of canal walls. Their deformation features might indicate different fracture resistance. TF single-file technique would substantially shorten the time of root canal preparation.

Novel RUNX2 frameshift mutations in Chinese patients with cleidocranial dysplasia.

Cleidocranial dysplasia (CCD) is a skeletal disorder caused by heterozygous mutations in the runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2) gene. We evaluated the phenotypes of eight Chinese patients with CCD from three unrelated families followed by analysis of the RUNX2 genes. Three different RUNX2 frameshift mutations were identified. Two of the mutations are novel (c.887insC and c.592delA) and one (c.90insC) has been described previously. Surprisingly, the patient with the most severely truncated RUNX2 protein (c.90insC) had the mildest phenotype. The RUNX2 mutations identified were assessed for their effect on the subcellular localization of the mutant RUNX2 proteins because of previously reported inconsistent findings. All three mutant proteins showed at least partially impaired nuclear localization compared with wild-type RUNX2, which was localized exclusively in the nucleus. Our findings support the notion that haploinsufficiency of RUNX2 may be mainly responsible for CCD. However, because the correlation between the severity of the phenotype and the degree of mutational impairment of RUNX2 is not consistent, other factors, such as nonsense-mediated mRNA decay and negative dominant effects, may also play a role. In addition, we show that despite the presence of the best characterized nuclear localization signal, nuclear translocation of truncated RUNX2 can be inhibited, possibly as a result of precipitation in the cytoplasm.