Lactate dehydrogenase activity in human gingival crevicular fluid during orthodontic treatment: a controlled, short-term longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND: During orthodontic tooth movement, the early response of periodontal tissues to mechanical stress is an acute inflammatory one. This study uses a longitudinal design to examine lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) to determine if GCF LDH can be used as a diagnostic aid in monitoring tooth movement and tissue response during orthodontic treatment. METHODS: Seventeen patients (mean age: 16.1 years) participated in the study. Each patient was undergoing treatment for distal movement, and an upper first molar served as the test tooth (TT), while the contralateral (CT) and antagonist (AT) teeth were used as controls. The CT was included in the orthodontic appliance, but was not subjected to the distal movement; the AT was free from any orthodontic appliance. The GCF around the experimental teeth was harvested from both mesial and distal tooth sites immediately before appliance activation, and on days 7, 14, and 21. Clinical gingival conditions were also recorded. RESULTS: Gingival crevicular fluid LDH activity was significantly elevated in all sites of the TT and CT, as compared to the AT, where LDH activity remained at the baseline level throughout the study. Enzyme activity levels were also greater in the TT than in the CT, and in the compression sites. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that GCF LDH levels reflect the biological activity that takes place in the periodontium during orthodontic movement, and therefore they can be used as a diagnostic tool for monitoring for correct orthodontic tooth movement in clinical practice.

Cervical lordosis angle measured on lateral cephalograms; findings in skeletal class II female subjects with and without TMD: a cross sectional study.

The literature reports evidence of various types of correlations between cervical alterations and cervical pain, and the existence of cervical pain in subjects with temporomandibular joint internal derangement (TMD). The hypothesis of this study is that cervical lordosis angle (CVT/EVT angle) alteration on cephalometrics could be correlated to the presence of TMD. The cephalometric records of 50 females with documented TMD were compared with those of a control group of 50 females. The subjects in the sample were 25-35 years of age, average 28.9 years (SD, 3.2). Radiographs were taken in mirror position, and seventeen variables, including the CVT/EVT angle, were traced. Double measurements were made to evaluate method error using Dahlberg's formula. Pearson's correlation coefficient and Mann-Whitney's t-test were used to evaluate the data. Intra-group analysis showed significant correlations between the CVT/EVT angle and mandibular length (p<0.01), mandibular position (p<0.05), mandibular divergence (p<0.01), and overjet (p<0.01) in both groups. Between groups, the analysis showed significant differences in CVT/EVT angle (p<0.05), maxillary protrusion (p<0.01), mandibular protrusion (p<0.01), mandibular length (p<0.01), mandibular divergence (p<0.05), and overbite (p<0.05).

Gingival endothelial and inducible nitric oxide synthase levels during orthodontic treatment: a cross-sectional study.

This study uses a cross-sectional design to examine the endothelial and inducible nitric oxide synthase (eNOS and iNOS, respectively) levels of gingival tissue. Fifteen subjects, 10 female and 5 male individuals (aged 14.6-21.2 years; mean 17.4 +/- 1.8 years), who needed extraction of the four first premolars for orthodontic reasons and who had indications for a gingivectomy were enrolled in the study. In each patient, two maxillary/mandibular premolars were extracted, and two months later an orthodontic appliance was placed in the same arch. A canine undergoing treatment for distal movement served as the test tooth (TT), whereas its contralateral canine was used as the control tooth (CT). The CT was included in the orthodontic appliance but was not subjected to the orthodontic force. Two weeks after the orthodontic appliance placement, clinical data consisting of the presence of supragingival plaque, bleeding on probing, and probing depth were collected from each experimental tooth. Immediately after, gingival tissue was collected from the distal aspect of each TT and CT for immunohistochemistry, messenger RNA reverse transcription by polymerase chain reaction, and Western blot analysis for both eNOS and iNOS. The results showed that no differences in clinical conditions occurred between the experimental teeth. On the contrary, both the eNOS and iNOS levels and the expression of the TTs were significantly greater than those of the CTs (all comparisons significant to P < .01). Our results indicate a role for gingival eNOS and iNOS during the early phases of orthodontic treatment in humans.

Effects of the antigravitary modification of the myotension of asset (MAGMA) therapy on myogenic cranio-cervical-mandibular dysfunction: a longitudinal surface electromyography analysis.

This study was aimed at evaluating the effects of a novel physiotherapy machine called MAGMA (AntiGravitary Modification of the Myotensions of Asset) on postural and masticatory muscles of subjects with myogenic cranio-cervical-mandibular dysfunction (CMD), by using surface electromyography (sEMG). Fifteen subjects, nine males and six females (mean age 27.6 years), with CMD were included in the study. The bilaterally monitored muscles were: masseter, anterior and posterior temporalis, digastric, posterior cervical, sternocleidomastoid, and upper and lower trapezius. All muscles were monitored at rest, with a second record of maximal voluntary clenching (MVC) for both the masseter and anterior temporalis. Patients were subjected to MAGMA therapy for one session/week of 30 min over ten weeks. The surface EMG activity was recorded twice, at the baseline and at the end of the therapy. After MAGMA therapy, the sEMG activity at rest of the monitored muscles was significantly better when compared to the baseline; the only exception was the anterior and posterior temporalis muscles which did not improve. On the contrary, with the MVC, all the monitored muscles (masseter and anterior temporalis) significantly improved their sEMG activity. Although more investigations are needed, these results indicate that the use of such antigravitary therapy can provide a tool for resolving myogenic CMD.