Assessment of the contextual effects on the prevalence of periodontitis: a systematic review.

This study reviews the influence of contextual factors on periodontitis based on a systematic search of studies recorded in the PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and EMBASE databases. Periodontitis was assessed by clinical attachment loss and probing depth for studies with data on the socioeconomic status (SES) of a specific area (area-level SES) or dental care service (service-level) in a catchment area among individuals aged 18 and over. Two independent reviewers performed study selection, data extraction, and assessment of methodological quality. Of the 646 articles identified, 13 were included in the systematic review, representing 101,362 individuals from five countries (USA, UK, Brazil, China, and Uruguay). A higher prevalence of periodontitis was described in lower SES neighborhoods, more deprived postcodes, and poorer provinces. Gini Index results were mixed and inconclusive. Three studies showed that higher coverage of primary dental care at the municipal level was associated with a lower prevalence of periodontitis. Contextual factors at the area-level SES and dental care service might influence periodontitis, but the existing evidence is unclear. The contextual effect is important for periodontal health and may contribute to the prevalence of periodontitis, independent of well-known risk factors and individual levels.

Comparison of the efficacy of different techniques to seal the alveolus during alveolar ridge preservation: Meta-regression and network meta-analysis.

AIM: To evaluate the efficacy of different techniques to seal the alveolus (flap advancement [FA], open healing with barrier [OHB], and open healing without barrier [OHNB]) during alveolar ridge preservation (ARP) in terms of horizontal ridge width resorption. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Randomized trials of at least 2 months duration comparing at least two techniques to seal the alveolus against each other or against spontaneous healing (SH) were eligible. Searches were conducted in MEDLINE via PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, and Cochrane Central. Conventional meta-analysis, meta-regression, and network meta-analysis (NMA) were conducted, with clinical and tomographic ridge width changes as outcomes. Predictive intervals (95% PI) were reported. RESULTS: Twenty-two studies were included, accounting for 52 study arms. Meta-regression identified that the socket sealing technique and publication year explained the observed heterogeneity. NMA showed that FA and OHB led to significantly lower ridge resorption than SH, resulting in 1.18 mm (95% PI 0.21-2.13) and 1.10 mm (95% PI 0.49-1.69) wide alveolar ridges, respectively. No significant difference between OHNB and SH was found (0.46 mm, 95% PI -0.70 to 1.64). The treatment with the largest probability for ARP was FA (52.7%), followed by OHB (39.1%) and OHNB (8.2%). CONCLUSIONS: FA and OHB are efficacious techniques to seal the alveolus during ARP.

Assessment of the contextual effects on the prevalence of periodontitis: a systematic review

Abstract This study reviews the influence of contextual factors on periodontitis based on a systematic search of studies recorded in the PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and EMBASE databases. Periodontitis was assessed by clinical attachment loss and probing depth for studies with data on the socioeconomic status (SES) of a specific area (area-level SES) or dental care service (service-level) in a catchment area among individuals aged 18 and over. Two independent reviewers performed study selection, data extraction, and assessment of methodological quality. Of the 646 articles identified, 13 were included in the systematic review, representing 101,362 individuals from five countries (USA, UK, Brazil, China, and Uruguay). A higher prevalence of periodontitis was described in lower SES neighborhoods, more deprived postcodes, and poorer provinces. Gini Index results were mixed and inconclusive. Three studies showed that higher coverage of primary dental care at the municipal level was associated with a lower prevalence of periodontitis. Contextual factors at the area-level SES and dental care service might influence periodontitis, but the existing evidence is unclear. The contextual effect is important for periodontal health and may contribute to the prevalence of periodontitis, independent of well-known risk factors and individual levels.

Influence of Donor Site and Harvesting Technique of Connective Tissue Graft on Root Coverage Outcomes of Single Gingival Recessions: Systematic Review and Meta-analyses.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the outcomes of root coverage when the (1) donor site of connective tissue graft is the palate or tuberosity and (2) when connective tissue graft is harvested with intra- or extra-oral de-epithelization techniques. METHODS: The primary outcome was patient satisfaction. Secondary outcomes included complete root coverage, percentage of root coverage and keratinized tissue width. Searches were conducted until December 2019 in PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus and CENTRAL. RESULTS: 3275 studies were retrieved, but no randomized trials (randomized controlled trials) were found comparing tuberosity and palate. Data were extracted for one arm assessing any connective tissue graft technique from 56 randomized controlled trials to compare intra-oral de-epithelization and extra-oral de-epithelization outcomes. Among these studies, none have harvested connective tissue graft from tuberosity. Patient satisfaction for intra-oral de-epithelization and extra-oral de-epithelization ranged between 79% and 95%. Complete root coverage for intra-oral de-epithelization and extra-oral de-epithelization techniques was 55% (95%CI 46-65) and 70% (95%CI 63-77). Metaregression analyzes demonstrated that free gingival graft presented 4.41 higher chance of CRC [odds ratio (OR)=4.41, p=0.001] compared to single incision technique, followed by Bruno's (OR=4.39) and double-blade (OR=3.85) techniques. There were no differences between de-epithelization techniques for percentage of root coverage and keratinized tissue width. CONCLUSION: No evidence was found to support the use of connective tissue grafts from the tuberosity. If complete root coverage is the major clinical goal, extra-oral deepithelization may be preferred over intra-oral de-epithelization techniques.