Complete Genome Sequence for Treponema sp. OMZ 838 (ATCC 700772, DSM 16789), Isolated from a Necrotizing Ulcerative Gingivitis Lesion.

The oral treponeme bacterium Treponema sp. OMZ 838 was originally isolated from a human necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis (NUG) lesion. Its taxonomic status remains uncertain. The complete genome sequence length was determined to be 2,708,067 bp, with a G+C content of 44.58%, and 2,236 predicted coding DNA sequences (CDS).

Non-surgical periodontal therapy improves oral health-related quality of life.

AIM: The influence of non-surgical periodontal therapy on oral health-related quality of life (OHQoL) was investigated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty-five Chinese adults (25 men, mean 47.4 years) with moderate-to-advanced chronic periodontitis were recruited. All received oral hygiene instructions (OHI) and non-surgical periodontal treatment in a quadrant-wise approach, followed by recalls at 1, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months post treatment, when OHI and prophylaxis were repeated. Clinical parameters were recorded, and oral health impact profile short-form (OHIP-14S) was administered at all time points. RESULTS: Moderate-to-deep sites (≥4 mm) decreased from 31.0% to 3.0% at 12 months post treatment (p < 0.005) which corresponded well with reductions in plaque, 72.8% to 25.4% (p < 0.005) and bleeding on probing, 86.3% to 32.0% (p < 0.005). Median OHIP-14S scores gradually reduced from 17 at baseline to 14 over the first 6 months and remained plateaued at 12-month post treatment (p < 0.005). Improvements in subdomains of physical pain, psychological discomfort and psychological disability accounted for the changes. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that OHQoL, in particular, pain and psychological subdomains, improvement was associated with non-surgical periodontal therapy responses. Clinicians could capitalize upon the positive psychological OHQoL impacts of mechanical periodontal treatment for subsequent patient-centred motivation during maintenance therapy.

A community study on the relationship between stress, coping, affective dispositions and periodontal attachment loss.

BACKGROUND: Psychological factors may increase the risk for periodontal diseases. Contemporary conceptualization of the stress process supports the evaluation of stress at three levels: stressors, moderating and mediating factors, and stress reactions. OBJECTIVE: This study was undertaken to investigate the relationship of periodontal disease in terms of clinical attachment level (CAL) to psychosocial stress, making reference to the major components of stress process. METHODS: A cross-sectional study of 1000 subjects aged 25-64 years in Hong Kong was conducted. Subjects were asked to complete a set of questionnaires measuring stressors including changes, significant life event and daily strains, stress reactions including physiological and affective responses, and coping and affective dispositions. CAL was assessed. RESULTS: Individuals with high mean CAL values had higher scores on the job and financial strain scales than periodontally healthy individuals (P < 0.05), after adjusting for age, gender, cigarette smoking and systemic disease. Depression, anxiety trait, depression trait, problem-focused coping, and emotion-focused coping were also related to CAL. Logistic regression analysis indicated that all these factors were significant risk indicators for periodontal attachment loss, except problem-focused coping, which reduced the odds of CAL. Individuals who were high emotion-focused copers, low problem-focused copers, trait anxious, or trait depressive had a higher odds of more severe CAL. CONCLUSION: Chronic job and financial strains, depression, inadequate coping, and maladaptive trait dispositions are significant risk indicators for periodontal attachment loss. Adequate coping and adaptive trait dispositions, evidenced as high problem-focused coping and low anxiety/depression trait, may reduce the stress-associated odds.

Validation of a Chinese version of the dental anxiety inventory.

OBJECTIVES: To translate the English version of Dental Anxiety Inventory (DAxI) and its short-form (SDAxI) and to validate their use in Hong Kong Chinese. METHODS: The DAxI and SDAxI were translated into Chinese. A total of 500 adults (18-64 years) were interviewed, the Chinese DAxI, Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90), Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) were completed. Based on their initial DAxI scores, 135 interviewees were invited to attend a dental examination 1 month later. Then, the subjects completed the DAxI again, together with Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) which measured the state anxiety level of the participants. Two months after the initial interview, all 500 subjects were asked to complete the DAxI again. Another 300 adults were recruited and interviewed for the SDAxI validation. RESULTS: Cronbach's alpha of the Chinese DAxI and SDAxI were 0.77 and 0.80 and the test-retest correlation coefficients were 0.90 and 0.84, respectively. High correlation between BAI and DAxI scores and its stability over time supported construct validity of the Chinese DAxI. Small positive correlations between the DAxI and other subscales of the SCL-90, DASS and STAI supported discriminant validity of the instrument. The SDAxI demonstrated comparable validity and reliability with DAxI. CONCLUSION: The translated Chinese DAxI demonstrated good validity and reliability. It is available for use in dental anxiety research in adult Chinese. In situations where a short-form is desirable, the Chinese SDAxI is a simple, valid, reliable and interpretable scale for measuring dental anxiety in both research and dental practice.