Native vs. ribosome-crosslinked collagen membranes for periodontal regeneration: A randomized clinical trial.

AIM: To evaluate whether the ribosome-crosslinked collagen membrane (RCCM) is non-inferior to the natural collagen membrane (NCM) used in regeneration surgery in terms of clinical attachment level (CAL) gain at 6 months. METHODS: Eighty patients diagnosed as generalized periodontitis presenting with isolated infrabony defect (≥4 mm deep) were enrolled and randomized to receive regenerative surgery, either with NCM or RCCM, both combined with deproteinized bovine bone mineral (DBBM). CAL, pocket probing depth (PPD), and gingival recession (GR) were recorded at baseline, 3, and 6 months postoperatively. Periapical radiographs were taken at baseline, immediately, and 6 months after surgery. Early wound healing index (EHI) and patients' responses were recorded at 2 weeks postoperatively. RESULTS: At 6 months post-surgery, the mean CAL gain was 3.1 ± 1.5 mm in the NCM group and 2.9 ± 1.5 mm in the RCCM group, while the mean PPD was 4.3 ± 1.1 mm in the NCM group and 4.2 ± 1.0 mm in the RCCM group. Both groups demonstrated a statistically significant improvement from the baseline (p < .01). RCCM was non-inferior to NCM concerning the primary outcome (CAL gain at 6 months). The GR at 6 months postoperatively was 1.3 ± 1.2 and 1.2 ± 1.1 mm, which showed no difference compared with baseline. At 6 months follow-up, the radiographic linear bone fill (RLBF) was 6.5 ± 2.8 and 5.5 ± 2.6 mm (p > .05), while the bone fill percentage (BF%) was 102.3 ± 53.5% and 92.3 ± 40.1% (p > .05), in the NCM and RCCM groups, respectively. There was no significant difference in EHI and postoperative responses between two groups. CONCLUSION: RCCM + DBBM resulted in no-inferior clinical and radiographic outcomes to NCM + DBBM for the treatment of isolated infrabony defect in 6 months.

The miR-223-3p Regulates Pyroptosis Through NLRP3-Caspase 1-GSDMD Signal Axis in Periodontitis.

Salivary exosomes contain various components and may play important roles in oral diseases. The purpose of this study was to verify the possible function of miR-223-3p from salivary exosomes in periodontitis. We isolated the salivary exosomes and found that the miR-223-3p content of salivary exosomes from periodontitis was less than the healthy control. Furthermore, we performed dual-luciferase reporter assay and real-time PCR to verify that (NOD)-like receptor (NLR) pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) was the target of miR-223-3p. When we knocked down the miR-223-3p expression in THP-1-derived macrophages, the expression of NLRP3 and the downstream inflammatory mediators interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß) and IL-6 were upregulated. By using integrated bioinformatics analysis, we found that pyroptosis and cytokine secretion participated in inflammatory gingival tissues. In addition, NLRP3, and the pyroptosis executioner, gasdermin D (GSDMD) was highly active in inflammatory gingival tissues compared with healthy controls by western blotting and immunohistochemistry. In summary, we speculated that miR-223-3p in salivary exosomes might regulate GSDMD-mediated pyroptosis by targeting NLRP3 in periodontitis. Detection of miR-223-3p expression in salivary exosomes could be used as an important non-invasive method to diagnose and evaluate the severity of periodontitis.

[Survey of periodontal health in medical college students after 3 years of periodontal health maintenance].

PURPOSE: To observe and evaluate the status of periodontal disease in young people and the effect of intervention to control the development of periodontal diseases. METHODS: One hundred and fifty-three medical college students were randomly divided into group A (receiving interventions) and group B (no interventions). They were followed up for 3 years. The subjects in group A received oral health education, including selection of the toothbrush, the right way to brush teeth, the use of dental floss and interdental brush. At the same time ,they were given initial periodontal treatment according to the actual situation, and received oral health education, periodontal maintenance treatment, and reinforced plaque control every six months. The changes of debris index (DI), calculus index (CI), probing depth (PD), clinical attachment loss (CAL), bleeding on probing (BOP) and gingival index (GI) before and after interventions were compared. Statistical analysis was performed using SAS 6.12 software package. RESULTS: Three years later, CI and DI in group A declined significantly compared to the baseline (P<0.01), but there was no significant changes in group B (P>0.05). There was significant difference in the changes of PD, BOP and GI between group A and B (P<0.01). Significant difference of the change of CAL between group A and B was also found(P<0.05), CAL in group B was significantly higher than that in group A. CONCLUSIONS: There are positive effects of regular periodontal health maintenance and oral health education on periodontal health.

Esthetic management of mucogingival defects after excision of epulis using laterally positioned flaps.

Epulis is a benign hyperplasia of the oral soft tissues. Surgical excision always extends to the periosteum and includes scaling of adjacent teeth to remove any possible irritants. The esthetics of the soft tissues may be compromised, however. This article studies three cases in which an immediate laterally positioned flap (LRF) was used to repair mucogingival defects after epulis biopsies. After 24 months, the color and shape of the surgical areas were healthy and stable, nearly complete root coverage was evident, and no lesions reoccurred. For repairing gingival defects after biopsy, LRF appears to be minimally traumatic while promoting esthetic outcomes.

Prevalence and quantification of the uncommon Archaea phylotype Thermoplasmata in chronic periodontitis.

OBJECTIVE: Chronic periodontitis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the periodontal tissues and is caused by invasion of certain types of bacteria and Archaea, with Methanobrevibacter oralis as the predominant archaeon. In this study, we investigated the prevalence and quantity of the newly discovered Archaea phylotype Thermoplasmata in patients with chronic periodontitis. METHODS: Subgingival plaque samples were obtained from 49 patients with chronic periodontitis and 45 periodontally healthy subjects. Qualitative analyses of Archaea and class Thermoplasmata were carried out by amplification of 16S rRNA genes in DNA extracts from plaque samples, and all the samples were quantitatively analyzed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). RESULTS: The prevalence of Archaea in patients with chronic periodontitis was 69.4% according to the conventional PCR results, but was 87.8% according to real-time PCR. In the control group, three samples were detected as positive, but none of these were confirmed in qualitative analyses. The prevalence of class Thermoplasmata was 18.4% by nested PCR and 24.5% by quantitative PCR in the chronic periodontitis group. The prevalence of Thermoplasmata was significantly lower than that of total Archaea. The relative abundances of Archaea and Thermoplasmata varied among samples. Thermoplasmata were not the predominant archaeons in the subgingival dental plaque. Among the clinical parameters of patients with periodontitis, probing depth was positively associated with Archaea detection. CONCLUSIONS: The existence of Archaea was correlated closely with the presence of chronic periodontitis. Thermoplasmata represented a minor archaeon in periodontal infection.

A systematic review of visual and instrumental measurements for tooth shade matching.

OBJECTIVE: Common methods for matching tooth shade can be classified into two categories: visual and instrumental measurements. This systematic review evaluated these two methods in terms of precision and accuracy using the agreement percentage rate. METHOD AND MATERIALS: The following databases were searched for studies comparing different shade-matching methods: MEDLINE (PubMed), Embase, and Google Scholar. Reference lists of relevant articles were also searched. Screening, data abstraction, and quality assessment were conducted independently and in duplicate. RESULTS: Twenty-six studies were included. Seventeen studies provided data on the precision of the evaluated shade-matching methods, eight provided data on accuracy, and one provided data on both precision and accuracy. CONCLUSION: Instrumental measurements using a spectrophotometer may provide the most precise and accurate shade-matching outcomes. However, the limitations of the available articles suggest that high-quality studies are still needed verify this claim.

[Factors influencing the height of gingival papilla].

Oral soft tissue has been a highlight topic these days. The morphology of gingival papilla is one of the most important factors influencing esthetics of oral soft tissue. The loss of gingival papilla height leads to black triangle. In anterior region, the black triangle not only results in functional disorder, but also brings in speech problems and esthetic concerns. Researchers from home and abroad reported some morphological factors influencing the height of gingival papilla: Age, gingival biotype, crown form, contact point-crest distance, interdental distance, divergence angle, embrasure morphology, etc. Clinicians must understand the factors that influence the presence of the interproximal papilla in order to prognosis the state of the papilla and to better fulfill the regeneration of lost gingival papilla.