Oral mucosa has been highlighted as a suitable source of epidermal cells due to its intrinsic characteristics such as its higher proliferation rate and its obtainability. Diabetic ulcers have a worldwide prevalence that is variable (1%-11%), meanwhile treatment of this has been proven ineffective. Tissue-engineered skin plays an important role in wound care focusing on strategies such autologous dermal-epidermal substitutes. Objective The aim of this study was to obtain autologous dermal-epidermal skin substitutes from oral mucosa from diabetic subjects as a first step towards a possible clinical application for cases of diabetic foot.Material and Methods Oral mucosa was obtained from diabetic and healthy subjects (n=20 per group). Epidermal cells were isolated and cultured using autologous fibrin to develop dermal-epidermal in vitro substitutes by the air-liquid technique with autologous human serum as a supplement media. Substitutes were immunocharacterized with collagen IV and cytokeratin 5-14 as specific markers. A Student´s t- test was performed to assess the differences between both groups.Results It was possible to isolate epidermal cells from the oral mucosa of diabetic and healthy subjects and develop autologous dermal-epidermal skin substitutes using autologous serum as a supplement. Differences in the expression of specific markers were observed and the cytokeratin 5-14 expression was lower in the diabetic substitutes, and the collagen IV expression was higher in the diabetic substitutes when compared with the healthy group, showing a significant difference.Conclusion Cells from oral mucosa could be an alternative and less invasive source for skin substitutes and wound healing. A difference in collagen production of diabetic cells suggests diabetic substitutes could improve diabetic wound healing. More research is needed to determine the crosstalk between components of these skin substitutes and damaged tissues.

Application of regenerative medicine technology provides treatment for patients with several clinical problems, like loss of tissue and its function. The investigation of biological tooth replacement, dental tissue engineering and cell culture, scaffolds and growth factors are considered essential. Currently, studies reported on the making of threedimensional tissue constructs focused on the use of animal cells in the early stages of embryogenesis applied to young biomodels. The purpose of this study was the development and characterization of a three-dimensional tissue construct from human dental cells. The construct was detached, cultured and characterized in mesenchymal and epithelial cells of a human tooth germ of a 12 year old patient. The cells were characterized by specific membrane markers (STRO1, CD44), making a biocomplex using Pura Matrix as a scaffold, and it was incubated for four days and transplanted into 30 adult immunosuppressed male Wistar rats. They were evaluated at 6 days, 10 days and 2 months, obtaining histological sections stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Cell cultures were positive for specific membrane markers, showing evident deviations in morphology under phase contrast microscope. Differentiation and organization were noted at 10 days, while the constructs at 2 months showed a clear difference in morphology, organization and cell type. It was possible to obtain a three-dimensional tissue construct from human dental ectomesenchymal cells achieving a degree of tissue organization that corresponds to the presence of cellular stratification and extracellular matrix.

Objective:Our aim was to determine the degree of knowledge about endocarditis prophylaxis (EP) among dental students, paediatric dentistry residents and specialists in paediatric dentistry, and to identify required attention areas.Material and methods: A cross-sectional study with 155 participants divided into three study groups was given a questionnaire to evaluate the knowledge of endocarditis prophylaxis, consisting of three areas: dental procedures, dose/medication and heart condition. Data were analysed with analysis of variance (ANOVA), using generalized linear models.Results: We stratified EP knowledge in three areas: dental procedures (no differences), dose/medication (statistically significant difference between group 2 and 3 (84.62 % vs. 38.89%, p = 0.044) and heart condition (no differences but low (35.48%, 53.85%, and 44.44%). Conclusions: This study was able to identify the knowledge degree of inadequate dental procedures in groups, having a greater knowledge in dose/medications those in paediatric dentistry residents. The area that requires more attention and reinforcement of the three groups is the one on heart condition area. Therefore it’s necessary to reinforce the endocarditis prophylaxis knowledge in undergraduate and postgraduate programs; and encourage paediatric dentistry to keep up-to-date on this issue.