OBJECTIVES: A study of the dental, periodontal, oral mucosal and salivary condition of adult patients with chronic renal failure (CRF) receiving hemodialysis (HD). MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 105 patients on HD were studied, together with 53 healthy age and sexmatched controls. Indices employed included carious, absent and obturated teeth index (CAO index), plaque index, calculus index and loss of periodontal attachment. Whole and parotid salivary secretions were also measured. RESULTS: The CAO index was not significantly higher among HD patients than controls (14.9 ؎ 8.7 vs 13.3 ؎ 7.9, respectively; t ‫؍‬ 1.1; P ‫؍‬ 0.3). However, plaque and calculus indices were significantly higher in HD patients (2.1 ؎ 0.8 and 2.3 ؎ 0.6, respectively) than controls (1.3 ؎ 0.8 and 1.6 ؎ 0.9) (P Ͻ 0.001). Loss of periodontal attachment was similar in both groups (4.9 ؎ 2.5 vs 4.2 ؎ 2.5 in the HD patients and controls, respectively) (t ‫؍‬ 1.8; P ‫؍‬ 0.07). There was no more oral mucosal pathology in HD patients than in controls (chi-square ‫؍‬ 5.8; P ‫؍‬ 0.3). Stimulated salivary secretion was significantly higher in controls than HD patients for both whole (t ‫؍‬ ؊5.2; P Ͻ 0.001) and parotid (t ‫؍‬ ؊2.6; P ‫؍‬ 0.01) salivas. CONCLUSIONS: The results show significantly higher plaque and calculus indices and lower salivary secretion among the HD patients than in healthy controls.

BackgroundObesity is a very prevalent chronic disease worldwide and has been suggested to increase susceptibility of periodontitis. The aim of this paper was to provide a systematic review of the association between obesity and periodontal disease, and to determine the possible mechanisms underlying in this relationship.Material and MethodsA literature search was carried out in the databases PubMed-Medline and Embase. Controlled clinical trials and observational studies identifying periodontal and body composition parameters were selected. Each article was subjected to data extraction and quality assessment.ResultsA total of 284 articles were identified, of which 64 were preselected and 28 were finally included in the review. All the studies described an association between obesity and periodontal disease, except two articles that reported no such association. Obesity is characterized by a chronic subclinical inflammation that could exacerbate other chronic inflammatory disorders like as periodontitis.ConclusionsThe association between obesity and periodontitis was consistent with a compelling pattern of increased risk of periodontitis in overweight or obese individuals. Although the underlying pathophysiological mechanism remains unclear, it has been pointed out that the development of insulin resistance as a consequence of a chronic inflammatory state and oxidative stress could be implicated in the association between obesity and periodontitis. Further prospective longitudinal studies are needed to define the magnitude of this association and to elucidate the causal biological mechanisms. Key words:Periodontal disease, periodontitis, periodontal infection, obesity, abdominal obesity.

ONJ appears to have a relationship with the use of bisphosphonates.

No abstract

Objective: To examine the efficacy of a new topical capsaicin presentation as an oral rinse in improving the symptoms of burning mouth syndrome (BMS). Study design: A prospective, double-blind, cross-over study was made of 30 patients with BMS. There were 7 dropouts; the final study series thus comprised 23 individuals. The patients were randomized to two groups: (A) capsaicin rinse (0.02%) or (B) placebo rinse, administered during one week. After a one-week washout period, the patients were then assigned to the opposite group. Burning discomfort was scored using a visual analog scale (VAS): in the morning before starting the treatment, in the afternoon on the first day of treatment, and at the end of the week of treatment in the morning and in the afternoon. The same scoring sequence was again applied one week later with the opposite rinse. Results: The mean patient age was 72.65 ± 12.10 years, and the duration of BMS was 5.43 ± 3.23 years on average. Significant differences in VAS score were recorded in the capsaicin group between baseline in the morning (AM1) or afternoon (AA1) and the end of the week of treatment (AA7)(p=0.003 and p=0.002, respectively). Conclusion: The topical application of capsaicin may be useful in treating the discomfort of BMS, but has some limitations. Key words: Burning mouth syndrome, stomatodynia, capsaicin, treatment, clinical management.