SummaryAim: The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of oral health education and non-surgical periodontal therapy on the quality of life for a group of patients with type I diabetes mellitus, in Iasi, Romania.Materials and Method: The study was conducted on 21 patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus which also presented a form of periodontitis. We examined: the degree of glycaemic control (by measuring the glycated haemoglobin), the periodontal and oral hygiene parameters at the baseline and after 4 weeks, 6 months and 12 months after the periodontal treatment which consisted in scaling and root planing. The patients also filled an OHIP-14 questionnaire at baseline and 6 month after the periodontal therapy to assess the quality of life.Results and Discussion: We observed a rapid recurrence of the deep periodontal pockets after 12 months in subjects with poor glycaemic control. At baseline, the highest scores for the OHIP-14 were in the sub-domains of pain, discomfort on chewing and self-consciousness.Conclusions: The prolonged poor control of glycaemia is closely related with its complications. The periodontal therapy improved (lower values) the domain codes and final score of the OHIP-14 questionnaire, proving that periodontal health has an impact on the diabetic patients’ quality of life.

SummaryAim: The purpose of the study was to assess the oral cavity status in patients with terminal chronic kidney disease (CKD) undergoing haemodialysis.Materials and Methods: The study comprised 69 patients with end-stage CKD undergoing haemodialysis regime. The data regarding the age, gender, environment, associated diseases were obtained from the clinical medical histories. The patients were submitted to clinical examination, which also included the periodontal probing and the gingival bleeding assessment. The type of edentulous ridge was recorded. Each patient filled a questionnaire offering data regarding the oral hygiene habits, diet, bad habits and the presence/absence of xerostomia.Results and Discussion: The main cause for end-stage CKD was renal, followed by diabetes mellitus and arterial hypertension. The main associated diseases to CKD were clearly secondary arterial hypertension and secondary anaemia; other associated diseases were represented by cardiac diseases, hepatitis, gastro-intestinal diseases, secondary hyperparathyroidism, cirrhosis, hypersplenism, epilepsy and neoplastic diseases. 62.31% of the patients accused frequent xerostomia. When recording the edentulous type, we observed a high percentage of complete tooth loss.Conclusions: There is a close link between the systemic changes in the CKD patient and the oral manifestations. Even 2 of the main causes of CKD (hypertension and diabetes mellitus) exert important changes on the tissues in the oral cavity, leading to significant tooth loss and masticatory impairment, thus, to a poor quality of life.

SummaryBackground and Aim: Substantial evidence supports an association between chronic infections/inflammation, and cancer. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of chronic periodontitis on head and neck squamous-cell carcinoma (HNSCC).Materials and Methods: The study population consisted of 46 patients, divided into two groups. Cases were patients diagnosed with primary HNSCC (n=26). Controls were all patients seen during the same period of time but negative for malignancy (n=20). The severity of periodontitis was assessed through clinical determination of the bleeding index, periodontal index, tooth mobility degree and alveolar bone loss (ABL) on standardized panoramic radiographs. All patients were asked to fill in a questionnaire regarding aspects of quality of life before the diagnostic was established.Results: Each millimetre of ABL was associated with >4-fold increased risk for HNSCC. The strength of the association was greatest in the oral cavity, followed by the oropharynx and larynx. The association persisted in subjects who never used tobacco and alcohol. Patients with periodontitis, whose bleeding and periodontal indices and tooth mobility values were higher, were more likely to have poorly differentiated oral cavity SCC than those without periodontitis (32.8% versus 11.5%; P = 0.038). The patients in the study group had higher values regarding the questionnaire points compared to those in the control group.Conclusions: This study suggests that chronic periodontitis is a risk factor for the development of HNSCC. These results have implications for practical and improved strategies for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of HNSCC.

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