No abstract

The aim of this pilot study was to assess the release of locally delivered doxycycline by poly (l-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) microspheres in the periodontal pocket of patients with chronic periodontitis, treated by non-surgical periodontal therapy. Nineteen sites of non-adjacent teeth of four different patients were evaluated. Five milligram of PLGA microspheres loaded with 16 doxycycline hyclate (DOX) was administered per periodontal site. To quantify DOX released into the periodontal pocket, gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) was collected from the sites on days 2, 5, 7, 10, 15, and 20 after DOX application, and high-performance liquid chromatography was performed. Data were statistically assessed by ANOVA/Tukey test. At days 2, 5, and 7, the DOX concentration was stably sustained (23.33 ± 1.38, 23.4 ± 1.82, and 22.75 ± 1.33 μg/mL, respectively), with no significant differences over these assessment times (p > 0.05). At days 10 and 15, a tendency was observed toward a decrease in DOX concentration (21.74 ± 0.91 and 20.53 ± 4.88 μg/mL, respectively), but a significant decrease in GCF drug concentration (19.69 ± 4.70 μg/mL) was observed only on day 20. The DOX delivery system developed demonstrated a successful sustained release after local administration, as an adjunct to non-surgical periodontal therapy.

The increasing demand of patients looking for esthetics has resulted in the development of several techniques to restore anterior teeth. Conservative treatments should always be the first therapeutic option for the solution of aesthetic problems involving morphological changes and usually provide the result that the patient expects. In this context, ceramic laminate veneers, also known as “contact lenses,” are capable to provide an extremely faithful reproduction of natural teeth with great color stability and periodontal biocompatibility. Minimal or no preparation veneers are heavily advertised as the answer to patients' cosmetic needs, when properly indicated by the dentist. This paper reports a clinical case where lateral incisor agenesis was aesthetically corrected using ceramic laminates.

A limitação de estudos sobre a cobertura e completude dos registros de óbitos está entre os principais problemas relacionados às estatísticas vitais no Brasil. Com o advento da pandemia de COVID-19, em 2020, houve um aumento na quantidade de sistemas de informação sobre os registros de óbitos no Brasil, gerando mais incertezas quanto à qualidade dos registros de óbitos. Este estudo propôs uma metodologia de avaliação da qualidade dos registros de óbitos por COVID-19. Foram consideradas três etapas metodológicas: estimação do sub-registro de óbitos; redistribuição de óbitos por causas inespecíficas (Códigos Garbage) e redistribuição de óbitos por causas mal definidas para dados da COVID-19. A proposta foi aplicada para o Estado da Paraíba, Brasil, e seus municípios para 2020, com o uso dos registros oficiais do Sistema de Informação sobre Mortalidade do Ministério da Saúde. No total, foram recuperados 1.281 óbitos por COVID-19 além dos 3.426 registrados oficialmente para a Paraíba, um incremento de 37,4%. A proposta mostrou-se efetiva e de fácil aplicação, podendo ser utilizada pelos gestores das esferas governamentais e interessados como ferramenta de avaliação da qualidade dos registros de óbitos para qualquer espaço geográfico, contribuindo, assim, para uma melhor compreensão do real impacto da pandemia.