This review covers several basic methodologies of surface treatment and their effects on titanium (Ti) implants. The importance of each treatment and its effects will be discussed in detail in order to compare their effectiveness in promoting osseointegration. Published literature for the last 18 years was selected with the use of keywords like titanium dental implant, surface roughness, coating, and osseointegration. Significant surface roughness played an important role in providing effective surface for bone implant contact, cell proliferation, and removal torque, despite having good mechanical properties. Overall, published studies indicated that an acid etched surface-modified and a coating application on commercial pure titanium implant was most preferable in producing the good surface roughness. Thus, a combination of a good surface roughness and mechanical properties of titanium could lead to successful dental implants.

B Ba ac ck kg gr ro ou un nd d Smoking has been associated with increased risk of periodontitis. The aim of the present study was to compare the periodontal disease severity of adult heavy smokers and never-smokers referred for assessment and treatment of chronic periodontitis. M Me et th ho od ds s A random sample of patients with at least 20 teeth, stratified for smoking and age (5-year blocks, 35 to 55 years), was selected from an original referral population of 1,221 subjects with chronic adult periodontitis. Adequate records for 59 never-smokers and 44 subjects who smoked at least 20 cigarettes per day were retrieved. The percentage of alveolar bone support was measured from dental panoramic radiographs with a Schei ruler at x3 magnification with the examiner unaware of the smoking status. Probing depths at six sites per tooth were obtained from the initial consultation. R Re es su ul lt ts s There was no significant difference in age between groups. Smokers had fewer teeth (p<0.001), fewer shallow pockets (p<0.001) and more deep probing depths (p<0.001). The differences were greater in subjects 45 years of age and over. In this age group, smokers had approximately 13% more bone loss, 15% more pockets in the 4-6 mm category and 7% more pockets in the ≥ 7 mm category than the neversmokers. C Co on nc cl lu us si io on ns s This study confirmed that smokers had evidence of more severe periodontal disease than never-smokers. The differences increased with age confirming an exposure-related response.

Susuk, or charm needles, are inserted and worn subcutaneously in the face and other parts of the body, as they are believed to enhance beauty and youth, and for many other reasons such as treatment of headache, aches and pains in the joints, back or abdomen. The practice of inserting susuk is a traditional belief, genuinely cultural and superstitious, and common in the south-east Asian region. We present 13 cases of susuk, which was found incidentally on the radiographs as the patients came for various types of treatment at our centre.

Periodontal infections tend to be site-specific, mostly confined to the periodontal pocket. With the surge of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, the trend is shifting towards other therapeutic modalities, especially locally delivered approaches that include other pharmacotherapeutic drugs and medical devices. This narrative review aimed to provide insights into the clinical efficacy of local drug delivery and adjunctive agents used in nonsurgical management of periodontitis. Electronic (PubMed/MEDLINE, CENTRAL, and EMBASE) and bibliographic searches of past systematic reviews were carried out to identify previous publications on the topic. Only relevant literature and randomized controlled trials published in English were selected. In addition, a literature review was developed based on the selected articles. Experimental drugs or agents were excluded. This review highlights the clinically proven and commercially available therapeutic agents related to the management of periodontal disease with comparisons of their clinical efficacies and challenges. A vast array of commercial local pharmacotherapeutic agents had been clinically tested, but the methodologies and clinical results varied within and between each agent used, causing difficulty in drawing conclusions and providing support to the superiority of one agent over another. Considering the benefit–cost ratio with the modest clinical results, the long-term usefulness of these agents remains debatable.

Aim Assessment of the thickness of gingival tissues using the probe visibility test is regarded as the method of choice during routine examinations. However, the probe visibility test has not been validated for patients with gingival pigmentation and its accuracy in populations with physiological gingival pigmentation is yet unknown. This study aims to evaluate different methods for the clinical assessment of gingival thickness in participants with varying levels of gingival pigmentation. Materials and Methods Buccal mucosa of the maxillary right central incisor teeth of 171 participants was evaluated using four methods, which were direct measurements using calliper, transgingival probing method using an endodontic probe, and probe visibility method using Colorvue biotype probe (CBP) and UNC‐15 probe. The pigmentation of the gingiva was assessed using the Dummett–Gupta oral pigmentation lesion index. Results The average gingival thickness of the selected population was 1.22 ± 0.38 mm with a distribution of 70% thick and 30% thin gingiva. Transgingival and calliper methods showed good agreement and significant correlation (r = 0.229; p = .003). Visual assessment using CBP and UNC‐15 probe showed poor agreement with the direct measurement methods. Gingival pigmentation significantly affected the probe visibility assessment, reducing the visibility of both the CBP (odds ratio [OR] = 4.00; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.83–8.74) and UNC‐15 probe (OR = 1.84; 95% CI, 1.05–3.23) while controlling for thickness of the gingiva. Conclusion The probe visibility method using either CBP or the UNC‐15 probe is affected by the degree of gingival pigmentation. Direct measurements using either a calliper or transgingival probing are recommended as methods to measure the gingival thickness in populations with gingival pigmentation.