A non-carious cervical lesion (NCCL) is the loss of hard dental tissue on the neck of the tooth, most frequently located on the vestibular plane. Causal agents are diverse and mutually interrelated.In the present study all vestibular NCCL were observed and recorded by the tooth wear index (TWI). The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence and severity of NCCL. For this purpose, 18 555 teeth from the permanent dentition were examined in a population from the city of Rijeka, Croatia. Subjects were divided into six age groups. The teeth with most NCCL were the lower premolars, which also had the largest percentage of higher index levels, indicating the greater severity of the lesions. The most frequent index level was 1, and the prevalence and severity of the lesions increased with age.

The aim of this study was to determine the levels of proinflammatory tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) cytokines in whole unstimulated saliva in subjects with burning mouth syndrome (BMS) before and after treatment with low-level laser therapy (LLLT). BMS is characterized by a continuous, painful burning sensation in a clinically normal-appearing oral mucosa. A sample consisting of 40 consecutive subjects was selected on a voluntary basis from the pool of patients who presented for diagnosis and treatment of BMS at the Oral Medicine Unit of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Rijeka. For determination of salivary levels of TNF-α and IL-6, ELISA (Sigma Immunochemicals, St. Louis, MO, USA) was performed to determine the salivary levels of TNF-α and IL-6. After 4 weeks of LLLT, the salivary levels of TNF-α and IL-6 in the experimental group decreased significantly (p < 0.001). There was no significant difference in the experimental group regarding visual analogue scale.

The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of oral sensorial complaints, salivary flow rate and oral mucosal lesions in the institutionalized and non-institutionalized elderly. The study included 280 institutionalized and 61 non- institutionalized elderly people. Dry mouth, burning mouth sensations, taste disturbances, salivary flow rate and oral mucosal lesions were assessed and compared between groups. A greater number of the institutionalized elderly had dry mouth (P = 0.001) and taste disturbance (P = 0.035) compared to non-institutionalized elderly. The institutionalized elderly also had significantly lower salivary flow rate (P < 0.0001). Positive correlation was found between salivary flow rate and perception of dry mouth in the institutionalized elderly (r(s) = 0.26; P < 0.05), as well as in the non-institutionalized elderly (r(s) = 0.35; P < 0.05). Moreover, positive correlation was observed between salivary flow rate and the sensation of burning mouth in the institutionalized elderly (r(s) = 0.13; P < 0.05) and non-institutionalized elderly (r(s) = 0.31; P < 0.05). The number of institutionalized elderly people with oral mucosal diseases was higher compared with non-institutionalized ones (P = 0.01). The most common oral mucosal lesions in both groups were related to wearing dentures. It can be concluded that the institutionalized elderly are significantly affected with oral sensorial complaints, including dry mouth and taste disturbance, as well as decreased salivary flow rate and oral mucosal diseases compared with the non-institutionalized elderly.

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Abstract. Aim: To investigate the efficacy of different wavelengths of low level laser therapy (LLLT) in the management of orofacial pain by measuring the pain reduction using visual analogue scale (VAS). Materials and methods: Study involved 20 patients with trigeminal neuralgia (TN), 20 with temporomandibular disorders (TMD) and 40 with burning mouth syndrome (BMS). 50 % of the patients in each syndrome group were treated with 660 nm laser, and other 50 % with 810 nm laser. Orofacial pain was quantified by the VAS. Results: VAS was significantly lower after the application of LLLT, in all subjects and for both applied wavelengths (P < 0.05). Efficacy of 810 nm laser compared to 660 nm laser was significantly higher for all patients and in both the TN and TMD groups (P < 0.001; P = 0.005; P = 0.024). Conclusions: LLLT has proven to be an effective intervention in reducing pain in TN, TMD and BMS patients. Better results can be achieved with higher wavelengths.Key words: burning mouth syndrome; facial pain; lasers; pain measurement; temporomandibular joint disorders; trigeminal neuralgia Sažetak. Cilj: Ispitati učinke različitih valnih duljina mekog lasera (ML) u liječenju orofacijalnog bola mjerenjem prijavljenog bola na vizualno-analognoj skali (VAS). Materijali i metode: U istraživanju je sudjelovalo 20 ispitanika s trigeminalnom neuralgijom (TN), 20 s temporomandibularnim poremećajima (TMP) i 40 sa sindromom pekućih usta (SPU). 50 % ispitanika u svakoj skupini liječeno je laserom 660 nm, a preostalih 50 % laserom 810 nm. Orofacijalni bol određen je prema VAS-u. Rezultati: Nakon primjene ML-a prijavljeni bol bio je značajno manji za sve ispitanike (P < 0,05). Značajno veće smanjenje bola ostvareno je primjenom lasera 810 nm za sve pacijente te za TN i TMP grupu (P < 0,001; P = 0,005; P = 0,024). Zaključci: ML pokazao se učinkovitom metodom smanjenja bola kod TN-a, TMP-a i SPU-a. Bolji rezultati ostvaruju se primjenom veće valne duljine.Ključne riječi: bol lica; laseri; mjerenje bola; poremećaji temporomandibularnog zgloba; sindrom pekućih usta; trigeminalna neuralgija