Bacterial biofilms play a key role in the pathogenesis of major oral diseases. Nanoparticles open new paths for drug delivery in complex structures such as biofilms. This study evaluated the antimicrobial effect of zein nanoparticles containing anacardic acid (AA) extracted from cashew shells of Anacardium occidentale on in vitro Streptococcus mutans biofilm formation and mature biofilms. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum bacterial concentration (MBC), and antibiofilm assays were performed. Streptococcus mutans UA159 biofilms were formed on saliva-coated hydroxyapatite disk for 5 days. To evaluate the preventive effect on biofilm formation, before contact with the inoculum, the disks were immersed once for 2 min in (1) hydroethanolic solution; (2) blank zein nanoparticles; (3) zein nanoparticles containing AA; and (4) 0.12% chlorhexidine gluconate. To determine the effect against mature biofilms, the disks containing 5-day preformed biofilms were further treated using the same procedure. The bacterial viability and dry weight were determined for both assays and used to compare the groups using ANOVA followed by Tukey's test (p < 0.05). Both MIC and MBC for AA-loaded zein nanoparticles were 0.36 μg/mL. Groups 3 and 4 were very effective in inhibiting S. mutans biofilm formation, as no colony-forming units were detected. In contrast, for mature biofilms, no difference in bacterial viability (p = 0.28) or dry weight (p = 0.09) was found between the treatments. Therefore, the AA-based nanoformulation presented very high inhibitory and bactericidal activities against planktonic S. mutans, and the results indicate a strong antiplaque effect. However, the formulation showed no antimicrobial effect on the established biofilm.

Objective: To analyze the knowledge and the self-confidence of dental surgeons and Dentistry students from the Paraiba State University (UEPB), regarding to the ethical, legal and pharmacological aspects of an accurate prescription in clinical practice. Methods: The sample (N=56) was valuated through the application of a questionnaire divided into three blocks that included the perception of the discipline of Drug Therapy or Pharmacology, current legislation and rules about prescription and the drug indication itself. Data was analyzed in a descriptive way and the multivariate logistic regression. Results: 89.3% of the research participants said that the duration of discipline of Drug Therapy or Pharmacology was not enough to make them fell self-confident to prescribe; 53.6% of them do not believe the discipline was taught at the right moment over the graduation. Between groups, only 6.6% of the Dentistry students recognized the oral hypoglycemic agents as the only drug that cannot be prescribed by the dentist, while 30% of the dental surgeons said the same (p=0,040), indicating that these ones have 6.9 times more chance to hit the right answer than the first ones (IC 95%: 0.023 – 0.915). A hypothetical situation of an older patient alcoholic consumer and with liver disease in need of painkiller and the fact of paracetamol is contraindicated was suggested: 69.5% of the Dentistry students said that this drug can be prescribed, while only 20% of the dentists said so (p=0.009), denoting that these ones have 9.43 times more chance to hit the right answer than the first ones (IC 95%: 0.020 – 0.573). Conclusions: The dental surgeons had a highest hit percentage than the Dentistry students. It is suggested that is necessary to re-evaluate the teaching of the subject.

The aim of this study is to identify the prevalence of oral changes in patients seen at the Special Needs Patients’ Clinic of the Dentistry School, UEPB, in the city of Araruna, PB. A retrospective, observational and quantitative study was carried out with the analysis of 59 medical records of patients with special needs seen between the semesters of 2015.2 and 2017.1, since the implementation of this service. Data on the sex, age, CPO-D index, dental treatments and duration of treatment were recorded. Data collection was taken through a secondary form using google forms to store the necessary information and then proceed the study. Data were organized and exported to Microsoft Excel 2016 and then SPSS program was used to analyze statistically and categorize them. It was observed that males were more prevalent (50.2%) in relation to females (48.2%). Age group was composed mostly (76.3%) by people under 40 years. The oral changes were cavities, in 69.7% of patients, periodontal disease in 57.6% and other lesions, such as actinic cheilitis, in 7.6%. The CPO-D index average was 12.10; the dental procedures more performed were restorations (84.75%), supra / subgengival scraping (57.62%), extractions (20.03%), topical application of fluoride (44.06%) and prosthetic rehabilitation (1.69%). Out of 59 patients 74.57% presented periodontal disease and cavities as the main oral changes. The highest incidence of cavities was in females (82.8%) and periodontal disease in males (70.0%).

Introduction: periodontal diseases consist of pathologies of chronic course, with a multifactorial etiology, which can cause several harm to body health, as it is associated with other systemic diseases. Objective: to perform a literature review on the Natural History of Periodontal Disease. Materials and methods: the study is characterized by a systematic review of the literature, based on the theme of periodontal diseases. The Scielo database was adopted as a research source, and the publication interval of the articles was limited between 2015 and 2019. Results: 298 articles were found and, after applying the eligibility criteria, 12 articles were analyzed. From there, it was possible to determine the Natural History of Periodontal Disease, from the periods of pre-pathogenesis and pathogenesis, in addition to the conceptual map and analysis of the hypothetical causal model. Conclusion: it was possible to consider that periodontal diseases are mainly related to poor hygiene and lack of knowledge, in addition to multiple associated factors.

A new Coronavirus (2019-nCov, renamed SARS-CoV-2) was identified in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019, and was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization, on March 11, 2020. As it is a highly infectious disease, major regional and national changes have been made, social isolation was recommended, which led to the interruption of various services, including elective dental treatments. This review aimed to identify the changes that occurred in the post-COVID-19 orthodontic practice scenario. For such, a search was made for articles published in the bibliographic bases PubMed, Scopus and SciELO, using the keywords “Orthodontics” and “Covid-19”. From the eligibility criteria, 11 articles were selected for analysis. It was found that social isolation impacted the scheduling of orthodontic appointments and patient’s anxiety about the duration of treatments. The use of teleodontology proved to be an ally in screening and in patient care. Preventive infection control must be adopted for safe orthodontic practice.