Oral Health and Preventive Dentistry

Purpose: This study aimed to compare insulin status and dysglycemia (prediabetes/diabetes) of patients with chronic (stage III, grade B) or aggressive periodontitis (stage III, grade C) to that of a healthy population. Materials and Methods: Patients with chronic (CP, n = 16) or aggressive periodontitis (AP, n = 15) and periodontally healthy controls (n = 32) were recruited. Body mass index was calculated. Glycemia, plasma insulin, glycated hemoglobin, C-reactive protein, and lipid levels were measured in fasting. The Homeostasis Model Assessment was used to calculate the insulin sensitivity (HOMA-%S), the beta-cell function (HOMA-%B), and their hyperbolic product (HOMA-%BxS). Results: The CP group showed statistically significantly insulin resistance with a lower HOMA-%S (p = 0.0003) and a reduced HOMA-%BxS (p = 0.049) despite a higher insulin level (p = 0.01) vs the control group, even after BMI adjustment. There was also a trend to dysglycemia (prediabetes/diabetes) in the chronic group. In patients with AP, no abnormalities in insulin status were observed and glycemic levels were comparable with controls. Additionally, patients in both AP and CP groups presented significantly higher CRP levels compared to those of the control group (p = 0.02). Conclusion: Patients with CP showed reduced insulin sensitivity, increased insulin levels but a reduced %BxS product and a trend to dysglycemia. These abnormalities were not observed in AP. Keywords: diabetes, periodontal disease, risk factor(s), systemic health/disease

Summary: Periodontal disease (PD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are inflammatory diseases affecting the adult population of the world. PD is mainly caused by infection with Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis) and by the synergistic action of various microorganisms. These microorganisms penetrate into the subgingival tissue and cause bacteremia, leading to disruption of the homeostasis of the internal environment of the body. Virulence factors known as gingipains, which are cysteine proteases and other toxins, including fimbria and lipopolysaccharides (LPS), are strongly associated with periodontitis and other systemic inflammation. PD has a known polymicrobial aetiology, and patients who eventually develop sporadic AD tend to have recurrent infections before a clinical diagnosis of dementia. AD, the most common neurodegenerative disease, is characterised by poor memory and specific hallmark proteins. An increasing number of studies have shown that periodontal pathogens are increasingly associated with this form of dementia. Many articles have shown that P. gingivalis infections directly increase the risk of PD and may indirectly lead to the development of AD. However, these links and probable pathogenesis remain to be explored. The aim of this review was to explore whether P. gingivalis periodontal infection is associated with AD and to provide possible mechanisms of association. Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, neurodegenerative disease, periodontal disease, Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis)

Purpose: The present study systematically reviewed randomised controlled trials (RCT) to investigate the efficacy of Er:YAG laser (ERL) as a debridement method in surgical treatment of advanced peri-implantitis. Materials and Methods: An electronic database search and a manual search were performed until March 2022. Outcome measures were clinical attachment level (CAL) gain, probing depth (PD) reduction, plaque index (PI) and bleeding on probing (BOP). The addressed PICO question was: Is ERL an effective debridement tool in the surgical treatment of advanced peri-implantitis? Results: Five eligible randomised clinical trials (RCTs) were included in the qualitative analysis, one of which had unclear risk of bias. One study reported a statistically significant difference in terms of implant CAL gain and PD reduction in favour of the experimental group vs the control group, while four studies did not report any difference between the two groups. Conclusion: Due to methodological heterogeneity, such as non-standard control groups and laser parameters, this systematic review demonstrated inconclusive findings in terms of the efficacy of Er:YAG laser as a debridement method in surgical treatment of advanced peri-implantitis. The results of this review should be considered preliminary and further, well-designed studies with standardised comparators with laser parameters are warranted. Keywords: efficacy, Er:YAG laser, peri-implantitis, systematic review