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Background/Aim. There is no standard protocol for cleaning and disinfection of used endodontic instruments before their sterilization and reuse. The aim of this study was to determine the efficiency of the different methods of removing biological debris from different types of used hand stainless steel endodontic instruments. Methods. A total of 120 hand stainless steel endodontic instruments: KerrTM reamers, KerrTM files, and HedströmTM files, each forty ISO 25, used for root canal treatment on extracted teeth, were analyzed. The used instruments were divided into four groups based on different decontamination protocols. The evaluation of the efficiency of the cleaning methods was based on the evaluation of the amount of stained organic residues on the instruments (Van Gieson staining). Samples were analyzed by stereomicroscopy (x40). Statistical analysis was performed using the Mann-Whitney U test for the KerrTM reamers and HedströmTM files, while the One-Way ANOVA/Bonferroni test was used for the KerrTM files, at a significance level of 5 % ( α = 0 .05). Results. Residual biological debris was observed on 93.3% of all the samples taken. The thermal disinfectant cleaning method showed the lowest contamination values for all types of instruments. The method of mechanical cleaning showed that the mean value of maximum biologic contamination (MBC) was 58.5% for the KerrTM reamers and 56.2% for KerrTM files, while for HedströmTM files, the highest MBC (50.2%) was shown by the ultrasonic method of cleaning. Conclusion. The use of a thermal disinfectant was the most efficient cleaning method for all three types of hand endodontic instruments.

Background/Aim: Geographic tongue (GT), a benign self-limiting condition (inflammation) is commonly seen in practice. Although quite easy for clinical diagnosis, in clinical practice it is commonly misdiagnosed and treated as Candida infection. The main aim of this study was to compare the prevalence of Candida spp. on tongue in patients with GT and subjects with clinically healthy oral mucosa. Additional aims were to evaluate subjective symptoms, uncontrolled usage of prescribed or non-prescribed antifungal topical medications and the presence of the cancerophobia or other health concerns in patients with GT.

Background/Aim. Periodontitis is a chronic inflammatory disease of periodontal tissues with consequential is bone loss as a result of host immunological reactions caused by periopathogens. The aim of the study was to investigate if there is a correlation between clinical parameters and the presence of two most aggressive periopathogens (Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans - Aa and Porphyromonas gingivalis - Pg) in patients with progressive periodontal lesions. Methods. A total of 34 systemic healthy people, 23 to 70 years old, were included in the study. The patients were clinically and radiologically examined, and after that, the representative pocket with greatest pocket depth was chosen and the sample was collected from that place. The measured clinic parameters were: gingival index, index of gingival bleeding, pocket depth and plaque indices. The multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) method was used for detection of periopathogens. After obtaining results, appropriate statistical tests were used to correlate the clinical and microbiological results. Results. Aa and Pg were detected in the same percentage of samples. Aa and Pg were detected in 35.29% samples alone, and in 29.41% both were detected. The values of measured clinical parameters did not show a statistical significance between the groups. In analysis of correlations among clinical parameters inside the groups, a statistical significance was found only between gingival and plaque index in the group with Aa. Conclusion. Clinical course of periodontitis in the developed stage does not differ in relation to the presence of different periopathogens as the major inductors of immunologically guided destructive processes.

INTRODUCTION Periodontitis is an inflammatory disease of the supporting tissues of teeth and is a major cause of tooth loss in adults. The onset and progression of periodontal disease is attributed to the presence of elevated levels of a consortium of pathogenic bacteria. Gram negative bacteria, mainly strict anaerobes, play the major role. OBJECTIVE The present study aimed to assess the presence of the main types of microorganisms involved in the aetiopathogenesis of periodontal disease: Porphyromonas gingivalis, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Eikenella corrodens, Treponema denticola, Tanerella forsythia and Prevotella intermedia in different samples collected from the oral cavity of 90 patients diagnosed with periodontitis. METHOD Bacterial DNA detection was performed in diverse biological materials, namely in dental plaque, gingival tissue and saliva, by means of multiplex PCR, a technique that allows simultaneous identification of two different bacterial genomes. RESULTS In the dental plaque of the periodontitis patients, Treponema denticola dominated. In the gingival tissue, Tannerella forsythia and Treponema denticola were the microbiota most frequently detected, whilst in saliva Treponema denticola and Eikenella corrodens were found with the highest percentage. CONCLUSION The identification of microorganisms by multiplex PCR is specific and sensitive. Rapid and precise assessment of different types of periodontopathogens is extremely important for early detection of the infection and consequently for the prevention and treatment of periodontal disease. In everyday clinical practice, for routine bacterial evaluation in patients with periodontal disease, the dental plaque is the most suitable biological material, because it is the richest in periodontal bacteria.

Saliva is a secretion of the salivary and mucous glands and is of major importance in the maintainance of oral health. Over the last few decades, saliva has been evaluated as a diagnostic fluid in medicine for determining systemic disease markers as well as for monitoring numerous drugs, narcotics, and hormones. The biochemical analysis of saliva is particularly important in dentistry. The estimation of the risk of appearance and diagnosis of disease, monitoring of disease progression, evaluation of therapy efficacy for caries, periodontitis, premalignant and malignant oral lesions, as well as infectious diseases of the oral cavity, can be assessed by analyzing different constituent: of saliva, individuals at risk of caries can be identified using test: that determine saliva flow rate, saliva buffer capacity, and colonization of the oral cavity by cariogenic bacteria. Today, these rapid and simple diagnostic tests are used routinely in caries risk determination. The study and use of saliva-based diagnostics have increased over the last few decades. Clinical testing of saliva shows much promise. However, there is a need for much additional research in this area, before the true clinical value of saliva as a diagnostic fluid in dentistry can be determined.

The aim of the study was to assess the efficacy of the chemo-mechani- cal method for caries removal based on microbiological analyses of dentine samples. Sixty freshly extracted teeth with coronaly caries were analysed. In the experimental group (30 teeth) chemo-mechanical caries removal was performed, and in the control group (30 teeth) rotary instruments were used. Before the caries treatment and at the completion of cavity preparation dentine samples were taken by sterile round ISO 012 bur for microbiological analyses. Results of the study showed significant differences between initial and final dentine samples, while differences between the experimental and control group were not significant. The microbiological analyses in the present study imply that the chemo-mechanical method for caries removal is as efficient as the conventional technique.

In this study we investigated the possibility of saliva use instead of sera for detecting anti HSV IgM antibodies. Three groups of patients were included in this study. The first two consisted of immunocompetent persons with clinically and virologicaly approved primary and reccurent herpetic infection. The third group was comprised of AIDS patients with recurrent infection. Anti HSV-1 IgM antibodies were detected by immunofluorescence assay. In saliva and sera samples obtained from persons with primary and recurrent HSV infection, findings of specific IgM antibodies correlated with the dynamic of their synthesis in infection generally. But in the third group, which consisted of AIDS patients, in a few cases there were positive anti HSV IgM concentration, both in sera and saliva samples.