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Epidermolysis bullosa (EB) is a group of skin disorders with skin fragility characterized by blistering from minimal mechanical trauma with rupture at the dermoepidermal junction. There are four major classical heritable EB types, due to mutations in as many as 20 distinct genes: EB simplex (EBS), junctional EB (JEB), dystrophic EB (DEB), and Kindler EB (KEB). This study is aimed at reporting case series on patients ( N = 8; males, n = 5 and females, n = 3, age range 12-68 years) affected by EB and performs a review of the literature on this topic. This group of disorders can affect oral soft and hard tissues in various ways, resulting in various effects including enamel hypoplasia, dental caries, microstomia, ankyloglossia, oral blistering, and ulcerations early-onset periodontal disease. From the sample results, it can be concluded that the clinical manifestation of EB patients is highly variable and very different in prognosis. Oral health deeply influences the quality of life of EB patients. Dental management is essential to prevent the aggravation of soft tissue damage and tooth loss and to improve the quality of life through prosthetic and restorative therapies. Dentists should consider the oral alterations of EB subtypes to perform a personalized approach to the patients' needs in a preventive and therapeutic point of view., Competing Interests: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest regarding the publication of this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Alessandro Polizzi et al.)

Objective: This is a 6-month observational case-control study that aims to estimate plaque index (PI), salivary flow, buffering capacity of saliva, and specific Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) and Lactobacillus rates in a mouth breathing late adolescents sample, after a professional oral hygiene procedure and home oral hygiene instructions., Subjects and Methods: A sample of 20 mouth breathing late adolescents/young adults (average: 19.2 ± 2.5; range: 18-23 years) and a matched control group of nose breathing subjects (average: 18.3 ± 3.2; range 18-23 years) were included in the study. All the participants were subjected to a professional oral hygiene procedure and appropriate home oral hygiene instructions (t0). After three months (t1) and six months (t2), the PI, salivary flow, buffering capacity of saliva, and S. mutans and Lactobacilli rates were recorded., Results: The mean buffering capacity of saliva and the salivary flow rate showed no significant difference between the two groups, all over the observational period. For PI, a significantly higher mode (score 1 of PI) was observed in the study group at t1 (score 0 = 35% of subjects; score 1 = 60%; score 2 = 5%) and t2 (score 1 = 65% of subjects, score 2 = 35%), with respect to control group. Furthermore, mouth breathing subjects show a significant 4 times higher risk to develop S. mutans CFU > 10 5 (CI lower limit: 0.95; CI upper limit: 9.48; chi-square: 4.28; p = 0.03), with respect to the control subjects., Conclusions: Mouth breathing late adolescents show a significantly higher risk to develop S. mutans CFU > 10 5 and an increased level of PI. Interceptive orthodontic treatments in growing subjects, like palatal expansion, are encouraged to improve the nasal air flow. In older subjects, orthodontic treatments should be performed with removable appliances like clear aligners, in order to allow a better oral hygiene level.

Aim. This study aimed to evaluate the reliability of 3D-TMT, previously used only for dynamic testing, in a static cephalometric evaluation. Material and Method. A group of 40 patients (20 males and 20 females; mean age 14.2 ± 1.2 years; 12-18 years old) was included in the study. The measurements obtained by the 3D-TMT cephalometric analysis with a conventional frontal cephalometric analysis were compared for each subject. Nine passive markers reflectors were positioned on the face skin for the detection of the profile of the patient. Through the acquisition of these points, corresponding plans for three-dimensional posterior-anterior cephalometric analysis were found. Results. The cephalometric results carried out with 3D-TMT and with traditional posterior-anterior cephalometric analysis showed the 3D-TMT system values are slightly higher than the values measured on radiographs but statistically significant; nevertheless their correlation is very high. Conclusion. The recorded values obtained using the 3D-TMT analysis were correlated to cephalometric analysis, with small but statistically significant differences. The Dahlberg errors resulted to be always lower than the mean difference between the 2D and 3D measurements. A clinician should use, during the clinical monitoring of a patient, always the same method, to avoid comparing different millimeter magnitudes., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.