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Aim: To evaluate whether statin use was associated with decreased tooth loss among patients with chronic periodontitis. Material and Methods: We evaluated administrative health plan data from 1996 to 2002 covering dental and periodontal treatment utilization, dental extractions, and prescription medication fills of 12,631 adults aged 48–64 in 2002. With tooth loss as the outcome, we evaluated a number of different patterns of statin prescription across time in multivariate generalized linear models. Results: Unadjusted, statin use was associated with increased tooth loss. After adjustment for potential confounders, there was no suggestion of either increased or decreased tooth loss associated with statin use. Conclusions: Statin use was not associated with either a decreased or an increased risk of tooth loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obtaining lifetime diagnostic radiation histories in head and neck cancer studies is often challenging due to the almost universal lack of centralized registries on X-ray utilization in medicine and dentistry. Both the common nature of orthodontics and the young age at which orthodontics typically occurs make it important to quantify what diagnostic radiographs are typically taken during orthodontic therapy. The aim of this study was to assess the number and type of radiographic films associated with one episode of orthodontic therapy in an educational setting. Charts stored in an orthodontic clinic at one academic setting were randomly sampled, and the type and number of radiographic examinations were tallied for the 325 individuals who were in orthodontic therapy for at least one year. Being under orthodontic therapy for one or more years was associated with a median number of seven extra-oral radiographs and twenty-four intra-oral radiographic films. The extra-oral radiographs included three panoramic radiographs and three cephalometric radiographs. Less than 10 percent of the variability was explained by factors such as age, gender, calendar year, surgical orthodontic therapy, and duration of therapy. Head and neck cancer etiology studies should take into account the ionizing radiation during episodes of orthodontic care. The substantial variability in radiographic practices in orthodontics could be reduced by research into clinical utility and by establishing guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compares destructive periodontal disease and periodontal atrophy. Clinical conditions of alveolar bone loss; Differences between the treatments and the economics of periodontal atrophy and destructive periodontal disease; Medical features of destructive periodontal disease and periodontal atrophy; Diagnosis of abnormal pocket depth in destructive periodontal disease.

The article discusses the purpose of nonexperimental observational study designs while also explaining their strengths and weaknesses. These investigations are shown to be useful for the documentation of distribution of diseases in different populations. Despite of being extremely beneficial for developing critical appraisal skills and for guiding clinical research, such studies cannot be relied upon for clinical decision making.

Designing studies to determine superiority of therapeutic modalities which act upon specific causes of disease is more complex. The distribution of the different etiological pathways in a population are not always known and can vary across populations. Some therapeutic modalities are designed to interact with specific disease causes. A component of the causal disease pathway is selected and specifically targeted. In a population, where different sufficient causes are responsible for disease, therapeutic modalities will act by interfering with the formation of some of the sufficient causes.