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Background: It has been suggested that the widespread use of fluorides could interfere in the prevalence of clinically undetected occlusal dentine caries., Aim: The objective of this study was to determine the role of public water fluoridation and fluoride dentifrice on the prevalence of hidden caries in 8-10-year-old children., Design: Clinical and radiographic data on schoolchildren collected in an epidemiologic study in Porto Alegre, Brazil, at two moments, 1975 (n = 228) and 1996 (n = 213), were analysed. Only the first permanent molars were studied. Only children of the 1996 examinations had benefited from fluoridated water soon after birth and had regular access to fluoride dentifrices. The criterion applied for hidden caries, when data from 1975 to 1996 were compared, was clinical sound surfaces that presented a radiolucent zone in the dentine., Results: The prevalence of clinically sound surfaces and percentage of hidden caries was 0.51 and 26.4% in 1975 and 2.67 and 12.9% in 1996, respectively. The prevalence of hidden caries differed statistically between the two periods (P < 0.05)., Conclusions: The results do indicate that the widespread use of fluoride via public water supply and dentifrices decreases the prevalence of hidden caries., (© 2012 The Authors. International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry 2012 BSPD, IAPD and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.)

Introduction: This cross-sectional study evaluated the prevalence of apical periodontitis (AP) and endodontic treatment in type 2 diabetic individuals as compared with nondiabetics from an adult Brazilian population., Methods: Full-mouth radiographs from 30 type 2 diabetic and 60 age- and sex-matched nondiabetic individuals were examined, and the presence of AP lesions in untreated and root canal-treated teeth was recorded. The number of teeth and the prevalence of root canal treatment were also evaluated., Results: AP was significantly more present in teeth from diabetic individuals (98/652, 15%) than in nondiabetic controls (162/1,368, 12%) (P = .05). A separate analysis of untreated and treated teeth revealed that significance was mostly because of the prevalence of AP in untreated teeth, which was 10% in diabetics and 7% in nondiabetics (P = .03). No significant difference between diabetics and nondiabetics was observed for the other parameters under study, including the prevalence of AP in root canal-treated teeth, the number of teeth in the oral cavity, the number of treated teeth per individual, the number of individuals with at least 1 AP lesion or 1 root canal treatment, and the number of teeth with AP per individual (P > .05)., Conclusions: AP was significantly more prevalent in untreated teeth from type 2 diabetics. This suggests that diabetes may serve as a disease modifier of AP in the sense that individuals with diabetes can be more prone to develop primary disease. However, findings do not confirm that diabetes may influence the response to root canal treatment because treated teeth had no increased prevalence of AP when compared with controls., (Copyright © 2012 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Bone quality (BQ) has been described as an important predictor for the outcome of dental implant treatment. It is, however, unclear how this factor is assessed in the dental practice routine. The aim of this study was to investigate what Brazilian dental implant specialists know and understand about BQ, if they include BQ assessments in their treatment planning and which methods they use to assess BQ. A questionnaire was posted to Brazilian dental implant specialists, containing open and closed questions about their knowledge and understanding of BQ assessment, and 221 answered the questionnaire. Data were gathered and methods for BQ assessment were grouped using hierarchical cluster analysis. Answers about BQ knowledge and understanding were categorized into quantity of cortical and marrow bone (n = 72), density (n = 55), type of bone (n = 35), bone height (n = 30), bone thickness (n = 27), primary stability (n = 24) and other less common categories. BQ assessment was judged relevant to be considered a selection criterion for implant treatment. Overall frequency analysis showed that methods were roughly divided into usual (n > 170) and unusual methods (n < 9). Cluster analysis grouped BQ assessment methods into four clusters: unusual methods (DEXA, resonance frequency, Periotest and occlusal radiography), perioperative methods (peak insertion torque and tactile perception), sectional imaging (computed tomography) and plain films (periapical and panoramic radiographs). No consensus on BQ understanding or the clinical application of methods to assess BQ was found in this survey. The selection of methods shows a clear natural grouping from basic to advanced strategies for BQ assessment by Brazilian specialists in dental implants.

Introduction: External apical root resorption (EARR) is a frequent complication of orthodontic treatment. Interleukin 1beta (IL-1beta) is a potent stimulus for bone resorption and osteoclastic cell recruitment during orthodontic tooth movement. The purpose of this study was to assess the association between a polymorphism in the IL-1beta genes and EARR during orthodontic treatment., Methods: The sample included 61 Brazilian orthodontic patients, divided into 2 groups according to the presence (affected group, n = 23) or absence (control group, n = 38) of EARR in the central and lateral maxillary incisors in the posttreatment period. DNA was obtained from buccal swab cells. The polymorphism was analyzed by the polymerase chain reaction followed by digestion with restriction enzyme. The polymerase chain reaction products were analyzed in 10% polyacrylamide gel and stained with silver., Results: There were significant statistical differences (P <0.05) among the frequencies of the alleles and genotypes of the IL-1beta gene polymorphism between the affected and unaffected groups, suggesting that allele 1 predisposed the subjects to EARR (odds ratio = 4.0)., Conclusions: The polymorphism of the IL-1beta gene is associated with root resorption in the studied population.

The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and risk factors of apical periodontitis in endodontically treated teeth in a selected population of Brazilian adults. A total of 1,372 periapical radiographs of endodontically treated teeth were analyzed based on the quality of root filling, status of coronal restoration and presence of posts associated with apical periodontitis (AP). Data were analyzed statistically using odds ratio, confidence intervals and chi-square test. The prevalence of AP with adequate endodontic treatment was low (16.5%). This percentage dropped to 12.1% in cases with adequate root filling and adequate coronal restoration. Teeth with adequate endodontic treatment and poor coronal restoration had an AP prevalence of 27.9%. AP increased to 71.7% in teeth with poor endodontic treatment associated with poor coronal restoration. When poor endodontic treatment was combined with adequate coronal restoration, AP prevalence was 61.8%. The prevalence of AP was low when associated with high technical quality of root canal treatment. Poor coronal restoration increased the risk of AP even when endodontic treatment was adequate (OR=2.80; 95%CI=1.87-4.22). The presence of intracanal posts had no influence on AP prevalence.

Localized juvenile periodontitis (LJP) has been used as a model for studying periodontal disease, and its prevalence is considered to be higher in third-world countries (0.3-8%) than in industrialized countries (0.1%). Mostly, the disease has been associated with Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans (A.a.) but lack of association has also been reported. The aim of this study was to identify LJP patients in geographically different Brazilian populations and assess the presence of A.a. in their periodontal lesions. 7843 children, 12-19-years of age, from the cities of Rio de Janeiro, Votorantim and Belo Horizonte were screened, and LJP patients were identified by strict clinical and radiographical criteria. A final LJP prevalence of 0.3%, with a 99% confidence interval between 0.16% to 0.47%, was found. The prevalence in the subpopulations varied between 0.1-1.1% in the different areas. Subgingival bacterial samples were obtained from the oral cavity of 25 patients and their family members. 80% of these patients, 39.5% of their family members, 35.3% of their parents, and 43.9% of all siblings were culture positive for A.a. All but one of the families had at least one member in addition to the patient who was culture positive for A.a. In 3 families, > 1 member showed radiographic and clinical signs of LJP. 30% of non-LJP subjects coming from one of the areas with higher LJP prevalence harbored A.a. We conclude that LJP is highly associated with A.a. in this Brazilian population.