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The aim of this study was to test whether the combination of diode laser therapy and surgical treatment for a lateral periodontal cyst (LPC) would result in greater clinical improvement compared with surgery alone. A total of 18 patients with LPCs were assessed for eligibility for this study. At baseline, each patient was randomly allocated to one of two regimens: diode laser plus surgery (test group) or traditional surgical treatment alone (control group). Healing parameters were assessed at 7 to 21 days to monitor short-term complications, and periodontal parameters were assessed at 3, 6, and 12 months to evaluate long-term healing. The test group demonstrated highly significant differences in both the short-term and long-term parameters compared with the control group. This study showed that diode laser treatment results in a shorter wound-healing period and could be considered valuable for the surgical treatment of LPCs.

Orthodontic tooth movement differs significantly from the physiological tooth movement, as it determines a biological response of the surrounding tissues of the teeth, resulting in a remodelling of the periodontal ligament and the alveolar bone. The result is a biochemical adaptive response to the application of the orthodontic force with the reorganization of the intracellular and the extracellular matrix, in addition to a change of the local vascularization. This in turn leads to the synthesis and the release of arachidonic acid, growth factors, metabolites, cytokines and various enzymes. Biologically, not only the intensity of the force, but also its duration and the tissue response to the application of the same are important for tooth movement. Having these insights it will possible to examine the concept of optimal orthodontic force, a determining factor for the success of orthodontic treatment. The purpose of this revision was to describe the biological processes and future perspective of the application of orthodontic force, by providing relevant information to understand the changes at the molecular and cellular level occurring when the tissues are subjected to such forces. Knowledge on the subject of mechanics and biology in orthodontics is constantly growing, producing an increasingly strong basis for clinical success.

Background: Knowledge of periodontal anatomy is essential when performing surgical and non-surgical procedures in the field of oral healthcare. Gingival biotype is often assessed for this purpose. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of the gingival biotypes in a group of patients and to evaluate if the gingival biotypes were related with the different types of Angle's classification of malocclusion., Methods: The study was performed on 76 volunteer patients (38 males, 38 females, mean age 14.7 years old). Gingival biotypes were assessed with the evaluation on the translucence of a periodontal probe through the gingival margin of the tooth during the probing, at the mid facial aspect of both maxillary central, lateral incisors and canine; on each patient, Angle's classification of malocclusion was also recorded., Results: The prevalence in the whole sample of thin gingival biotype was 43.4% and thick gingival biotype was 56.6%. The frequency of female with thin gingival biotype was significantly less respect to male patients (42.4% and 55.6%, respectively) while the thick gingival biotype was higher in the female respect to male patients (55.8% and 44.2%, respectively) (χ2=1.339, P=0.247). There was not a significant association between type of malocclusion and gingival biotype (P=0.143). There was however a prevalence of thick gingival biotype in patient with class II malocclusion and a slight prevalence of thin gingival biotype in patient with class I malocclusion., Conclusions: No relationship was found between gingival biotypes and Angle's classification of malocclusion. In this sample, a higher prevalence of thick gingival biotype especially among female subjects was observed.

Objectives: The present two-year prospective cohort study was undertaken to evaluate marginal masticatory mucosa dimensional changes around immediate post-extractive implants positioned transgingivally with a non-submerged healing screw., Material and Methods: Twenty-one immediate post-extractive implants from 21 patients were enrolled, peri-implant gap was filled with bovine bone mineral, and soft tissue was allowed to heal around a non-submerged healing screw. Post-extractive socket dimension was recorded. Intraoperative (T0) vertical distances: bone margin level (BML) from the bone margin to the implant platform and mucosal margin height (MMH) from marginal mucosa to implant platform were taken; MMH measurement was repeated 4 months later (T4). Horizontal mucosal level (HML): from customized stent to marginal mucosa at 0, 4, 12, and 24 months postoperatively (T0, T4, T12, T24) and vertical mucosal level (VML): from the stent to marginal mucosa at T4, T12, T24 were registered., Results: One implant failed at 3 weeks; in the remaining 20 cases the MMH, coronally positioned with respect to the BML ≅2 mm at T0, showed a statistically significant vertical contraction of the mucosa at T4. Other vertical mucosal measurements (VML) did not show further changes over time. HML measures showed a, statistically significant, shrinkage of the mucosa on the transverse plane between T0/T12 and T0/T24 and between T4/T12 and T4/T24., Conclusions: Immediate post-extractive implant inserted transgingivally with a non-submerged healing screw and internal peri-implant gap filled with bovine bone mineral may favor an early and stable peri-implant soft tissue healing over 2 years., (© 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Objectives: Analysis of the effects of titanium surface properties on the biological behavior of human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs)., Materials and Methods: HGFs were in vitro cultured on a titanium surface modified by a dual acid-etched procedure and on a control machined surface. Cell adhesion, proliferation, apoptosis, production of certain extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, and expression of granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor receptor (GM-CSFR) were investigated using in each experiment a total of 18 samples for each titanium surface., Results: Cell attachment at 3 h of culture was statistically significantly higher on the etched surface. HGF growth increased on both surfaces during the entire experimental period and at day 14 of culture cell proliferation was statistically significantly higher on the treated surface than on the control. No statistically significant differences in percentage of apoptosis events were observed between the surfaces. ECM protein production increased progressively over time on both surfaces. A statistically significant deposition was observed at day 7 and 14 for collagen I and only at day 14 for fibronectin and tenascin, when compared to the baseline. GM-CSFR registered a positive expression on both surfaces, statistically significant at day 14 on the etched surface in comparison with the machined one., Conclusions: Data showed that titanium surface microtopography modulates in vitro cell response and phenotypical expression of HGFs. The etched surface promoted a higher cell proliferation and differentiation improving the biological behavior of HGFs., Clinical Relevance: Results suggest a possible beneficial effect of surface etching modification on peri-implant biological integration and soft tissue healing which is critical for the formation of a biological seal around the neck of dental implants.

The purpose of this study is to analyze marginal bone levels (MBLs) around dental implants positioned in the upper and lower jaw with or without horizontal onlay grafting procedures, and to survey implant survival with a follow-up of 5 years. Seventeen patients were surveyed in the present retrospective chart review. A total of 27 dental implants positioned in pristine bone and 21 in horizontally grafted bone were enrolled. MBLs were recorded for 4 aspects during a radiologic survey of 5 years. Significant differences were searched for among times and surgical procedures with paired and unpaired comparison tests, respectively, and survival rates were calculated for the 2 groups. In the maxilla, no statistically-significant differences between pristine and augmented groups were obtained; the time comparisons for pristine implants showed an affection of palatal, mesial, and distal sides, whereas the resorption around implants placed into horizontally grafted bone of anterior maxilla seemed to be limited just to buccal and distal aspects. Comparisons with the pristine horizontal procedure revealed that just the buccal sides were involved. The analysis of time comparisons attested to a continuous alveolar bone remodeling during the entire time of the survey for the pristine group. Given the extremely unfavorable resorption at the buccal aspect of the augmented areas, clinicians should reserve dental implant positioning into horizontal bone graft to selected patients, in whom it may represent one of the last opportunities of rehabilitation with a fixed prosthesis.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the existence of correlations between marginal peri-implant linear bone loss and the angulation of implants in maxillary and mandibular augmented areas over the course of a 2-year survey., Materials and Methods: Dependent variables described the sample of the present retrospective chart review. By using three-dimensional radiographs, input variables, describing the implant angulation (buccal-lingual angle [φ] and mesial-distal angle [θ]) were measured; outcome variables described survival rate and marginal bone resorption (MBR) around dental implants in autogenous grafts (10 maxillae and 14 mandibles). Pairwise comparisons and linear correlation coefficient were computed., Results: The peri-implant MBR in maxillary buccal and palatal areas appeared less intensive in the presence of an increased angulation of an implant towards the palatal side. Minor MBR was recorded around mandibular dental implants positioned at a right angle and slightly angulated towards the mesial., Conclusions: Resorption in buccal areas may be less intensive as the angulation of placed implants increases towards the palatal area in the maxilla, whereas for the mandible, a greater inclination towards the lingual area could be negative. In the mandibular group, when the implant was slightly angulated in the direction of the distal area, bone resorption seemed to be more marked in the buccal area., Clinical Relevance: In the planning of dental implant placement in reconstructed alveolar bone with autograft, the extremely unfavourable resorption at the buccal aspect should be considered; this marginal bone loss seemed to be very sensitive to the angulation of the dental implant.

Osseointegrated dental implants have been successfully used over the past several years, allowing functional replacement of missing teeth. Surface properties of titanium dental implants influence bone cell response. Implant topography appears to modulate cell growth and differentiation of osteoblasts thus affecting the bone healing process. Optimal roughness and superficial morphology are still controversial and need to be clearly defined. In the present study we evaluated in vitro the biological behavior of SaOS-2 cells, a human osteoblast-like cell line, cultured on two different titanium surfaces, smooth and sandblasted-acid-etched, by investigating cell morphology, adhesion, proliferation, expression of some bone differentiation markers and extracellular matrix components. Results showed that the surface topography may influence in vitro the phenotypical expression of human osteoblast-like cells. In particular the tested sandblasted-acid-etched titanium surface induced a significantly increased Co I deposition and α2-β1 receptor expression as compared to the relatively smooth surface, promoting a probable tendency of SaOS-2 cells to shift toward a mature osteoblastic phenotype. It is therefore likely that specific surface properties of sandblasted-acid-etched titanium implants may modulate the biological behavior of osteoblasts during bone tissue healing.

Nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome (NBCCS), an autosomal dominant disorder with a high degree of penetrance and variable expressivity, is characterized by basal cell carcinomas, odontogenic keratocysts, palmar and/or plantar pits, and ectopic calcifications of the falx cerebri. More than 100 minor criteria have been described, but 2 major and 1 minor criteria or 1 major and 3 minor criteria are necessary for the diagnosis. In this report we present an 8-year-old girl affected by NBCCS showing a uterus bicornis, a hitherto unreported association. However, further research is needed to confirm the association between NBCCS and mullerian fusion defects and to assess the hypothesis that focuses on chromosome 9 the mutant gene for NBCCS and fusion defects of female genital tract.