Cristiano Susin

Effect of partial recording protocols on severity estimates of periodontal disease

OBJECTIVES The study aim was to assess bias magnitudes of periodontal disease severity estimates for specific partial recording protocols (PRPs) in epidemiological studies. MATERIAL AND METHODS Estimates of mean clinical attachment loss (MCAL) and mean probing pocket depth (MPPD) were derived for 20 different PRPs using full-mouth periodontal data from 1437 dentate Brazilian subjects 14-103 years old having at least four teeth. Biases, relative biases and intra-class correlations for all PRPs were evaluated. Graphical methods were used to assess how well the PRP-based estimates agreed with full-mouth scores across levels of disease. RESULTS Slightly higher levels of disease were evidenced on lingual than on buccal sites. Seven multi-site PRPs and the Ramfjörd PRP produced small biases in MPPD (-0.17 to 0.04 mm) and MCAL with relative biases under 8% and 4% in absolute value for MPPD and MCAL, respectively. Biases for full- and random half-mouth-based PRPs were similar. The three-site random half-mouth MB-B-DL and the Ramfjörd PRPs produced the smallest biases, with relative biases <3% in absolute value for MPPD and MCAL. CONCLUSIONS Bias for MPPD or MCAL estimates varies by site type, number of sites per tooth and number of quadrants included in the PRP.

Azithromycin as an adjunctive treatment of aggressive periodontitis: 12-months randomized clinical trial

AIM To assess the effect of systemic azithromycin as a supplement to scaling and root planing (SRP) in the treatment of aggressive periodontitis (AgP). MATERIAL AND METHODS Twenty-four individuals (13-26 years old) underwent a plaque control program, and then were treated with SRP. Subjects were assigned randomly into two groups; the test group used 500 mg azithromycin once a day for 3 days, whereas the control group used a placebo. Clinical variables were assessed at baseline, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. The periodontal status at baseline and 12 months was compared using the Wald test, and adjusting for the effect of clustering of teeth within subjects. RESULTS There were no significant differences in visible plaque, gingival bleeding, and supragingival calculus between groups throughout the study. Periodontal probing depth (PPD) and clinical attachment level improved significantly from baseline to 12 months in both groups, with the test group showing significantly more reduction in mean PPD compared with controls (2.88 mm versus 1.85 mm, respectively, p=0.025). Subjects administering azithromycin showed a higher percentage of teeth with attachment gain >or=1 mm (81.34 versus 63.63, p=0.037), whereas the controls had higher percentage of teeth with attachment loss >or=1 mm (11.57 versus 2.24, p=0.015). CONCLUSIONS The adjunctive use of azithromycin has the potential to improve periodontal health of young patients with AgP.

BMPs in Dental Medicine: Promises and Challenges

Regeneration of bone is critical to the rehabilitation of congenital malformations and defects resulting from trauma or tumor resection in the craniofacial skeleton, as well as defects resulting from periodontal disease or remodeling following tooth extractions. It is the objective of this text to reflect pioneering and significant preclinical and clinical observations, promises, and challenges, of bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) with focus on recombinant human BMP-2 (rhBMP-2) but also recombinant human BMP-7 (rhBMP-7) and recombinant human growth/differentiation factor-5 (rhGDF-5) in craniofacial settings to include alveolar bone augmentation for implant dentistry.