Martina Majstorović

Dental trauma in children and young adults visiting a University Dental Clinic

The aim of the study was to present the distribution of traumatic dental injuries in the permanent anterior teeth in 447 consecutively selected patients in the age interval of 6 to 25 years treated at the Department of Paediatric Dentistry at the University Dental Clinic in Rijeka, Croatia, in the period from 2001 to 2006. Data on age, gender, number of injured teeth and type of injury were taken from the dental records. Of all 447 consecutively selected patients with traumatic dental injury 56.2% were boys and 43.8% were girls with a male/female ratio 1.28:1 (P < 0.01). The highest frequency of tooth injuries occurred among 10- to 13-years-old children. Among 30.6% of the cases, two or more teeth were injured (38.6% in boys and 21.4% in girls). Traumatic injuries affecting teeth in the upper jaw were more frequent (P < 0.001). The most commonly affected teeth were the maxillary central incisors (42.4% of right central incisors and 38% of left central incisors). The most frequent injury was enamel and dentin fracture without pulpal involvement (38.7%). In conclusion, more attention should be paid to preventive measures.

Oral mucosal lesions during orthodontic treatment

BACKGROUND Oral mucosal lesions can result from irritation caused by orthodontic appliances or malocclusion, but their frequency is not known. AIM To examine the frequency of oral mucosal lesions in wearers of orthodontic appliances in comparison to children with malocclusion. DESIGN This study comprised 111 subjects: 60 wearers of orthodontic appliances and 51 controls (aged between 6 and 18 years). Type and severity of mucosal lesions, their topography, gingival inflammation, and oral hygiene status were determined by using clinical indices. RESULTS Mucosal lesions were more present in wearers of orthodontic appliances than in children with malocclusion. Gingival inflammation, erosion, ulceration, and contusion were the most common findings in orthodontic patients. The severity of gingival inflammation was in correlation with oral hygiene status; the poorer oral hygiene, the more severe gingival inflammation was. Better oral hygiene status was found in children during orthodontic treatment than in children with malocclusion. CONCLUSIONS Orthodontic treatment carries a higher risk of mucosal lesions and implies greater awareness of better oral hygiene as shown by the results of this study. Oral hygiene instructions and early treatment of oral lesions are important considerations in better patients motivation, treatment planning, and successful outcome.

Clinicopathologic Correlation of Oral Lichen Planus and Oral Lichenoid Lesions: A Preliminary Study

Oral lichen planus (OLP) and oral lichenoid lesions (OLL) are clinically and histologically similar lesions but their treatment planning and prognosis are different. The review of the literature indicates numerous criteria to distinguish these two lesions; however there is a lot of inconsistency. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine the correlation of histopathology and clinical OLP and OLL diagnosis and to clarify which histopathologic criteria could best distinguish these two diagnoses. A retrospective study showed that clinically diagnosed 92 OLPs and 14 OLLs have been confirmed histopathologically in 52.2% and 42.9% of cases, respectively. In addition, histopathology showed statistically significant more eosinophils (P < 0.0005), plasma cells (P < 0.0005), and granulocytes (P < 0.05) in OLL than OLP. To establish histopathological diagnosis of OLP and OLL it should be mandatory to define the type of cells in mononuclear infiltrate, which can be associated more accurately with clinical feature and patient history. Therefore, currently accepted diagnostic criteria for OLP and OLL should be modified and validated on a larger number of patients taking into account particular distinguishing histopathological features.

: Material Well-being and Happiness in Transition Countries

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to further the research of the connection between material well-being and happiness in transition economies. We analyzed panel data obtained from the World Database of Happiness and Eurostat. Our results indicate that out of all the major macroeconomic variables (GDP, employment, inflation, taxes etc.), the most significant (and the only stable) predictor of changes in happiness in transition countries is the level of employment. The results are consistent with a hypothesis of a still prevalent “socialist mentality” in the analyzed sample of countries which are all formerly socialist economies that typically place high (or full) employment as the highest economic priority (as opposed to GDP growth, low inflation etc.). Our results differ from the conclusions of the few studies done on this sample of countries, which suggests additional research on the subject is likely required.

Guidelines for teeth fluoridation with respect to fluoride concentration in Primorsko-goranska county

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the fluoride concentration in drinking water in the Primorsko-goranska county (PGC) and to provide the guidelines for teeth fluoridation of respective area. Methods: Data on the fluoride concentration in drinking water in the PGC were examined by the Department of Environmental Health of the Teaching Institute of Public Health in Primorsko-goranska county. The fluoride concentration in the drinking water was measured by using ion chromatography technique. Public water supply in PGC is organized through 9 particular water supply systems. A high percentage of 96% of the population is connected to the public water supply, which is considerably higher than 74% representing the average estimation for the total country. Results: The average concentration of fluoride in the main water sources of the PGC was assessed for a 5-year period (2007-2011: Rijeka 0.010 mg F-/l, Opatija 0.020 mg F-/l, Crikvenica - Novi Vinodolski (CR-NV) 0.007 mg F-/l, Delnice 0.029 mg F-/l, Vrbovsko 0.038 mg F-/l, Cabar 0.031 mg F-/l, Krk 0.044 mg F-/l, Cres – Losinj (CR-LO) 0.054 mg F-/l, Rab 0.090 mg F-/l. PGC public water supply systems do not include artificial fluoridation of the drinking water. Concentration of fluorides in the drinking water is considered low and ranges from the detected limit of <0.002 mg F-/l in Opatija to 0.220 mg F-/l in Rab, representing the overall average value of 0.034 mg F-/l. Conclusion: Considering the amount of fluorides in the drinking water, teeth fluoridation can be safely accomplished by individually adjusted doses of other fluoride agents.

Disanje na usta kao uzrok orofacijalnih anomalija

Covjek dise na usta kada nije u mogucnosti disati na nos. Najcesci razlog je opstrukcijea nosa ili gornjih disnih putova koja može biti uzrokovana upalom sluznice nosa, kronicnom infekcijom, alergijom ili mehanickom opstrukcijom. Utjecaj nazorespiratorne opstrukcije na ortodontski status i facijalni rast je kontroverzna tema o kojoj se raspravlja dugi niz godina. S obzirom da su ova stanja cesta u djecjoj dobi, tj. za vrijeme intenzivnog rasta i razvoja, promjene koje nastaju izmjenom obrasca disanja (od normalnog disanja na nos prema disanju na usta) utjecu i na razvoj orofacijalne regije. To su dokazala mnoga istraživanja, u kojima su uocene promjene u pojavnosti malokluzija Angle klase II, zagriza u frontalnom i lateralnom dijelu zubnog niza, te nesrazmjera u rastu gornje i donje celjusti. Analizom pregledane literature može se uociti da se opstrukcija disanja na nos adenoidom ili tonzilama javlja kod velikog broja ispitanika. Velika vecina orofacijalnih anomalija javlja se zbog nemogucnosti disanja na nos uslijed opstrukcije adenoidom U slucajevima otklanjanja smetnji koje su uzrokovane hipertrofijom tonzila i adenoida (tonzilektomijom i/ili adenotomijom), uoceno je smanjenje intenziteta prisutne anomalije te ponovno uspostavljanje disanja na usta. Suradnjom pedijatara, otorinolaringologa, alergologa i lijecnika dentalne medicine djecjeg stomatologa i ortodonta, pravovremenim uocavanjem i odstranjivanjem povecanih nepcanih tonzila i adenoida, te ranom ortodontskom terapijom, moguce je obrazac nepravilnog rasta vratiti na normalu temeljem ponovnog uspostavljanja disanja na nos.