Vittorio Collesano

Distribution of diagnoses in a population of patients with temporomandibular disorders.

OBJECTIVES The objective of this study was to describe the frequency of TMD diagnoses in a patient population for comparison with the available literature. METHODS Five hundred twenty consecutive patients seeking TMD treatment underwent a Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (RDC/TMD) assessment. The prevalence and age distribution of the different RDC/TMD axis I and II diagnoses were described. RESULTS Muscle disorders, disk displacements, and other joint disorders were diagnosed respectively in 56.4%, 42.0%, and 57.5% of patients. Sixty percent of patients had depression symptoms, 76.6% had somatization, and 21.8% presented high levels of pain-related impairment. Disk displacements were more frequently diagnosed in the younger-aged, other joint disorders in the older-aged, and muscle disorders in the middle-aged subjects (ANOVA for mean age comparison, F = 3.355; P = .002). CONCLUSIONS These distribution frequencies of TMD diagnoses provide insight into the epidemiology of this disease.

Dental enamel defects in adult coeliac disease: Prevalence and correlation with symptoms and age at diagnosis

BACKGROUND Coeliac disease is a condition characterized by a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations. Any organ can be affected and, among others, dental enamel defects have been described. Our aims were to study the prevalence of dental enamel defects in adults with coeliac disease and to investigate a correlation between the grade of teeth lesion and clinical parameters present at the time of diagnosis of coeliac disease. METHODS A dental examination was performed in 54 coeliac disease patients (41 F, mean age 37 ± 13 years, mean age at diagnosis 31 ± 14 years). Symptoms leading to diagnosis were diarrhoea/weight loss (32 pts.), anaemia (19 pts.), familiarity (3 pts.); none of the patients was diagnosed because of enamel defects. At the time of evaluation, they were all on a gluten-free diet. Enamel defects were classified from grade 0 to 4 according to its severity. RESULTS Enamel defects were observed in 46/54 patients (85.2%): grade 1 defects were seen in 18 patients (33.3%) grade 2 in 16 (29.6%), grade 3 in 8 (14.8%), and grade 4 in 4 (7.4%). We also observed that grades 3 and 4 were more frequent in patients diagnosed with classical rather than non-classical coeliac disease (10/32 vs. 2/20). However, this was not statistically significant. CONCLUSION This study confirms that enamel defects are common in adult coeliac disease. Observation of enamel defects is an opportunity to diagnose coeliac disease.

Air-abrasive debridement with glycine powder versus manual debridement and chlorhexidine administration for the maintenance of peri-implant health status: a six-month randomized clinical trial

STUDY DESIGN This single-masked, randomized and six-month clinical intervention trial including two study groups was planned to evaluate the efficacy of maintenance treatment with glycine powder on the periodontal health of peri-implant tissues. METHODS A total of 46 patients with partial or total edentulism, carrying a total of 88 implants, were assigned either to an air abrasive with the glycine powder treatment group (AAD) or to a manual debridement and clorexidine administration treatment group (MDA). Clinical data were collected before treatment and at 3 and 6 months after the treatment. Plaque index (PI), bleeding index (BOP), probing depth (PD), clinical attachment level (CAL) and bleeding score (BS) were analysed. RESULTS After 3 months, AAD treatment statistically significantly improved BS (P < 0.05); at 6 months, AAD treatment statistically significantly improved indexes PD, PI, BOP and BS (P < 0.05). In addition, the AAD treatment proved to be more effective than MDA in maintaining the peri-implant health of PD at three and 6 months, and of PI at 6 months (P < 0.05). There were no significant changes of CAL in both groups, and all the indexes remained within the physiological levels. CONCLUSIONS Within the limits of the study, treatment with glycine seems appropriate in the maintenance of peri-implant health and more effective than the traditional treatment with plastic curette and chlorhexidine.