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Background: One of the major challenges in clinical research is to incorporate materials and procedures into dentistry that can improve clinical outcomes, increasing percentages of success. Platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) is a surgical, biological additive prepared by manipulation of autologous blood, which stimulates and regulates inflammation during and after oral surgery. This study aims to assess the potential benefits of using PRF in modern oral and endodontic surgery to accelerate radiographic healing and reduce postoperative discomfort. Methods and Results: Electronic literature research was conducted using the biomedical search engine “National Library of Medicine,” PubMed/MEDLINE database from March 2000 to June 2023. To obtain results that involved the whole scope of dentistry and PRF, the keywords used for the search were “PRF,” “PRF in dentistry,” and “PRF on apical surgery.” The articles were selected by reviewing the titles and abstracts of the articles with the word “platelet-rich fibrin (PRF).” Articles related only to clinical applications in general dentistry and its different application fields were hand-searched in applicable, significant journals, and reference lists of included studies were broadcast with no language limitation. The inclusion criteria set for this review were as follows: all case reports, case series, original research papers, review papers, in vitro/in vivo studies, animal studies, and controlled clinical trials on PRF used in dentistry-related studies. Current studies, in vitro and in vivo, have confirmed safe and encouraging results, without opposing outcomes, related to the use of PRF alone or in a mixture with other biomaterials. Currently, the use of PRF treatment has been shown to enhance and promote natural tissue healing support.

Abstract Background Type 1 diabetes mellitus is the most common chronic disease and can be reflected in the oral cavity. The aim of this study was to analyze the impact of metabolic control on saliva, dental caries, dental plaque, gingival inflammation, and cariogenic bacteria in saliva. Methods A case–control epidemiologic study was performed on children with type 1 diabetes (ages 10–15 years) separated into two groups: 34 children with good metabolic control of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c 7.5%). Oral status was assessed using the Decay, Missing, and Filled Teeth index for permanent teeth (DMFT), plaque index and gingival index. The stimulated salivary flow rate was measured, and the colonies of Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus in saliva were determined. The observed children answered questions related to their frequency of brushing habits, dental visits and parents’ education. Mann–Whitney U Test, Chi-Square test and Fisher’s exact test were used in the statistical analyses. The significance level was set at p 0.05). The majority of both groups with good and poor metabolic control brushed their teeth once per day, and they visited the dentist only when necessary (61.3%). However, the parents of children in both groups had medium to low levels of education, without any significant difference between groups (p > 0.05). Conclusion The results indicate that children with diabetes have a lower level of oral hygiene and are potentially to dental caries and periodontal diseases, mainly when their metabolic disorder is uncontrolled.

Background: Residual ridge resorption is a chronic, progressive, irreversible process, and poses a clinical challenge to finding the appropriate methods and treatments for edentulous patients. The aim of this study was to assess patients with an edentulous mandible with regards to the height and width dimensions in molar, premolar, and symphyseal regions using Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT). Methods and Results: A CBCT was performed on 60 patients, edentulous for more than 5 years. The height of residual bone (RB) was measured on 7 sites of the mandible, whereas the width of RB was measured on 5 sites. The highest mean value of residual bone height (BH) was measured in the symphyseal region, while the lowest value was measured in the right side molar region. The highest mean value of residual bone width (BW) was measured in the symphyseal region, while the lowest value was measured in the right side premolar region. Male patients had significantly higher RB in the mandible. The residual BW was insignificantly higher in males than in females, excluding the symphyseal region. Conclusion: Analysis of the characteristics of BH and BW by CBCT enables a dentist to achieve a higher degree of accuracy during the implant placement and to select the appropriate implant design.

The aim of the study was to determine maximum bite force (MBF) and the percentage of bite force distribution at the position of maximum intercuspation for patients with fixed restorations. Methods and Results: This study enrolled 60 subjects [33(55%) female and 27(45%) male] divided into two groups: The control group (CG) included 30 patients with intact teeth; the experimental group (EG) included 30 patients with fixed restorations. In EG, occlusion was analyzed before and after fixed restoration insertion (FRI). We used the T-Scan III Computerized Occlusal Analysis System 7.0 (Tekscan Inc., South Boston, MA, USA) for analysis. The present study showed a significant difference in MBF between CG and EG before and after FRI (P0.05). Conclusion: Occlusal analysis with T-Scan III is the only method that enables us to estimate the force differences between the natural teeth and fixed restorations in occlusion.

BACKGROUND: This article aims to perform a psychometric assessment of the scale of organizational readiness for digital innovations in a transition economy and to examine the antecedents of organizational readiness for digital innovations. METHODOLOGY: The study employed a quantitative research method to analyze data collected from a sample of 1236 health professionals. The scale secondary confirmatory factor and linear regression analysis were employed to verify organizational readiness and test the respective hypotheses about organizational readiness for digital innovation, respectively. RESULTS/CONCLUSIONS: The research findings show that the organizational readiness scale for digital innovations is valid and reliable in transition economies. Findings show that the relationship between variables such as adaptation of human resources (AHR), cognitive readiness (COR), planning for new telehealth and e-health (PNTH), IT readiness (ITR), resource readiness (RR), partnership readiness (PR), and cultural readiness (CUR) are correlated with the innovations implementation effectiveness (IIE), and organizational readiness for digital innovation is positive statistically significant. Findings also suggest that Integration of old technologies (IoT) and organizational readiness for digital innovation is statistically significant and have negative relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the oral health status of 12-year-old schoolchildren in Kosovo. Material and Methods: The study involved 1204 schoolchildren aged 12 years from urban and rural areas, from different cities of Kosovo. The questionnaire included demographic data, gender, residence, dental status, oral hygiene, and daily brushing habits. The feasibility of the questionnaire was verified replicating it on 10% of the sample. Daily brushing habits were reported to frequency: as once per day, twice a day and rarely. Caries status was recorded in permanent dentition as DMFT and Oral Hygiene Index - Simplified (OHI-S) was used to assess oral hygiene status. The analysis included occurrences and means. The differences among means were tested using the student t-test (p

Mass vaccination initiatives are underway worldwide, and a considerable percentage of the world’s population is now vaccinated. This study examined the association of COVID-19 deaths per 1000 cases with a fully vaccinated population. The global median deaths per 1000 cases were 15.68 (IQR 9.84, 25.87) after 6 months of vaccinations and 11.96 (IQR 6.08, 20.63) after 12 months. Across 164 countries, we found significant variations in vaccination levels of populations, booster doses, and mortality, with higher vaccine coverage and lower mortality in high-income countries. Several regression models were performed to test the association between vaccination and COVID-19 mortality. Control variables were used to account for confounding variables. A 10-percentage-point increase in vaccination was associated with an 18.1% decrease in mortality after 6 months (95%CI, 7.4–28.8%) and a 16.8% decrease after 12 months (95%CI, 6.9–26.7%). A 10-percentage-point increase in booster vaccination rates was associated with a 33.1% decrease in COVID-19 mortality (95%CI, 16.0–50.2%). This relationship is present in most analyses by country income groups with variations in the effect size. Efforts are needed to reduce vaccine hesitancy while ensuring suitable infrastructure and supply to enable all countries to increase their vaccination rates.

Mass vaccination initiatives are underway worldwide, and a considerable percentage of the world's population is now vaccinated. This study examined the association of COVID-19 deaths per 1000 cases with a fully vaccinated population. The global median deaths per 1000 cases were 15.68 (IQR 9.84, 25.87) after 6 months of vaccinations and 11.96 (IQR 6.08, 20.63) after 12 months. Across 164 countries, we found significant variations in vaccination levels of populations, booster doses, and mortality, with higher vaccine coverage and lower mortality in high-income countries. Several regression models were performed to test the association between vaccination and COVID-19 mortality. Control variables were used to account for confounding variables. A 10-percentage-point increase in vaccination was associated with an 18.1% decrease in mortality after 6 months (95%CI, 7.4–28.8%) and a 16.8% decrease after 12 months (95%CI, 6.9–26.7%). A 10-percentage-point increase in booster vaccination rates was associated with a 33.1% decrease in COVID-19 mortality (95%CI, 16.0–50.2%). This relationship is present in most analyses by country income groups with variations in the effect size. Efforts are needed to reduce vaccine hesitancy while ensuring suitable infrastructure and supply to enable all countries to increase their vaccination rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]