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INTRODUCTION Tobacco smoke is a major health risk factor for smokers but also for non-smokers due to passive smoking. These risks come from conventional cigarette smoke but also from aerosol produced by electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products (HTPs). The aim of this study was to investigate population knowledge about the adverse effects of passive smoking from traditional cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, and HTPs. METHODS Between February and October 2023, 504 subjects among the general population responded to a questionnaire with 8 questions in Italian, via a link to the Google Forms platform. The questions related to the oral health effects of active and passive smoking. Descriptive analyses of all variables in the questionnaire were performed, and statistical analyses between variables were carried out using the chi-squared test and Fisher's exact test. RESULTS A large subset of individuals interviewed stated that active smoking is harmful to health and consider active smoking more damaging compared with passive smoking (86.3%). The majority believed that passive smoking of cigarettes is more harmful to oral health than passive smoking of HTPs (79.4%) or electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) (84.9%). CONCLUSIONS Results suggest that most people in this study had good knowledge about the adverse effects of active or passive smoking on health; however, knowledge regarding e-cigarettes and HTPs was poor and confused. These results reveal the complexity of perceptions regarding different types of smoking and the need for further research to fully understand the risks associated with each type of passive smoking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To evaluate the influence of the crown-to-implant ratio (CI) on marginal bone loss (MBL) around short dental implants placed in the posterior mandible. Materials and Methods: All patients treated with short implants (7-mm length) in the posterior mandible between 1994 and 2003 at the Dental Clinic of the Department of Neuroscience of the University of Padua (Italy) were retrospectively included in the analysis. MBL and clinical CI (cCI) were measured on the radiographs. Implant characteristics including implant diameter, prosthetic type, retention mode, antagonist type, veneering material, and implant surfaces were retrieved from local medical records. A generalized linear mixed model was estimated to identify the predictors of MBL. Results: A total of 108 dental implants placed in 51 patients were included in the analysis. Mean follow-up was 16 years (range: 11 to 20 years). Mean cCI was 2.21 (SD = 0.31) with a mean crown height of 10.86 mm (SD = 0.99). Mean MBL was 1.42 mm (SD = 0.38). At multivariable analysis, cCI ≥ 2 was associated with higher MBL (regression coefficient: 0.27; 95% CI: 0.15 to 0.40), while implant characteristics, follow-up, and site were not associated with MBL. The effect of a cCI ≥ 2 was estimated in an increase of 0.28 mm in MBL (95% CI: 0.14 to 0.43 mm). Conclusion: Higher cCI was associated with greater MBL of implant-supported fixed dental prostheses in short dental implants placed in the posterior mandible, while implant characteristics, follow-up, and site were not associated with MBL. However, the increase of 0.28 mm of MBL in patients with a cCI ≥ 2 may not be clinically relevant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The management of occlusal forces on implant restorations may influence their long-term prosthetic success. The purpose of this randomized controlled trial was to compare marginal bone level changes around adjacent splinted and nonsplinted implants, functionally loaded with cemented restorations, up to 10 years in maxillae. Materials and Methods: During 2002 and 2003, all patients who received three adjacent implants in a private office and a university setting were included in this study. All implants featured an external-hexagon design and were placed in the posterior maxilla. Implants in the left maxilla were randomly selected to be restored with splinted cemented restorations; maxillary right implants were restored with nonsplinted cemented restorations. Marginal bone resorption was measured with intraoral radiographs yearly over a period of at least 10 years after placement of abutments and restorations. The amount of bone loss in each group was analyzed with the two-sample Wilcoxon rank-sum (Mann-Whitney) test because variable bone loss was normally distributed at the fifth year only. Results: One hundred thirty-two implants were placed in 44 patients. Three implants failed at stage-two surgery. Five years after initial loading, two patients moved away and were lost to follow-up (6 implants in total); three additional patients did not complete the study (9 implants in total). Of the remaining 114 implants, 60 left implants were restored with splinted cemented restorations and 54 right implants were restored with nonsplinted cemented restorations. At 10 years, the splinted group showed a mean of 1.2 mm (interquartile range: 0.2 mm) of bone loss; the nonsplinted group showed 1.3 mm (interquartile range: 0.2 mm). Conclusion: A significant difference in bone loss was seen between the two groups. However, the difference of 0.1 mm was not considered clinically meaningful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives To answer the clinical research question: in patients with myofascial pain, are there any differences in the surface electromyography (sEMG) activity of muscles of the painful and nonpainful sides that can be detected by commercially available devices? Methods The study sample (N = 39; 64%F, mean age 35.7 ± 15 years) consisted of patients seeking for temporomandibular disorders Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD) treatment and meeting Research Diagnostic Criteria for TMD ( RDC/ TMD) diagnosis of myofascial pain, with pain referred only in muscles on one side. They underwent sEMG of jaw muscles to record levels of standardized sEMG activity at rest, as well as during maximum clenching on teeth for the four investigated muscles, viz., bilateral masseter and temporalis. The existence of differences between sEMG values of muscles of the painful and nonpainful sides during the standardization test (i.e., clenching on cotton rolls) at rest and during clenching on teeth was assessed. Results At the study population level, differences between the sEMG values of muscles of the painful and nonpainful sides were not significant in any conditions, viz., either at rest or during clenching tasks. At the individual level, the difference between the sEMG activity of painful and nonpainful sides was very variable. Conclusions The above findings were not supportive of the existence of any detectable difference in sEMG activity between jaw muscles of the painful and nonpainful sides in patients with unilateral myofascial pain. Centrally mediated mechanism for pain adaptation may explain these findings, and the role of sEMG as a diagnostic tool for muscle pain needs to be carefully reconceptualized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Child Perceptions Questionnaire (CPQ11-14) is the most commonly used indicator of child oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL), and its validity and reliability have been studied both in English and in other linguistic contexts. The aim of this study was to develop a CPQ11-14 for use in Italy and to test its validity in a random sample of fourteen year-old Italian adolescents., Methods: Once the CPQ11-14was translated into Italian and adapted for an Italian public, five hundred sixty-one adolescents were recruited for testing. Parents rated their social status; the children/adolescents were administered the questionnaire and underwent a dental examination during which their dental status was taken and recorded. Cronbach's alpha was used to assess the questionnaire's internal consistency. Spearman's correlation coefficients were calculated to assess construct validity between the total and subscale scores and the respondents' global ratings on oral health and well-being. Discriminant validity was analysed using the Kruskal-Wallis or Mann-Whitney tests in groups defined by gender, social position, caries experience and previous or no orthodontic treatment., Results: The mean score on the CPQ11-14 was 15.4 (SD=11.9), and the scores on all the domains were found to be highly skewed. Cronbach's alpha ranged from 0.85 to 0.90. The global ratings on oral health and well-being were correlated to the total score and to the sub-scores except for those regarding the functional limitations. There were significant differences in the two genders, in the groups that had already or had not yet undergone orthodontic treatment, and in the social classification groups, while the difference between those who had and those who did not have caries experience did not reach statistical significance., Conclusions: The Italian version of the CPQ11-14 appears to be a reliable, valid instrument for Italian children/adolescents.