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In-vitro studies suggest that electromagnetic interference can occur under specific conditions involving proximity between electronic dental equipment and pacemakers. At present, in-vivo investigations to verify the effect of using electronic dental equipment in clinical conditions on patients with pacemakers are scarce. This study aimed to evaluate, in vivo, the effect of three commonly used electronic dental instruments - ultrasonic dental scaler, electric pulp tester, and electronic apex locator - on patients with different pacemaker brands and configurations. Sixty-six consecutive non-pacemaker-dependent patients were enrolled during regular electrophysiology follow-up visits. Electronic dental tools were operated while the pacemaker was interrogated, and the intracardiac electrogram and electrocardiogram were recorded. No interferences were detected in the intracardiac electrogram of any patient during the tests with dental equipment. No abnormalities in pacemaker pacing and sensing function were observed, and no differences were found with respect to the variables, pacemaker brands, pacemaker configuration, or mode of application of the dental equipment. Electromagnetic interferences affecting the surface electrocardiogram, but not the intracardiac electrogram, were found in 25 (37.9%) patients, especially while using the ultrasonic dental scaler; the intrinsic function of the pacemakers was not affected. Under real clinical conditions, none of the electronic dental instruments tested interfered with pacemaker function., (© 2018 Eur J Oral Sci.)

Introduction: Orofacial pain of periodontal origin has a wide range of causes, and its high prevalence and negative effect on patients' quality of life make intervention mandatory. This review provides a periodontological overview of the field of orofacial pain, focusing on the entities which involve the periodontal tissues and may be the cause of this pain or discomfort., Methods: The study comprised a literature search of these pathologies conducted in the MEDLINE/PubMed Database. Acute infectious entities such as gingival and periodontal abscesses are emergencies that require a rapid response. Periodontitis associated with endodontic processes, necrotizing periodontal disorders, desquamative gingivitis, gingival recession, and mucogingival herpetic lesions, cause mild to severe pain due to tissue destruction and loss. Other lesions that lead to periodontal discomfort include gingival enlargement and periodontal ligament strains associated with occlusal trauma, parafunctional habit and the impaction of food or foreign bodies., Conclusion: A range of therapeutic, pharmacological and surgical alternatives are available for the management of these injuries. However, the wide variety of causes of orofacial pain or periodontal discomfort may confuse the clinician during diagnosis and may lead to the wrong choice of treatment.

This article reports a clinical case of a 10-year-old boy who sustained an avulsion of the maxillary right central incisor. The avulsed tooth was kept in adverse extraoral dry conditions for 26 hours from the moment of trauma until its replantation. Treatment guidelines for avulsed mature permanent teeth with closed apex were only partially followed. However, the clinical and radiographic findings after 10 years revealed acceptable functional outcome, in spite of ankylosis and root resorption of the replanted tooth, which was eventually treated cosmetically.

Introduction: Gingival overgrowth has been linked to multiple factors such as adverse drug effects, inflammation, neoplastic processes, and hereditary gingival fibromatosis. Drug-induced gingival overgrowth is a well-established adverse event. In early stages, this gingival enlargement is usually located in the area of the interdental papilla. Histologically, there is an increase in the different components of the extracellular matrix., Objective: The aim of this manuscript is to describe and analyze the different cellular and molecular agents involved in the pathogenesis of Drug-induced gingival overgrowth., Method: A literature search of the MEDLINE/PubMed database was conducted to identify the mechanisms involved in the process of drug-induced gingival overgrowth, with the assistance of a research librarian. We present several causal hypotheses and discuss the advances in the understanding of the mechanisms that trigger this gingival alteration., Results: In vitro studies have revealed phenotypic cellular changes in keratinocytes and fibroblasts and an increase of the extracellular matrix with collagen and glycosaminoglycans. Drug-induced gingival overgrowth confirms the key role of collagenase and integrins, membrane receptors present in the fibroblasts, due to their involvement in the catabolism of collagen. The three drug categories implicated: calcineuron inhibitors (immunosuppressant drugs), calcium channel blocking agents and anticonvulsant drugs appear to present a multifactorial pathogenesis with a common molecular action: the blockage of the cell membrane in the Ca2+/Na+ ion flow. The alteration of the uptake of cellular folic acid, which depends on the regulated channels of active cationic transport and on passive diffusion, results in a dysfunctional degradation of the connective tissue. Certain intermediate molecules such as cytokines and prostaglandins play a role in this pathological mechanism. The concomitant inflammatory factor encourages the appearance of fibroblasts, which leads to gingival fibrosis. Susceptibility to gingival overgrowth in some fibroblast subpopulations is due to phenotypic variability and genetic polymorphism, as shown by the increase in the synthesis of molecules related to the response of the gingival tissue to inducing drugs. The authors present a diagram depicting various mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of drug-induced gingival overgrowth., Conclusion: Individual predisposition, tissue inflammation, and molecular changes in response to the inducing drug favor the clinical manifestation of gingival overgrowth.

Background: Salivary secretory disorders can be the result of a wide range of factors. Their prevalence and negative effects on the patient's quality of life oblige the clinician to confront the issue., Aim: To review the salivary secretory disorders, inducing drugs and their clinical management., Methods: In this article, a literature search of these dysfunctions was conducted with the assistance of a research librarian in the MEDLINE/PubMed Database., Results: Xerostomia, or dry mouth syndrome, can be caused by medication, systemic diseases such as Sjögren's Syndrome, glandular pathologies, and radiotherapy of the head and neck. Treatment of dry mouth is aimed at both minimizing its symptoms and preventing oral complications with the employment of sialogogues and topical acting substances. Sialorrhea and drooling, are mainly due to medication or neurological systemic disease. There are various therapeutic, pharmacologic, and surgical alternatives for its management. The pharmacology of most of the substances employed for the treatment of salivary disorders is well-known. Nevertheless, in some cases a significant improvement in salivary function has not been observed after their administration., Conclusion: At present, there are numerous frequently prescribed drugs whose unwanted effects include some kind of salivary disorder. In addition, the differing pathologic mechanisms, and the great variety of existing treatments hinder the clinical management of these patients. The authors have designed an algorithm to facilitate the decision making process when physicians, oral surgeons, or dentists face these salivary dysfunctions.

Background: Breakage of surgical instruments is a rare complication. A mistake in operator technique or sub-standard/aged tools could lead to this type of accident. A tooth elevator is an instrument used in minor oral surgical procedures to luxate the tooth or fractured root from its socket. The authors have not found any previously published cases reporting the breakage of a tooth elevator tip which then remained as a foreign body in a hidden caries cavity., Case Presentation: A 28-year-old African black male was referred to a hospital in Tanzania for an intraoral radiography. The patient explained that six months previously his mandibular left third molar had been extracted. Whilst the healing process had been satisfactory, he had recently experienced acute oral pain in this region. The dental X-ray showed an image consistent with a piece of broken metal embedded in a distal subgingival caries at the mandibular left second molar., Conclusion: Oral and dental surgeons should take particular care when employing metal instruments with strong force in poorly visible areas. A radiographic study should be carried out when instrument breakage occurs. If an unexpected accident takes place during a surgical procedure, the patient must be informed in accordance with ethical codes, and suitable measures adopted to resolve the issue.

Introduction: Traumatic lip injuries present major challenges in terms of reconstructive options and the outcome of surgical management. The aetiology of lip injuries includes human bite as interpersonal violence. Bite wounds are always considered to be complex injuries contaminated with unique polymicrobial inoculum. A classification of facial bite injuries has been included and the surgical management of these lesions has also been discussed. We report a rare bite injury on the lower lip that resembled an ulcerative process., Case Presentation: A 30-year-old African man presented with a severe tissue defect on his lower lip to a Dental and Oral Department in Tanzania. He explained that 12 days ago he had been involved in a fight and someone had bitten his lower lip. An orofacial examination confirmed a serious loss of lip tissue that resembled a chronic ulcerative process. Accurate assessment of the lesion was made by a thorough evaluation of some parameters such as size, depth, presence of granulation tissue, fibrin coverage, wound edges, exudates and/or necrosis. A surgical debridement under local anaesthesia was carried out. Afterwards a layered suture was performed. Eventually the healing was complete and satisfactory., Conclusions: A severe bite avulsive wound on the lower lip, despite the elapsed time before treatment, may have an excellent prognosis after a simple surgical procedure.

Background: Pre-eruptive intracoronal resorption is a dental lesion located within the dentin. This defect is usually discovered incidentally on routine dental radiographs. Occasionally this process may be associated with oral pain in advanced lesions., Case Report: This case report describes a 12-year-old boy whose chief complaint was a diffuse oral pain due to a severe pre-eruptive intracoronal resorption in a permanent second molar. The previous radiographs, taken at the age of nine years, showed no evidence of the lesion. After surgical exposure, a pulp-like tissue under the crown was removed and analyzed; subsequently the tooth was extracted due to extensive resorption. A follow-up of the unerupted third molar, still in formation process, allowed to see that it was favourably positioned for replacing the extracted molar.

Pyogenic granuloma is defined as a benign neoplasm of vascular phenotype. This case describes the clinical and histopathological features of a gigantic mucogingival pyogenic granuloma, in a 14-year-old healthy black boy. This exophytic gray-purple mass, related to a toothpick injury, had more than twelve-month evolution on the anterior mandible involving lingual area besides to the floor of the mouth pressing the right salivary duct. Conservative excision was performed, followed by uncomplicated healing with no recurrence in two years. The histopathological examination reported a pyogenic granuloma (lobular capillary haemangioma). The authors provide a discussion of the presurgical differential diagnosis of the lesion. This case report presents an extremely uncommon location of a gigantic pyogenic granuloma, involving mucogingival complex and affecting the salivary outflow. This clinical manuscript may shed light on the controversies about possible mechanisms inducing oral pyogenic granuloma.

Osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) is a site specific osseous pathology, characterized by chronic exposed bone in the mouth, which needs to be reinforced periodically within the medical literature. ONJ is a clinical entity with many possible aetiologies and its pathogenesis is not well understood. The risk factors for ONJ include bisphosphonates treatments, head and neck radiotherapy, dental procedures involving bone surgery, and trauma. Management of ONJ has centred on efforts to eliminate or reduce severity of symptoms, to slow or prevent the progression of disease, and to eradicate diseased bone. This case describes a rare case of ONJ in a 64-year-old Caucasian male diagnosed with multiple myeloma stage III. The lesion was related to a traumatic injury during mastication. Eighteen months ago in the same area the molar 37 was extracted, achieving a complete satisfactory healing, when only 2 doses of zoledronic acid had been administered. Actinomyces bacterial aggregates were also identified in the microscopic analysis. The management of this osteonecrotic lesion included antibiotic treatment and chlorhexidine topical gel administration. The evolution was monitored every two weeks until patient's death. The authors provide a discussion of the etiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, and management. This case report may shed light on the controversies about concomitant factors and mechanisms inducing ONJ.

Fused teeth may cause aesthetic, spacing, periodontal, eruption, and caries problems. The present case report describes a 7-year-old boy patient with a chief complaint of unerupted maxillary incisor. Radiographic examination indicated a fused tooth which had two fused roots but two independent root canals. A complex management of a fused tooth is really difficult to standardize. In this case an orthodontic, endodontic, and surgical treatment (intentional replantation) allowed the tooth to be retained until 18 years following intervention. Maintenance of the root and alveolar bone in young adults at least until full skeletal maturation should be the main treatment objective.