Quintessence International, 03/2024

Objective: Currently, there is no established treatment protocol to treat interdental papillary loss. This research aimed to evaluate the outcomes of interdental papillary reconstruction using minimally invasive surgery, with injectable hyaluronic acid gel. Method and materials: Seventeen patients were included, each with five sites of class 1 papillary recession (40 sites in the maxilla and 45 sites in the mandible). Subperiosteal tunneling was performed through a horizontal incision made apical to the base of the papilla without penetrating it. The free gingival sulcus was sealed by 000 retraction cord. A total of 0.2 to 0.6 mL hyaluronic acid was injected gradually. The incision was sutured with polyglycolic sutures. Treated sites underwent clinical and digital evaluation at three follow-up time points (1 month, 3 months, and 6 months). Results: The interdental papillary defect height in the maxillary sites significantly reduced by 60%, 66%, and 42% at 1, 3, and 6 months, respectively. In mandibular sites, the reduction was 54%, 55%, and 40% at the same follow-up time points. Regarding interdental papillary defect surface area in the maxilla, the reduction was 65%, 71%, and 45% at 1, 3, and 6 months. In the mandible, a reduction of 60%, 64%, and 48% was noticed at the same time points. Regarding patients’ pain level score, during the day of surgery, 16 patients reported pain; the average pain score out of 10 was 3.94, and 11 patients (64.7%) needed to take analgesics. The pain generally subsided in the following days. At the day of treatment, 12 out of the 17 patients (70.6%) reported mild difficulty in speaking and eating. No complication, hypersensitivity, or allergy was noted in any patient. Conclusion: Subperiosteal tunneling with hyaluronic acid injection demonstrates clinical improvements in papilla height and papillary recession surface area reduction after 3 months of follow-up, with reduction in improvement after 6 months.  Clinical significance: Adjunctive use of hyaluronic acid injection with minimally invasive surgery in interdental papillary management may improve clinical and esthetic outcomes. Keywords: esthetics, gingiva, hyaluronic acid, interdental papilla, microsurgical technique, recession

Objectives: Fractal analysis is a numerical method that indicates the structural patterns and complexity of the trabecular bone on radiographs. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate the trabecular bone structure in systemically healthy patients and diabetes mellitus patients with periodontitis using fractal analysis. Method and materials: The study included 125 mandibular first molars of nonsmoker patients. The subjects were divided into five subgroups: diabetes mellitus patients with mild–moderate periodontitis, diabetes mellitus patients with advanced periodontitis, systemically healthy individuals with mild–moderate periodontitis, systemically healthy individuals with advanced periodontitis, and systemically healthy individuals with gingivitis (control group). Clinical periodontal parameters (pocket depth, bleeding on probing, clinical attachment loss, and bone loss) were recorded. Two specific sites located in the mesial–distal regions (n = 250) of the mandibular first molars were identified using periapical radiographs captured with a parallel technique. Fractal analysis values were calculated using the box-counting method. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Pearson correlation analysis were used for statistical evaluation. Results: The highest fractal analysis values were observed in systemically healthy with gingivitis patients (mesial fractal analysis: 1.86 ± 0.01; distal fractal analysis: 1.85 ± 0.01). Patients with periodontitis (mesial fractal analysis: 1.78 ± 0.02; distal fractal analysis: 1.79 ± 0.01) exhibited lower fractal analysis values compared to the control group. There was no significant difference in mesial and distal fractal analysis values between all periodontitis groups. No correlation was found between age, sex, clinical attachment loss, bone loss, and fractal analysis (P > .05). Conclusions: Although fractal analysis values were lower in the periodontitis groups compared to the control group, fractal analysis did not demonstrate any periodontitis-associated changes of bone trabeculation in diabetes at any stage of periodontitis. Furthermore, there was no significant association between fractal analysis values and age, sex, clinical attachment, and bone loss. Keywords: diabetes mellitus, diagnosis, fractal analysis, periodontitis

Objective: Periodontitis is characterized by bone resorption. Vertical bone loss results in an intraosseous defect. Multiple surgical approaches for treating intrabony defects have shown different grades of effectiveness. Recently, the entire papilla preservation technique has been proposed, improving clinical parameters, such as pocket depth and clinical attachment level. This series of cases aimed to describe the use of the entire papilla preservation surgical technique without using biomaterials to regenerate periodontal intrabony defects. The influence on the clinical periodontal parameters and radiographic parameters was measured through CBCT, the latter not described until now, and analyzed the possible postoperative complications. Method and materials: A total of six intrabony periodontal defects associated with at least one periodontal pocket with probing depths equal to or greater than 6 mm were treated with the entire papilla preservation technique. The clinical and radiographic parameters were evaluated at the beginning and 6 months after surgery. Results: The mean probing pocket depth reduction was 4.00 ± 0.63 mm, the mean clinical attachment level gain was 3.67 ± 1.03 mm, and the mean radiographic intrabony filling was 2.41 ± 2.03 mm. Early healing was uneventful; the mean visual analog scale at 7 days was 0. Conclusions: This minimally invasive technique results in an improvement in clinical and radiographic parameters, the latter showing a filling of the bone defect observed during the 6-month evaluation after surgical treatment. These results confirm the importance of clot and flap stability in regenerating intraosseous defects. Keywords: guided tissue regeneration, microsurgery, minimally invasive surgery, periodontitis, surgical flaps

Objectives: This systematic review aimed to search the literature for the answer to the following questions. In human studies: Does the osseodensification technique increase the resonance frequency analysis given in implant stability quotient value and the insertion torque value compared to the conventional technique? In animal studies: Does the osseodensification technique increase implant stability quotient, bone-to-implant contact, and bone area fraction occupancy values over the conventional technique? Data sources: A search for studies was carried out in eight databases until August 2021. Out of the 447 publications found, 11 were included. Results: In human studies, osseodensification technique showed better results for implant stability quotient values with a summarized median difference of 8.57. As for secondary stability, there was no significant difference, with summarized median difference of 4.49 in favor of the osseodensification technique. In animal studies, all results were favorable to the osseodensification technique. Regarding insertion torque, bone-to-implant contact, and bone area fraction occupancy between counterclockwise osseodensification technique vs conventional, the mean difference was 46.79 for insertion torque, 2.17 for bone-to-implant contact, and 2.11 for bone area fraction occupancy. High heterogeneity was observed between the studies. The risk of bias in humans was moderate in three studies and low in one; and in animal studies, four presented moderate risk, two low risk, and one high risk. The certainty of evidence ranged from low to moderate. Conclusion: The osseodensification technique showed improvement concerning the resonance frequency and the insertion torque value of implants in human studies. In addition, it increased the values of bone-to-implant contact, bone area fraction occupancy, and implant stability quotient in animal studies, when compared to the conventional technique. Keywords: conventional technique, dental implants, osseodensification

Objective: The purpose of this study was to analyze and compare the differences in chewing efficiency among patients with different vertical skeletal types of Angle Class I and Angle Class II malocclusions, to provide reference for orthodontic clinical practice. Method and materials: Sample size estimation revealed a minimum of 53 for each class. Thus, a total of 108 patients with Angle Class I and Angle Class II malocclusions were selected. Lateral skull radiographs were taken, and head measurements were analyzed via geometric tracing software. Chewing efficiency was measured using the gravimetric method to compare between the two groups. The vertical skeletal pattern was classified via Steiner analysis. Results: Significant statistical differences in chewing efficiency were observed between patients presenting with Angle Class I and Angle Class II malocclusions (P < .05). Additionally, significant differences in chewing efficiency were observed among patients with different vertical skeletal patterns (P < .05). Furthermore, a statistically significant difference in chewing efficiency was found between men and women (P < .05). Conclusions: Patients with Angle Class I malocclusions exhibited significantly higher chewing efficiency compared to those with Angle Class II malocclusions. Among patients with different vertical facial types, the chewing efficiency followed the order of low angle > normal angle > high angle. Moreover, men demonstrated a higher chewing efficiency than women. Keywords: chewing function, Class I, Class II, malocclusion, masticatory efficiency

Objective: Ideal implant placement in atrophied posterior mandibular regions is challenging due to surgical difficulties and anatomical limitations. This study aimed to evaluate the use of allogeneic bone rings for vertical augmentation of atrophied posterior mandibular regions with simultaneous implants compared to autogenous bone rings, while avoiding donor site morbidity. Method and materials: A total of 24 vertically atrophied posterior mandibular segments (in 14 patients) were equally randomized into a study group in which mineralized freeze-dried allogeneic bone rings were used, and a control group in which autogenous bone rings with prepared implant osteotomies were harvested from the chin and used. All augmentation sites were prepared before inserting the bone rings. Implants were simultaneously inserted, fixing the bone rings into the native bone. All patients were clinically assessed after 1 week, 2 weeks, and 1 month. Crestal bone level was radiographically assessed after 1 week, 6 months, and 3 months of prosthetic loading. Results: None of the 24 bone rings showed signs of implant or graft failure. There was no significant difference in the crestal bone level between the groups. Conclusion: Allogeneic bone rings can be a viable alternative to autogenous bone rings in augmenting the posterior aspect of the mandible, mitigating the concerns associated with donor site complications. Keywords: allograft, alveolar ridge augmentation, bone ring, dental implants, mandible

Radiation treatment plays a mainstream role in the management of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs). Adverse effects from radiation therapy include osteoradionecrosis of the jaw, and rarely, pathologic fracture. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) such as pembrolizumab are of growing relevance to the management of metastatic and recurrent HNSCCs. Adverse impacts on bone secondary to medications such as pembrolizumab and nivolumab have been sporadically documented in the literature. The objective of this manuscript is to raise awareness of possible increase in risk for adverse jaw outcomes in patients with HNSCCs exposed to both radiation treatment to the jaws and ICI therapy. This manuscript documents adverse jaw outcomes including osteonecrosis and pathologic fracture of the mandible in two patients receiving pembrolizumab for management of HNSCC who had received prior radiation treatment. A potential link between immunotherapy and adverse jaw outcomes is consistent with the growing understanding of osteoimmunology, investigating the closely interrelated processes in bone remodeling and immune system function, in health and disease. It is important to ascertain if pembrolizumab poses an incremental risk for such outcomes, beyond the risk from prior radiation, for patients managed with radiation treatment and ICI therapy for HNSCC. The general dental practitioner may encounter such patients either in the context of facilitating dental clearance prior to initiation of chemotherapy, or rarely, with poorly explained jaw symptoms and must be alert to the possibility of occurrence of such adverse jaw events to facilitate timely diagnosis and optimal patient management. Keywords: adverse jaw outcomes, head and neck cancer, immune checkpoint inhibitors, immunotherapy, osteonecrosis, pembrolizumab, radiation therapy

Objectives: Sedation is commonly utilized for individuals otherwise unable to receive dental treatment, such as those with disabilities, medically complex conditions, and dentophobics. The aim was to characterize the profiles of patients receiving various types of sedation and assess the corresponding success rates. Method and materials: This was a 5-year records-based retrospective study. Data regarding the indication for sedation, medical history, sedation type, and treatments performed were recorded. Results: In total, 103 patients underwent 389 treatment sessions under sedation; 42.7% of the patients were disabled. The most commonly administered sedation was moderate sedation, (49.4%), followed by deep (36.8%) and inhaled sedation (13.9%). Successful treatment results were achieved in 96.1% of sessions, with no adverse effects noted during recovery. The high success rates were independent of patient age, sex, and sedation type. There was a positive association between the indication for sedation and the type of sedation. The medically complex patients and the dentophobic patients received mainly moderate sedation (85.3% and 58.2%, respectively), whereas the disabled patients received deep sedation (51.2%). In total, 94% of patients were returning (re-visiting) patients. A statistically significant association was found between the type of sedation administered and the success rate during the first and last sessions (P < .001). The success rate at the first session may be predictive of the success in subsequent sessions. Conclusion: A significant positive correlation was found between patient characteristics and the chosen sedation type leading to a high success rate across the various sedation modalities. Keywords: dentophobia, disabled patients, medically complex patients, oral care, sedation