The Asian ethnic group presented a higher prevalence of Vertucci type I configuration, whereas the white group displayed a higher number of multiple root canal system morphologies. A clinician should be aware of these differences when treating patients from these ethnic groups.

This study investigated the effects of diabetes mellitus (types I and II) on human salivary gland function compared to healthy age-matched controls. The results have shown that both type I and type II diabetic patients secrete significantly (p < 0.05) less resting and stimulated saliva compared to healthy age-matched controls (AMC). It was also found that the diabetic patients have an increased resting and stimulated salivary protein concentration compared to healthy participants. However, the secretory capacity (stimulated minus resting values) was markedly reduced compared to controls. The level of calcium (Ca2+) in the saliva of diabetic patients was significantly (p < 0.05) elevated compared to the AMC. In contrast, the levels of magnesium (Mg2+), zinc (Zn2+) and potassium (K+) in the saliva of diabetic patients were significantly (p < 0.05) reduced compared to the values obtained in AMC. These results indicate that diabetes mellitus can lead to marked dysfunction of the secretory capacity of the salivary glands. In these patients a modified fluid, organic and inorganic salivary secretion may be responsible for the increased susceptibility to oral infections and impaired wound healing described by others in the literature.

Clinicians should be aware that the root canal system configuration changes over a lifetime. In this study, the most affected teeth were the second premolars and the distal root of mandibular first molars.

Aim: To investigate the association between the use of oral bisphosphonate therapy and dental implant failure. Materials and Methods: The case-control study involved 337 female patients, aged 40 years and older, who had 1181 implants placed at the Department of Periodontology and Implant Dentistry at New York University College of Dentistry between January 1997 and December 2004. Cases, defined as women with one or more implant failures, were identified from the departmental database. Controls were then randomly selected for each case. Adjusted odds ratios were estimated using logistic regression models fitted through generalized estimating equations. Results: After adjusting for selected covariates, the odds of oral bisphosphonate use was 2.69 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.49-4.86) times higher in women for whom implants failed compared with those for whom implants did not fail. Although no significant interaction was observed (p = 0.41), the stratified analyses suggest that the association between oral bisphosphonate use and dental implant failure was stronger in the maxilla (Odds Ratio [OR] = 2.60; 95% CI, 1.36-4.96) than in the mandible (OR = 1.38; 95% CI, 0.51-3.73).

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Objectives To assess the potential trends for the year 2030 in dental implant dentistry in Europe using the Delphi methodology. Material and methods A steering committee and a management team of experts in implant dentistry were created and validated a questionnaire including 60 questions, divided in eight topics. The survey was conducted in two rounds using an anonymous questionnaire, which provided the participants in the second round with the results of the first. Each question had three possible answers, and the results were expressed as percentages. Results A total of 138 experts were invited to participate in the survey. From all the invited experts, 52 answered in both the first and second rounds. Three different consensus categories were established based on the percentage of agreement: no consensus (<65%); moderate consensus (65%–85%); and high consensus (≥86%). Within the topic categories, a consensus was reached (mainly moderate consensus) for the majority of questions discussed among experts during a face to face consensus meeting. However, consensus was not reached for a small number of questions/topics. Conclusions About 82% of the questions reached consensus. The consensus points towards a lower number of implants to replace chewing units, with implants surfaces made of bioactive materials with reduced micro‐roughness using mainly customized abutments with polished surfaces and an internal implant–abutment connection (85%). CBCT‐3D technologies will be the main tool for pre‐surgical implant placement diagnosis together with direct digital restorative workflows. There will be an increase in the incidence of peri‐implantitis, although there will be more efficient interventions its treatment and prevention.

Soft tissue augmentation procedures may be indicated for the increase of soft tissue thickness and keratinized tissue, the reduction of interproximal peri-implant bone loss, and the coverage of shallow peri-implant soft tissue recessions (S-T, LE), L-T is lacking. Guided bone regeneration approaches (GBR) showed efficacy when used for ridge reconstruction after the complete healing of the soft tissues (S-T & L-T), and the stability of the augmented bone may play a role in the maintenance of the soft tissue position and dimensions (LE). No significant differences were observed between titanium and zirconia abutments when evaluating probing pocket depth, bleeding on probing, marginal bone levels and mucosal recessions. Zirconia abutments were associated with more biological complications but demonstrated superiority in terms of achieving natural soft tissue colour (S-T).

Objective. The aim of this study was to perform a systematic review of prevalence studies to determine the rate of malignant transformation of oral leukoplakia and assess the influence of demographic factors (age, gender, and geographic region) on the overall transformation rate. Study Design. A search was conducted for publications until July 2019 in 4 electronic databases and peer-reviewed journals. A manual search was performed on the bibliographies of the collected articles, and the authors were contacted for additional information. This study was previously registered with the trial number CRD42019126909 and study quality assessed through established methods. The results were expressed by means of proportions or odds ratios with a 95% confidence interval. Metaregression was undertaken to evaluate possible sources of heterogeneity, and funnel plot visual analysis was performed to assess publication bias.Results. The 34 observational epidemiologic studies included reported data on 26,209 patients with oral leukoplakia from 18 different countries. Meta-analysis of 32 studies (23,489 patients) presented an estimated overall mean proportion of malignant transformation rate of 9.70% (7.80À11.70) (I 2 = 98.66%; t 2 < 0.001; x 2 = 23.18; degrees of freedom [df] = 31). When comparing genders, the odds ratio favored males with 0.622 (0.468À0.826) (I 2 = 29.77%; t 2 = 0.089; x 2 = 22.78; df = 16). Conclusions. Within the limitations of the included studies in this systematic review, the results suggest that the malignant transformation rate was dependent on demographic factors and follow-up time. Future studies should include the development of guidelines to standardize the methodology for long-term follow-up assessment, thus reducing the risk of bias. (Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol 2020;000:1À12) Statement of Clinical RelevanceMost oral cancers develop from pre-existing lesions, oral leukoplakia being the most prevalent and well known. The early detection and treatment of leukoplakia have been debated, and one of the greatest challenges is identifying lesions that will undergo malignant transformation.