Background Periodontal disease, a frequent oral health problem, is connected with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to assess the unstimulated saliva flow rate and saliva pH as markers of the severity of periodontal disease in patients with cardiovascular disease. Material/Methods A cohort of 155 patients (78 men and 77 women, aged 30–92 years) was included, and a structured questionnaire obtained information about their health status, oral healthcare behaviors, and eating habits. An oral examination was performed to assess periodontal status and presence of dental calculus. The unstimulated whole salivary flow rate and salivary pH were measured. An oral hygienization was performed, and 3 months later, salivary flow rate and pH were reevaluated. Results A severe form of periodontal disease was found in 22.4% of patients. Disease severity was strongly correlated with low pH values (6.25 in stage IV periodontal disease), lower salivary flow rate (0.28 mL/min), smoking, poor oral hygiene habits and obesity, with no significant differences by sex. We observed a significant increase of pH (up to 6.30±0.17) in patients with severe periodontal disease ( P =0.001) and salivary flow rate values (0.29±0.07 mL/min; P =0.014) 3 months after oral hygienization. There was a strong association between the severity of periodontal disease and presence of cardiovascular disease ( P =0.001). Conclusions Our study suggests that the decrease of salivary flow rate and pH level might be associated with the severity of periodontal disease.

Background and Objectives: Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of global death with a rising prevalence and a heavy economic burden. Periodontal disease has been associated with cardiovascular diseases—including incident coronary heart disease, peripheral artery disease and ischemic stroke. The study evaluates the quality of life of patients with cardiovascular and periodontal disease from the point of view of oral health by using the short version of the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) questionnaire. Materials and Methods: This study included a total of 221 patients (61.86 ± 15.03 years old) selected from the Emergency Hospital of Sibiu, Romania. The participants self-completed the OHIP-14 questionnaire and they benefited from an oral health examination conducted to assess the presence and the severity of periodontal disease. Results: Out of the 147 patients with cardiovascular disease, 77.5% had periodontal disease (32.6% stage I, 29.2% stage II, and 15.6% stage III and IV). The presence of periodontal disease was associated with a lower oral-health-related quality of life (p < 0.001, ANOVA) and with a higher OHIP-14 score in patients with cardiovascular disease (18.67 ± 8.17, p < 0.001 ANOVA). No significant difference was observed concerning patient sex and background; however, age, body mass index and the lack of an appropriate oral hygiene routine had a strong association with the individual quality of life. The general OHIP-14 score was higher in patients with periodontal disease and associated cardiovascular disease, the presence of both cardiovascular and periodontal disease being associated with a lower quality of life. Conclusions: By increasing the patients’ awareness to oral healthcare measures, better outcomes and improved oral-health-related quality of life could be observed.

Alzheimer�s disease (AD) is a complex neuropsychiatric condition characterized by progressive cognitive symptoms.The social and psychological costs associated with the care of AD patients are very high; therefore, significant funds for research in this field are being invested worldwide. The accuracy of medical methods for establishing the diagnosis of AD with specific neuropathology is very important. Biomarkers can detect AD in their pre-clinical stage, monitor the disease progression, and detectmore objectively the treatment response. We performed a retrospective study of 100 patients admitted to the Gheorghe Preda Psychiatric Hospital of Sibiu with the diagnosis of Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer�s Dementia. The diagnosis was established according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual Disorders-4th edition criteria and the severity of the condition was determined by the Mini Mental State Examination. Our retrospective study revealed that in a certain period of time, most hospitalized patients with AD had the most days of hospitalization; they were patients in severe stage, due to the needs of multidisciplinary care and the multiple possibilities offered by medical staff. At present, AD research, in addition to finding therapeutic remedies in the clinical stages of AD, also aims at primary and secondary prevention strategies, including the detection of biomarkers in the pre-clinical stage of AD.

The aim of this study is to determine whether there is a link between the 5.25% sodium hypochlorite irrigation time using Endovac and the endodontic space cleaning quality. The study was done on teeth with a root length of more than 12 mm that did not undergo previous endodontic treatments and had a closed apex. All roots where mechanically prepared and the irrigation protocol was applied acording to the established protocol. The root canal surface was explored by electronic microscopy. A score was given to each image regarding remaining debris and smear layer. The comparative analysis of experimental data shows, that there are no statistically significant differences between the study groups regarding debris and smear layer removal. None of the techniques used in the present study has led to the complete removal of dentinal detritus and root smear layer.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic brought a burden and represented a challenge for the Romanian medical system. This study explored the consequences that COVID epidemiological measures had on the quality of the mental health care provided to hospitalized patients in a regional psychiatric hospital in Romania. Materials and methods: Both patient-level and hospital-level indicators were considered for this comparative retrospective study. On the one hand, we extracted patient-level indicators, such as sociodemographics, diagnosis, admission, and discharge dates for 7026 hospitalized patients (3701 women, average age = 55.14) from hospital records. On the other hand, for the hospital-level indicators, we included indicators referring to the aggregated concept of mental health services, such as case mix index, length of stay, bed occupancy rate and patients’ degree of satisfaction. Data extracted covered a period of two years (1 March 2019–28 February 2021) before and during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: We found that, compared to the pre-pandemic period, the pandemic period was marked by a drastic decrease in hospitalized patient admissions, coupled with an increase in emergency-based admissions. Other management indicators, such as the case mix index, the number of cases contracted/performed, and the degree of patient satisfaction, decreased. In contrast, the average length of stay and bed occupancy rate increased. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic, especially in the first year, raised multiple difficult issues for the management of psychiatric hospitals. It imposed an application of strict measures designed to face these new and unprecedented challenges. Our findings offer a detailed snapshot of the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of its impact on mental health services and suggest some future directions. Implications for hospital management are discussed.Keywords: hospital management; COVID-19 pandemic; hospitalized patients; psychiatric hospital; mental health services.

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Dentistry is a branch of medicine, with specialized care almost exclusively performed in an outpatient basis, with various dental procedures resulting in bleeding. Due to the increase in the average age of patients, the dentist must pay special attention to the associated pathology, pathology that can lead to uncontrolled bleeding or other complications. The incidence of the number of patients with various anticoagulant medication for associated general diseases has increased. Thus, the approach of these patients must be done in correlation with the management of diseases and associated medication. We found it interesting to report the therapeutic conduct in case of tooth extraction in patients whose medication includes warfarin. The dentist should be aware of possible complications in patients under anticoagulant medication, which requires a judicious case selection, with interdisciplinary collaboration, as well as careful management of surgical procedures to minimize the risks of postoperative bleeding.