There is no remarkable VEGF production under physiologic circumstances in rat gingiva, but VEGF is able to increase gingival blood flow through the activation of VEGF2 receptors. Furthermore, NO release may contribute to VEGF's vasodilatory effect.

We investigated the effectiveness of chlorine dioxide (ClO2) solution in comparison to sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) and chlorhexidine gluconate (CHX) in the elimination of intracanal Enterococcus faecalis biofilm. Extracted human teeth were inoculated with E. faecalis. After preparation the canals were irrigated with ClO2, NaOCl, CHX or physiologic saline for control. Two and five days later bacterial samples were collected and streaked onto Columbia agar. CFU/mL were counted. The canal walls were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The gas phase was investigated in an upside down Petri dish where E. faecalis was inoculated onto blood agar. The irrigants were placed on absorbent paper into the cover. Bacteria were detectable in the control group, but not in any of the irrigants groups. There was a massive reinfection 2 or 5 days after irrigation in the control group. The lowest reinfection was found after the ClO2 treatment. These findings were confirmed by SEM images. We observed an antibacterial effect of ClO2 and NaOCl gas phases on E. faecalis growth, but not of CHX. ClO2 eliminates intracanal biofilm and keeps canal nearly free from bacteria. We suggest the use of high purity ClO2 as a root canal irrigant in clinical practice.

This study examines the antibacterial properties of sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl), chlorhexidine gluconate (CHX), Listerine®, and high purity chlorine dioxide (Solumium, ClO2) on selected common oral pathogen microorganisms and on dental biofilm in vitro. Antimicrobial activity of oral antiseptics was compared to the gold standard phenol. We investigated Streptococcus mutans, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Enterococcus faecalis, Veillonella alcalescens, Eikenella corrodens, Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans and Candida albicans as some important representatives of the oral pathogens. Furthermore, we collected dental plaque from the upper first molars of healthy young students. Massive biofilm was formed in vitro and its reduction was measured after treating it with mouthrinses: CHX, Listerine® or hyper pure ClO2. Their biofilm disrupting effect was measured after dissolving the crystal violet stain from biofilm by photometer. The results have showed that hyper pure ClO2 solution is more effective than other currently used disinfectants in case of aerobic bacteria and Candida yeast. In case of anaerobes its efficiency is similar to CHX solution. The biofilm dissolving effect of hyper pure ClO2 is significantly stronger compared to CHX and Listerine® after 5 min treatment. In conclusion, hyper pure ClO2 has a potent disinfectant efficacy on oral pathogenic microorganisms and a powerful biofilm dissolving effect compared to the current antiseptics, therefore high purity ClO2 may be a new promising preventive and therapeutic adjuvant in home oral care and in dental or oral surgery practice.

The aim of the study was to compare surface loss values after erosion—abrasion cycles obtained with modified surface microhardness measurement (mSMH), focus variation 3D microscopy (FVM) and contact stylus profilometry (CSP). We cut human molars into buccal and lingual halves, embedded them in resin and ground 200 μm of enamel away. The resulting surfaces were polished. To maintain a reference area, we applied Block-Out resin to partly cover the enamel surface. The samples were incubated in artificial saliva (37°C; 1 h), then rinsed in deionized water (10 s) and dried with oil-free air (5 s). We immersed the specimens individually in 30 mL citric acid (1%, pH 3.6) for 2 min (25°C, 70 rpm dynamic conditions) before brushing them (50 strokes, 200 g) in an automatic brushing machine with toothpaste-slurry. We calculated the surface loss as per mSMH, by re-measuring the length of the same six indentations made before the abrasive challenge. The experiment consisted of five experimental groups that received between 2 and 10 erosion—abrasion cycles. Each group contained 15 specimens and samples in groups 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 underwent a total of 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 cycles, respectively. The resin was removed from the reference area in one piece under 10× magnification and the FVM and CSP were performed. Agreement between the methods was calculated with the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and depicted in Bland-Altman plots. All methods presented a linear pattern of surface loss measurements throughout the experiment, leading overall to a strong, statistically significant correlation between the methods (ICC = 0.85; p<0.001). So, despite the different surface loss values, all methods presented consistent results for surface loss measurement.