The aim of this cross-sectional study was to assess the factors associated with the impact of oral health on the quality of life in a sample of 504 Brazilian independent elderly. Data collection included oral examinations and structured interviews. The simplified form of the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) was used to measure OHRQoL. Information on sociodemographic characteristics, use of dental services, and subjective measures of health was collected. Poisson regression within a hierarchical model was used to data analyses. The following variables were associated with a negative impact on OHRQoL: female gender (PR = 1.40; CI 95%: 1.11–1.77); lower class (PR = 1.58; CI 95%: 1.13–2.20); up to 3 occluding pairs of posterior teeth (PR = 1.88; CI 95%: 1.13–3.14); at least one untreated caries (PR = 1.28; CI 95%: 1.06–1.54); curative reasons for the last dental appointment (PR = 1.52; CI 95%: 1.15–2.00); poor self-perception of oral health (PR = 2.49; CI 95%: 1.92–3.24); and poor perception of dental care provided (PR = 1.34; CI 95%: 1.12–1.59). The younger elderly also noticed this negative impact. These findings showed that the clinical, sociodemographic, and subjective factors evaluated exerted a negative impact on OHRQoL in elderly people. Health authorities must address all these factors when planning interventions on oral health for this population.

Objective: This study used the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl-hydrate (DPPH) method to evaluate the percentage of antioxidant activity (%AA) of green tea (GT) and sodium ascorbate (SA) gel in three concentrations (10%, 20% and 30%), and the influence of these concentrations on the microshear bond strength (μ-SBT) values of bleached enamel, using 10% carbamide peroxide (CP). Materials and methods: Eighty intact third molars were selected to perform the μ-SBT test, and were randomly divided into eight experimental groups: G1: positive control – no treatment; G2: negative control – bleached with CP; G3: PC +10% GT; G4: PC +20% GT; G5: PC +30% GT; G6: PC +10% SA; G7: PC +20% SA and G8: PC +30% SA. After applying the treatments, adhesive procedures were performed using Single Bond 2 and Filtek Z350XT. After 24 h, the samples were tested in a universal testing machine until fracture. The %AA was assessed in triplicate by DDPH method using a UV–VIS spectrophotometer. Results: In the μ-SBT, ANOVA revealed no significant difference between the antioxidants evaluated (p = .625), but did reveal significant effects of the concentrations studied (p = .007). A negative correlation was observed between μ-SBT and solution concentrations. The values of %AA were from 90.58 to 96.75. Conclusions: The reverse results occurred in μ-SBT values, only when the antioxidants were used in a 10% concentration and, %AA did not influence μ-SBT.

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Aim. The aim of the present paper was to evaluate the genotypic diversity of S. mutans in caries-free and caries-active preschool children in Brazil. Design. Twenty-eight preschool children were examined regarding caries experience by the dmft index. DNA from 280 isolates of S. mutans was extracted. S. mutans evaluated using to the PCR method, with primers for the glucosyltransferase gene. The genetic diversity of S. mutans isolates was analyzed by arbitrary primed-PCR (AP-PCR) reactions. The differences between the diversity genotypic and dmft/caries experience were evaluated by χ2 test and Spearman's correlation. Results. The Spearman correlation test showed a strong association between genotypic diversity and caries experience (r = 0.72; P < .001). There were more S. mutans genotypes in the group of preschool children with dental caries, compared with the caries-free group. Among the children with more than 1 genotype, 13 had dental caries (2 to 5 genotypes) and 4 were caries-free (only 2 genotypes). Conclusion. Our results support the previous findings of genetic diversity of S. mutans in preschool children being associated with dental caries. The investigation of such populations may be important for directing the development of programs for caries prevention worldwide.

The effect of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) on the healing of skin lesions has been evaluated in many studies; however, the molecular mechanisms involved in the biostimulatory effects resulting from this treatment need to be better understood. The paper aims to analyze the effects of LLLT (660 nm) at doses of 1 and 5 J/cm on cell viability and expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and interleukin (IL6) genes in L929 fibroblast cells. The dose-response curve was performed with the GaInAlAs (660 nm) laser-treated cells at energy rates of 1 and 5 J/cm. Cell viability was quantified at 24, 48, and 72 h after irradiation and the effects of TLBP on the cytoskeleton and endoplasmic reticulum were evaluated by fluorescence microscopy and the RT-qPCR method was used for the analysis of gene expression. It was observed that the 72 h group had a statistically significant increase in cell viability compared to the 48 h group (p < 0.01) and when compared to the 72 h control (p = 0.03). In 72 h, a greater distribution of the cytoskeleton filaments and the more evident endoplasmatic reticulum was verified, indicating an increase in the protein synthesis when compared with the control group. In the expression of the VEGF gene, a significant increase of 1.98 times (p < 0.05) in the number of transcripts was observed; whereas for the IL6 gene, a decrease of the transcripts was 4.05 times (p < 0.05), both occurring within 72 h after irradiation at 5 J/cm. The LLLT (660 nm) at the dose of 5 J/cm should modulate cellular viability, upregulated VEGF, and downregulated IL6 expression of messenger RNA in culture of L929 fibroblast cells.

Conflict of Interest Statement: The authors state that there are no financial and personal conflicts of interest that could have inappropriately influenced their work.

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The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between the frequencies of DR and DQ HLA class II alleles and the prevalence of dental caries in Brazilian adolescents. The study sample consisted of 164 adolescents aged 15– 19 years. For the assessment of caries experience the DMFT index was used, according to World Health Organization criteria. DNA samples of the adolescents were extracted from oral mucosa cells. The amplification of the alleles HLA-DR and HLA-DQ was carried out by polymerase chain reaction with sequence-specific primers (PCR-SSP). The products of PCR-SSP were electrophoresed and analyzed in agarose gel. Statistical analysis was performed using simple and multiple logistic regression to test the association between the adolescents’ caries experience and the presence of HLA-DR and -DQ alleles. Sociodemographic covariates were included in the model. The significance level for all analyses was p < 0.05. The prevalence of caries was 60.4% and the mean DMFT was 2.41 ± 2.53. Adolescents positive for HLA-DQ2 allele were less likely to have dental caries than their counterparts who were negative for this allele (OR = 0.33, CI 0.16–0.66), and those whose mothers presented low levels of education were 2.01 (CI 1.02–3.97) times more likely to have dental caries. There was no statistical difference between HLA-DR4, -DQ4, -DQ5, -DQ6 and dental caries. Our data provide evidence that genes within the MHC, especially the DQ2 group, may influence susceptibility to dental caries in Brazilian adolescents.