Objective To assess human unstimulated whole saliva components during pregnancy, to determine the relation, if any, between pregnancy and oral health, particularly total protein concentration, a-amylase activity, sialic acid content and calcium and phosphate concentrations were evaluated.Design Cross-sectional study. Participants Forty-five healthy primigravid women; 1 5 nonpregnant women acted as controls. Results 1. A higher total protein content at 10 and 21 weeks of gestation with respect to the controls and to pregnant women at 40 weeks; 2. a higher a-amylase activity at 10 and 21 weeks of gestation compared with the controls and to pregnant women at 40 weeks; 3. an increased sialic acid content at 21 and 40 weeks; 4. decreased calcium and phosphorus concentrations at 21 and 40 weeks of gestation.Conclusions Pregnancy modifies saliva composition. This could play a pivotal role in the incidence of pregnancy-induced dental caries. INTRODUCTIONFemale steroid sex hormones influence oral health through different mechanisms. Gingival tissue is affected by hormonal changes during puberty and pregnancy, as shown by more pronounced subclinical signs of gingivial inflammation during the ovulatory phase of the menstrual cycle and by the worsening of pre-existing gingivitis during human pregnancy. Pregnancy induces an increased response of the gingival tissues to local factors, such as plaque and tartar, through disturbance of tissue metabolism4.Besides the direct effect on tissue metabolism, pregnancy and the menstrual cycle alter the composition of human saliva, as a response to the changed steroid hormone levels. Many human studies have indicated that hormones influence the composition of female saliva, particularly at the time of ovulation. Correlation has been found between the ovulatory status of women and the phosphate level5. A cyclic variation has been also observed in sialic acid, glucose and some salivary electrolytesG8. Saliva plays a critical role in the maintenance of oral health, as it contains many innate and acquired factors with a protective role on oral tissue^^.^^. rate have been reported, and changes in salivary electrolyte levels and IgA concentration have been A decrease in salivary HC03 during pregnancy has been related to the effect of progesterone in lowering plasma bicarbonate con~entration'~.'~. D'Alessandro et al. l6 have suggested a relation between the protein changes in parotid saliva and the hormonal modifications during pregnancy. Secretory proteins are produced by many salivary cell types and salivary total protein content could reflect general exocrine capacity". Many salivary proteins have enzymatic functions, such as a-amylase, which represents the major component of the parotid secretion and is also present in the submandibular fluid, representing about 50% of total proteins.Laine et al. I4 did not find significant changes in salivary amylase, lysozyme or peroxidase activities during pregnancy. Furthermore, the whole saliva levels of thiocyanate, hypothiocyanite, lactoferrin, to...

No abstract

Pulp inflammation in restored teeth is mainly due to the presence of bacteria or bacterial products introduced by microleakage around the restoration or to the material toxicity. Recent knowledge has permitted a precise identification of the risks for pulpal irritation associated with adhesive materials and procedures. The purpose of this work was to evaluate the cellular events that occur in direct pulp exposure capped using different materials. Twenty-four vital teeth without caries, scheduled for extraction for orthodontic reasons, were selected. After a control of the hemostasis, each pulp was directly capped with a different material. The samples were randomly divided into four groups of six specimens each: group I: dental-bonding agent (Solist) followed by resin composite (Ecusit); group II: dental adhesive (Prompt) and resin composite (Pertac II); group III: traditional calcium hydroxide (Dycal) plus resin composite (Ecusit); group IV: light-curing calcium hydroxide (Ultrablend Plus) and amalgam (Dentsply). After 15 days the teeth were extracted, immediately fixed in 10% buffered formalin, embedded in resin (7200 Technovit), and prepared for thin ground sections with Precise 1 System. In the specimens of all groups, there were active odontoblasts near the composite resins and no newly formed dentin. Small quantities of inflammatory cells were present. A 1- to 3-microm layer zone of necrosis was present. In conclusion, all materials tested in this study induced similar tissue responses.

Objectives: To investigate the prevalence , gender difference , arch , morphology and position within the arch of supernumerary molar (SM) teeth in a referred Italian Caucasian population. Study Design: Records of 25,186 young patients were evaluated. Only data related to supernumerary teeth in the posterior region of the jaws were analyzed. The diagnosis of hyperdontia was formulated during the clinical and radiological examinations based on panoramic radiographs. Statistical analysis was conducted at level of subjects in the assessment of prevalence of SMs and sex ratio. Statistical analysis was conducted at level of teeth according to their morphological and topographic characteristics. The analysis of association between supernumerary morphology and arch, between supernumerary position and arch and between morphology and position was performed using the χ2 test (P≤ 0.05). Results: 61 posterior supernumerary teeth were found in 45 patients. The male to female ratio was 2.5:1 ;the mean age was 21.23 (IC:95%).The SMs were found more frequently in the maxilla (62.3%) than in the mandible; supernumerary teeth (60.7%) were more frequent than supplemental teeth. The SMs were mostly of tuberculate shape (56.8%) and paramolars teeth (64.9%) were more common than distomolars. 54% of teeth were erupted in the arch. No statistically significant relationship were found between the supernumerary teeth shape and the arch (P= 0.087) , between supernumerary teeth position and the arch (P=0.511) and between morphology and position (P=0.216). Conclusions: Epidemiological studies related to supernumerary teeth can be useful to clinicians in the early diagnosis of this anomaly. In this retrospective study the prevalence of SMs was 0.18%. SMs were more frequent in males and in the maxilla. Supernumerary were more frequent than supplemental; the conical morphology and paramolar position were the most common shape and position. Key words:Hyperdontia, prevalence, supernumerary molars, distomolar, paramolar.

This study evaluated the effect of new motions of the motor TriAuto ZX2 on the cyclic fatigue of endodontic instruments. Vortex Blue 35.06 instruments were divided into four groups (n = 10) and tested for fatigue in a curved artificial canal (90° and 2 mm radius) using the following motions: continuous rotation (CR), Optimum Torque Reverse (OTR) set at 180° and the Optimum Glide Path (OGP), which was tested at 90° and 240°. The time to fracture (TTF) and the lengths of the fractured fragments were recorded. The mean TTF was significantly different among the groups (anova, P < 0.05): OGP 90° (213.39 ± 27.45), OTR 180° (121.24 ± 17.03), OGP 240° (45.24 ± 5.61) and CR (8.43 ± 1.27). Weibull analysis confirmed the shortest life expectancy for CR and the longest survival for OGP at 90°. The resistance to fatigue was affected by motions and pre-set angles. The proprietary movements that are currently available for endodontic instruments were classified according to their kinematics.