Periodontitis (PO), a chronic microbially-induced inflammation of the supporting tissues of the tooth, is linked to various systemic diseases. We analyze its bidirectional relationship to chronic kidney disease (CKD), a major health-care problem with impressive excess mortality. Overwhelming associative relationship between CKD and PO are analyzed. Major pathophysiologic mechanisms that link CKD to PO are then presented: systemic inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, and imbalance of oxidative stress characteristic of CKD have a role in PO development and might influence escape mechanisms of oral microbiota. Subclinical local and systemic inflammation induced by PO might influence in turn CKD outcomes. Homeostatic changes induced by CKD such as mineral bone disorders, acidosis, uremic milieu, or poor salivary flow are also relevant for the occurrence of PO. There is insufficient evidence to recommend a standardized diagnostic and therapeutic approach regarding association of PO to CKD.

Objective: Oral appliance therapy is a non-invasive treatment that offers a wide variety of oral devices for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The present review focuses on the effectiveness of mandibular advancement devices for the treatment of OSA. Methods: A systematic review based on the PRISMA checklist was carried out. A detailed electronic database search was conducted using “Obstructive sleep apnea” AND “Oral appliance” AND “Dentistry” as keywords. Results: The initial search in the electronic databases resulted in a total of 262 papers. After the title and abstract analysis and full-text review, the number of eligible papers was reduced to 15. Conclusion: The mandibular advancement device is an effective treatment, improving the Apnea Hypopnea Index and the symptoms of patients with OSA in 92% of the subjects from all the investigated studies. The future may include the integration of a biosensor for the diagnosis and follow-up. Abbreviations: OSA: Obstructive sleep apnea; MADs: Mandibular advancement devices; CPAP: Continuous positive airway pressure; OAT: Oral appliance therapy; MRD: Mandibular repositioning devices; MAS: Mandibular advancement splints; MAA: Mandibular advancement appliances; OA: Oral appliances; AASM: American Academy of Sleep Medicine; AHI: Apnea-hypopnea index; EEG: Sleep-related breathing disorder SRBD; Electroencephalogram; EOG: Electrooculogram; ECG: Electrocardiogram; QOL: Quality of life; TMJ: Temporomandibular joint.

This study aimed to assess dental care needs in Cluj region during the State of Emergency, declared due to the COVID-19 pandemic, compared to the same period of the year 2019. A descriptive retrospective analysis was conducted, which retrieved patients seeking emergency dental services at the Emergency Department of County General Hospital and “Iuliu Hațieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, the only dental service available in April 2020. Recorded data cover the month of April 2020 and is compared with the same period of 2019. During April 2020, 724 patients received dental care, whereas only 160 patients were treated in April 2019 in the same facility. The number of patients with acute apical periodontitis, abscess, and acute pulpitis was significantly higher in 2020. The percentage of patients receiving sedative filling for the treatment of acute pulpitis in 2020 was significantly higher than in 2019, while the proportion of patients receiving pulpectomy was higher in 2019. The percentage of patients receiving endodontic drainage for the treatment of acute periapical periodontitis in 2020 was higher. This study demonstrates that the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the use of medical care services and could further impact the oral health and quality of life of patients.

To our knowledge, recent oral health data in Romania is poor, as no comprehensive oral health surveys have been carried out in the last five years. The present cross-sectional oral health survey aimed to assess the dental health status in 6 and 12-year old children from Transylvania, in correlation with their family background, oral-health behavior, and the intake of sweets. The study was conducted on 290 children from nine schools in the Transylvanian region of Romania. The study consisted of the clinical examination of children, recording of data in an International Cavity Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS) chart, and a questionnaire referring to the child’s parental education, frequency, and motivation of visits to the dentist, dental care habits, and the intake of sweets. Our results indicated that the most prevalent ICDAS scores recorded in 6-year-old children were “0A” (p = 0.001464), “03” (p = 0.00366), “05” (p = 0.005563), “06” for rural areas. Restorations were statistically more prevalent in the urban population (p = 0.000076). The ICDAS score for 12-year old children was “03” (p = 0.003614) and prevalent in the urban area. The ICDAS score for the rural area was “04” (p = 0.0056). Comparing dental health status with family background demonstrated a strong correlation for the group of 6-year-old children, and a lack of correlation for the 12-year-old children. The number of dental visits corelated with the parents’ backgrounds, and was higher in the urban population. Frequent hygiene habits (toothbrushing) were statistically correlated with lower ICDAS scores: “04” (p = 0.016482), “05” (p = 0.039127), “06” (p = 0.010785). Eating habits in both age groups were associated with statistically significant differences of “03”, “04”, “05”, “06”, “0A” in the ICDAS score. The obtained results provided clarification on the dental health situation in Romania and the potential risk factors of caries among the population, and therefore it could be used as a starter point for future studies to investigate, in depth, the effects of various variables on cavities found in Transylvanian schoolchildren.

A beautiful smile is an important feature when it comes to a pleasant appearance of the face, and one of the most common situations that drive patients to book a dental appointment is tooth discoloration. Tooth bleaching is the treatment of choice for extrinsic tooth discoloration, as it is a cheap, fast, and minimally invasive procedure. This study aimed to provide comparative information on the perceptions of both patients and dentists regarding different whitening methods and on the factors involved in people’s willingness to recommend and use a bleaching procedure. In addition to this, this study evaluated the degree of satisfaction in relation to the bleaching methods and materials used; it also evaluated the following: negative side effects, economic characteristics and the patients’ perceptions of the aesthetic appearance of their dental arches, especially tooth color. The subjects that participated in the present study were selected based on their background and were then divided into two categories. The first group consisted of 120 patients who had received tooth-bleaching treatments in dental clinics during the study and the second group consisted of 127 dentists. A conventional sampling method was used. The study aimed to define a relationship between multiple aspects of the tooth-bleaching procedure, including the patients’ desires and their general knowledge of this procedure. Tooth color and the way it changes is a very important factor that motivates patients to come to the dentist for whitening procedures. Patients showed the highest levels of satisfaction with the results of in-office bleaching procedures. In the group consisting of dentists, satisfaction levels were higher for the procedure of home bleaching supervised by a dentist. Factors influencing the choice of bleaching materials are appreciated differently by dentists and patients. Furthermore, the rate of patients using OTC (over the counter) products was found to be high. Further research is needed to find more effective and safer alternatives to home tooth-bleaching procedures.

Background and objectives: The aim of this systematic review with meta-analysis is to assess the available evidence from human clinical studies of using self-ligating brackets compared to conventional brackets in maintaining periodontal health. Materials and methods: The protocol details were registered in the PROSPERO database (CRD42022302689). This review was performed under the PRISMA guidelines. The electronic search was performed in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and grey literature databases, as well as manual searches to find relevant articles published until January 2022. The inclusion criteria consisted of human clinical studies which reported the use of fixed orthodontic treatment with self-ligating brackets (SLBs) or conventional brackets (CBs) in maintaining periodontal health. Results: A total of 453 studies were imported into the Covidence Platform from the databases. Of these, six articles met the inclusion criteria. For plaque index, statistical significance was achieved for SLBs compared to CBs (0.31 (95% CI (0.15 to 0.48), p = 0.0001). For gingival index, probing depth and bleeding on probing no statistical significance was achieved. None of the included studies assessed clinical attachment level. Conclusions: The present systematic review with meta-analysis was considered to provide relevant data on periodontal health during orthodontic treatment in patients with SLBs in comparison with patients wearing CBs. Our findings indicated that SLBs are not superior to CBs in terms of periodontal health.