Artificial intelligence (AI) plays a more and more important role in our everyday life due to the advantages that it brings when used, such as 24/7 availability, a very low percentage of errors, ability to provide real time insights, or performing a fast analysis. AI is increasingly being used in clinical medical and dental healthcare analyses, with valuable applications, which include disease diagnosis, risk assessment, treatment planning, and drug discovery. This paper presents a narrative literature review of AI use in healthcare from a multi-disciplinary perspective, specifically in the cardiology, allergology, endocrinology, and dental fields. The paper highlights data from recent research and development efforts in AI for healthcare, as well as challenges and limitations associated with AI implementation, such as data privacy and security considerations, along with ethical and legal concerns. The regulation of responsible design, development, and use of AI in healthcare is still in early stages due to the rapid evolution of the field. However, it is our duty to carefully consider the ethical implications of implementing AI and to respond appropriately. With the potential to reshape healthcare delivery and enhance patient outcomes, AI systems continue to reveal their capabilities.

Numerous technologies and materials were developed with the aim of repairing and reconstructing the tissue loss in patients with periodontitis. Periodontal guided bone regeneration (GBR) and guided tissue regeneration (GTR) involves the use of a membrane which prevents epithelial cell migration, and helps to maintain the space, creating a protected area in which tissue regeneration is favored. Over the time, manufacturing procedures of such barrier membranes followed important improvements. Three-dimensional (3D) printing technology has led to major innovations in periodontal regeneration methods, using technologies such as inkjet printing, light-assisted 3D printing or micro-extrusion. Besides the 3D printing of monophasic and multi-phasic scaffolds, bioprinting and tissue engineering have emerged as innovative technologies which can change the way we see GTR and GBR.

Guided tissue regeneration (GTR) and guided bone regeneration (GBR) became common procedures in the corrective phase of periodontal treatment. In order to obtain good quality tissue neo-formation, most techniques require the use of a membrane that will act as a barrier, having as a main purpose the blocking of cell invasion from the gingival epithelium and connective tissue into the newly formed bone structure. Different techniques and materials have been developed, aiming to obtain the perfect barrier membrane. The membranes can be divided according to the biodegradability of the base material into absorbable membranes and non-absorbable membranes. The use of absorbable membranes is extremely widespread due to their advantages, but in clinical situations of significant tissue loss, the use of non-absorbable membranes is often still preferred. This descriptive review presents a synthesis of the types of barrier membranes available and their characteristics, as well as future trends in the development of barrier membranes along with some allergological aspects of membrane use.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and periodontal disease (PD) are chronic complex inflammatory diseases with several common susceptibility factors, especially genetic and environmental risk factors. Although both disorders involve a perturbation of the immune–inflammatory response at multiple levels, one major difference between the two is the different locations in which they develop. RA is triggered by an exaggerated autoimmune response that targets joints, while periodontal disease occurs as a consequence of the subgingival periodontopathogenic microbiota. Current treatment models in both pathologies involve the stratification of patients to allow therapeutic individualization according to disease stage, complexity, progression, lifestyle, risk factors, and additional systemic diseases. Therapeutic guidelines for RA comprise of five main classes of drugs: non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), analgesics, glucocorticoids, and disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs): biologic and non-biologic. Although various treatment options are available, a definitive treatment remains elusive, therefore research is ongoing in this area. Several alternatives are currently being tested, such as matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) inhibitors, toll-like receptors (TLR) blockers, pro-resolution mediators, anti-hypoxia inducing factors, stem cell therapy, NLRP3 inhibitors and even natural derived compounds. Although the link between PD and rheumatoid arthritis has been investigated by multiple microbiology and immunology studies, the precise influence and causality is still debated in the literature. Furthermore, the immunomodulatory effect of anti-rheumatic drugs on the periodontium is still largely unknown. In this narrative review, we explore the mechanisms of interaction and the potential influence that anti-rheumatoid medication, including novel treatment options, has on periodontal tissues and whether periodontal health status and treatment can improve the prognosis of an RA patient.

Background: The aim of our study was to explore the influence of weekly subcutaneous administration of interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor inhibitor tocilizumab (TCZ) on periodontal status in a local longitudinal study of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and periodontal disease (PD). Methods: We performed a 6-month prospective study in 51 patients with chronic periodontitis and moderate-to-severe RA starting TCZ in accordance with local recommendations. Extensive rheumatologic (clinical activity, inflammatory, serological biomarkers) and periodontal (visible plaque index, gingival index, bleeding on probing, probing pocket depth, clinical attachment loss) assessments were done. Changes in RA activity and periodontal status were reassessed after 3 and 6 months. Results: We demonstrated significant correlations between periodontal status, disease activity, and serologic biomarkers (p < 0.05). Tocilizumab significantly improved the gingival index scores and decreased the number of sites with bleeding on probing after only 3 months (p < 0.05), while the probing pocket depth significantly decreased after 6 months; overall, clinical attachment loss presented only slight changes without any statistical significance as well as teeth count and plaque levels (p > 0.05). Conclusion: IL-6 inhibition is able to improve periodontal outcomes in patients with RA and concomitant PD, which is essentially related to a dramatic decrease in serum inflammatory mediators.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of adjunctive periodontal therapy of 5 mg/mL indocyanine green irradiation by an 810 nm diode laser (aPDT), supplementary to scaling and root planing (SRP) in patients with periodontitis and type II diabetes mellitus (DM) compared to the SRP alone, on periodontal clinical parameters and glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c). The study was conducted on 49 subjects with type II DM and periodontitis, divided into two groups: the SRP group (n = 25), who followed SRP alone, and the SRP + aPDT group (n = 24), who followed SRP and four weekly sessions of indocyanine green irradiation by an 810 nm diode laser. Plaque Index (PI), Bleeding on Probing Index (BOP), probing depth (PD), clinical attachment loss (CAL) and HbA1c were investigated at baseline and after 6 months. At 6 months, both SRP alone and SRP + aPDT generated significant reductions in all the investigated parameters; SRP + aPDT produced more significant reductions for BOP, PD and CAL (p < 0.001) but not for PI and HbA1c, than SRP alone. aPDT with indocyanine green therapy was well tolerated, with two subjects reporting slight discomfort. Therefore, aPDT with indocyanine green might represent a good adjunctive periodontal treatment option for SRP in patients with type II DM and periodontitis.