Periodontal disease is a multi-microbial infection of the teeth-supporting apparatus that manifests as clinical attachment loss and alveolar bone loss. The association between periodontal disease and systemic diseases has been proposed in the literature owing to the former’s chronic state of inflammation, and adverse pregnancy outcomes are no exception. As a result of periodontal pathogen invasion, a series of systemic inflammatory and immunologic events affecting the safety of the fetoplacental unit may unfold. This may be further exaggerated by physiologic hormonal and metabolic fluctuations during pregnancy. This can not only negatively affect the gestation period and consequently cause preterm low weight but also complicate the pregnancy via preeclampsia and gestational diabetes. This narrative review article aims to provide a summary of relevant available evidence pertinent to the relationship between periodontal diseases, associated periodontal pathogens and virulence mechanisms mediated by pro-inflammatory cytokines and prostaglandins, and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Furthermore, this article highlights some of the literature addressing the impact of periodontal therapy interventions and pregnancy outcomes.

Background Individuals with psychological distress are at significantly higher risk of arthritis, cardiovascular disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. However, influence of psychological distress on oral health remains a concern. The purpose of this study was to evaluate psychological distress and its relationship with caries, oral hygiene status, gingival health, and other factors among adults. Methods This cross-sectional study included a sample of 558 adult patients at the Dental Hospital College of Dentistry, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia. The World Health Organization criteria were used to perform an oral examination of participants who responded to a self-administered questionnaire. Psychological distress was evaluated by using the General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12), which consists of 12 items on a 4-point Likert scale and its score ranges from 0 to 36. The oral health of participants was assessed using the DMFT, plaque, gingival, and simplified oral hygiene indices. Results In this study, 21.5% of participants demonstrated psychological distress, with 16.80% having mild distress and 4.70% having severe distress. The mean score of GHQ-12 of the study sample was 10.47 +/- 5.77. Significantly higher median scores of GHQ-12 were observed among participants over the age of 30 years (p = 0.021), low-income individuals (p = 0.008), smokers (p = 0.019), and those with medical problems (p < 0.001). Participants with psychological distress demonstrated significantly higher caries, poor gingival health, and compromised oral hygiene (p < 0.005). Multiple linear regression models revealed significant relationships between psychological distress and the DMFT index (p < 0.001), plaque index (p < 0.001), gingival index (p < 0.001), and simplified oral hygiene index (p < 0.001) after adjusting for age, sex, nationality, income, and education. Conclusion Psychological distress was prevalent among the participants. Higher age, low-income status, smoking, and medical problems were significantly related to psychological distress. Additionally, psychological distress was significantly correlated with dental caries experience, gingival health, and oral hygiene.

Lithium disilicate glass–ceramic (LDC) restorations exhibit microorganism infiltration, recurrent caries, pulpal lesions, periodontal inflammation, and cement exposure to the oral environment over time. All these factors lead to restoration failure. This systematic review aimed to investigate the clinical outcomes of LDC full-coverage crowns (FCC) in permanent teeth compared with those of other full-coverage restoration materials. Search strategies were developed for four databases: Web of Science, OVID, PubMed, and Scopus. Data extraction and quality appraisals were performed by two independent reviewers. Data on the presence of caries, post-operative sensitivity, and periodontal changes were extracted from the included clinical studies. In addition to the outcome measures, data on the sample size, study groups, method of restoration fabrication, type of impression, and type of abutment were recorded. We retrieved 3989 records for the title and abstract screening. Of these, 19 clinical studies met the inclusion criteria. The overall quality of the included studies indicates a low risk of bias. Most studies reported no pulpal involvement, recurrent caries, or post-operative sensitivity and presented a favorable periodontal response after the cementation of LDC-FCC during different follow-up periods. Based on the endodontic and periodontic clinical responses of natural tooth abutments and their supporting periodontium, LDC-FCC can be considered a clinically successful restorative option.

Periodontal and peri-implant soft and hard tissue in diabetic patients have always been a topic of interest for researchers and clinicians alike. Among which, a subtopic that has attracted more attention is the beneficial effect of metformin (MF) on periodontal and peri-implant soft and hard tissue. This review aimed to assess the impact of MF on the periodontal and peri-implant soft- and hard-tissue healing among diabetic patients. Research was conducted using the keywords ‘metformin’, ‘diabetes’, ‘periodontitis’, ‘implant’, and ‘peri-implantitis’ via the Medline (PubMed) and Google Scholar databases. Selected articles were reviewed. A total of 21 articles, discussing the impact on periodontal health (six animal studies, seven clinical studies, and three systematic reviews) and five studies on peri-implant health (four animal studies and one clinical study) were included. All have reported a positive impact of MF on decreasing the inflammatory response, oxidative stress, and ultimate bone loss. Similarly, human studies reported a positive effect of MF on clinical and radiographic parameters compared with controls. Despite systematic reviews reporting heterogeneity among the included studies, MF has shown a positive impact on periodontal health. In animal, clinical studies, and systematic reviews, MF showed a protective impact on periodontal and peri-implant health.

Background/Objectives: Periodontal and implant therapies frequently require soft tissue augmentation for optimal outcomes. As the hard palate serves as the primary donor site, this study evaluated palatal masticatory mucosa thickness variations in a Saudi population of the Eastern Province using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) at a teaching dental hospital, providing site-specific data for clinical applications. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional analysis of 215 CBCT scans from systemically healthy, non-smoking adults (>18 years) was conducted at the University Dental Hospital. Measurements were taken at 12 standardized sites (3 mm, 6 mm, and 9 mm from the cementoenamel junction) across maxillary canines, premolars, and first molars. Statistical analysis included Friedman’s test and t-tests. Results: Significant site variations were observed, with the second premolar region showing greatest thickness (3.48 ± 0.80 mm at 9 mm) and the first molar region the lowest (1.88 ± 0.63 mm at 3 mm) (p < 0.001). Mucosal thickness generally increased coronally to apically (p < 0.001). Age >35 years correlated with significantly thicker mucosa (p < 0.05), while no statistically significant gender-based differences were observed for all sites (p > 0.05). Conclusions: CBCT provides reliable, non-invasive assessment of palatal mucosa thickness. These findings offer region-specific data for consideration in periodontal and implant procedures involving soft tissue grafting.