The aim of the present meta-analysis was to evaluate scientific evidence on the association between emotional disorder (depression and anxiety) and chronic periodontitis. An overall electronic literature search in PubMed, ISI Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure was undertaken up to November 2017. Newcastle–Ottawa scale was applied to ascertain the validity of each eligible study. Stata statistical software was used to perform meta-analysis. The strength of the association between periodontitis and emotional disorder was measured by odds ratios (ORs) with their 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). Subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis were performed. Publication bias was assessed through funnel plots and Begger's test. A total of 14 eligible articles were included in the meta-analysis, 6 of them were focused exclusively on depression, whereas 8 studies investigated both depression and anxiety. There was significant association between emotional disorder and chronic periodontitis (OR = 1.54, 95% CI = 1.27–1.86). Sensitivity analyses confirmed the stability of the present results. No evidence of asymmetry was observed in Begger's test. This meta-analysis demonstrates significant association between emotional disorder (including anxiety and depression) and chronic periodontitis. Nevertheless, the result should be interpreted with caution because of the potential bias and confounding in the included studies.

In recent years, the diode laser (810 nm) has been used for root canal disinfection, which plays an important role in endodontic therapy. This study was undertaken to evaluate the disinfecting ability of a diode laser in experimentally infected root canals of primary teeth. Human retained mandibular primary anterior teeth without apical foramen resorption were selected and contaminated with Enterococcus faecalis for 21 days. The specimens were randomly divided into four groups: the negative group (no treatment), positive group (5.25% NaOCl), diode laser group (diode laser), and diode-NaOCl group (diode laser combined with NaOCl). The disinfecting abilities of the treatments were measured by the numbers of bacteria, scanning electron microscopy and confocal laser microscopy (live-dead staining). Eighty teeth were selected. After irradiation and irrigation, the elimination of bacteria and the smear layer in the laser groups and positive group were significantly superior, compared with the negative group (p < 0.01). In the diode-NaOCl group, bacterial reduction reached nearly 100% on the surfaces of root canals; live bacteria were rarely observed, even in deeper dentinal tubules. Use of a diode laser, especially in combination with NaOCl, was effective for disinfecting infected root canals of primary teeth.

Objectives: This study aims to retrospectively evaluate the survival rate of pulpectomy performed under dental general anesthesia (DGA) through long-term follow-up and to explore the risk factors associated with treatment failure. Methods: The medical records of the children who were diagnosed with S-ECC and received pulpectomy treatment under general anesthesia (GA) from 1 August 2014 to 1 December 2019, in the Stomatological Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, were collected. Two dentistry postgraduates extracted the necessary information and filled in a predesigned excel form. Survival analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier method. The shared frailty model was used to explore possible factors affecting the success rate of pulpectomy in primary teeth. Results: A total of 381 children (mean age 3.49 ± 0.90) with S-ECC and 1220 teeth were included in the study, including 590 primary anterior teeth and 630 primary molars. The overall 35-month survival rate was 38.5%, which was 52.9% for anterior teeth and 31.1% for molars. The overall median survival time was 31 months, in which anterior teeth were 35 months and molars were 26 months. The older the children were, the greater the risk of treatment failure (HR 1.56, 95% CI 1.09, 2.24). The risk of pulpectomy failure of primary molars was 1.9 times that of primary anterior teeth (95% CI 1.36, 2.65) and the teeth with abnormal radiological findings before treatment was 1.41 times higher than that of teeth without imaging abnormalities (95% CI 1.74, 3.36). Conclusion: The survival rate of primary tooth pulpectomy is acceptable but decreased gradually with time. The failure rate of pulpectomy in primary molars is higher than that of primary anterior teeth. When the primary caries has extended to the pulp and resulted in a nonvital lesion, pulpectomy could be an option for maximum retention of the primary tooth.

Background/Objective: To retrospectively analyze the characteristics, tendencies, and success rates of dental treatments for severe early childhood caries (SECC) under general anesthesia (GA) in in northwest China. Study design: Children diagnosed with SECC were included in this retrospective study. From January 2015 to December 2018, they received dental treatment under GA at Affiliated Stomatology Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University. Demographic information, caries status and treatment characteristics were collected from electronic medical record system. Success rates of different treatments at 6-month and 12-month follow up were also analyzed. Results: A total of 846 children (477 male, 369 female) received dental treatment under GA. The case number was increased from 148 in 2015 to 278 in 2018. There were 81.2% and 70.8% of the children participated the 6-month and 12-month follow up. SSC and pulpotomy was the most successful restorations and pulp therapy, with the success rate of 97.09% and 93.98% in 12-month follow up, respectively. The use of crown restorations (including composite resin crown and stainless steel crown) and pulp reservation therapies (including indirect pulp therapy and pulpotomy) were significantly increased while composite resin filling and pulpectomy decreased during 2015 to 2018. Conclusion: There has been an increasing demand for dental treatment under GA for children with SECC in northwest China, with a trend toward younger ages. With better clinical outcomes, crown restorations and pulp reservation therapies were the fastest-growing treatments under GA.