Background: Chronic inflammatory disorders, such as periodontitis, may contribute to pro-hypertensive inflammation. Objectives: This study aimed to analyze changes in parameters for periodontitis, such as periodontal inflamed surface area (PISA) and serum inflammatory markers, following non-surgical periodontal treatment in hypertensive patients. Methods: A quasi-experimental pre-and-post study was conducted, involving 42 controlled hypertensive patients with periodontitis. The patients underwent periodontal assessment and tests, including complete blood count, glucose, triglycerides, HDL-C, LDL-C, and serum levels of inflammatory biomarkers. All patients received scaling and root planning treatment in a single session and were reevaluated one month after the treatment. Results: Post-treatment evaluations showed significant improvements in periodontal inflammation parameters, such as pocket depth, attachment level, bleeding on probing, and biofilm percentage, with statistically significant differences (p < 0.001). There were decreases in serum VEGF levels (p < 0.001) and reductions in PISA associated with declines in cytokine levels such as IL-10, IL-6, IL-12p70, IL-17A, and VEGF. PISA for IL-6 and IL-10 had a positive correlation before periodontal treatment and with IL-1β and IL-10 after treatment. Conclusions: Hypertensive patients with periodontitis who underwent non-surgical periodontal treatment showed improvements in their periodontal condition, a decrease in cytokine levels such as VEGF, and reductions in PISA associated with declines in cytokines such as IL-10, IL-6, IL-12p70, IL-17A, and VEGF. These findings confirm the role of inflammation in hypertensive patients with periodontitis.

Periodontitis has been commonly linked to periodontopathogens categorized in Socransky’s microbial complexes; however, there is a lack of knowledge regarding “other microorganisms” or “cryptic microorganisms”, which are rarely thought of as significant oral pathogens and have been neither previously categorized nor connected to illnesses in the oral cavity. This study hypothesized that these cryptic microorganisms could contribute to the modulation of oral microbiota present in health or disease (periodontitis and/or obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients). For this purpose, the presence and correlation among these cultivable cryptic oral microorganisms were identified, and their possible role in both conditions was determined. Data from oral samples of individuals with or without periodontitis and with or without OSA were obtained from a previous study. Demographic data, clinical oral characteristics, and genera and species of cultivable cryptic oral microorganisms identified by MALDI-TOF were recorded. The data from 75 participants were analyzed to determine the relative frequencies of cultivable cryptic microorganisms’ genera and species, and microbial clusters and correlations tests were performed. According to periodontal condition, dental-biofilm-induced gingivitis in reduced periodontium and stage III periodontitis were found to have the highest diversity of cryptic microorganism species. Based on the experimental condition, these findings showed that there are genera related to disease conditions and others related to healthy conditions, with species that could be related to different chronic diseases being highlighted as periodontitis and OSA comorbidities. The cryptic microorganisms within the oral microbiota of patients with periodontitis and OSA are present as potential pathogens, promoting the development of dysbiotic microbiota and the occurrence of chronic diseases, which have been previously proposed to be common risk factors for periodontitis and OSA. Understanding the function of possible pathogens in the oral microbiota will require more research.

A positive relationship has been reported between advanced periodontitis and carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) measurement. The aim of this study was to investigate this relationship with parameters for periodontitis, such as PISA and systemic inflammation biomarkers. An observational descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted. A blood sample was collected from 75 subjects to analyze glucose, total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, and cytokine values. Increased cIMT was found in 32% of the patients with fewer teeth. Patients with periodontitis had a larger periodontal inflamed surface area (PISA) (p = 0.000) and had a 1.42-times-higher risk of having increased cIMT values compared to periodontally healthy individuals, though without a statistically significant association. Higher values in the left cIMT, IL-8, and TNF-α were found in men than in women with significant differences. In the multivariate analysis involving cytokines, age continues to be linked to increased cIMT values. INF-γ showed a trend towards a protective effect; as the IMT-M decreases, there is an increase in the expression of INF-γ, and a higher proportion of subjects with elevated INF-γ concentrations demonstrated normal IMT-C. This study did not find a statistically significant association between cIMT and periodontal disease, but the risk of having increased cIMT is 1.42-times higher for individuals with periodontitis.

Studies regarding cytotoxic effects attributed to the use of adhesive bonding agents on pulp tissue are not conclusive. To point out whether these materials are safe for clinical use, in vivo exposure of dental pulp to adhesive bonding agents was simulated using an experimental setup in which Human Dental Pulp Stem Cells (hDPSC) are exposed to the action of two kinds of adhesives: self-etching adhesives and two-step bonding agents through a dentine barrier. Cytotoxic effects on these cells were evaluated by MTT assay protocol and fluorescence microscopy, and their results were contrasted to those obtained through Raman spectra taken on single hDPSCs. Overall, no significant cytotoxic effects were observed by combining all the techniques, and cell viability close to 90% was achieved for a dentine barrier of at least 1 mm thick. Moreover, Raman spectroscopy was able to detect structural DNA damage in some dental pulp cells when exposed to two-step bonding agents, suggesting that this technique could be considered a complementary tool with the potential to evaluate cell toxicity beyond cell viability.