Background and Objectives: Halitosis is a condition characterized by unpleasant breath smell that is starting to receive serious scientific attention, considering it reflects on people’s social and personal life. While most studies focus on the prevalence of halitosis, its medical etiology, and the psychological impact on adults, there is a lack of evidence regarding the social impact of halitosis on the younger population. Therefore, this systematic review aimed to observe the social and emotional impact that halitosis has on adolescents and young adults. Materials and Methods: The review followed the PRISMA protocol, and four electronic databases (Scopus, Scholar, Web of Science, and ProQuest) were searched. From a total of 593 studies retrieved, only 6 were included in the study after assessing the eligibility criteria. Results: The main results showed that the levels of self-reported halitosis ranged from 23.1% to 77.5%, with an average of 44.7%, indicating a significant heterogeneity among the studies reporting this issue. Adolescents and young adults who experienced bad breath were feeling more anxious and depressed according to the non-standardized questionnaires and the standardized questionnaires (OHIP-14 and SCL-9-R). The respondents were isolated from social interactions and consequently had lower self-esteem and impaired quality of life. Conclusions: The conclusions drawn indicate the need for action on a medical level, as well as on a psychological level, in order to improve people’s oral health and help them navigate through the difficulties of maintaining social interactions as they live with halitosis.

Acute Odontogenic Infections (OI) are the leading cause of emergency visits and hospitalizations to the maxillofacial department, and may induce systemic inflammatory complications. Increasing numbers of OI patients need extended hospitalizations, various treatments, and intensive care. The Symptom Severity score (SS) helps doctors assess the likelihood of infection and admission complications. Systemic Immune-inflammation Index (SII) is a biomarker-based inflammatory prognosis score. It was hypothesized that greater SII and SS values might suggest a higher risk for sepsis and systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). Therefore, this research aims to discover whether SII and SS scores can reliably predict odontogenic infection severity and prognosis, and if they can be used to predict the development of SIRS and sepsis in OI using admission features. The study was designed as a retrospective cohort, with patients’ data being retrieved from medical records between January 2017 to April 2022. A total of 108 OI patients were matched 1:1 as low-severity and high-severity groups. Most individuals with severe infections had diabetes and smoking as comorbidities. Severe patients had longer hospital stays (12.0 days vs. 4.1 days), although mortality rates did not significantly differ. A total of 11.1% lower-severity patients (Group A) had SIRS during hospitalization, compared to Group B with 25.9%. Group A had 7.4% of patients that developed sepsis compared to Group B’s rate of 22.2%. The correlation between OI’s SS and SII index values was positive and statistically significant (r = 0.6314). The total SII index mean was 1303, whereas the mean values by severity were 696.3 in Group A and 2312.4 in Group B. Group A’s mean SS score was 6.1, while Group B’s was 13.6. According to the calculated AUC plots, SII and SS scores were accurate predictors of sepsis and SIRS development using OI admission parameters. The adjusted odds ratio for SIRS in OI patients was 2.09, and 2.27 for sepsis. Medical professionals and dentistry teams should be encouraged to use the SII and SS scores to diagnose and anticipate sepsis and SIRS, hence improving disease management decisions.

Prenatal Vitamin D has been suggested to be critical for dental health in children, affecting outcomes including the prevalence of enamel defects and tooth erosion. This systematic review aimed to evaluate the potential impact of prenatal Vitamin D levels on these dental health outcomes. A total of seven studies, involving 6978 participants, were included after a comprehensive search of PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus from 2013 to June 2023. The average age of mothers varied across studies, with Vitamin D levels or supplementation practices displaying significant variation among the study populations. The age of children at examination ranged from 3.6 to 6.6 years. The analysis demonstrated a diverse association between Vitamin D levels and dental outcomes, with enamel defects reported in 21.1% to 64% of the children and opacities ranging from 36% to 79.5% across studies. Maternal Vitamin D insufficiency was identified as a significant risk factor for enamel defects in one study (OR: 3.55), whereas high prenatal Vitamin D levels indicated a protective effect against Hypomineralized Second Primary Molars (OR: 0.84) and Molar Incisor Hypomineralization (OR: 0.95) in another. Conversely, low Vitamin D levels increased the risk of enamel hypoplasia (OR: 1.29) and dental decay. The maternal and child demographics varied greatly across the studies, and the assessment and prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency were heterogenous. This review illuminates the potential influence of prenatal Vitamin D on dental health in children, underscoring the importance of adequate Vitamin D levels during pregnancy. However, more robust research is required to establish the optimal Vitamin D intake during pregnancy to ensure healthy dental outcomes in children.

Infective endocarditis (IE) is a bacterial infection with high morbidity and mortality rates, particularly among the elderly. This systematic review was conducted to determine the clinical characteristics of IE in older adults and the risk factors that could lead to adverse outcomes. The research employed three databases (PubMed, Wiley, and Web of Science), with a primary search for studies that have described cases of IE in patients older than 65 years. From a total of 555 articles, 10 were selected for inclusion in the current study, comprising a total of 2222 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of IE. The primary findings were an increased incidence of staphylococcal and streptococcal infections (33.4% and32.0%, respectively), an increased prevalence of comorbidities, namely, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer, and a significantly greater mortality risk than the younger group. Regarding mortality risks, the pooled odds ratio for cardiac disorders was OR = 3.81, septic shock OR = 8.22, renal complications OR = 3.75, and advancing age OR = 3.54 were most frequently mentioned. Taking into consideration the fact that the majority of the elderly population suffers from significant complications and is unable to undergo surgery due to an increased risk of complications after the procedure, it is imperative that effective treatment methods should be investigated.

Background and Objectives: Odontogenic infections (OI) represent a frequent cause of dental and maxillo-facial interventions, mostly due to late presentations or misdiagnosed complications. It is believed that the intensity of the immunoinflammatory response in OI is the main prognostic factor. Therefore, in this research, it was pursued to determine if the combination of C-reactive protein (CRP) and Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR) (CRP-NLR) may serve as potential severity predictors in patients with odontogenic infections. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis on 108 patients hospitalized for odontogenic infections was conducted at the Department of Maxillofacial Surgery. Depending on the symptom severity scale, patients hospitalized with OI were divided into two equal groups based on infection severity (SS). Results: Patients with severe OI from Group B were associated more frequently with diabetes mellitus and smoking more often than those with a lower severity from Group A. In Group A, abscesses of odontogenic origin accounted for 70.4% of hospitalizations, while in Group B, abscesses and cellulitis were associated in 55.6% of cases (p-value < 0.001). The disease outcomes were more severe in Group B patients, where 22.2% of them developed sepsis, compared to 7.4% of Group A patients (p-value = 0.030). However, there was no significant difference in mortality rates. The SS and systemic immune inflammation index (SII) scores of Group B patients were substantially higher than Group A patients (13.6 vs. 6.1 for the SS score, p-value < 0.001), respectively, 2312.4 vs. 696.3 for the SII score (p-value < 0.001). All biomarker scores, including the CRP-NLR relationship, were considerably higher in Group B patients, with a median score of 341.4 vs. 79.0 in Group B (p-value < 0.001). The CRP-NLR association determined a 7.28-fold increased risk of severe OI. The receiver operating curve (ROC) analysis of CRP-NLR yielded an area under curve (AUC) value of 0.889, with high sensitivity (79.6%) and high specificity (85.1%), for predicting a severe odontogenic infection using biomarkers measured at hospital admission (p-value < 0.001). Conclusions: Therefore, it can be concluded that CRP-NLR is a reliable and affordable biomarker for determining the severity of odontogenic infections that may be included in other prognostic models for dental infections.

Recent research has highlighted potential benefits of vitamin C in managing periodontal diseases, yet systematic reviews to consolidate these findings are scarce. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of vitamin C supplementation in preventing and treating periodontal diseases and elucidate the biological mechanisms underlying these effects. We conducted a systematic review following PRISMA guidelines, searching three databases up to 13 April 2024, for studies from 2010 onward. Our selection criteria aimed to capture a wide range of studies regarding vitamin C’s impact on periodontal health. After rigorous screening, 16 studies were included in the final analysis. Meta-analysis techniques were employed to synthesize data and evaluate the association between vitamin C intake and periodontal disease outcomes. The meta-analysis included 17,853 participants from studies with diverse geographical and demographic settings. Notable findings indicated that higher vitamin C intake was associated with a reduction in periodontal disease risk, with a pooled odds ratio (OR) of 1.52 (95% CI: 1.49–1.55). The individual studies reported ORs ranging from 0.62 (95% CI: 0.38–0.94) indicating significant protective effects, to 1.66 (95% CI: 1.04–2.64), suggesting increased risks associated with inadequate vitamin C levels. The heterogeneity among the studies was high (I² = 95.46%), reflecting variability in study design and population characteristics. This systematic review confirms that vitamin C supplementation has a beneficial effect on periodontal health. The significant variability across studies suggests that individual dietary needs and baseline vitamin C levels might influence the effectiveness of supplementation. These findings underscore the importance of personalized nutritional guidance as part of comprehensive periodontal care. Future research should focus on longitudinal studies to better understand the causal relationships and potential confounding factors affecting the link between vitamin C intake and periodontal health.