Background: There is an ongoing controversy on the benefits of treatment protocols, including dental lasers and photodynamic therapy (PDT). The purpose of this study is to compare the local biologic effects of PDT, diode soft laser (DSL) therapy, and conventional deep scaling and root planing (SRP) in residual pockets.Methods: Thirty‐two individuals were included based on a history of previous treatment for periodontitis and the persistence of sites with probing depths >4 mm and bleeding on probing. Residual pockets were debrided with an ultrasonic device and then randomly assigned either to PDT, DSL, or SRP. Gingival crevicular fluid was collected before treatment, after 14 days, and at 2 and 6 months. Levels of 13 cytokines and nine acute‐phase proteins were measured using a bead‐based multiplexing analysis system.Results: Treatment with PDT, DSL, or SRP led to significant changes in several cytokines and acute‐phase proteins: Compared with baseline, levels of interleukin‐17, basic fibroblast growth factor, granulocyte colony‐stimulating factor, granulocyte macrophage colony‐stimulating factor, and macrophage inflammatory protein 1‐α were lower 14 days and 2 months after treatment. Except for granulocyte colony‐stimulating factor, these differences remained significant throughout the observation period. The levels of five acute‐phase proteins (α‐2 macroglobulin, haptoglobin, serum amyloid P, procalcitonin, and tissue plasminogen activator) were significantly higher at 6 months than at baseline. No significant differences were observed among the three treatment modalities at any time point for any biochemical parameter.Conclusions: Levels of several cytokines and acute‐phase proteins significantly changed after treatment regardless of treatment modality. There was no evidence for a specific DSL‐ or PDT‐enhanced expression of inflammatory mediators.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to investigate the variation in the amount of the orthodontically induced tooth movement in humans and potential associations between the amount of tooth movement with age and location in the mandible or maxilla. Subjects and methods: This study included 11 participants (7 females, 4 males) with an age range of 11.3–28.6 years. In a standardized experimental orthodontic tooth movement protocol, two premolars of each participant were moved buccally during 8 weeks with the use of 1 N force. No functional or localized obstacles were affecting the displacement. Plaster models before and after the experimental tooth movement were constructed, digitized, and superimposed, to evaluate the amount of tooth movement of each tooth. Random effects linear regression analysis was performed to examine associations between tooth displacement, age, and tooth location. Results: The mean displacement of the teeth was 2.7±1.4mm. The range of tooth movement varied substantially between individuals (0.6–5.8mm). The displacement of the teeth within the same individual was highly correlated ( R 2 = 0.78, P < 0.001). The tooth displacement decreased with age; however, this finding did not reach statistical significance ( β = −0.11, 95% CI: −0.28, 0.05, P = 0.172). The tooth movement was higher in the maxilla than in the mandible ( β = 0.47, 95% CI: 0.81, 0.86, P = 0.018). Conclusion: Wide range of tooth displacement revealed slow and fast movers in this sample. Larger displacements were recorded in the maxilla compared to the mandible and in younger individuals.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) poses a significant challenge to global health, with its prevalence projected to rise dramatically by 2045. This narrative review explores the bidirectional relationship between periodontitis (PD) and type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), focusing on cellular and molecular mechanisms derived from the interplay between oral microbiota and the host immune response. A comprehensive search of studies published between 2008 and 2023 was conducted to elucidate the association between these two diseases. Preclinical and clinical evidence suggests a bidirectional relationship, with individuals with T1DM exhibiting heightened susceptibility to periodontitis, and vice versa. The review includes recent findings from human clinical studies, revealing variations in oral microbiota composition in T1DM patients, including increases in certain pathogenic species such as Porphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotella intermedia, and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, along with shifts in microbial diversity and abundance. Molecular mechanisms underlying this association involve oxidative stress and dysregulated host immune responses, mediated by inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6, IL-8, and MMPs. Furthermore, disruptions in bone turnover markers, such as RANKL and OPG, contribute to periodontal complications in T1DM patients. While preventive measures to manage periodontal complications in T1DM patients may improve overall health outcomes, further research is needed to understand the intricate interactions between oral microbiota, host response, periodontal disease, and systemic health in this population.

Objectives. To evaluate the expression of the receptor activator of NF-κB (RANK), the receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL) and osteoprotegerin (OPG), in the gingival tissue of patients with periodontitis. Materials and methods. Gingival tissue was obtained from 14 systemically healthy subjects with chronic periodontitis during conventional periodontal surgery. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of RANK, RANKL and OPG in the oral and periodontal pocket epithelium as well as in the connective tissue cells. Results. RANKL was negatively expressed in both oral and periodontal pocket epithelium. OPG was also negative or weakly positive in the whole epithelium. RANK showed moderate/strong positive staining mainly in the basal and suprabasal layer of oral and periodontal pocket epithelium. In most of the cases, more than 60% of the inflammatory cell infiltrate stained for RANK and RANKL. In these cases the intensity of the stained cells ranged from moderate-to-strong. In less than half of the cases, OPG was positive in more than 60% of the stained cells of the inflammatory cell infiltrate. Conclusion. The RANK, RANKL and OPG proteins are differentially expressed in periodontal tissues and may play a major role in the bone loss occurring in periodontitis.

The aim of this study was to investigate the variation in the amount of the orthodontically induced cervical root resorption and the association with several factors, such as the amount of tooth displacement, location of tooth in the maxilla or mandible, and presence of an interference that may influence the amount of root resorption. This study included 30 subjects (20 females, 10 males) with an age range of 11.3 to 43.0 years. Using a standardized experimental orthodontic tooth movement, 59 premolars were moved buccaly during 8 weeks with application of 1 N force. Fifty-eight contralateral premolars not subjected to orthodontic tooth movement served as controls. At the end of the experimental period the teeth were carefully extracted, scanned in a micro-computed tomography scanner with a resolution of 9 µm, and the reconstructed images were processed for volumetric evaluation of resorption craters at the cervical part of the root surface. Data were analyzed using unpaired t-test and the Pearson’s correlation. Higher amount of cervical root resorption was detected in the orthodontically moved teeth (0.00055 mm³) compared to controls (0.00003 mm³; P < 0.001). Moderate correlation was found between root resorption in the two experimental teeth within the same individual (R = 0.421, P = 0.023). Teeth located in the mandible presented more resorption than those in the maxilla (P = 0.046). The amount of root resorption was correlated to the amount of tooth movement (R = 0.318, P = 0.016). Application of a 1 N force over a 2-month period provokes severe root resorption at the compression cervical sites. Resorption is correlated with the amount of tooth movement and the location of the teeth.