While periodontitis deteriorates patients’ quality of life, non-surgical periodontal treatment seems to offer an improvement. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the impact of non-surgical and surgical periodontal treatment on the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) utilizing patient-centered assessments and surrogate clinical measurements in Greek adults. Eighty-three individuals with chronic periodontitis were enrolled in the study. Assessment of OHRQoL with the use of the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) questionnaire in conjunction with clinical measurements of pocket probing depth (PPD), plaque index (PI) and bleeding on probing (BOP) were performed at baseline (t0), after non-surgical therapy (t1) and after periodontal surgery (t2). A statistically significant reduction of OHIP-14 score was recorded at t1 and t2 examination compared to baseline (p < 0.001) and a statistically significant improvement in all clinical parameter at all time points was recorded (p < 0.05). No correlation between the clinical parameters and the total score of OHIP-14 was recorded at any time point. Non-surgical periodontal treatment seemed to improve OHRQoL in terms of OHIP-14 scores, whilst supplementary surgical periodontal therapy did not offer any additional benefit. No correlation was found between patients’ perception of quality of life expressed by OHIP-14 score and the surrogate clinical parameters.

Tooth wear (TW) is an irreversible and cumulative phenomenon causing aesthetic and functional compromise. Increasing wear has been associated with age, and various other factors have been reported to influence its type and/or severity both in individuals and groups. Increased TW may constitute a major future problem for the elderly. The present cross-sectional study aims at determining the prevalence of TW in senior citizens from Northern Greece and evaluating the patient-level associations between TW, periodontal condition, and sociodemographic factors. A sample of 363 dentate individuals, aged between 65 and 74 years, was considered according to the WHO guidelines for national pathfinder surveys and three different dentists examined the representative population groups from different urban and rural areas in Northern Greece. The examiners were calibrated prior to the survey, with an interexaminer agreement of over 85%. The simplified TWI, community periodontal index (CPI), attachment loss (AL), plaque index (DI), calculus index (CI), and sociodemographic factors were detected and measured. TW is very prevalent among senior citizens in Northern Greece, with males having been found to experience more wear. Age and oral health status, when measured by the periodontal indices AL, DI, and CI, are significantly combined with TW in both urban and rural areas.

Sub-optimal oral hygiene is considered as a primary risk factor for periodontitis occurrence. Various socio-behavioral determinants may contribute either independently or by influencing adversely the oral hygiene (OH) level. The aim of the present study was to examine the periodontal status of 35-44-year-old Greek adults and determine the contribution of risk indicators, including the socio-behavioral aspects and the population’s oral hygiene level, on disease prevalence. In 1218 participants, Community Periodontal Index (CPI), Loss of Attachment (LoA) and simplified Oral Hygiene Index (OHI-S) were calculated. Multivariable regression models examined the effect of socio-behavioral factors with/without the inclusion of OHI-S level on pocket depth (PD)≥4mm and LoA≥4mm presence. 11.8% of the participants had healthy periodontium, whereas 37.3% and 5.6% presented with shallow and deep pocketing, respectively. 60.4%, 28.8%, and 10.8.% of the adults demonstrated LoA≤3mm, 4-5mm, and ≥6mm, accordingly. Fair and poor oral hygiene significantly increased the likelihood for PD≥4mm (OR=4.8-20.3) and LoA≥4mm (OR=3.3-6.0) presence. ‘Emergency-oriented dental visiting pattern’ significantly elevated the chance for PD≥4mm presence (OR=1.7). ‘Lower education level’ ‘urban location’, and ‘using an interdental brush’ were significantly independently linked to LoA≥4mm occurrence (OR=1.7-2.1, 1.5, and 2.0, respectively). Lower educated individuals demonstrated inferior oral hygiene status, which in turn elevated significantly the chances of PD≥4mm presence. Smoking more than 10 cigarettes/day, emergency-oriented dental attendance pattern and not flossing were linked to worse oral hygiene levels, which consequently increased significantly the likelihood of LoA≥4mm occurrence. Fair and poor oral hygiene contribute strongly to periodontitis occurrence. Various socio-behavioral factors may influence adversely oral hygiene maintenance, leading to periodontitis manifestations. Key words:Community periodontal index, periodontal attachment loss, oral hygiene, adults 35-44, cross-sectional survey, socio-behavioral indicators.

Background: Exodontia (dental extraction), being the most frequent minor surgical procedure in the general population, inevitably involves a large number of patients on antithrombotic medication. Current experience shows that there is a degree of confusion in managing these patients. Description: Post-exodontia bleeding, a natural consequence of every dental extraction with no or minor clinical significance in the vast majority of cases, often appears to be of major concern to both patients and healthcare practitioners (dentists or physicians), either because of the alarming nature of oral bleeding itself or because of the distorted perception about its importance. These concerns are enhanced by the lack of a universal standardized definition of post-exodontia bleeding and by the fact that all currently available post-exodontia bleeding definitions bear intrinsic limitations and tend to overestimate its clinical significance. Conclusion: In order to overcome the aforementioned issues, this article presents an overview of post-extraction bleeding and proposes a classification, based on the well-recognized Bleeding Academic Research Consortium (BARC) bleeding definition, aiming at reducing heterogeneity in this field.