Key words: Music therapy; Dental anxiety; Hydrocortisone; Oral surgery; Clinical trial

Objective: To compare the oral health–related quality of life of patients treated for cleft lip and/or cleft palate (CL/P) versus unaffected children between 8 and 15 years of age using a Spanish-language version of the Child Oral Health Impact Profile (COHIP-Sp) administered to a Chilean population. Design: A cross-sectional study with a matched case-control design was used. Methods: Participants were 48 children (mean age 11.3 years) with a history of CL/P from three cities in Chile and one group of 96 children (mean age 11.2 years) unaffected by CL/P. The COHIP-Sp was applied to both groups. Quality of life was compared according to the overall score and the average score of items and domains on the COHIP-Sp scale between the two groups (Mann-Whitney U test; P < .05). Results: The COHIP-Sp score was 94.1 ± 19.3 in children with CL/P and 97.1 ± 15.6 for the control group ( P = .31). A significantly lower score was observed in the group with CL/P in the domains “functional well-being” ( P = .001) and “school environment” ( P = .001); the only average in favor of the quality of life in children with CL/P was in “self-image” ( P = .0002). Conclusion: The oral health–related quality of life of children with a history of CL/P was similar to that of the control group. Nevertheless, a lower quality of life was observed concerning items associated with speech and being understood by other people. Further study into the risk factors associated with surgery and rehabilitative treatment is recommended.

Leukocyte- and platelet-rich fibrin (L-PRF) has been used for alveolar ridge preservation (ARP) in postextraction tooth sockets. However, current reports have measured its effectiveness in linear measurements of 3-dimensional ridge preservation. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the use of L-PRF filling versus natural clot blood healing in ARP according to the clinical, radiographic, and volumetric measurements of postextraction tooth sockets. A split-mouth randomized clinical trial was designed. Healthy patients who needed bilateral extraction of upper third molars were selected. After the tooth extraction, the socket was filled and distributed randomly with L-PRF and the contralateral socket only with the blood clot. The dimensional change of soft tissue healing around the sockets, and the length, depth, and difference of bone formation were examined using standardized periapical radiographs. Volumetric measurement variation of the sockets was evaluated by 3-dimensional scanning of dental casts. Changes of all measures were analyzed at 7 days (initial) and 3 months (final) after the tooth extraction and compared between both groups (t test; P < .05). Sixteen patients (aged 24.75 ± 3.53 years; 56.25% women) participated. Measurements of wound healing and the length, depth, and difference of bone formation were similar for both study groups at initial and final times. The calculation of initial-final volumetric socket variation was 15.45 ± 13.12 μL using L-PRF and 14.12 ± 11.23 μL using blood clot (P = .78). L-PRF filling showed the same dimensional and volumetric behavior as normal blood clot healing in the ARP of postextraction tooth sockets. Future investigations will have to analyze the use of surgical models and digital instruments in ARP techniques.

Background: The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of warming anesthesia on the control of the pain produced during the administration of dental anesthesia injection and to analyze the role of Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid-1 nociceptor channels in this effect. Patients and methods: A double-blind, split-mouth randomized clinical trial was designed. Seventy-two volunteer students (22.1±2.45 years old; 51 men) from the School of Dentistry at the Universidad Austral de Chile (Valdivia, Chile) participated. They were each administered 0.9 mL of lidocaine HCl 2% with epinephrine 1:100,000 (Alphacaine^®) using two injections in the buccal vestibule at the level of the upper lateral incisor teeth. Anesthesia was administered in a hemiarch at 42°C (107.6°F) and after 1 week, anesthesia was administered by randomized sequence on the contralateral side at room temperature (21°C–69.8°F) at a standardized speed. The intensity of pain perceived during the injection was compared using a 100 mm visual analog scale (VAS; Wilcoxon test p<0.05). Results: The use of anesthesia at room temperature produced an average VAS for pain of 35.3±16.71 mm and anesthesia at 42°C produced VAS for pain of 15±14.67 mm (p<0.001). Conclusion: The use of anesthesia at 42°C significantly reduced the pain during the injection of anesthesia compared to its use at room temperature during maxillary injections. The physiological mechanism of the temperature on pain reduction could be due to a synergic action on the permeabilization of the Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid-1 channels, allowing the passage of anesthetic inside the nociceptors.