METHODS: Two-fold serial micro-dilution method was used to measure minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of aqueous extracts of Gt, Sp and their combinations. Adsorption to hexadecane was used to determine the cell surface hydrophobicity (CSH) of bacterial cells. Glass beads were used to mimic the hard tissue surfaces, and were coated with saliva to develop experimental pellicles for the adhesion of the primary colonizing bacteria.

RESULTS: Gt aqueous extracts exhibited better anti-plaque effect than Sp aqueous extracts. Their combination, equivalent to 1/4 and 1/2 of MIC values of Gt and Sp extracts respectively, showed synergistic anti-plaque properties with fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) equal to 0.75. This combination was found to significantly reduce CSH (p<0.05) and lower the adherence ability (p<0.003) towards experimental pellicles.

METHODS: A 24 h plaque re-growth, double-blinded, randomized crossover trial was carried out. Participants (n = 14) randomly rinsed with test formulation, 0.12% chlorhexidine (control) and placebo mouthwashes for 24 h. A week before the trial, all participants received scaling, polishing and oral hygiene education. On the trial day, the participants received polishing at baseline and rinsed with 15 ml of randomly allocated mouthwash twice daily without oral hygiene measures. After 24 h, plaque index was scored and then the participants entered a 6-days washout period with regular oral hygiene measures. The same protocol was repeated for the next 2 mouthwashes.

RESULTS: The results were expressed as mean (±SD) plaque index. The test mouthwash (0.931 ± 0.372) significantly reduced plaque accumulation when compared with placebo (1.440 ± 0.498, p  0.0167).

CONCLUSIONS: The test mouthwash has an anti-plaque effect for a 24 h period. Longer-term clinical studies are highly encouraged to investigate its anti-plaque effect for longer periods.

METHODS: The osteogenic potential of the OPG-chitosan gel was evaluated in rabbits. Critical-sized defects were created in the calvarial bone, which were either left unfilled (control; group I), or filled with chitosan gel (group II) or OPG-chitosan gel (group III), with rabbits sacrificed at 6 and 12 weeks. Bone samples from the surgical area were decalcified and treated with routine histological and immunohistochemical protocols using OC, OPN, and cathepsin K (osteoclast marker) antibodies. The toxicity of the OPG-chitosan gel was evaluated by biochemical assays (liver and kidney function tests).

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional comparative study was performed on subjects from multiple dental centres in Malaysia using a questionnaire covering sociodemographics, OHRQoL using the Malaysian Oral Health Impact Profile questionnaire, OHIP-14(M) and self-reported symptoms. Participants with severe CP were age-and gender-matched with periodontally healthy/mild periodontitis (HMP) participants based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Full mouth periodontal examination was performed on participants. Outcome measures were OHIP-14(M) prevalence of impact and severity of impact scores.

RESULTS: One hundred and thirty (130) participants comprising 65 severe CP and 65 HMP participants were included in the study. Prevalence of impact on OHRQoL was significantly higher in the severe CP than HMP group, with an odds ratio of 3. Mean OHIP-14(M) score was significantly higher in the severe CP (18.26 ± 10.22) compared to HMP (11.28± 8.09) group. The dimensions of psychological discomfort and functional limitation, and factors such as 'discomfort due to food stuck' and 'felt shy' were impacted more in severe CP compared to HMP group (p < 0.05). When compared with the HMP group, generalised severe CP participants showed higher prevalence of impact on OHRQoL [OR=5] (p < 0.05) compared to localised severe CP [OR=2] (p = 0.05). Participants who had experienced self-reported symptoms had statistically significant impacts on OHRQoL.

METHODS: This article was divided into the following parts: Part 1 Surface roughness and substance loss: an in vitro study, which involves intact extracted teeth sectioned and treated using a piezoelectric ultrasonic device (PM200 EMS Piezon, Switzerland) with a conventional scaler tip (FS-407) and a Perio Slim (PS) scaler tip (Perio Slim DS-016A). All sectioned samples for tooth surface roughness (n = 20) and tooth substance loss (n = 46) analyses were measured and compared using a 3D surface texture analyser and scanning electron microscope (SEM) respectively, at baseline and following scaling. Part 2 Pain Perception: a clinical study, which was a split mouth study design including 30 participants with gingivitis and/or mild chronic periodontitis; treated with supra-gingival scaling from teeth #13 to #23. Subjects were randomised to group A or group B. Group A was treated first with PS scaler tips, whereas group B was treated first with conventional scaler tips. Pain perception was recorded using the visual analogue scale (VAS).

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Gingival tissue samples of healthy (n = 5), PD with RA (n = 5) and PD without RA (n = 5) were collected. Specimens were formalin fixed, paraffin embedded and sectioned at 4 μm. The tissue sections were analysed for the presence of citrullinated and carbamylated proteins by immunohistochemistry. Semi-quantitative analysis was performed to quantify and compare the protein abundance between groups.

RESULTS: The number of cells containing citrullinated and carbamylated proteins with higher intensity was markedly increased in gingival tissues from PD with or without RA in comparison with healthy controls.

CONCLUSION: Inflamed gingival tissue is a potential source of citrullinated and carbamylated proteins other than synovial tissues. The extent to which the local accumulation of these proteins contributes to the pathogenesis of RA needs further elucidation.

METHODS: Subjects from dental and RA clinics were screened. Complete periodontal examinations were performed. Subjects were divided into 4 groups: RA-PD, RA, PD and healthy controls (HC). Questionnaires on characteristics and Malaysian versions of Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14(M)) and Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ-DI)) were answered.

METHOD: Subjects were allocated into RA (n = 49) or non-RA (NRA) (n = 55) groups, where 3 subgroups were further established; chronic periodontitis (CP), gingivitis (G) and periodontal health (H). Demographic and periodontal parameters were collected. Rheumatology data were obtained from hospital records. Serum and salivary LL-37 levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and compared for all groups.

RESULTS: For salivary LL-37, RA-CP was significantly higher than NRA-G and NRA-H (P = .047). For serum LL-37, all RA and NRA-CP were significantly higher than NRA-G and NRA-H (P = .024). Salivary LL-37 correlated negatively with clinical attachment loss (CAL) (P = .048), but positively with erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) in RA-H (P = .045). Serum LL-37 showed positive correlation with ESR (P = .037) in RA-G, with C-reactive protein (P = .017) in RA-H, but negative correlation with number of teeth (P = .002) in NRA-CP. Rheumatology data correlated positively with periodontal parameters in RA-CP group.

METHODS: Blood samples of individuals with periodontitis (PD) (n=72) and periodontally healthy (PH) (n=62) donors were obtained from Malaysian Periodontal Database and Biobanking system (MPDBS). Genomic DNA samples were analyzed for three PTGS2 SNPs (rs5275, rs20417, rs689466,) and one DEFB1 SNP (rs1047031) using Taqman SNP genotyping assays. Notably, rs20417 and rs689466 were located in the promoter region while rs5275 and rs1047031 were located in the 3' untranslated region of the transcript. Association between the SNPs and PD were then analyzed using genotypic association analysis (additive, dominant and recessive models).

RESULTS: The allelic frequency for the rs689466-G was higher in PD group (35.2%) compared that in PH group (29.0%). However, the association of rs689466-G and other SNPs with PD was not statistically significant (at 95% CI). No associations were observed for genotypic associations between the PTGS2 and DEFB1 SNPs with PD susceptibility.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a randomised control clinical trial at the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Malaya. A total of 66 obese patients with chronic periodontitis were randomly allocated into the treatment group (n=33) who received NSPT, while the control group (n=33) received no treatment. Four participants (2 from each group) were non-contactable 12 weeks post intervention. Therefore, their data were removed from the final analysis. The protocol involved questionnaires (characteristics and OHRQoL (Oral Health Impact Profile-14; OHIP-14)) and a clinical examination.

RESULTS: The OHIP prevalence of impact (PI), overall mean OHIP severity score (SS) and mean OHIP Extent of Impact (EI) at baseline and at the 12-week follow up were almost similar between the two groups and statistically not significant at (p=0.618), (p=0.573), and (p=0.915), respectively. However, in a within-group comparison, OHIP PI, OHIP SS, and OHIP EI showed a significant improvement for both treatment and control groups and the p values were ((0.002), (0.008) for PI), ((0.006) and (0.004) for SS) and ((0.006) and (0.002) for EI) in-treatment and control groups, respectively.

CONCLUSION: NSPT did not significantly affect the OHRQoL among those obese with CP. Regardless, NSPT, functional limitation and psychological discomfort domains had significantly improved.

METHODS: Full mouth periodontal examination (probing pocket depth, clinical attachment levels, gingival bleeding index, visual plaque index) was conducted and serum samples obtained from 80 participants comprising RA, Pd, both RA and Pd (RAPd) and healthy individuals (HC). Erythrocyte sedimentation rates (ESR) and periodontal inflamed surface area (PISA) were obtained. Serum samples were analysed for ACPA quantification using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

MATERIALS AND METHODS: The addressed focused question was "Is there a difference in the resistin levels between individuals with CP and those without CP?" four electronic databases: Medline, PubMed (National Institutes of Health, Bethesda), EMBASE, and Science direct databases from 1977 up to March 2016 for appropriate articles addressing the focused question. EMBASE and Medline were accessed using OVID interface which facilitated simultaneous search of text words, MeSH or Emtree. Unpublished studies (gray literature) were identified by searching the Open-GRAY database and references of the included studies (cross referencing) were performed to obtain new studies. In-vitro studies, animal studies, studies that reported levels of other cytokines but not resistin, letters to the editor and review papers were excluded.

RESULTS: Ten studies were included. Nine studies compared resistin levels between CP and periodontally healthy (H) individuals and reported higher mean serum and GCF levels of resistin in CP patients than the H controls. Two studies showed comparable resistin levels from GCF and serum between diabetes mellitus with CP (DMCP) and CP groups. Three studies included obese subjects and showed comparable serum and GCF resistin levels between obese subjects with CP (OBCP) and CP subjects.