Explore the vast range of titles available.

Infective endocarditis (IE) is a rare but potentially life-threatening infection, often triggered by invasive procedures, dental or otherwise, in at-risk individuals. This study aimed to assess the knowledge of IE prophylaxis among healthcare professionals, focusing on dentists and physicians. Two validated, anonymous questionnaires were emailed to 27,000 healthcare providers in the province of Milan (Italy). A total of 970 responses were collected (response rate just over 3%), with 49.2% from physicians and 50.8% from dentists. No significant differences were found between the two groups regarding years of experience or guideline usage (p > 0.05), although more physicians (12.7%) than dentists (6.7%) reported unfamiliarity with any guidelines. Physicians often misclassified the risk associated with certain cardiac conditions and overprescribed prophylaxis for low-risk procedures, with overall accuracy falling below the expected performance benchmark (H0: 58.0% ± 2.0%). Dentists showed a better understanding of high-risk dental procedures, yet performance remained suboptimal, with multiple scores below the expected benchmark (H0: 68.0% ± 2.0%). These findings highlight widespread knowledge gaps and inconsistent adherence to IE prophylaxis guidelines. The results align with international observations and emphasize the urgent need for continuing education and improved dissemination of evidence-based recommendations across medical and dental settings.

The aim was to compare two strategies for caries prevention in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs). Participants were retrospectively retrieved and divided in two groups. Group one had first permanent molars treated with fluoride varnishes, FA group ( n  = 92, 9.43 ± 2.44 years) whilst the second, with dental sealant plus fluoride varnishes, FA + S group ( n  = 140, 7.77 ± 2.57 years). Logistic and multivariate analysis were run to evaluate the caries incidence, the retention rate of sealants, and background factors associated with caries risk over a period of at least 11 years. Survival rates from dental caries were statistically significantly higher in the FA + S group compared to the FA group (LogRank test p  < 0.01). Dental sealant plus fluoride varnish played as a protective factor towards the development of caries (HR = 0.25 95% CI = 0.00/0.55 and HR = 0.34 95% CI = 0.00/0.66 in the upper right and left first molars; HR = 0.32 95% CI = 0.00/0.66 and HR = 0.26 95% CI = 0.00/0.58 in the lower right and left first molars). Dental sealants retention rate was high, ranging between 58.02% and 64.29%. No baseline variable was statistically significantly associated to the risk of caries development. Combined dental sealant and fluoride varnish application was more effective in reducing caries risk in first permanent molars of ASDs children than fluoride varnish alone. This preventive strategy should be therefore routinely applied in high caries risk patients as ASDs children.

Background: Chewing gum is a simple, accessible tool with high user compliance, traditionally associated with oral health benefits. Although its potential effects on different aspects of health and well-being, beyond its oral applications, have been explored, the area remains relatively under-researched. This mapping review and evidence gap map (EGM) aimed to evaluate the existing literature on the non-oral health applications of chewing gum and to identify gaps in the literature. Methods: A comprehensive search was conducted across five databases (Scopus, Embase, PubMed, PsycINFO, and CINAHL) using tailored search strategies. Abstracts were screened against predefined eligibility criteria using EPPI-Reviewer version 6, with full texts reviewed only when relevant information could not be drawn. The included studies were coded by gum type, outcome, and study design, and the EGM was constructed using EPPI-Mapper version 2.4.5. Results: Of the 2614 identified records, 1326 were screened after duplicate removal, and 260 studies were included in the final analysis. Three main areas of application emerged: for enhancing well-being and performance, as a medical aid and as a surgical/procedural aid. The EGM indicated that the most frequently studied uses of chewing gum were in sports performance, smoking cessation, and post-operative recovery. However, notable research gaps were found, particularly in paediatric and geriatric contexts. Conclusions: Chewing gum has been extensively studied as a surgical or procedural aid, particularly for post-operative gastrointestinal recovery, but its broader applications for well-being, performance, and its use in paediatric and elderly populations remain underexplored. Further high-quality research using standardised methodologies is needed to address these gaps.

Aim This study explores the acceptance of Advanced Behavior Management Techniques (ABMTs) by parents during their children’s dental treatments, comparing the opinion of parents of neurotypical children with that of parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Methods An observational cross-sectional study was conducted involving 440 parents, divided into two groups: 236 parents of neurotypical children and 204 parents of children with ASDs, recruited from pediatricians’ centers and centers for ASDs children in Northern and Southern Italy. A survey assessed their familiarity and acceptance of ABMTs, including protective stabilization, conscious sedation, and deep sedation/general anesthesia. Discrete variables were expressed as absolute and relative frequencies (%) and compared with Pearson’s chi-squared or Fisher’s exact test. Continue variables were expressed as mean ± SD and compared with the one-way ANOVA test. Heatmap and PCA analysis were used to determine possible correlations between items. Results Parents of children with ASDs showed a higher acceptance rate of ABMTs compared to parents of neurotypical children. Overall, only 30.68% of parents knew ABMTs before the survey. Differences between the two groups of parents in acceptance of Active Stabilization in emergency settings, Passive Stabilization in routine settings, and Deep sedation/general anesthesia in both settings were observed ( p  < 0.01). Only 6.82% of parents ever used at least one ABMT on their children. Heatmap analysis revealed that parents who have accepted one of the ABMTs tend to accept the others as well. Conclusion Differences in parental acceptance of different ABMTs was noted among the two groups of parents, with greater acceptance of ABMTs observed in the group of parents of children with ASDs. Parents of both groups have significant gaps in their knowledge of ABMTs. Therefore, increased awareness and personalized communication strategies are needed to increase acceptance of the studied techniques and, thus, facilitate access to dental care for uncooperative pediatric patients. Patient-centered behavior management strategies that meet children’s needs and parents’ preferences can contribute to the achievement of good oral health.

Background Life-long healthy behaviors are established during pregnancy and the first years of life. In this cross-sectional survey, new mothers with a high level of schooling living in Northern Italy (Lombardy Region) were interviewed to assess their knowledge and attitudes towards their and child oral health. Methods A questionnaire (27 items) was developed to assess socio-demographic factors, knowledge, and attitudes towards maternal and child oral health. The questionnaire was disseminated in perinatal courses, private gynecological clinics, and via social media. Mothers aged ≥18 years, with at least a child aged 0–36 months, with a high school diploma or higher, were included in the survey. Results A total of 1340 women completed the questionnaire, 1297 of whom had a child aged 0–36 months, 792 lived in Lombardy, and 600 had a high level of education and were finally included. About half of the sample (44.67%) was aged between 31 and 35 years, 76.50% were employed, and the majority had only one child (81.50%). During pregnancy, 28.33% of the sample reported problems with teeth and gums, while only 36.00% visited a dentist. More than 40% of the sample said they were not aware of a possible link between oral health and pregnancy, and 73.17% had not received any advice about their oral health or the future health of their baby’s mouth. Less than 20% of women were aware of the increased caries risk associated with prolonged or night-time breastfeeding. Better knowledge/attitude was associated with the age of the child ( p  < 0.05), the number of children ( p  < 0.05) and whether the mother had received advice during pregnancy ( p  < 0.05). Conclusions The results of this survey show a lack of dental care during pregnancy, a lack of information about oral health from health professionals during and after pregnancy, and consequently gaps in the knowledge needed to care for the oral health of the woman and her child. There is a need for training in oral health for pregnant women and new mothers, but also a need for behavioural change among health professionals who care for pregnant women.

Objective To investigate the education, knowledge and behaviour of Italian dentists regarding Silver Diamine Fluoride (SDF). Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted from January to December 2022, through an online survey linked to an online continuing medical education (CME) course sent to Italian dentists. A priori power analysis estimated the necessary sample to be 1480 dentists with an anticipated frequency of 50% and a power of 99.99%. The questionnaire included 46 questions on participants ‘ demographic characteristics, training received, clinical knowledge of SDF, and attitudes and behaviours regarding its use. Descriptive statistics, bivariate, and mutlivariable regression analyses were performed to determine the association between the variables. Results The response rate was 6.1% with 3876 respondents, evenly distributed geographically. Less than 10% of respondents had received training at undergraduate, postgraduate or masters level. A minority of dentists were familiar with the use of SDF for the treatment of dentine hypersensitivity (19.0%) and for the treatment of caries in children (22.2%) and adults (15.7%). The percentage of dentists who reported SDF use at least once was 20.6%. On mutlivariable analysis (χ 2 (11)  = 995.9 p- value < 0.01), dentists who used SDF were positively associated with those who cared for patients with special needs, those who received good undergraduate or postgraduate training, and those who knew how to use SDF ( p  < 0.01). A second mutlivariable analysis (χ 2 (11)  = 47.9 p- value < 0.01) revealed that younger respondents were associated with good training and knowledge of the use of SDF received during undergraduate studies, while older respondents were associated with good training received on managing hypersensitivity and caries in adults ( p  < 0.01). Conclusions Overall, Italian dentists ‘ education, knowledge, and use of SDF were relatively poor. The majority of the sample ‘s responses were not consistent with scientific evidence. The use of SDF among Italian dentists is still far from being a reality. In Italy, it is necessary to increase training on SDF, primarily through the university, to hopefully increase its use, especially in non-invasive caries treatment.

Probiotics are increasingly used to promote oral health, with Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus demonstrating proven effectiveness. Additionally, Heyndrickxia coagulans shows promising potential in this field. Chewing gum has recently been proposed as an innovative delivery method for probiotics. This study aimed to evaluate the kinetics in saliva of Heyndrickxia coagulans SNZ1969® and Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus GG in microencapsulated and non-microencapsulated forms (LGG®) following their administration via sugar-free chewing gums. A randomized cross-over trial was conducted involving 10 volunteers. Participants chewed gums containing one of the probiotic strains for 10 min. Saliva samples were collected at baseline (T0) and six subsequent time points over 2 h (T1–T6). Colony-forming units (CFUs) were identified and quantified. The Tukey’s range test was applied to make pairwise comparisons between different probiotics at every time point, between different time points of the same probiotic, and between the area under the curve describing the kinetics of different probiotics in saliva. At T1, all probiotics exhibited peak counts, followed by a gradual decline until T6. H. coagulans SNZ1969® achieved the highest counts at T1, T2, and T3 (mean log10 CFU/mL: 6.1 ± 0.5; 5.8 ± 0.5; 5.6 ± 0.5, respectively), while the non-microencapsulated form of LGG® peaked at T4, T5, and T6 (mean log10 CFU/mL: 4.0 ± 0.7; 3.8 ± 0.9; 3.3 ± 1.3, respectively). The participants reported no adverse effects. Probiotics were detectable in saliva up to 2 h post-administration via chewing gum, indicating its suitability as a delivery vehicle. However, significant variability was observed among participants.

IntroductionThe oral microbiota plays a fundamental role in maintaining both oral and systemic health, while dysbiosis contributes to diseases such as dental caries and periodontitis. Probiotics have gained attention as adjunctive strategies to restore microbial homeostasis. Heyndrickxia coagulans (formerly Bacillus coagulans) is a spore-forming, lactic acid-producing bacterium with documented antimicrobial, antioxidant, and immunomodulatory properties. Its resilience to environmental stressors and industrial processing makes it a promising probiotic candidate. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the effects of H. coagulans on oral health outcomes.MethodsA comprehensive search was performed across multiple databases up to September 2025 to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-randomized studies assessing H. coagulans as a probiotic intervention for oral health. Data extraction followed PRISMA guidelines, and the risk of bias was evaluated using the RoB 2.0 and ROBINS-I tools. Meta-analysis was conducted using Stata SE® 18.5, with changes in salivary Streptococcus mutans levels as the primary outcome measure.ResultsEight studies (seven RCTs and one NRSI) met the inclusion criteria. Most were conducted in India, Iran, and North Macedonia, with sample sizes ranging from 30 to 183 participants aged 5–73 years. Administration of H. coagulans, via chewable tablets, mouthwash, or food matrices, resulted in a significant reduction of salivary S. mutans counts in both children and adults compared with placebo or other probiotics. Meta-analysis of four studies demonstrated a pooled effect size of −0.99 (95%CI = −1.60/0.39; p < 0.01), although substantial heterogeneity was observed (I² = 98.2%). Additional studies reported improvements in Gingival Index, bleeding on probing, and clinical attachment levels among participants with gingivitis or periodontitis. No significant adverse events were reported.ConclusionH. coagulans appears to exert beneficial effects on oral health by reducing cariogenic bacterial load and improving periodontal parameters, supporting its potential use as an adjunct in caries prevention and gingival health maintenance. H. coagulans may favorably modulate the oral microbiota and contribute to overall oral health. However, further high-quality, large-scale clinical trials are needed to confirm these findings and define their therapeutic role in preventive oral care.

Background: Hypophosphatemic rickets (HR) is a bone disorder affecting phosphate–calcium metabolism, with both skeletal and dental manifestations. This review aims to analyze dental manifestations of HR in children and, where possible, compare them to those in healthy children or affected adults. Methods: The protocol was registered at PROSPERO (CRD42024596022). The study conformed to the PRISMA guidelines. Three databases were searched for studies reporting the prevalence or incidence of any dental manifestation in children with HR. Risk of bias was assessed using JBI, RoB 2.0, and ROBINS-E tools, and Stata/SE 18.0 was used for meta-analysis. Meta-regression was used to examine the effects of therapy duration and mean age on dental manifestations’ prevalence. The study received no funding. Results: A total of 1308 records were identified, with 660 screened after removing duplicates. Forty-six studies were eligible for full-text evaluation; sixteen were included in the qualitative analysis and twelve in the meta-analysis. The dental manifestations observed included dental abscesses, developmental defects of enamel and dentin, dental caries, taurodontism, and large pulp chambers. Dental abscesses were the most common manifestation, with a pooled prevalence of 0.39. Meta-regression showed no association between therapy duration and abscess occurrence but revealed a negative association between mean age and abscess prevalence. Conclusions: Dental abscesses were the most frequent manifestation in children with HR. The role of therapy in improving oral health remains unclear due to insufficient data, indicating a need for further studies on the impact of HR on children’s oral health.

The aim of the present systematic review was to evaluate the clinical and radiographic success of partial pulpotomies in deep caries processes or post-eruptive defects in young, vital permanent teeth. Four electronic databases, PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and Google Scholar, were searched, followed by a manual search in the reference lists. Randomized controlled trials evaluating partial pulpotomy with a follow-up period of ≥12 months were included. A meta-analysis using a random effects model was performed. A total of 3127 articles were retrieved, and after duplicate removal, 2642 were screened by title and abstract; 1 additional article was found during the manual search, and 79 were identified. Finally, six papers were included in the review. Regardless of the partial pulpotomy modalities or material used, there were no significant differences between clinical and radiographic success rates (cumulative success rate 91.8–92.3%). Five studies were included in the meta-analysis that did not indicate any statistically significant differences in success rates when mineral trioxide aggregate was compared to other materials (95% confidence interval: 0.239 to 1.016; p = 0.055). The present research systematically evaluates the evidence and summarizes the available data on partial pulpotomy in young permanent teeth. Given its high clinical and radiographic success rate, partial pulpotomy should be considered when vital pulpal therapy needs to be performed in highly damaged young permanent teeth, as this procedure provides a biological benefit and allows more invasive endodontic treatments to be postponed.