Journal of Dental Medicine

Background and Aims: Apoptosis or programmed cell death plays an important role in the pathogenesis of many diseases. Previous studies suggest that apoptosis is involved in the pathogenesis of periodontal disease, on the other hand it is also suggested that diabetes mellitus enhances apoptosis of connective tissue cells. Thus, we measured expression of proteins which are relevant to apoptosis in the gingival tissue of diabetic patients with chronic periodontitis in comparison to non diabetic individuals.

Materials and Methods: 25 patients with diabetes and chronic periodontitis and 16 non diabetic controls were included in this study. 4 weeks after scaling and root planning and oral hygiene instructions, periodontal surgery was done and gingival tissues obtained during surgery, were sent to lab to investigate expression of Fas, P53, Bcl-2 and Survivin using real-time PCR technique. Data were analyzed using Mann-Whitney and Chi-squared.

Results: Pro-apoptotic proteins (Fas, P53) were significantly (P<0.05) higher in gingival tissues of diabetics (9.5×10^-6, 2.4×10^-6, respectively) in comparison to non diabetics (9.4×10^-7, 5.6×10^-7), whereas the difference in expression of anti-apoptotic proteins (Bcl-2, Survivin) between 2 groups was not significant (9.7×10^-8, 3.5×10^-7 in comparison to 1.4×10^-7, 3.1×10^-7, respectively)( P =0.91, P =0.29 respectively).

Conclusion: Apoptosis was increased in gingival connective tissue of diabetic patients with chronic periodontitis in comparison to non diabetic ones. Therefore , intervention in expression or function of pro-apoptotic proteins (Fas, P53) could be a new goal in the treatment of periodontal disease of diabetic patients.

  Background and Aims: Postoperativee endodontic pain is an outstanding problem for dental patients. Therefore, a successful management of endodontic pain has become as one of the main dental objectives. The aim of the present study was to compare the postoperative endodontic pain in patients under general anesthesia versus local anesthesia.

  Materials and Methods: For conducting this clinical trial study, 50 patients having mandibular molars candidate for root canal therapy were selected. Twenty-five patients treated under general anesthesia because of their fear, anxiety or gag reflex. Other 25 patients treated under local anesthesia. All teeth were prepared using engine-driven rotary system in a crown-down technique and filled using lateral condensation technique. Heft- parker visual analog scale was used to measure the degree of pain at 6, 12, 24, and 48 hours after the treatment. Mann-Whitney, Chi-square, and T-tests were used to compare the intensity of postoperative pain between the groups.

  Results: The mean intensity of postoperative pain in local and general anesthesia groups at 6, 12 and 24 hours had statistically significant difference (P<0.05).

  Conclusion: Postoperative pain in patients who treated under general anesthesia was significantly less than the patients who treated under local anesthesia.