Biomedical subjects

N Demetriou

Publications and source records attributed to N Demetriou.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1995

Compliance with supportive periodontal treatment in private periodontal practice. A 14-year retrospective study.

The purpose of this study was to determine the degree of compliance with supportive periodontal treatment (SPT) recommended in private periodontal practice and to determine if any significant differences existed in the characteristics of compliant, non-compliant, and erratically compliant patients. The study covered a period of 14 years (1977 to 1991) and included 521 patients who were classified by sex, age, socioeconomic class, disease severity, treatment rendered, and the year maintenance began. Compliance was categorized into four groups: complete compliance, erratic compliance, patients who discontinued SPT, and patients who never presented for SPT. Females began SPT more often than males (P = 0.054). Only 27.4% of the patients were in complete compliance at the end of the study. A significantly greater percentage of females (P = 0.032) and patients who had been treated by only scaling and root planing (P = 0.014) were in complete compliance. Drop-out rates from SPT tended to decrease during the first 6 years from 13.9% in the first 2 years to 9% in the sixth year. Thereafter, the percentage of patients presenting for SPT stabilized at 48.4% after 6 and 43.2% after 11 years. Younger patients (P = 0.04), those who had received only scaling and root planing (P = 0.008), and individuals in socioeconomic class I (P = 0.017) had a significantly lower tendency to drop out. The results confirm that compliance to SPT in private periodontal practice is far from ideal. Suggestions for improving compliance are discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed1993

Calculus removal from multirooted teeth with and without surgical access. II. Comparison between external and furcation surfaces and effect of furcation entrance width.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of furcation entrance width on the efficacy of calculus removal from furcation areas as well as to compare this efficacy between external and furcation surfaces after closed root planing, open root planing and use of a rotary diamond for the furcation area. 30 first and second lower molars scheduled for extraction with a calculus index > or = 2 and a degree II or III furcation involvement were divided into 3 groups: 10 molars were scaled and root planed using a closed approach: 10 molars were scaled and root planed using an open approach; 10 molars were scaled and root planed with an open approach and rotary diamond was used for removal of deposits in the furcation area. After extraction, the width of the furcation entrance was measured buccally and lingually 2 mm apical from the bifurcation and furcations were categorized as wide (width > 2.4 mm) or narrow (width < 2.4 mm). The teeth were assessed in a stereomicroscope and the % of residual calculus on external and furcation surfaces was calculated. The width of the furcation entrance influenced the efficacy in root planning in the open group (p = 0.0015). The use of rotary diamond was the most effective method for removing calculus both for narrow and wide furcations. The effectiveness of open root planning in the mesial root was related to the width of the furcation entrance where the % of residual calculus was significantly higher for narrow furcations (p = 0.008).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Aged↗

PubMed1993

Calculus removal from multirooted teeth with and without surgical access. (I). Efficacy on external and furcation surfaces in relation to probing depth.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the calculus removal from multirooted teeth after closed root planing, open root planing and use of a rotary diamond for the furcation area. The effect of pocket depth on the effectiveness of calculus removal was also examined. 30 first and second lower molars scheduled for extraction, with a calculus index > or = 2 and a degree II or III furcation involvement, were divided into 3 groups: 10 molars were scaled and root planed using a closed approach; 10 molars were scaled and root planed using an open approach; 10 molars were scaled and root planed with an open approach and rotary diamond was used for removal of deposits in the furcation area. After extraction, the teeth were assessed in a stereomicroscope and the % of residual calculus was calculated on external and furcation surfaces. The % of residual calculus on the external surfaces was significantly higher after closed than open root planing (p = 0.002). Pocket depth affected the effectiveness of scaling and root planing, with more residual calculus observed for depths > or = 7 mm for both groups. Differences between the 3 groups in the % of residual calculus on furcation surfaces were statistically significant (p < 0.0001 and p < 0.0005). The most effective method was the combination of open root planing and rotary diamond. More calculus was observed in all groups for pocket depths > or = 7 mm but the difference was significant only in the closed group (p = 0.006).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

PubMed1990

[Oral hygiene habits of periodontal patients in relation to age].

The relationship between age and oral hygiene habits as it was defined by the answers in a special questionnaire was studied and evaluated in a group of adult periodontal patients. The answers of 185 patients were evaluated from a total of 987 questionnaires from patients presented for periodontal treatment in the private offices of the authors during the last ten years, consisting a representative sample. The questions related to the personal habits of the patient in relation with the frequency of brushing, the method of brushing, the hardness of the toothbrush, the possibility "of brushing their gums" and the possibility of using additional mechanical aids of oral hygiene. The results showed that the frequency of the everyday brushing is decreasing steadily and progressively from the younger to the older patients. The method of brushing as well as the choice regarding the hardness of the toothbrush that the periodontal patients are using is not influenced by age. However the knowledge of patients regarding brushing the use of additional mechanical aids of oral hygiene except the toothbrush and the value of the toothpaste are statistically significant influenced by the age of the patients. The results of this study confirm that the younger age groups of periodontal patients are more informed about oral hygiene. The greater awareness which is higher in younger patients is possible explanation for these results.

Adult↗

PubMed1981

Immunofluorescent studies in desquamative gingivitis.

Twenty-seven patients (19 females and 8 males) with a clinically diagnosed desquamative gingivitis were used in this study. Twenty-seven additional patients with oral and skin diseases and with gingival involvement other than that of the desquamative gingivitis type served as controls. Biopsy gingival specimens were sectioned and stained with H and E. The rest of the tissue specimen was cut with a cryostat and used for immunofluorescent assays of the tissue-bound antibodies (IgG, IgA, IgM, C3 anf fibrin). Circulating antibodies were determined by using the indirect immunofluorescence method in serum samples. Normal human oral mucosa and several animal epithelial tissues were used as substrates. The immunopathologic findings suggest the diagnosis of lichen planus in the presence of linear or granular fibrin deposition at the basement membrane zone/mucosal submucosal interface with or without cytoid bodies and cicatricial pemphigoid, in the presence of circulating and/or tissue-bound immunoglobulins and C3 in a linear continuous pattern along the BMZ. It is suggested that an accurate diagnosis of the underlying disease of the desquamative gingivitis can be made on the bases of the clinical, histopathologic, immunopathologic and follow-up findings.

Adult↗

PubMed1981

Melanin pigmentation and inflammation in human gingiva.

The study was carried out to determine the distribution of melanin granules in different anatomical areas of the gingiva and to relate the density of melanin granules to the degree of gingival inflammation. Specimens including free and part of the attached gingiva were secured from the vestibular surfaces of the six maxillary or mandibular teeth of 21 Caucasian subjects during periodontal surgery. Serial histologic sections 5 to 6 mu thick were prepared and stained with Hematoxylin and Eosin or Masson-Fontana. Evaluation of the H & E stained sections disclosed that the number of melanophores and melanin granules in the epithelium and the inflammatory cells of the subepithelial connective tissue gradually decreased from the free gingival groove area to the free gingival crest and from the free gingival groove to the mucogingival junction. The density of melanophores in the vestibular epithelium showed a significant positive correlation (r = 0.38, P less than 0.00003) with the severity of inflammation (numbers of inflammatory cells) in the attached gingiva but not in the free gingiva (r = -0.033, P less than 0.2643). There was a positive significant correlation between the density of melanin granules of the vestibular epithelium and that of the adjacent connective tissue in both the free (r = 0.57, P less than 0.0003) and attached gingiva (r = 0.46, P less than 0.0003).

Adult↗

PubMed1978