A. Dentino - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by A. Dentino
FEMS Microbiology Letters, 2002
Naturally occurring antimicrobial cationic polypeptides play a major role in innate and adaptive ... more Naturally occurring antimicrobial cationic polypeptides play a major role in innate and adaptive immunity. These polypeptides are found to be either linear and unstructured or structured through disulfide bonds. Among the structured antimicrobial polypeptides, defensins comprise a family of cysteine-rich cationic polypeptides that contribute significantly to host defense against the invasion of microorganisms in animals, humans, insects and plants. Their wide-spread occurrence in various tissues of these diverse organisms, and their importance in innate and adaptive immunity have led to their identification, isolation and characterization. A large volume of literature is available on defensins' occurrence, structural characterization, gene expression and regulation under normal and pathological conditions. Much has also been published regarding their antimicrobial, antiviral and chemoattractive properties, and their molecular and cellular interactions. In this review, we describe the current status of our knowledge of defensins with respect to their molecular, cellular and structural biology, their role in host defense, future research paradigms and the possibility of their utilization as a new class of non-toxic antimicrobial agents and immuno-modulators. ß
American journal of dentistry, 1995
To investigate the effect of a baking soda-hydrogen peroxide (0.75%) dentifrice on wound healing,... more To investigate the effect of a baking soda-hydrogen peroxide (0.75%) dentifrice on wound healing, plaque formation, gingival inflammation, patient comfort, probing depth, and clinical attachment level following gingival flap surgery. A randomized, double-blind crossover study involving 25 patients requiring bilateral maxillary gingival flap surgery was completed. The effects of twice daily brushing with a baking soda-hydrogen peroxide dentifrice (Mentadent) or a placebo dentifrice (Crest) were observed over a 28-day post-surgical period. Gingival Index (GI), plaque index (PI), probing depth (PD), clinical attachment level (CAL) and gingival bleeding index (BI) were recorded pre-surgically and at day 28 for each surgical sextant. At days 7 and 14, soft tissue appearance/wound healing (STA) was assessed based on color and edema, PIs were determined and patient comfort was ascertained by report. Post-surgical wound healing was statistically significantly improved at day 7 with the tren...
Journal of Periodontology, 2002
Reports suggest powered toothbrushing may provide some clinical benefit over manual tooth-brushin... more Reports suggest powered toothbrushing may provide some clinical benefit over manual tooth-brushing, but most studies have been of short duration with subjects trained in toothbrush use. The aim was to determine if the oscillating-rotating powered brush (PB) could safely provide clinical benefits over and above a manual brush (M) in subjects with no formal instruction or experience in powered brush use. This 6-month, single-masked, parallel design, randomized clinical trial compared the PB with an American Dental Association (ADA)-accepted soft-bristle manual brush in a non-flossing gingivitis population (n = 157). Subjects were given written instructions but no demonstration on toothbrush use at baseline. Efficacy was assessed by changes in gingival inflammation, plaque, calculus, and stain, while changes in clinical attachment levels and recession measurements provided safety data. A prophylaxis was provided after baseline assessment. The 6-month plaque index (PI) was recorded immediately post-brushing after covert timing of the subjects, and correlation analyses were run to assess the relationship of brushing time to PI. Paired t tests, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) were used to assess within and between treatment group differences for PB (n = 76) versus M groups (n = 81). Measures of inflammation showed a statistically significant drop for both brushes at 3 and 6 months. Mean overnight full-mouth PI scores were significantly lower at 3 months for the PB (1.57) compared to the M group (1.80), P = 0.0013. Immediate post-brushing PI at 6 months was also significantly lower for the PB (1.10) versus M (1.39) (P= 0.0025). There was an overall negative correlation for PI and brushing time (r = -0.377, P= 0.0001). Mean calculus index (CI) scores were lower for the PB at 3 (P= 0.0304) and 6 months (P = 0.0078), while no significant differences in stain were observable. Clinical attachment level and recession measurements showed no significant between-group changes from baseline for either brush on canine teeth or on teeth with recession at baseline. The oscillating-rotating toothbrush safely provides clinical benefits in plaque and calculus reduction over a manual brush even in subjects with no formal oral hygiene instruction.
FEMS Microbiology Letters, 2002
Naturally occurring antimicrobial cationic polypeptides play a major role in innate and adaptive ... more Naturally occurring antimicrobial cationic polypeptides play a major role in innate and adaptive immunity. These polypeptides are found to be either linear and unstructured or structured through disulfide bonds. Among the structured antimicrobial polypeptides, defensins comprise a family of cysteine-rich cationic polypeptides that contribute significantly to host defense against the invasion of microorganisms in animals, humans, insects and plants. Their wide-spread occurrence in various tissues of these diverse organisms, and their importance in innate and adaptive immunity have led to their identification, isolation and characterization. A large volume of literature is available on defensins' occurrence, structural characterization, gene expression and regulation under normal and pathological conditions. Much has also been published regarding their antimicrobial, antiviral and chemoattractive properties, and their molecular and cellular interactions. In this review, we describe the current status of our knowledge of defensins with respect to their molecular, cellular and structural biology, their role in host defense, future research paradigms and the possibility of their utilization as a new class of non-toxic antimicrobial agents and immuno-modulators. ß
American journal of dentistry, 1995
To investigate the effect of a baking soda-hydrogen peroxide (0.75%) dentifrice on wound healing,... more To investigate the effect of a baking soda-hydrogen peroxide (0.75%) dentifrice on wound healing, plaque formation, gingival inflammation, patient comfort, probing depth, and clinical attachment level following gingival flap surgery. A randomized, double-blind crossover study involving 25 patients requiring bilateral maxillary gingival flap surgery was completed. The effects of twice daily brushing with a baking soda-hydrogen peroxide dentifrice (Mentadent) or a placebo dentifrice (Crest) were observed over a 28-day post-surgical period. Gingival Index (GI), plaque index (PI), probing depth (PD), clinical attachment level (CAL) and gingival bleeding index (BI) were recorded pre-surgically and at day 28 for each surgical sextant. At days 7 and 14, soft tissue appearance/wound healing (STA) was assessed based on color and edema, PIs were determined and patient comfort was ascertained by report. Post-surgical wound healing was statistically significantly improved at day 7 with the tren...
Journal of Periodontology, 2002
Reports suggest powered toothbrushing may provide some clinical benefit over manual tooth-brushin... more Reports suggest powered toothbrushing may provide some clinical benefit over manual tooth-brushing, but most studies have been of short duration with subjects trained in toothbrush use. The aim was to determine if the oscillating-rotating powered brush (PB) could safely provide clinical benefits over and above a manual brush (M) in subjects with no formal instruction or experience in powered brush use. This 6-month, single-masked, parallel design, randomized clinical trial compared the PB with an American Dental Association (ADA)-accepted soft-bristle manual brush in a non-flossing gingivitis population (n = 157). Subjects were given written instructions but no demonstration on toothbrush use at baseline. Efficacy was assessed by changes in gingival inflammation, plaque, calculus, and stain, while changes in clinical attachment levels and recession measurements provided safety data. A prophylaxis was provided after baseline assessment. The 6-month plaque index (PI) was recorded immediately post-brushing after covert timing of the subjects, and correlation analyses were run to assess the relationship of brushing time to PI. Paired t tests, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) were used to assess within and between treatment group differences for PB (n = 76) versus M groups (n = 81). Measures of inflammation showed a statistically significant drop for both brushes at 3 and 6 months. Mean overnight full-mouth PI scores were significantly lower at 3 months for the PB (1.57) compared to the M group (1.80), P = 0.0013. Immediate post-brushing PI at 6 months was also significantly lower for the PB (1.10) versus M (1.39) (P= 0.0025). There was an overall negative correlation for PI and brushing time (r = -0.377, P= 0.0001). Mean calculus index (CI) scores were lower for the PB at 3 (P= 0.0304) and 6 months (P = 0.0078), while no significant differences in stain were observable. Clinical attachment level and recession measurements showed no significant between-group changes from baseline for either brush on canine teeth or on teeth with recession at baseline. The oscillating-rotating toothbrush safely provides clinical benefits in plaque and calculus reduction over a manual brush even in subjects with no formal oral hygiene instruction.