OBJECTIVETo investigate the preventive effectiveness in reducing tooth decay and decalcification of different concentration of fluoride toothpaste for orthodontic patients.

METHODS86 patients were divided into the first test group and the second test group. The patients of the first test group brushed tooth with 1.1% sodium fluoride and acidulated phosphate gel. The patients of the second test group brushed tooth with 0.243% sodium fluoride in a silica base. The extent of facial tooth decay and decalcification of the twelve upper and lower teeth from right cuspid to left cuspid was scored blindly and independently by four observers after 12 months of product use. The scores were rated either one (having tooth cavity/decalcification) or zero (no tooth cavity/decalcification). Four observer's readings were averaged per tooth, and then per patient for the two treatment groups.

RESULTSAfter 12 months of product use, the mean caries score of the first test group was 0.326, and the mean caries score of the second test group was 0.490. There was significant difference between them.

CONCLUSIONA gel system containing 1.1% sodium fluoride and acidulated phosphate provides a clinically better efficacy in reducing tooth decay and decalcification than does a toothpaste containing 0.243% sodium fluoride in a silica base under and adjacent to orthodontic brackets used in orthodontic therapy.

Dental Caries ; Female ; Fluorides ; Humans ; Male ; Phosphates ; Sodium Fluoride ; Tooth Demineralization ; Toothpastes

BACKGROUND: Liver biopsy for the diagnosis of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is limited by its inherent invasiveness and possible sampling errors. Some studies have shown that cytokeratin-18 (CK-18) concentrations may be useful in diagnosing NASH, but results across studies have been inconsistent. We aimed to identify the utility of CK-18 M30 concentrations as an alternative to liver biopsy for non-invasive identification of NASH. METHODS: Individual data were collected from 14 registry centers on patients with biopsy-proven non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and in all patients, circulating CK-18 M30 levels were measured. Individuals with a NAFLD activity score (NAS) ≥5 with a score of ≥1 for each of steatosis, ballooning, and lobular inflammation were diagnosed as having definite NASH; individuals with a NAS ≤2 and no fibrosis were diagnosed as having non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFL). RESULTS: A total of 2571 participants were screened, and 1008 (153 with NAFL and 855 with NASH) were finally enrolled. Median CK-18 M30 levels were higher in patients with NASH than in those with NAFL (mean difference 177 U/L; standardized mean difference [SMD]: 0.87 [0.69-1.04]). There was an interaction between CK-18 M30 levels and serum alanine aminotransferase, body mass index (BMI), and hypertension ( P  < 0.001, P  = 0.026 and P  = 0.049, respectively). CK-18 M30 levels were positively associated with histological NAS in most centers. The area under the receiver operating characteristics (AUROC) for NASH was 0.750 (95% confidence intervals: 0.714-0.787), and CK-18 M30 at Youden's index maximum was 275.7 U/L. Both sensitivity (55% [52%-59%]) and positive predictive value (59%) were not ideal. CONCLUSION This large multicenter registry study shows that CK-18 M30 measurement in isolation is of limited value for non-invasively diagnosing NASH.
Humans ; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease/diagnosis* ; Keratin-18 ; Biomarkers ; Biopsy ; Hepatocytes/pathology* ; Apoptosis ; Liver/pathology*