Introduction: Recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) is a painful ulcerative oral disease with a general population prevalence exceeding 20%. The etiology of RAS remains largely unknown, however, nutritional deficiency, autoimmunity, psychological stress, and, recently, oxidative stress have been implicated. The pain associated with RAS may be very severe and disabling, hence, treatment is centered on the control of pain and acceleration of healing. N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is a potent antioxidant with anti-inflammatory, immune-modulatory, and antimicrobial properties. It is available as a safe dietary supplement, and has been successfully used as adjuvant/treatment of inflammatory conditions including ulcerative lesions. The Hypothesis: Using NAC as a candidate for treatment and/or prevention of RAS and aphthous-like ulcers is hypothesized here. We propose to use NAC systemically or topically in the form of powder, paste, adhesive tablets, or mouthwash to treat active RAS or for prophylaxis in cases with frequent attacks. Evaluation of the Hypothesis: The current hypothesis should be tested on animal models of RAS. However, because NAC is currently approved and used for other indications, the hypothesis can also be directly evaluated in well-designed, randomized clinical trials.

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Introduction: The present study was aimed to assess the amount and direction of growth in cranial base, jaws, and soft tissue of airway structures by cephalometric analysis in 9–11-years-old Iranian girls and boys. Materials and Methods: Thirty-four Iranian children with normal occlusion and class I molar relationships were recruited, and 2 lateral cephalograms were obtained from 9 and 11-year-old children Cephalometric variables included variables defining cranial base length and angle, maxillomandibular length and height, dental relationship, head and cervical position, soft palate and tongue, vallecula and hyoid position, and pharyngeal dimension. Normal distribution was confirmed by Kolmogorov–Smirnov analysis (P>0.05). Paired t-test was used for assessing growth changes. P value was set at 0.05. Results: Anterior, posterior, and total cranial base length were increased significantly. The increase in total and upper anterior, total and lower posterior facial heights, ramus height, and palatal inclination were statistically significant. Maxillomandibular length increased significantly with insignificant change in their position. Dental relationship and head and cervical posture were stable. Oropharyngeal and nasopharyngeal anteroposterior dimension did not change. However, hypopharynx sagittal length increased significantly. Nasopharyngeal vertical dimension increased and hyoid moved anteriorly and inferiorly. Conclusion: The results of the present study showed that cranial base and jaws grow anteriorly and inferiorly while maintaining dental occlusion and head posture. Most of the airway structures grow simultaneously with craniofacial components.

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Introduction: Tissue separation after regenerative periodontal therapy is a common histological observation which is thought to be an artifact. However, several articles have indicated that it can be a serious problem directly related to the weak attachment of the newly formed cementum. The Hypothesis: Tissue separation after periodontal regeneration can be the consequence of losing the fibrous attachment from the cement line between new cementum and the root surface. Evaluation of the Hypothesis: A comparison was made between the cementum–dentin junction, the cement line after root resorption and the cement line after periodontal regeneration because they represent the only means by which the body binds the cementum to root surface. After losing the fibrous attachment from the cement line, the stresses may concentrate at the coronal part of the regenerated tissue leading to the development of tissue separation at that level.

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Introduction: To report a scientific forecast of the number of published dental articles in the next 20 years. Materials and Methods: On October 12, 2016, to find all dental articles, PubMed was searched via the query “1800/1/1”[PDAT]: “2015/12/31”[PDAT] AND jsubsetd [text]. Relevant limitations were applied to find dental clinical trials, review articles, and free full-text dental articles. Consequently, all PubMed records were exported to a CSV file. To forecast the future dental research output using existing time-based data, the Exponential Triple Smoothing algorithm was used, which is an advanced machine learning algorithm. Data were analyzed by Microsoft Office Excel 2016. Results: Seventy-five (1940–2015) years of human attempts to publish dental articles were explored and 572490 records were found, from which 27244 (4.75%) articles were free full-text, 19238 (3.36%) were clinical trials, and 31853 (5.56%) were reviews. Researchers will publish 19195 dental articles in 2036, among which 917 (4.77%) articles will be clinical trials, 1474 (7.67%) will be review articles, and 5482 (28.55%) will be free full-text articles. Conclusion: Changes may be because of the quantity of research funds. The number of all types of dental articles will increase with an acceptable rate over the next 20 years. Of more interest, the number of free full-text articles will grow more rapidly than other article types.

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Introduction: Self-reported tooth loss is highly prevalent in patients with gastric cancer, the second most common malignancy worldwide. Periodontal disease is characterized by loss of the periodontal ligament and alveolar bone, and is a major cause of tooth loss. The theories have been confirmed that chronic systemic inflammation and increased exposure to carcinogenic nitrosamines can increase the risk of cancer, and periodontal pathogens could induce the chronic inflammation. Poor oral hygiene and periodontal diseases may contribute to greater nitrosamine production. The Hypothesis: We hypothesize that periodontal diseases might be an important risk factor for gastric cancer. Major pathogens of periodontal diseases may play a more direct role through local inflammatory responses and carcinogenic transformations in the development of gastric cancer. Evaluation of the Hypothesis: It is possible that periodontal disease may be a marker of a type of immune function that has implications for tumor growth and progression in stomach. If periodontal bacteria indeed play an important role in the development of gastric cancer, the patients should be treated not only focused on the stomach disease itself but also the periodontal problems.

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