Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

An Instrument To Measure Dental Students' Communication Skills With Patients In Six Specific Circumstances: An Exploratory Factor Analysis, Joanna Alice Aalboe, Mitzi M. Schumacher

Center for Oral Health Research Faculty Publications

The aim of this study was to explore the internal structure of an instrument assessing dental students' confidence in their ability to communicate with patients in six specific circumstances (anxious, in pain, etc.) using exploratory factor analysis. In a Communication in the Dental Health Care Setting course at a U.S. dental school, second-year dental students in two years (2013 and 2014) responded to the six items on a survey instrument. Of the total 123 students, 122 fully completed the instrument, for a response rate of 99%. Analysis of the results identified a unidimensional scale with regards to patient-specific communication self-efficacy …

Differential Gene Expression Profiles Reflecting Macrophage Polarization In Aging And Periodontitis Gingival Tissues, Octavio A. Gonzalez, Michael John Novak, Sreenatha S. Kirakodu, Arnold J. Stromberg, R. Nagarajan, Chifu B. Huang, K. C. Chen, Luis Orraca, J. Martinez-Gonzalez, Jeffrey L. Ebersole

Center for Oral Health Research Faculty Publications

Recent evidence has determined a phenotypic and functional heterogeneity for macrophage populations. This plasticity of macrophage function has been related to specific properties of subsets (M1 and M2) of these cells in inflammation, adaptive immune responses and resolution of tissue destructive processes. This investigation hypothesized that targeted alterations in the distribution of macrophage phenotypes in aged individuals, and with periodontitis would be skewed towards M1 inflammatory macrophages in gingival tissues. The study used a non-human primate model to evaluate gene expression profiles as footprints of macrophage variation in healthy and periodontitis gingival tissues from animals 3-23 years of age and …

Targeted Salivary Biomarkers For Discrimination Of Periodontal Health And Disease(S), Jeffrey L. Ebersole, Radhakrishnan Nagarajan, David Akers, Craig S. Miller

Center for Oral Health Research Faculty Publications

Generally, clinical parameters are used in dental practice for periodontal disease, yet several drawbacks exist with the clinical standards for addressing the needs of the public at large in determining the current status/progression of the disease, and requiring a significant amount of damage before these parameters can document disease. Therefore, a quick, easy and reliable method of assessing and monitoring periodontal disease should provide important diagnostic information that improves and speeds treatment decisions and moves the field closer to individualized point-of-care diagnostics.

OBJECTIVE: This report provides results for a saliva-based diagnostic approach for periodontal health and disease based upon …

Cytokine Gene Expression Profiles During Initiation, Progression And Resolution Of Periodontitis, Jeffrey L. Ebersole, Sreenatha S. Kirakodu, Michael John Novak, Arnold J. Stromberg, Shu Shen, Luis Orraca, Janis Gonzalez-Martinez, Armando Burgos, Octavio A. Gonzalez

Center for Oral Health Research Faculty Publications

AIM: Variations in the expression of cytokines during the progression of periodontitis remain ill-defined. We evaluated the expression of 19 cytokine genes related to T-cell phenotype/function during initiation, progression and resolution of periodontitis, and related these to the expression of soft and bone tissue destruction genes (TDGs).

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A ligature-induced periodontitis model was used in rhesus monkeys (M. mulatta) (n = 18). Gingival tissues were taken at baseline pre-ligation, 2 weeks and 1 month (Initiation) and 3 months (progression) post ligation. Ligatures were removed and samples taken 2 months later (resolution). Total RNA was isolated and the Rhesus …

Comparative Analysis Of Gingival Tissue Antigen Presentation Pathways In Ageing And Periodontitis, Octavio A. Gonzalez, Michael John Novak, Sreenatha S. Kirakodu, Luis Orraca, Kuey-Chu Chen, Arnold J. Stromberg, Janis Gonzalez-Martinez, Jeffrey L. Ebersole

Center for Oral Health Research Faculty Publications

AIM: Gingival tissues of periodontitis lesions contribute to local elevations in mediators, including both specific T cell and antibody immune responses to oral bacterial antigens. Thus, antigen processing and presentation activities must exist in these tissues to link antigen-presenting cells with adaptive immunity. We hypothesized that alterations in the transcriptome of antigen processing and presentation genes occur in ageing gingival tissues and that periodontitis enhances these differences reflecting tissues less capable of immune resistance to oral pathogens.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Rhesus monkeys (n = 34) from 3 to 23 years of age were examined. A buccal gingival sample from healthy …

Effects Of Aging On Apoptosis Gene Expression In Oral Mucosal Tissues, Octavio A. Gonzalez, Michael John Novak, Sreenatha S. Kirakodu, Arnold J. Stromberg, Shu Shen, Luis Orraca, Janis Gonzalez-Martinez, Jeffrey L. Ebersole

Center for Oral Health Research Faculty Publications

Apoptotic processes are important for physiologic renewal of an intact epithelial barrier and contribute some antimicrobial resistance for bacteria and viruses, as well as anti-inflammatory effects that benefits the mucosa. The oral cavity presents a model of host-bacterial interactions at mucosal surfaces, in which a panoply of microorganisms colonizes various niches in the oral cavity and creates complex multispecies biofilms that challenge the gingival tissues. This report details gene expression in apoptotic pathways that occur in oral mucosal tissues across the lifespan, using a nonhuman primate model. Macaca mulatta primates from 2 to 23 years of age (n = …