Effect of the Case for Carpule as a Visual Passive Distraction Tool on Dental Fear and Anxiety: A Pilot Study

The present cross-over study aimed to evaluate the effect of a visual passive distraction tool, a case for carpule, in the management of fear and anxiety during invasive dental treatment. Children between the ages of 4 and 8 years that need at least two treatments with inferior alveolar nerve block were selected. All the included children received two treatments at different moments: in one treatment, local anesthesia was performed with a visual passive distraction tool, the crocodile case, for carpule (experimental); in the other treatment, local anesthesia was performed without the device (control). An evaluation of the anxiety levels was performed by measuring the heart rate and salivary cortisol levels. Wilcoxon's nonparametric test was used for a data analysis (p < 0.05). The mean heart rate with the visual passive distraction device fell from 81.8 to 78.1, while the control rose from 91.4 to 100 (p < 0.05). The mean salivary cortisol levels with the visual passive distraction device fell from 2.0 to 1.6, while in the control, they rose from 2.1 to 2.4 (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the crocodile case for carpule as a visual passive distraction device contributed positively to the management of fear and anxiety during inferior alveolar nerve block in children.

Influence of Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms on Vitamin D Receptor Expression in Periodontal Ligament Fibroblasts as a Response to Orthodontic Compression

This study aimed to evaluate if single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene are associated with gene expression in human periodontal ligament (hPDL) fibroblasts under simulated orthodontic compressive force. hPDL samples from 57 patients were used. A physiological compressive strain was performed to simulate orthodontic tooth movement in pressure areas under cell culture conditions. The RNA from hPDL fibroblasts was isolated to determine the relative gene expression (mRNA) of the VDR. The DNA was also isolated for the genotyping analysis of five SNPs in the VDR gene: BglI (rs739837, G/T), BsmI (rs1544410, T/C), ApaI (rs7975232, A/C), FokI (rs2228570, A/G), and TaqI (rs731236, A/G). Real-time polymerase chain reaction was used for both analyses. Kruskal−Wallis tests were used to compare VDR expression among genotypes of each SNP. A linear regression analysis was performed to evaluate SNP−SNP interaction. An established alpha of 5% was used. The relative mRNA VDR expression according to the genotypes in the SNPs BglI, BsmI, ApaI, FokI, and TaqI was not statistically significantly different (p > 0.05). The SNP−SNP interaction evaluated by regression analysis did not demonstrate any statistically significant association. No association was observed (p > 0.05). In conclusion, the SNPs BglI (rs739837), BsmI (rs1544410), ApaI (rs7975232), FokI (rs2228570), and TaqI (rs731236) did not show an impact on VDR gene expression in hPDL fibroblasts under simulated orthodontic compressive force.