A U-Net Approach to Apical Lesion Segmentation on Panoramic Radiographs

The purpose of the paper was the assessment of the success of an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm formed on a deep-convolutional neural network (D-CNN) model for the segmentation of apical lesions on dental panoramic radiographs. A total of 470 anonymized panoramic radiographs were used to progress the D-CNN AI model based on the U-Net algorithm (CranioCatch, Eskisehir, Turkey) for the segmentation of apical lesions. The radiographs were obtained from the Radiology Archive of the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology of the Faculty of Dentistry of Eskisehir Osmangazi University. A U-Net implemented with PyTorch model (version 1.4.0) was used for the segmentation of apical lesions. In the test data set, the AI model segmented 63 periapical lesions on 47 panoramic radiographs. The sensitivity, precision, and F1-score for segmentation of periapical lesions at 70% IoU values were 0.92, 0.84, and 0.88, respectively. AI systems have the potential to overcome clinical problems. AI may facilitate the assessment of periapical pathology based on panoramic radiographs.

Penatalaksanaan non-bedah kasus previously initiated therapy gigi molar pertama maksila dengan lesi periapikal dan konfigurasi dua saluran akar mesiobukal Non-surgical management of previously initiated therapy of the maxillary first molar with periapical lesions and two mesiobuccal canals configuration

ABSTRAKPendahuluan: Penatalaksanaan kasus penyakit pulpa yang disertai dengan lesi periapikal dapat dilakukan dengan perawatan saluran akar tanpa intervensi bedah. Preparasi biomekanis pada perawatan endodontik non-bedah dapat mengeliminasi bakteri dari saluran akar dan mencegah terjadinya infeksi berulang setelah dilakukannya obturasi. Kompleksitas anatomi menyebabkan keterbatasan preparasi biomekanis saluran akar, sehingga perawatan dapat mengalami kegagalan. Variasi anatomi saluran akar pada gigi molar pertama rahang atas umumnya terdapat pada bagian palatal akar mesiobukal yang disebut sebagai saluran akar mesiobukal kedua dengan insidensi 94%. Saluran akar mesiobukal kedua berukuran lebih sempit dan dangkal dibandingkan saluran akar mesiobukal pertama, sehingga dibutuhkan beberapa metode untuk menentukan lokasi orifis tersebut. Tujuan laporan kasus ini adalah membahas mengenai penatalaksanaan non-bedah gigi pasca perawatan endodontik parsial yang disertai dengan lesi periapikal. Laporan kasus: Pasien perempuan berusia 28 tahun datang dengan keluhan gigi belakang kiri atas sakit berdenyut sejak 1 bulan, gigi tersebut pernah dirawat saluran akarnya beberapa tahun sebelumnya. Pemeriksaan klinis menunjukkan terdapat tambalan permanen pada gigi 26. Pemeriksaan radiografis menunjukkan adanya gambaran radiopak pada email mesio-oklusal hingga mencapai dasar kamar pulpa, pelebaran ligamen periodontal, terputusnya lamina dura, serta lesi periapikal pada akar mesial dan palatal. Preparasi akses dilakukan pada gigi 26, dilanjutkan dengan penentuan lokasi orifis mesiobukal kedua. Empat saluran akar dipreparasi menggunakan instrumen rotary nickel titanium dengan teknik crown down dan dilakukan obturasi teknik kondensasi lateral. Restorasi definitif berupa mahkota penuh porselen. Simpulan: Lesi periapikal sembuh setelah dilakukan preparasi pada saluran akar mesiobukal kedua sehingga pengetahuan mengenai anatomi dan variasi internal saluran akar gigi sangat penting dalam keberhasilan perawatan endodontik non-bedah.Kata kunci: Perawatan endodontik non-bedah; previously initiated therapy; lesi periapical; mesiobukal kedua ABSTRACTIntroduction: The management of pulp disease cases accompanied by periapical lesions can be done by root canal treatment without surgical intervention. Biomechanical preparations for non-surgical endodontic treatment can eliminate bacteria from the root canal and prevent re-infection after obturation. However, the complexity of the anatomy limits the biomechanical preparation of the root canal so that treatment can fail. Anatomical variations of the root canal in the maxillary first molars are generally found in the palatal part of the mesiobuccal root, which is the second mesiobuccal root canal with an incidence of 94%. The second mesiobuccal root canal is narrower and shallower than the first mesiobuccal root canal, so several methods are needed to determine the location of the orifice. The purpose of this case report was to discuss the non-surgical management of teeth after partial endodontic treatment accompanied by periapical lesions. Case report: A 28-year-old female patient complained of throbbing pain in the left upper back tooth for one month. The tooth had had its root canal treated several years before. Clinical examination revealed permanent fillings on tooth 26. Radiographic examination showed the radiopaque appearance of mesio-occlusal enamel to the floor of the pulp chamber, widening of the periodontal ligament, rupture of the lamina dura, and periapical lesions of the mesial and palatal roots. Access preparation was performed on tooth 26, followed by the determination of the location of the second mesiobuccal orifice. Four root canals were prepared using a rotary nickel titanium instrument with a crown down technique and obturation with lateral condensation technique. The definitive restoration is a full porcelain crown. Conclusions: Periapical lesions healed after preparation of the second mesiobuccal root canal. This result proves that knowledge of the anatomy and internal variations of the root canal is fundamental in the success of non-surgical endodontic treatment.Keywords: Non-surgical endodontic treatment; previously initiated therapy; periapical lesions; second mesiobuccal canal

Healing of periapical lesion after root canal treatment: A case report

Most of periapical lesions usually result from microbial infection with oral microorganisms originating from the degenerated pulp tissue. These lesions are commonly painless and incidentally found on routine radiographic examinations. Treating these cases using non-surgical root canal is the fruit of the innovative techniques, tools and root medicaments as well as the tendency toward minimally invasive treatment. The healing process of the infected area is conditioned by a proper diagnosis, a treatment that follows good clinical practice under aseptic environment including cleaning, shaping and root filing. The aim of the present clinical case report was to report non-surgical healing of a periapical lesion of endodontic origin associated with maxillary left central incisor, observed over a period of 2 years.

Estimating the viral loads of SARS-CoV-2 in the oral cavity when complicated with periapical lesions

Background The oral cavity represents a main entrance of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE-2), neuropilin-1 (NRP-1), and transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2) are essential for the entry of SARS-CoV-2 to the host cells. Both ACE-2 and NRP-1 receptors and TMPRSS2 have been identified in the oral cavity. However, there is limited knowledge about the impact of periapical lesions and their metabolites on the expression of these critical genes. This study aims to measure the impact of periapical lesions and their unique fatty acids (FAs) metabolites on the expression of the aforementioned genes, in addition to interleukin 6 (IL-6) gene and hence SARS-CoV-2 infection loads can be estimated. Methods Gene expression of ACE-2, NRP-1, TMPRSS2, and IL-6 was performed in periapical lesions in comparison to healthy oral cavity. Since FAs are important immunomodulators required for the lipid synthesis essential for receptors synthesis and viral replication, comparative FAs profiling was determined in oral lesions and healthy pulp tissues using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). The effect of major identified and unique FAs was tested on mammalian cells known to express ACE-2, NRP-1, and TMPRSS2 genes. Results Gene expression analysis indicated that ACE-2, NRP-1, and TMPRSS2 were significantly upregulated in healthy clinical samples compared to oral lesions, while the reverse was true with IL-6 gene expression. Saturated and monounsaturated FAs were the major identified shared and unique FAs, respectively. Major shared FAs included palmitic, stearic and myristic acids with the highest percentage in the healthy oral cavity, while unique FAs included 17-octadecynoic acid in periapical abscess, petroselinic acid and l-lactic acid in periapical granuloma, and 1-nonadecene in the radicular cyst. Computational prediction showed that the binding affinity of identified FAs to ACE-2, TMPRSS2 and S protein were insignificant. Further, FA-treated mammalian cells showed significant overexpression of ACE-2, NRP-1 and TMPRSS2 genes except with l-lactic acid and oleic acid caused downregulation of NRP-1 gene, while 17-octadecynoic acid caused insignificant effect. Conclusion Collectively, a healthy oral cavity is more susceptible to viral infection when compared to that complicated with periapical lesions. FAs play important role in viral infection and their balance can affect the viral loads. Shifting the balance towards higher levels of palmitic, stearic and 1-nonadecene caused significant upregulation of the aforementioned genes and hence higher viral loads. On the other hand, there is a reverse correlation between inflammation and expression of SARS-CoV-2 receptors. Therefore, a mouth preparation that can reduce the levels of palmitic, stearic and 1-nonadecene, while maintaining an immunomodulatory effect can be employed as a future protection strategy against viral infection.

In vitro comparison of the cytotoxicity of different endodontic sealers; AH Plus, AdSeal, Endoseal MTA, and GuttaFlow Bioseal

Background: This study aimed to assess the cytotoxicity of four commonly used endodontic sealers namely AH Plus, AdSeal, Endoseal MTA, and GuttaFlow Bioseal against human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs). Methods: After culturing the HGFs, they were exposed to the respective sealers in set form and in five different weights, after sterilization. The cytotoxicity of the sealers was evaluated after 1, 3 and 7 days using the methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay. Data were analyzed by repeated measures ANOVA. Results: After 24 h, all sealers showed low cytotoxicity. However, all sealers in 250 mg and 500 mg weights showed significantly higher cytotoxicity than the negative control group at 72 h, and 7 days (P<0.05) except for AdSeal in 80 mg weight (P>0.05). AH Plus was significantly more cytotoxic than other sealers at 3 and 7 days (P<0.05) while AdSeal had the closest results to the negative control group, and showed significantly higher biocompatibility than other sealers in 250 mg concentration. Conclusion: AdSeal showed the highest biocompatibility while AH Plus had the highest cytotoxicity among the tested sealers. Thus, its application may delay the healing of periapical lesions.