Ecaterina Ionescu

Background: The transition from dental education to professional practice represents a critical stage in career development, influenced by individual expectations, labor market conditions, and institutional support mechanisms. This study aimed to explore final-year dental students’ perceptions of professional transition and the role of public authorities in facilitating early-career integration. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 216 final-year dental students from a single Romanian university using a structured, self-administered questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were performed using Jamovi software, with significance set at p < 0.05. Results: Most students reported feeling insufficiently prepared for professional practice and identified lack of clinical experience as the main barrier to employment. A strong preference for private sector employment was observed, while interest in the public sector was limited. Students expressed a clear need for structured support, including mentorship, practical training, and career guidance. A significant association was identified between intention to work abroad and the types of support expected from authorities (χ²(2) = 14.7, p < 0.001, moderate effect size). Conclusions: The findings highlight important challenges in the transition to professional practice and emphasize the need for coordinated interventions involving educational institutions and public authorities. Strengthening structured support mechanisms may facilitate professional integration and contribute to improved workforce retention.

Background/Objectives: External root resorption is an undesirable complication of orthodontic treatment, characterized by the loss of dental root structure. The aim of this study was to identify the biological and dental risk factors involved in the development of external root resorption at the end of orthodontic treatment. Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted on a sample of 120 patients who underwent orthodontic treatment. External root resorption was assessed using pre- and post-treatment panoramic radiographs. Correlations were established between the severity of external root resorption and various biological and dental risk factors. Results: Out of a total of 2639 teeth analyzed, 52.14% exhibited external root resorption, with most cases being mild to moderate (p < 0.01). No significant differences were observed in relation to gender, facial growth pattern, or type of dento-maxillary anomaly. Conclusions: External root resorption is a common consequence of orthodontic treatment, most often presenting with low severity. The type of tooth and the patient’s age influence the severity of root resorption, while factors such as gender, facial growth pattern, and type of dento-maxillary anomaly did not prove to be significant in this context.

Background: (1) Periodontal disease (PD) is a globally prevalent chronic inflammatory condition, exacerbated by the dysbiosis of the oral microbiota. This study aims to evaluate the bacterial load of specific periodontopathogenic bacteria in patients with malocclusions (MAL) compared to those without. (2) Methods: Conducted at the “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania, this pilot study involved two groups: patients with MAL and PD, and patients with PD but without MAL. We included 20 patients: 10 with MAL (9 with crowding and 1 with an open bite) and 10 without MAL. Gingival crevicular fluid was collected for bacterial DNA extraction and quantified bacterial load using real-time PCR, focusing on 12 periodontopathogenic bacteria across different complexity classes. (3) Results: The study identified significantly higher concentrations of Treponema denticola (p = 0.023, median = 4.32, IQR = 2.76–5.53 vs. median = 1.93, IQR = 0–3.19), Tannerella forsythia (p = 0.020, mean = 6.04 ± 0.72 vs. mean = 4.4 ± 1.89) and Porphyromonas gingivalis (p = 0.002, median = 5.64, IQR = 4.94–5.98 vs. median = 2.48, IQR = 0–4.05) in patients with MAL compared to those without. This suggests that MAL contributes to an environment conducive to the proliferation of specific pathogens, potentially accelerating PD progression. Additionally, Eikenella corrodens (p = 0.040, mean = 4.55 ± 1.02 vs. mean = 3.23 ± 1.56), Campylobacter rectus (p < 0.001, mean = 4.2 ± 0.56 vs. mean = 1.8 ± 1.51), Prevotella intermedia (p = 0.043, median = 5.04, IQR = 0–5.49 vs. median = 0, IQR = 0–3.39), Capnocytophaga sputigena (p = 0.011, median = 5.91, IQR = 5.47–6.17 vs. median = 4.63, IQR = 3.83–5.64), and Capnocytophaga gingivalis (p = 0.007, median = 5.87, IQR = 5.34–6.03 vs. median = 4.4, IQR = 3.5–5.71) also showed elevated concentrations, indicating the broad impacts of MAL on oral microbial profiles. (4) Conclusions: The findings demonstrate a significant relationship between MAL and increased bacterial loads, underscoring the need for its integration in managing PD. Future research should expand demographic diversity and employ longitudinal designs to better understand the causative mechanisms at play.

Vitamins, exogenous organic compounds that play a vital role in metabolic reactions, and fundamental powerful antioxidants with a crucial role in the genetic transcription process, are considered essential nutritional factors. Folic acid (FA), also known as folate, or Vitamin B9, plays an indispensable role in various intracellular reactions, being the main pawn, with a strong impact on medical and dental science. The aim of this paper mainly focuses on presenting the latest and most advanced aspects related to the following topics: (1) the resonance that FA, and more specifically FA deficiency, has at the level of the oral cavity; (2) the elements involved in the molecular landscape, which reflect the interaction and the possible mechanisms of action, through which FA influences oral health; and (3) the particular processes by which FA deficiency causes certain clinical conditions. Moreover, we aim to draw the attention and trigger the curiosity of health professionals on the need to know the specific host–environment interactions, particularly the linkage between individual genotype and phenotypic variability, which in the future could represent the basis of novel and effective treatment methods. From this perspective, we begin by providing an overview of the general radar echo of the human body induced by FA deficiency, before focusing on the genetic strategic substrate and biochemical processes involved in the molecular mechanisms through which FA acts at the cellular level. Finally, we reflect on the resulting conclusions: (1) the complex interrelationships between different types of cytokines (CKs) and abnormal folate metabolism are involved in the occurrence of neural tube defects (NTDs) and orofacial clefts (OFCs); (2) increased oxidative stress, endothelial dysfunction, and genomic instability, induced by folate deficiency, have a major impact on periodontal health; and (3) glutamate carboxypeptidase II, GCP2 1561C>T allelic variant, constitutes the main pawn, which specifically influences the bioavailability of natural folates and FA, as the main actors, with essential roles in oral health.

This study is intended to focus on the evaluation of posterior vertical mandibular asymmetry by calculating the mandibular asymmetry index on the panoramic radiography in different types of malocclusions, considering the sexual dimorphism in children and adolescent patients and performing a comparative analysis between these groups. In this context, a cross-sectional study was conducted for a group of 214 patients (134 females and 80 males with a mean age of 9.5 ± 2 years). The asymmetry index was calculated for each patient according to the Habets method. The results were analyzed by using the independent Student t-test, ANOVA and Mann–Whitney U-test at the 95% confidence level (p < 0.05). The results of the analyses showed a statistically significant difference between males and females at the level of the condylar index (p = 0.023) and a significant difference in the unilateral posterior crossbite in the Mann–Whitney U test (p = 0.01). No statistically significant differences were found between males and females in the index of the mandibular ramus and condyle-plus-ramus. The highest value of the asymmetry index was recorded at the level of the condyle. We found higher values of asymmetry in Angle Class I malocclusions in all groups and in Class II/1 in the group of females.

Dental education was severely challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide. The evaluation of the viewpoint of the dental teachers of the Faculty of Dentistry at “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Bucharest, Romania, on these exceptional circumstances’ consequences was the objective of this paper. A cross-sectional study was conducted in April 2022, on the academic staff who reported their perceptions of the emotional and educational impact of the pandemic by completing a Google Forms questionnaire. Although a significant emotional impact of the pandemic was reported by over a third of the participants (31.2%), most of them being teachers of fifth-year dental students (p = 0.019), the perceived stress had an impact on the teaching performance in few of them (14%), the quality of sleep remaining unaffected in most of them (53.7%), whereas the level of anxiety was low (57%). An educational impact regarding the techno difficulties during the online transition was mentioned by few respondents (16.1%), with male teaching staff facing the fewest problems (p = 0.024), as well as low levels of difficulties in transmitting academic information (11.9), with men also being the most unaffected (p = 0.006). More than half of the participants (59.1%) rather see digital and/or virtual education during the pandemic as having adverse effects on the educational system, the most sceptical being teachers of the fifth (p = 0.001) and sixth years (p = 0.001). The COVID-19 pandemic affected the academic staff of the Faculty of Dentistry at “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Bucharest, Romania, not only at a personal level but also at a professional, pedagogical one, due to the introduction of the online teaching system followed by the hybrid one. Age group, gender, and teaching year differentiated the degree of emotional and educational impairment.

(1) Background: Orthodontic appliances have changed and improved with the increasing demand for orthodontic treatment of the general population. Patients desire for shorter orthodontic treatments and for the wearing of more aesthetic devices has led to the technological development of orthodontic brackets; these were manufactured from aesthetic materials (ceramics, composite polymers) and presented different designs regarding the way archwires are ligated to the bracket. The aim of this study was to determine whether there were any differences between the static frictional forces generated by stainless steel (metallic) and polycrystalline alumina (ceramics) conventional and self-ligating brackets. (2) Methods: Static friction assessment was carried out in vitro with a universal testing machine, HV-500N-S (Schmidt Control Instruments, Hans Schmidt & Co. GmbH), intended for measuring compression and traction forces. (3) Results: The study revealed significant differences in static frictional forces at the bracket-archwire interface between the tested brackets. Stainless steel brackets produced lower static friction forces than polycrystalline alumina and self-ligating brackets generally produced lower static frictional forces than conventional brackets. The reduction of frictional forces was noticeable in the first stages of treatment, when thin, flexible orthodontic archwires (0.016” NiTi) are used. Engaged with large rectangular stainless steel archwires, (0.019 × 0.025” SS), the frictional forces produced by conventional and self-ligating metal brackets were similar, no significant differences being observed between the two types of metallic design. However, in the case of tested ceramic brackets, the results showed that the self-ligating type allows a reduction in frictional forces even in advanced stages of treatment compared to conventionally ligation. (4) Conclusions: From the perspective of an orthodontic system with low frictional forces, metal brackets are preferable to aesthetic ones, and self-ligating ceramic brackets are preferable to conventional ceramic brackets.

The research aims to verify the concordance between the skeletal maturity index (SMI) measured on the hand and wrist X-rays using Fishman method and the cervical vertebral maturation stage (CVMS), measured on the lateral cephalometric X-rays using Baccetti method. The concordance of the two indexes (SMI and CVMS) has been statistically verified with the help of the Cohen’s kappa coefficient, by relating them to the growth stages, within a longitudinal study done upon a group of 38 patients, 22 female and 16 male, aged between 8–18 y, the analyzed investigations being done in series, along the orthodontic treatment. The research showed a strong correlation between the SMI and CVMS indexes within the analyzed group, confirmed by the obtained values (k = 0.84 for female and k = 0.85 for male).

Dento-alveolar disharmony with crowding is a common reason for orthodontic treatment with not fully understood or unequivocally demonstrated causes. This study investigated the correlations between teeth dimensions, arch lengths, and crowding during the mixed dentition period. A cross-sectional study on 100 dental casts of patients with class I malocclusions was performed. Dental arches were classified as non-crowded, moderately crowded, severely crowded, and spaced. The mesio-distal widths, bucco-lingual sizes, and crown proportions of permanent teeth were assessed. The results indicated that arch length measurements showed smaller values in crowded arches. The mesio-distal dimensions of upper central incisors and lower lateral incisors were larger in patients with crowding. The bucco-lingual dimensions of upper incisors were decreased, the bucco-lingual dimensions of lower central incisors and permanent first molars were increased in crowded arches. Upper incisors and lower lateral incisors presented larger crown proportions in crowding cases. Low negative correlations were found between mesio-distal diameters of maxillary central incisors, lower lateral incisors, lower permanent first molars, and the values of arch space discrepancies. In conclusion, crowding in the mixed dentition could be associated with reduced arch lengths, increase in mesio-distal sizes of incisors and lower permanent first molars, and variations of bucco-lingual dimensions and crown proportions of incisors and lower permanent first molars.

Periodontitis represents a complex inflammatory disease that compromises the integrity of the tooth-supporting tissue through the interaction of specific periodontal pathogens and the host’s immune system. Experimental data help to outline the idea that the molecular way towards periodontitis initiation and progression presents four key steps: bacterial infection, inflammation, oxidative stress, and autophagy. The aim of this review is to outline the autophagy involvement in the pathogenesis and evolution of periodontitis from at least three points of view: periodontal pathogen invasion control, innate immune signaling pathways regulation and apoptosis inhibition in periodontal cells. The exact roles played by reactive oxygen species (ROS) inside the molecular mechanisms for autophagy initiation in periodontitis still require further investigation. However, clarifying the role and the mechanism of redox regulation of autophagy in the periodontitis context may be particularly beneficial for the elaboration of new therapeutic strategies.