It is well known that bacterial plaque is the main etiological factor that causes the appearance of periodontal diseases and carious disease. Periodontal diseases can affect children and adolescents and are manifested in the form of gingivitis, but also the early form of chronic periodontitis as well as aggressive marginal periodontitis associated with local or general factors. Early periodontitis is frequently undiagnosed by clinicians due to a lack of knowledge of the specific symptoms. Certain systemic diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, can create favorable conditions for the appearance and progression of severe manifestations of periodontal disease; also, recent research highlights that individuals with periodontal disease present an increased risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. Children with congenital or acquired cardiovascular diseases are at increased risk for complications resulting from the growth of microorganisms in the oral cavity, presenting a risk of infective endocarditis. The specific aim was to highlight the existing differences between the periodontal health of children with cardiovascular diseases and that of children without these diseases. The analyzed group included 124 patients, represented by children and adolescents, aged between 7 and 17 years, who were divided into four subgroups depending on the presence or absence of cardiovascular diseases and periodontal disease. A specialized clinical examination was performed for each patient, and periodontal clinical parameters were quantified (plaque index, gingival bleeding index, gingival index, community periodontal index of treatment needs) and associated with the diagnosis of general condition. Patients diagnosed with periodontal disease underwent specialized treatment and were called to a control visit 3 months after treatment. Statistical analysis showed significant differences between subgroups with much higher values of clinical parameters for patients with cardiovascular disease. Also, the response to the treatment was better in the case of patients in the control subgroup without cardiovascular diseases. The present study highlighted the interaction of three factors in the progression of periodontal diseases: subgingival microbiota, immune system response and environmental factors.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the impact of single-vision spectacle use on myopia progression in children with low myopia.
METHODS: MYOSOTIS is a prospective myopia screening survey including all 46 primary and junior high schools in two districts of Hangzhou, China. After 1-to-1 propensity score matching (PSM), 1,685 pairs of students with low myopia were included. Group 1 was composed of 1,685 non-spectacle users at baseline, and group 2 consisted of 1,685 spectacle wearers at both survey rounds. Refraction was examined by noncycloplegic autorefraction and mean spherical equivalent refraction (SER) of both eyes was analyzed. Myopia progression was measured by average rate of change in SER (r∆SER) between two survey rounds and compared between the two groups.
RESULTS: After PSM, no significant difference in age, sex ratio, SER, and uncorrected visual acuity (VA) between the two groups was found at baseline. For myopic progression, r∆SER showed no significant difference between the two groups (- 0.67 ± 0.97 versus - 0.69 ± 0.81 diopter/year, P = 0.448). After adjusting for age, sex, SER, and VA, the difference in r∆SER between the two groups was not significant (- 0.031, 95% CI - 0.089 ~ 0.028 diopter/year, P = 0.302). In the subgroup analyses stratified by age and SER, and in the sensitivity analyses by eye side, there was still no significant difference in myopia progression between the two groups.
CONCLUSIONS: Our study indicates that single-vision spectacle use has no impact on myopia progression in children with low myopia. Spectacles are recommended in children with low myopia if their visual acuity has interfered with the daily life.