Effects of sleep bruxism on functional and occlusal parameters:a prospective controlled investigation

This study was conducted to verify the results of a preceding retrospective pilot study by means of a prospective controlled investigation including a larger sample size. Therefore, the aim of this clinical investigation was to analyze the relationship between sleep bruxism and several functional and occlusal parameters. The null hypothesis of this study was that there would be no differences among sleep bruxism subjects and non-sleep bruxism controls regarding several functional and occlusal parameters. Fifty-eight sleep bruxism subjects and 31 controls participated in this study. The diagnosis sleep bruxism was based on clinical criteria of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Sixteen functional and occlusal parameters were recorded clinically or from dental study casts. Similar to the recently published retrospective pilot study, with a mean slide of 0.77 mm （s.d., 0.69 mm） in the sleep bruxism group and a mean slide of 0.4 mm （s.d., 0.57 mm） in the control group, the evaluation of the mean comparison between the two groups demonstrated a larger slide from centric occlusion to maximum intercuspation in sleep bruxism subjects （Mann-Whitney U-test; P=O.O08）. However, following Bonferroni adjustment, none of the 16 occlusal and functional variables differed significantly between the sleep bruxism subjects and the non-sleep bruxism controls. The present study shows that the occlusal and functional parameters evaluated do not differ between sleep bruxism subjects and non-sleep bruxism subjects. However, as the literature reveals a possible association between bruxism and certain subgroups of temporomandibular disorders, it appears advisable to incorporate the individual adaptive caoacitv of the stomatognathic svstem into future investigations.

Class III Reversion with Immediate Complete Denture and Immediate Implant-Retained Overdenture: Case Report

With the increased life expectancy, complete dentures have been used in the treatment of edentulism progressively. It restores stomatognathic system functions, providing improvements in chewing, aesthetics, and phonetics. The aim was to report an oral rehabilitation of a patient with severe aesthetic and functional impairment, with Angle’s class III malocclusion. The patient sought the extension project of the School of Dentistry of the Federal University of Minas Gerais with aesthetic complaints. After clinical and radiographic evaluation, the proposed planning was immediate complete denture maxilla and immediate implant-retained overdenture in mandible. During clinical evaluation it was observed that the patient was Angle’s III. The rehabilitation was performed as proposed and at the end of the treatment, it was possible to revert the class III occlusal pattern to Angle’s I. The excellent maxillomandibular relationship was achieved, which ensured optimal facial aesthetics and functional condition. It was concluded that the immediate complete dentures and immediate implant-retained overdenture might be beneficial for restoring the aesthetics and function of patients with Angle’s class III malocclusion.

Unilateral Impact of Altered Loading by Changing Teeth Height on the TMJ Fibrocartilage: Disc and Condyle of Wistar Rats

Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is sensitive to loading and mechanical stress that provokes morphological changes produced by the impact in the occlusal plane. Here, this impact is evaluated in TMJ articular disc and articular cartilage using an in vivo model of unilateral occlusal plane impact and by analysis of serial tissue sections stained with Hematoxylin-Eosin (H-E) or with Masson trichrome technique. Thus, six groups of 5 Wistar rats (200 - 250 g) are subjected to biomechanical dental stimulation by placing unilateral resin occlusal interference, or unilateral tooth wear made by upper left molars artificial mechanical devastation (1 control and 2 experimental groups for each treatment). Each treatment is evaluated two times at 1 and 15 days post-treatment. By H-E staining, control groups show chondrocytes arrangement as several cord cell groups in comparison with the experimental groups, which show an arrangement in one cord cell along of articular disc. However, this yields no significant difference (p < 0.05) in cell number between control and experimental groups. In contrast, in articular cartilage chondrocytes are random distributed along the superficial zone in control groups, while in experimental groups cell-free regions are observed in superficial zone. An image Blue hue analysis for trichrome stain is performed to quantify collagen;this shows a significant collagen decrease (p < 0.05) in almost all experimental groups compared with the controls. A degenerative process biomechanically induced by unilateral occlusal plane modification, causes cell and tissue changes on the TMJ structures that remain the degenerative changes observed in early osteoarthritis.

The evaluation of the carbon fiber post system on restoration of teeth defect in children

Background Post and post-core systems are used to restore extensively damaged teeth. Among these systems, cast alloy post and core, prefabricated threaded alloy post and prefabricated simple alloy post are most frequently applied in China nowadays. In Europe and North America a combined application of the fiber post, resin-core and crown has been applied to restore seriously destructed teeth with satisfactory results in recent years. This study was intended to evaluate the clinical effect of carbon fiber post system on restoration of child anterior tooth defect after root canal therapy, based on 3-5 years＇ observation.

Fatigue cyclic loading test of an auro-galvanoforming ceramic bridge

Background In dental clinics, dentition defects are commonly restored with conventional porcelain-fused-to-metal fixed bridges. However, Ni-Cr alloy ceramic fixed bridges are known to have several drawbacks such as marginal coloration of the neck, low casting precision and, most seriously, poor biocompatibility. These problems could be circumvented by using noble metal ceramic bridges; however, one negative issue related to the conventional noble metal ceramic bridges is its high price due to the use of a large amount of gold for pontic. Therefore, an auro-galvanoforming ceramic bridge would be ideal to retain the advantages of a conventional material, yet reduce the amount of noble metal used. This study aimed to investigate whether any destructive changes occur to the auro-galvanoforming ceramic bridge under a fatigue cyclic loading test. Methods On standard models which the left maxillary first premolar is lost and with the cuspid teeth and the second premolar as the fixed bridge abutment teeth, six maxillary auro-galvanoforming ceramic bridges and six corresponding nichrome ceramic jointed crowns were made as group A, six nichrome ceramic bridges and six corresponding nichrome ceramic jointed crowns were made as group B （control group）. And then all specimens were fixed and tested on a fatigue cyclic loading machine; the changes occurring to the surfaces of occlusal contact with large functional area and to the porcelain-metal interfaces of the nichrome primary copings margins were observed through a scanning electron microscope （SEM）. Results In 120 hours＇ continual observation, none of the specimens had porcelain coating fractures or scraping occurrence and all of the porcelain coatings had been kept intact under sinusoidal cyclic loading with the load range of 120-200 N and frequency of 5 Hz. Conclusions Auro-galvanoforming ceramic bridges exhibited excellent fatigue strength in the fatigue cyclic loading test and may satisfy the clinical demand in theory, while the practical application shall be evaluated by observations in long-term clinical usage.

Clinical follow-up of ceramic bridges with auro-galvanoforming primary coping and Ni-Cr pontic for restoration of dentition defects

Background Alternatives to the conventional auro-galvanoforming ceramic bridge need to be evaluated in long-term longitudinal studies before being recommended for restoration of dentition defects. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical performance of a ceramic bridge with auro-galvanoforming primary coping and Ni-Cr pontic for restoration of dentition defects. Methods In total, 114 ceramic bridges with auro-galvanoforming （primary coping and Ni-Cr pontic） were placed in 112 patients with dentition defects. Among them, 83 bridges in 82 patients were available for follow-up after 7 years. We evaluated marginal integrity, color match, gingival inflammation, fracture of ceramic bridges, and recurrent caries. Results Marginal integrity of the ceramic bridges was perfect in all patients. Most ceramic bridges maintained their original color. Fracture was found in three bridges; the rest were free of fracture, breakage, and loosening. Recurrent abutment caries were not found. Ceramic bridges with auro-galvanoforming （primary coping and Ni-Cr pontic） produced satisfactory clinical outcomes -- equivalent to the conventional porcelain-fused-to-metal restoration. This technique is especially useful for dentition defects of the molar area and is cheaper than restoration with noble metal bridges. Conclusions Ceramic bridges with auro-galvanoforming （primary coping and Ni-Cr pontic） performed well for the restoration of dentition defects during this follow-up period. More studies are warranted to further evaluate this technique as an alternative to the conventional porcelain-fused-to-metal restoration.