Micro-Computed Tomography Applications in Dentistry

Micro-computed tomography (MCT) encompasses two primary scanning options: ex-vivo and in-vivo imaging. Ex-vivo scanning involves the examination of extracted teeth or dental specimens, allowing for detailed analyses of the microarchitecture of mineralized tissue. By analyzing the microarchitecture of dental tissues, MCT can provide valuable information about bone density, porosity, and microstructural changes, contributing to a better understanding of disease progression and treatment outcomes. Moreover, MCT facilitates the quantification of dental parameters, such as bone volume, trabecular thickness, and connectivity density, which are crucial for evaluating the efficacy of dental interventions. This present study aims to comprehensively review and explore the applications of MCT in dentistry and highlight its potential in advancing research and clinical practice. The results depicted that the quantitative approach of MCT enhances the precision and reliability of dental research. Researchers and clinicians can make evidence-based decisions regarding treatment strategies and patient management, relying on quantifiable data provided by MCT. The applications of MCT in dentistry extend beyond research, with potential clinical implications in fields such as dental implantology and endodontics. MCT is expected to play an increasingly significant role in enhancing our understanding of dental pathologies, improving treatment outcomes, and ultimately, benefiting patient care in the field of dentistry.

Using Flowable Composite as Gingival Retraction Cord in Prosthodontics Dentistry: Two Case Reports: A Dental Technique

One of the most challenging factors affecting impression quality and good marginal fit is the gingival retraction method, which aims to separate the gingiva from the tooth to expose the finishing line of the prepared tooth. Bleeding and contamination from the crevicular fluid may compete for space with the impression material within the sulcus, leading to indistinct preparations and a lack of detail at the margin. In addition, such procedures might damage the PDL and cause permanent recession. Flowable composite cable, as opposed to traditional retraction cords, offers the proper marginal seal and visibility during the impression record because of its lower viscosity, improved adaptability, and elastic properties. The aim of this report is to present a brand-new, innovative method for controlling gingival hemorrhage in addition to the gingival retraction in restorative and prosthodontic treatment by utilizing a flowable composite during the final impression record procedure. In these case reports, the flowable composite cord technique is used instead of traditional gingival cords to modify and refine the gingival tissue before taking the traditional final impression or digital scan. Two cases were done for patients undergoing fixed prosthodontics and veneer treatment within a 2-year follow-up period. In addition, the flowable composite cord was used as temporary restoration before the final prosthetic cementation or under the provisional crowns. As a result, clean and healthy gingival tissues render cementation of the final prosthesis quicker and easier to perform. The patients in both cases claimed that their prosthodontic treatments, which involved the application of a flowable composite cord to temporarily retraction the gingiva, had produced good outcomes at the yearlong follow-up. In conclusion, the flowable composite cord technique is found to be a useful tool to improve the quality of impressions in fixed prosthodontics by providing excellent access for impression material to record fine details of the finish line of the prepared tooth structure, and to alter the inflamed tissue into a healthy tissue.

Experts consensus on the procedure of dental operative microscope in endodontics and operative dentistry

The dental operative microscope has been widely employed in the field of dentistry,particularly in endodontics and operative dentistry,resulting in significant advancements in the effectiveness of root canal therapy,endodontic surgery,and dental restoration.However,the improper use of this microscope continues to be common in clinical settings,primarily due to operators’insufficient understanding and proficiency in both the features and established operating procedures of this equipment.In October 2019,Professor Jingping Liang,Vice Chairman of the Society of Cariology and Endodontology,Chinese Stomatological Association,organized a consensus meeting with Chinese experts in endodontics and operative dentistry.The objective of this meeting was to establish a standard operation procedure for the dental operative microscope.Subsequently,a consensus was reached and officially issued.Over the span of about four years,the content of this consensus has been further developed and improved through practical experience.

General Considerations for the Practice of Pediatric Dentistry in the Period of COVID-19 Pandemic: A Review

Context: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2) has been identified in December 2019. Since then, it has been spreading around the world and has caused a pandemic. Strict safety protocols should be followed to resume dental treatments. Evidence Acquisition: A comprehensive search was conducted on PubMed, Scopus, Medline and google scholar databases using the MeSH words of COVID-19, SARS-COV-2, Dentistry, and Child from December 2019 until July 2020. Results: Among COVID-19 patients, asymptomatic patients still are considered to be serious carriers of the COVID-19 which can play a key role in transmission of the virus. Children are reported to be less than 2 percent of the infected population and are considered as serious potential carriers. Telemedicine can take a key part in educating parents regarding this matter. Chronic and rare diseases such as Kawasaki Disease (KD) might show acute and more frequent symptoms amongst COVID-19 patients. Salivary testing can be a convenient chairside way for COVID-19 and it has been shown to be effective in identifying critically ill patients. Dry mouth and amblygeustia have been reported to be the oral symptoms of the COVID-19. Conclusions: Dentists must make tough decisions in prioritizing patient’s needs in the period of pandemic. They should frequently get updated as the situation is fluid and the protocols might change.

Gingival-derived mesenchymal stem cells:An endless resource for regenerative dentistry

The gingiva, the masticatory portion of the oral mucosa, is excised and discarded frequently during routine dental treatments and following tooth extraction, dental crown lengthening, gingivectomy and periodontal surgeries. Subsequent to excision, healing eventually happens in a short time period after gingival surgery. Clinically, the gingival tissue can be collected very easily and, in the laboratory, it is also very easy to isolate gingival-derived mesenchymal stem cells (GMSCs) from this discarded gingival tissue. GMSCs, a stem cell population within the lamina propria of the gingival tissue, can be isolated from attached and free gingiva, inflamed gingival tissu-es, and from hyperplastic gingiva. Comparatively, they constitute more attractive alternatives to other dental-derived mesenchymal stem cells due to the availability and accessibility of gingival tissues. They have unique immunomodulatory functions and well-documented self-renewal and multipotent differentiation properties. They display positive signals for Stro-1, Oct-4 and SSEA-4 pluripotency-associated markers, with some co-expre-ssing Oct4/Stro-1 or Oct-4/SSEA-4. They should be considered as the best stem cell source for cell-based therapies and regenerative dentistry. The clinical use of GMSCs for regenerative dentistry represents an attrac-tive therapeutic modality. However, numerous biological and technical challenges need to be addressed prior to considering transplantation approaches of GMSCs as clinically realistic therapies for humans.

Pathways of fear and anxiety in dentistry: A review

The aim of this article was to analyze the theories underpinning dental fear, anxiety and phobias. To be included, articles must have been published between the years of 1949 and 2013 concerning fears and phobias within dentistry and/or psychiatry. Of 200 articles originally under review, 140 were included and reviewed by the authors.Five specific pathways relating to dental fear and anxiety were identified; Cognitive Conditioning, Informative, Visual Vicarious, Verbal Threat, and Parental. Eight currently accepted management techniques across all dental disciplines for dental fear and anxiety were identified. Further research is required to identify clinical diagnosis and treatment for fears originating from different pathways.

A Palladium Based Alloy for Prosthetic Dentistry: Structure and Properties

Using the results of physical and chemical researches and mechanical tests of the Pd-Au-Cu-Sn system alloys, a new palladium-based alloy has been chosen and studied in detail. It has a higher plasticity and a lower hardness than the Palladent alloy, widely used in prosthetic dentistry: its hardness is lower than 300 MPa, and its specific elongation is 10%~14 %. At the same time, such important practical characteristics of the alloys as the strength of adhesion to ceramics and thermal expansion coefficient are almost similar.

Use of dentomaxillofacial cone beam computed tomography in dentistry

Cone-beam computed tomography(CBCT) was developed and introduced specifically for dento-maxillofacial imaging. CBCT possesses a number of advantages over medical CT in clinical practice, such as lower effective radiation doses, lower costs, fewer space requirements,easier image acquisition, and interactive display modes such as mutiplanar reconstruction that are applicable to maxillofacial imaging. However, the disadvantages of CBCT include higher doses than two-dimensional imaging; the inability to accurately represent the internal structure of soft tissues and soft-tissue lesions; a limited correlation with Hounsfield Units for standardized quantification of bone density; and the presence of various types of image artifacts, mainly those produced by metal restorations. CBCT is now commonly used for a variety of purposes in oral implantology, dentomaxillofacial surgery, image-guided surgical procedures, endodontics, periodontics and orthodontics. CBCT applications provide obvious benefits in the assessment of dentomaxillofacial region, however; it should be used only in correct indications considering the necessity and the potential hazards of the examination.

Empathy Levels of Dentistry Students in Peru and Argentina

Objectives: To compare the empathy of students in two faculties of Dentistry in Peru and Argentina, three factors were considered: universities, academic year and gender. Material and Methods: Empathy matrices in Dentistry students were measured using the Jefferson Scale of Empathy, culturally validated in Peru and Argentina. Empathy data were compared among and within the faculties tested using a three-factor analysis of variance (model III), a Duncan test, and a discriminant analysis. The level of significance used was less than 0.05. Results: We found that differences existed between the students tested. The comparison between the levels of empathy in the studied factors and the presence of unexplained variance showed that empathy was able to differentiate populations. Conclusions: The results indicate variability in the empathy values associated with the factors studied. The discriminant test confirms the differences between faculties revealed by the data matrix resulting from the JSE. These differences are possibly due to the effect of educational and social factors.

Enamel biomimetics—fiction or future of dentistry?

Tooth enamel is a complex mineralized tissue consisting of long and parallel apatite crystals configured into decussating enamel rods. In recent years, multiple approaches have been introduced to generate or regenerate this highly attractive biomaterial characterized by great mechanical strength paired with relative resilience and tissue compatibility. In the present review, we discuss five pathways toward enamel tissue engineering,(i) enamel synthesis using physico-chemical means,(ii) protein matrix-guided enamel crystal growth,(iii) enamel surface remineralization,(iv) cell-based enamel engineering, and(v) biological enamel regeneration based on de novo induction of tooth morphogenesis. So far, physical synthesis approaches using extreme environmental conditions such as pH, heat and pressure have resulted in the formation of enamel-like crystal assemblies.Biochemical methods relying on enamel proteins as templating matrices have aided the growth of elongated calcium phosphate crystals. To illustrate the validity of this biochemical approach we have successfully grown enamel-like apatite crystals organized into decussating enamel rods using an organic enamel protein matrix. Other studies reviewed here have employed amelogeninderived peptides or self-assembling dendrimers to re-mineralize mineral-depleted white lesions on tooth surfaces. So far, cell-based enamel tissue engineering has been hampered by the limitations of presently existing ameloblast cell lines. Going forward, these limitations may be overcome by new cell culture technologies. Finally, whole-tooth regeneration through reactivation of the signaling pathways triggered during natural enamel development represents a biological avenue toward faithful enamel regeneration. In the present review we have summarized the state of the art in enamel tissue engineering and provided novel insights into future opportunities to regenerate this arguably most fascinating of all dental tissues.

Recent advances in imaging technologies in dentistry

Dentistry has witnessed tremendous advances in all its branches over the past three decades. With these advances, the need for more precise diagnostic tools,specially imaging methods, have become mandatory.From the simple intra-oral periapical X-rays, advanced imaging techniques like computed tomography, cone beam computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasound have also found place in modern dentistry. Changing from analogue to digital radiography has not only made the process simpler and faster but also made image storage, manipulation(brightness/contrast, image cropping, etc.) and retrieval easier. The three-dimensional imaging has made the complex cranio-facial structures more accessible for examination and early and accurate diagnosis of deep seated lesions. This paper is to review current advances in imaging technology and their uses in different disciplines of dentistry.

Genetics in medical school curriculum:A look at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry

Genetics is assuming an increasingly important role in medicine. As a result,the teaching of genetics should also be increased proportionally to ensure that future physicians will be able to take advantage of the new genetic technology,and to understand the associated ethical,legal and social issues. At the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry,we have been able to incorporate genetic education into a four-year medical curriculum in a fully integrated fashion. This model may serve as a template for other medical curriculum still in development.

Current Trends in Aesthetic Dentistry

The level of aesthetic requirement in clinical practice has increased over the past decade, and this has made it necessary for dentist to explore this field in order to satisfy the existing demand in this field. Technology can provide a solution to many of the routine hassles in dental practice. While optimal systems are far from fully realized, technology undeniably has made enormous progress. This review aims to provide an update on some of the recent advances in the field of aesthetic dentistry. MEDLINE (1990 to Jan 2014), PubMed (using medical subject headings), and Google Scholar searched using the following terms “Dental Composites”, “Ceramic Crowns”, “Aesthetic Posts”, “Ceramic Veneers”, and “Computer-Aided Design/Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAD/CAM)”. This was supplemented by hand-searching in peer-reviewed journals and cross-referenced with the articles accessed. Dentist and dental technician alike must be aware of the current technologies in their fields and be able to use it to their and their patient’s advantage. The learning objective of this article is to review the advantages and disadvantages of recent esthetic materials and technology to aid in the proper utilization of the available treatment options with discretion.

The antibiotic utilization at the university dentistry clinical center of Kosovo

Antibiotic drugs are a very important drug group considering their frequent use, safety profile and their impact on bacterial resistance induction. Aim: To investigate the utilization of antibiotic drugs at the University Dentistry Clinical Center of Kosovo (UDCCK). Methodology: Retrospective and descriptive study. Patient records were used as a data source collected for a period of 3 months. The total number of registered outpatients in the UDCCK was 1117 patients. The data analysis was performed using the WHO methodology and results were expressed in DDD per 1000 inhabitants per day. Results: The total prescription of antibiotics at UDCCK was 7.18 DDD/ 1000 inhabitants/day. Antibiotics were prescribed for 86 or 7.70% of patients. The most commonly prescribed antibiotic was Amoxicillin with clavulonic acid 3.12 (43.45%) DDD, followed by Metronidazole 2.31 DDD and Amoxicillin 1.25 DDD. Erythromycin and Cefalexin were prescribed evidently less compared to other antibiotics (0.38 and 0.12 DDD/1000 inhabitant/day, respectively). Conclusions: The quantitative analysis showed no rationality of prescription of antibiotics in UDCCK. Generally, the use of antibiotics in both departments of UDCCK is higher compared to other countries. We recommend the implementation of restrictive prescription standards for antibiotics.

The Impact of Electronic Cigarettes (e-Cigs) Smoking Habit on Periodontal Status and Salivary pH among Some Passive e-Cigs Smokers Referred to the College of Dentistry Clinics, King Khalid University

Background: Electronic cigarette (e-cigs) smoking is substitutional to traditional cigarette smoking to reduce the dangerous combustion of products. Moreover, passive smoking is involuntarily tobacco smoking due to the exposure to cigarette or tobacco smoke among non-smokers and due to there being little knowledge about the impact of passive e-cigs smoking on periodontal status and salivary pH. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the effect of e-cigs smoking habit on periodontal tissue and salivary pH among some passive e-cigs smokers referred to the college of dentistry clinics, King Khalid University. Material and Methods: Ninety male participants who were referred to the college of dentistry clinics at King Khalid University were included in the study. Age, gender, e-cigs smoking, and general health were recorded. The participants were divided into three equal groups (n = 30) as follows: Group I (Non-passive e-cigs smokers and non-smokers) as the control group, Group II (e-cigs users), and Group III (Passive e-cigs smokers). Salivary pH, plaque control record (PCR), gingival bleeding index (GBI), clinical attachment loss (CAL), percentage of radiographic bone loss (% RBL), periodontal pocket depth (PPD), more than 5 missing teeth due to periodontal diseases (>5 MTDP), tooth mobility (TM), furcation involvement (FI), Bite collapse (BC), and less than 20 remaining teeth (10 Opposing pairs) (L20RT) as well as HbA1c were recorded. ANOVA test was used to the comparison between Groups I, II, and III in the participants’ ages and periodontitis staging clinical findings. The mean of participants’ age groups, the mean of salivary pH values of study groups, and the periodontitis staging complexity and HbA1c were compared between groups with the ANOVA test, Tukey’s test, and the chi-square test. P-value was recorded, and less than 0.5 was considered a statistically significant difference (p Results: The e-cigs users group revealed higher means of PCR, GBI %RBL values, and the participants percentages of >5 MTDP, TM, FI, L20RT, and diabetes mellitus (DM) among participants compared to the passive e-cigs smokers group and control group except for the participants percentage of BC among the participants, which was higher among the control group participants. The differences were not significant in PCR, GBI, %RBL and DM (p > 0.5) and significant in >5 MTDP, TM, FI, L20RT and smoking (p 7% values compared to the e-cigs users group and control group participants. The differences were not significant in CAL and PPD (p > 0.5) and significant in the participants percentages of salivary pH values (p Conclusion: The e-cigs smoking habit was the cause of an increase in periodontal disease severity among the electronic smokers rather than passive e-cigs smokers, although the salivary pH was higher in the latter.

Current Concepts in Restorative Implant Dentistry

Patients today are increasingly aware of dental implants,and their expectations are for esthetically and functionally pleasing implant restorations that mimic natural teeth.This presentation will give both the experienced and novice practitioner a better understanding of how restorative implant dentistry has evolved.Treatment planning and restorative options for single implants,multiple implants and fully edentulous arches will be discussed,and the use of modern materials and CADCAM technology in fabricating the most contemporary fixed implant supported prostheses will be demonstrated.

Dietary Habits and Oral Hygiene Practice amongst Dental Students at the College of Dentistry, Princess Nourah University

The aim of the present study was to assess the dietary habits and oral hygiene practice of dental students in a new dental school. A self-administered structured closed-ended questionnaire on demographic characteristics, medical history, oral hygiene and dietary habits was distributed to dental students. Results showed that One third of students indicated that they don’t consume low pH beverages (soft drinks) at all, while 48.9% drink a soft drink or two a day. Students took varying amount of time to consume their drinks. The majority of participants consumed citric juices, fruits and/or pickles at least once a day. 91.3% of students use either soft (41.8%) or medium (49.5%) toothbrush. Only a fifth (16.9%) of the students brush their teeth after drinking soft drinks and 58.2% brush their teeth after vomiting. In conclusion, young adults need to be aware about their dietary habits & oral hygiene, and also a proper dental health program needs to be applied.

Management of Epileptic Patients in Dentistry

Epilepsy has direct negative effects on sufferers’ general dental condition and oral health, both of which are further affected by inadequate oral hygiene;poor oral hygiene itself is often also caused by epilepsy-related poor health. Consequently, tooth loss, caries and periodontal disease occur increasingly often in epilepsy sufferers and they need more dental treatment. However, in fact the epileptic patients can receive fewer and simpler treatment modalities. The aim of this study was to review and synthesize recent studies on dental treatment in epilepsy patients and to mention potential triggers for seizures in dental practice.

Painful Symptomatology Reported by Dentistry Students at a Brazilian University

Objectives: Identification of the level of knowledge on ergonomics principles, and application of these by dentistry students to investigate whether painful symptomatology was experienced. An-other objective is the expansion of discussions on occupational health in academic settings. Study Design and Settings: Dentistry students of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil (n = 148) were surveyed using the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire to determine the severity of musculoskeletal symptoms experienced. Data were analyzed through EpiInfo 7.0 to measure central trends and variability 5for quantitative variables, absolute and relative frequencies for categorical variables, and significance between groups (confidence intervals and chisquare). Association analysis (Pearson) was also carried out. Results: Ergonomic measures were not reported by students. Within the musculoskeletal symptoms described, females were the most affected, independent of academic level. Conclusions: Positive correlations were verified between all categories and all anatomic regions (e.g., neck, lower back, wrists, hands, and shoulders). Data suggest progressive worsening of symptoms, which will eventually result in leaves of absence.