Infinite to finite: An overview of finite element analysis

The method of finite elements was developed at perfectly right times; growing computer capacities, growing human skills and industry demands for ever faster and cost effective product development providing unlimited possibilities for the researching community. This paper reviews the basic concept, current status, advances, advantages, limitations and applications of finite element method (FEM) in restorative dentistry and endodontics. Finite element method is able to reveal the otherwise inaccessible stress distribution within the tooth-restoration complex and it has proven to be a useful tool in the thinking process for the understanding of tooth biomechanics and the biomimetic approach in restorative dentistry. Further improvement of the non-linear FEM solutions should be encouraged to widen the range of applications in dental and oral health science

A comparative evaluation of the efficacy of different mandibular anesthetic techniques in patients with irreversible pulpitis

Aim: To determine the most efficacious anaesthetic technique in irreversible pulpitis by comparing the anaesthetic efficacies of Gow-Gates, Vazirani-Akinosi, Inferior alveolar nerve block with buccal infiltration and conventional Inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) using 2% Lidocaine with 1:80,000 epinephrine as the anaesthetic agent in mandibular first molars. Methodology: 120 patients with inflamed vital pulp and lingering pain on removal of the stimulus were randomly divided into 4 groups in which the local anaesthetic was administered by the different techniques. Group I (n = 30) Gow-Gates technique. Group II (n = 30) Vazirani-Akinosi technique. Group III (n = 30) IANB with buccal infiltration. Group IV (n = 30) Conventional IANB. Anaesthesia was considered effective when ''no pain'' or “mild pain” felt by the patient during access preparation. Results: The Statistical software used were SAS 9.2, SPSS 15.0, Stata 10.1, MedCalc 9.0.1, Systat 12.0 and R environment ver.2.11.1. The results demonstrated that the Gow-Gates technique showed greater anaesthetic success (66.7%) followed by Vazirani Akinosi technique (60%) as compared to the conventional IANB. There was however no statistical significance observed between the groups. Conclusion: Gow Gates mandibular conduction block may increase the anaesthetic success rates in cases of irreversible pulpitis in mandibular molars as compared to other techniques