A gender- based approach to the current situation of Spanish dentists

To determine the perception of Spanish dentists about the situation of the profession nowadays and how the changes occurred in dental workforce (in number and gender of the past twenty years) have affected their personal and professional lives, under a g

Gender and Leadership Positions in Spanish Dentistry

The Research Ethics Committee of the University of Granada issued a favorable report in relation to the present research under number 2430/CEIH/2021.Data Availability The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon request.Dentists in Spain reached equal gender representation in 2012 and the number of female dentists has continued to grow (until 57.3% in 2020). This study aims to increase evidence about the gender distribution on the high responsibility positions and opinion leaders of the dental profession and academia. Composition of the executive comities of the main dental institutions of Spain (regional professional associations, national dental association, and scientific societies), members of the Faculty of Dentistry of the University of Granada in 2020 and speakers of the main dental congresses of 2019 (due to the lack of congress in 2020) were recorded and analyzed by genders using chi-squared test (P < .05). Mean representation of female dentists in executive committees of professional associations was 35.6%. More than 70% of presidents and vice-presidents of professional colleges and more than 60% of these positions in scientific societies were occupied by male dentists. None of dental congresses of 2019 reached equal gender participation, being 81.3% of lecturers presenting on main auditoriums male dentists. Although dental workforce in Spain is slightly overrepresented by females, leadership positions and figures among Spanish dentists doesn’t seem to reflect the gender distribution of the collective. There is a lack of women occupying highlevel positions in dentistry that proves the existence of the so-called “glass ceiling effect” on the profession. Further studies about sociodemographic aspects of dental workforce are needed to develop evidence-based policies for the collective.Research Projects of the Vice-rectorate of Equality, Inclusion and Sustainability of the University of Granada [grant number INV-IGU113-2020

Evaluation of the remineralizing capacity of silver diamine fluoride on demineralized dentin under pH-cycling conditions

Objective: (1) to determine the effects of the silver diamine fluoride (SDF) and sodium fluoride (NaF) in demineralized dentin exposed to an acid challenge by pH-cycling, (2) to evaluate the remineralizing capacity of SDF/NaF products based on the physicochemical and mechanical properties of the treated dentin surfaces. Methodology: In total, 57 human molars were evaluated in different stages of the experimental period: sound dentin – negative control (Stage 1), demineralized dentin – positive control (Stage 2), and dentin treated with SDF/NaF products + pH-c (Stage 3). Several commercial products were used for the SDF treatment: Saforide, RivaStar, and Cariestop. The mineral composition and crystalline and morphological characteristics of the dentin samples from each experimental stage were evaluated by infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), X-ray diffraction, and electron microscopy (SEM-EDX) analytical techniques. Moreover, the mechanical response of the samples was analyzed by means of the three-point bending test. Statistics were estimated for ATR-FTIR variables by Wilcoxon test, while the mechanical data analyses were performed using Kruskal-Wallis and Mann Whitney U tests. Results: Regarding the chemical composition, we observed a higher mineral/organic content in the SDF/NaF treated dentin + pH-c groups (Stage 3) than in the positive control groups (Saforide p=0.03; Cariestop p=0.008; RivaStar p=0.013; NaF p=0.04). The XRD results showed that the crystallite size of hydroxyapatite increased in the SDF/NaF treated dentin + pH-c groups (between +63% in RivaStar to +108% in Saforide), regarding the positive control. SEM images showed that after application of the SDF/NaF products a crystalline precipitate formed on the dentin surface and partially filled the dentin tubules. The flexural strength (MPa) values were higher in the dentin treated with SDF/NaF + pH-c (Stage 3) compared to the positive control groups (Saforide p=0.002; Cariestop p=0.04; RivaStar p=0.04; NaF p=0.02). Conclusions: The application of SDF/NaF affected the physicochemical and mechanical properties of demineralized dentin. According to the results, the use of SFD/NaF had a remineralizing effect on the dentin surface even under acid challenge

Effect of Two Immediate Dentin Sealing Approaches on Bond Strength of Lava™ CAD/CAM Indirect Restoration

The study was conducted according to the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki, and approved by the Ethics Committee of the University of Granada (Spain) (protocol code #1005/CEIH/2019 approved on 13 January 2020).Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the studyThe objective of this work was to compare the micro-tensile bond strength (mu TBS) of CAD/CAM (Computer-Aided Design/ Computer-Aided Manufacturing) specimens cemented with different pairing of adhesives and resin-cements using two Immediate Dentin Dealing (IDS) approaches in comparison with Delay Dentin Sealing (DDS). Coronal dentin from 108 molars were divided into nine groups (n = 12) depending on the adhesive/resin-cement (A-C) assigned. Lava (TM) Ultimate (4 x 10 x 10 mm) was cemented according to different strategies: IDS1(cementation after dentin sealing), DDS (dentin sealing and cementation at 2-weeks), IDS2 (immediate dentin sealing and cementation at 2-weeks). Samples were sectioned and tested until failure to determine the mu TBS. Failure mode was categorized as dentin/cement (DC), at Lava (TM) Ultimate/cement (LC) and hybrid (H). Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests and influence of the type of failure on the mu TBS by survival analysis with competing risk was explored. Mostly, mu TBS values were equal or higher in IDS2 than DDS. In general, A-Cs that showed higher mu TBS, have high percentages of LC failure. Survival analysis with competing risk between DC + H and LC values showed that some A-Cs would significantly increase the mu TBS values for IDS2. A-Cs with the highest adhesion values showed a high percentage of fractures at the LC interface, suggesting that the adhesion at the adhesive/dentin interface would be higher

Bond strength to root dentin and fluid filtration test of AH Plus/gutta-percha, EndoREZ and RealSeal systems

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the bond strength and seal ability produced by AH Plus/gutta-percha, EndoREZ and RealSeal systems to root canal dentin. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Sixty extracted single-root human teeth, instrumented manually to size 40, were divided into three groups (n=20) according to the sealer used; G1: AH Plus, G2: EndoREZ, and G3: RealSeal sealers. After filling using the lateral condensation technique, each sealer group was randomly divided into two subgroups according to the tests applied (n=10 for µPush-out test and n=10 for fluid filtration test). A fluid filtration method was used for quantitative evaluation of apical leakage. Four 1-mm-thick slices (cervical and medium level) were obtained from each root sample and a µPush-out test was performed. Failure modes were examined under microscopy at 40x, and a one-way ANOVA was applied to analyze the permeability. Non-parametrical statistics for related (Friedman's and Wilcoxon's rank tests) or unrelated samples (Kruskal-Wallis' and Mann-Whitney's tests) allowed for comparisons of µPush-out strength values among materials at the different levels. Statistical significance was accepted for p values <.05. RESULTS: There are no significant differences among fluid filtration of the three sealers. The sealer/core material does not significantly influence the µPush-out bond strength values (F=2.49; p=0.10), although statistically significant differences were detected with regard to root level (Chi2=23.93; p<0.001). AH Plus and RealSeal obtained higher bond strength to intraradicular dentin in the medium root slices. CONCLUSIONS: There are no significant differences between the permeability and global µPush-out bond strength to root canal dentin achieved by AH Plus/gutta-percha, EndoREZ and RealSeal systems.This investigation was supported by Research Grant no. CGL2011-25906

Chemical, Microstructural and Morphological Characterisation of Dentine Caries Simulation by pH-Cycling

This research was funded by PID2020-116660GB-I00 by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) of the Spanish Government and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)-NextGeneration-EU program.In vitro simulation of natural caries is of great importance in dental research for the development of more effective clinical treatments. The pH-cycling (pHc) procedure consists of a dynamic caries process with alternating de-remineralisation periods. The current research aims to evaluate the effects of the pHc procedure on mineral dentine properties in comparison with sound dentine and natural residual caries. For this purpose, dentine slices from human third molars were submitted to cycling periods of 14 and 28 days. The chemical composition, morphological and microstructural properties of the dentine samples were examined by infrared and Raman spectroscopies, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy techniques. In addition, the depth of the demineralisation front was evaluated by Masson’s trichrome (MT) staining. The results showed that the pHc procedure led to notable changes in the mineral composition and the crystalline characteristics with respect to sound dentine and some extent to natural caries. The MT results revealed that pHc 28 yields a deeper lesion than pHc 14, simulating potential progression of natural caries. The results of this study provide a better understanding of the mechanisms of demineralisation that could occur in an in vivo environment and provide a standardised substrate similar to natural residual caries.Spanish GovernmentEuropean Regional Development Fund (ERDF)-NextGeneration-EU progra

Chemical, Microstructural and Morphological Characterisation of Dentine Caries Simulation by pH-Cycling

In vitro simulation of natural caries is of great importance in dental research for the development of more effective clinical treatments. The pH-cycling (pHc) procedure consists of a dynamic caries process with alternating de-remineralisation periods. The current research aims to evaluate the effects of the pHc procedure on mineral dentine properties in comparison with sound dentine and natural residual caries. For this purpose, dentine slices from human third molars were submitted to cycling periods of 14 and 28 days. The chemical composition, morphological and microstructural properties of the dentine samples were examined by infrared and Raman spectroscopies, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy techniques. In addition, the depth of the demineralisation front was evaluated by Masson&rsquo;s trichrome (MT) staining. The results showed that the pHc procedure led to notable changes in the mineral composition and the crystalline characteristics with respect to sound dentine and some extent to natural caries. The MT results revealed that pHc 28 yields a deeper lesion than pHc 14, simulating potential progression of natural caries. The results of this study provide a better understanding of the mechanisms of demineralisation that could occur in an in vivo environment and provide a standardised substrate similar to natural residual caries

Chemical, Microstructural and Morphological Characterisation of Dentine Caries Simulation by pH-Cycling

In vitro simulation of natural caries is of great importance in dental research for the development of more effective clinical treatments. The pH-cycling (pHc) procedure consists of a dynamic caries process with alternating de-remineralisation periods. The current research aims to evaluate the effects of the pHc procedure on mineral dentine properties in comparison with sound dentine and natural residual caries. For this purpose, dentine slices from human third molars were submitted to cycling periods of 14 and 28 days. The chemical composition, morphological and microstructural properties of the dentine samples were examined by infrared and Raman spectroscopies, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy techniques. In addition, the depth of the demineralisation front was evaluated by Masson’s trichrome (MT) staining. The results showed that the pHc procedure led to notable changes in the mineral composition and the crystalline characteristics with respect to sound dentine and some extent to natural caries. The MT results revealed that pHc 28 yields a deeper lesion than pHc 14, simulating potential progression of natural caries. The results of this study provide a better understanding of the mechanisms of demineralisation that could occur in an in vivo environment and provide a standardised substrate similar to natural residual caries