Dental treatment on a German warship during a three-month deployment

Introduction: Despite routine dental screenings and treatments before military deployments, dental emergencies may arise due to acute infections, trauma or failed restorations. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the dental service during a three-month deployment on a German warship. Methods: A retrospective analysis of dental attendances and treatments in a German naval task group of three ships with an average total of 650 soldiers. Diagnosis, treatments performed, percentage of emergencies, routine procedures and numbers of appointments were recorded. Results: Out of 650 soldiers, there were 71 patients (10.92%) with a mean age of 25.1±5.3 years. Out of 136 treatments, 17.65% were for emergency treatment, which is equivalent to 3.69% of all servicemen of the task group. Combining the reasons for dental emergencies, 95.84% were caused by caries. Conclusions: The pre-screening of sailors before an overseas deployment is necessary to avoid severe dental treatments. Caries remains the main cause for dental emergencies, and medical doctors should be trained to treat caries lesions if a dentist is not on board

Case History Report: Immediate Rehabilitation with a Prefabricated Fibula Flap Following Removal of a Locally Aggressive Maxillary Tumor

The present clinical case history report describes an interdisciplinary treatment protocol that combines maxillary tumor resection with immediate reconstruction to achieve functional rehabilitation. A fibula flap that received four dental implants and a split-thickness graft epithelial layer was prefabricated fora 31-year-old man. The flap was designed so that it could be adapted to fit in different extents of tumor resection. Resection and immediate reconstruction were successfully performed 6 weeks after flap prefabrication, with the final bar-retained dental prosthesis delivered 4 weeks later

The effect of combined delivery of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 and recombinant human vascular endothelial growth factor 165 from biomimetic calcium-phosphate-coated implants on osseointegration

Objectives: The delivery of growth factors for enhanced osseointegration depends on the effectiveness of the carrier systems at the boneimplant interface. This study evaluated the effect of solo and dual delivery of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2) and recombinant human vascular endothelial growth factor (rhVEGF165) from biomimetically octacalcium phosphate-coated implants on osseointegration

Nano-crystalline diamond-coated titanium dental implants - A histomorphometric study in adult domestic pigs

Promising biomaterial characteristics of diamond-coatings in biomedicine have been described in the literature. However, there is a lack of knowledge about implant osseointegration of this surface modification compared to the currently used sandblasted acid-etched Ti-Al6-V4 implants. The aim of this study was to investigate the osseointegration of microwave plasma-chemical-vapour deposition (MWP-CVD) diamond-coated Ti-Al6-V4 dental implants after healing periods of 2 and 5 months. Twenty-four MWP-CVD diamond-coated and 24 un-coated dental titanium-alloy implants (Ankylos(®)) were placed in the frontal skull of eight adult domestic pigs. To evaluate the effects of the nano-structured surfaces on bone formation, a histomorphometric analysis was performed after 2 and 5 months of implant healing. Histomorphometry analysed the bone-to-implant contact (BIC). No significant difference in BIC for the diamond-coated implants in comparison to reference implants could be observed for both healing periods. Scanning electron microscopy revealed an adequate interface between the bone and the diamond surface. No delamination or particle-dissociation due to shearing forces could be detected. In this study, diamond-coated dental titanium-alloy implants and sandblasted acid-etched implants showed a comparable degree of osseointegration

In-vitro evaluation of Polylactic acid (PLA) manufactured by fused deposition modeling

Abstract Background With additive manufacturing (AM) individual and biocompatible implants can be generated by using suitable materials. The aim of this study was to investigate the biological effects of polylactic acid (PLA) manufactured by Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) on osteoblasts in vitro according to European Norm / International Organization for Standardization 10,993–5. Method Human osteoblasts (hFOB 1.19) were seeded onto PLA samples produced by FDM and investigated for cell viability by fluorescence staining after 24 h. Cell proliferation was measured after 1, 3, 7 and 10 days by cell-counting and cell morphology was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy. For control, we used titanium samples and polystyrene (PS). Results Cell viability showed higher viability on PLA (95,3% ± 2.1%) than in control (91,7% ±2,7%). Cell proliferation was highest in the control group (polystyrene) and higher on PLA samples compared to the titanium samples. Scanning electron microscopy revealed homogenous covering of sample surface with regularly spread cells on PLA as well as on titanium. Conclusion The manufacturing of PLA discs from polylactic acid using FDM was successful. The in vitro investigation with human fetal osteoblasts showed no cytotoxic effects. Furthermore, FDM does not seem to alter biocompatibility of PLA. Nonetheless osteoblasts showed reduced growth on PLA compared to the polystyrene control within the cell experiments. This could be attributed to surface roughness and possible release of residual monomers. Those influences could be investigated in further studies and thus lead to improvement in the additive manufacturing process. In addition, further research focused on the effect of PLA on bone growth should follow. In summary, PLA processed in Fused Deposition Modelling seems to be an attractive material and method for reconstructive surgery because of their biocompatibility and the possibility to produce individually shaped scaffolds