A single dimension statistical evaluation of predictors in implant-overdenture treatment

This retrospective study aims to identify factors that contribute to either a poor or excellent treatment result in implant-overdenture treatment. A total of 375 implants, in an equal number of patients were included in the study. A clinical examination was performed by 2 observers. Gingival health and oral hygiene were assessed and additional complications were noted, including implant loss. 2 outcome variables, STATUS1 and STATUS2, were constructed that were different with respect to treatment outcome, representing a poor and an excellent result, respectively. Patient variables such as age, gender, medical status and prosthetic history were collected pre-operatively with a questionnaire. Life table analyses were used to test subsets of patient and treatment variables for differences in survival distribution, both for poor or excellent results. With regard to predictors of poor results; implants in the upper jaw were associated with a poorer outcome than those placed in the lower jaw (p=0.01). When more than 2 implants were placed, the quality of survival was also impaired (p=0.03). Interestingly, implants in patients with a self-proclaimed history of tooth loss due to periodontitis appear to have a far poorer treatment outcome than implants placed in patients without such a history (p=0.01). No other variables could be related to a poor result after 3 years. None of the variables could predict an excellent treatment outcome

Masticatory function with implant-supported overdentures

The type of attachment that is used in implant-supported mandibular overdentures may influence the retention and stability of the prosthesis and, thus, masticatory function. In this within- subject cross- over clinical trial, we examined the hypothesis that greater retention and stability of the overdenture improve the masticatory function. Eighteen edentulous subjects received 2 oral implants, a new overdenture, and, successively, 3 different suprastructure modalities: magnet, ball, and bar- clip. Masticatory performance, masticatory efficiency, and swallowing threshold were measured. The masticatory function significantly improved after implant treatment with each of the 3 attachments. We observed small differences in masticatory function among the 3 attachment types: slightly better masticatory performance with ball and bar- clip than with magnet attachments. The number of chewing cycles until swallowing hardly decreased after implant treatment. We conclude that significantly better masticatory performance, combined with a slightly smaller number of chewing cycles after implant treatment, results in smaller food particles being swallowed

Effect of Immediate Dentin Sealing and Surface Conditioning on the Microtensile Bond Strength of Resin-based Composite to Dentin

This study evaluated the microtensile bond strength (μTBS) of resin-based composite (RBC) to dentin after different immediate dentin sealing (IDS) strategies and surface-conditioning (SC) methods and on two water storage times. Human molars (n=48) were randomly divided into eight experimental groups involving four different IDS strategies-IDS-1L with one layer of adhesive, IDS-2L with two layers of adhesive, IDS-F with one layer of adhesive and one layer of flowable RBC, and DDS (delayed dentin sealing) with no layer of adhesive (control)-and two different SC methods-SC-P with pumice rubbing and SC-PC with pumice rubbing followed by tribochemical silica coating. The μTBS test was performed after one week and after six months of water storage, being recorded as the "immediate" and "aged" μTBS, respectively. Composite-adhesive-dentin microspecimens (0.9×0.9×8-9 mm) were stressed in tension until failure to determine the μTBS. Failure mode and location of failure were categorized. Two-way analysis of variance was applied to analyze the data for statistically significant differences between the experimental groups (p<0.05). Two-way analysis of variance revealed no significant differences between the one-week μTBS specimens for IDS strategy (p=0.087) and SC methods (p=0.806). However, the interaction of IDS strategy and SC methods appeared statistically significant (p=0.016). The six-month specimen evaluation showed no significant difference in μTBS for SC (p=0.297) and SC/IDS interaction (p=0.055), but the μTBS of the IDS strategies differed significantly among them (p=0.003). For tribochemical silica-coated IDS, no significant effect of aging on μTBS was recorded (p=0.465), but there was a highly significant difference in μTBS depending on the IDS strategy (p<0.001). In addition, the interaction of IDS and aging was borderline statistically significant (p=0.045). The specimens failed mainly at the adhesive-dentin interface for all experimental groups. Dentin exposure during clinical procedures for indirect restorations benefits from the application of IDS, which was shown to result in higher bond strength. No significant differences were found between cleaning with solely pumice or pumice followed by tribochemical silica coating.status: publishe