Implementing post-orthodontic compliance among adolescents wearing removable retainers through Whatsapp: a pilot study

Purpose: To determine whether the use of social media is useful in improving compliance and follow-up attendance among patients wearing retainers after orthodontic treatment. Patients and methods: Sixty post-orthodontic patients (aged 16-19 years), randomized in two groups: follow-up supported by participation in WhatsApp chat group (SG), and Control Group (CG). All patients were scheduled for quarterly check-ups for monitoring of orthodontic stability by measurement of intercanine width at the beginning of the study (t(0)) and every 4 months t(1), t(2), t(3)) for 1 year of observation. Patients in the SG additionally participated in a WhatsApp chat group, where they would send, on a weekly basis, snapshots showing his/her occlusion. Every month, the orthodontist acting as the moderator awarded the best five snapshots by publishing a ranking in the chat. Results: Participants in the SG featured smaller changes from the intercanine widths at baseline (at debonding) compared to the CG patients at all times during 1 year of follow-up. Follow-up attendance was regular in both groups in the first 8 months of follow-up. After that, patient compliance decreased in the CG, with eight patients missing check-up appointments. Conclusion: Engaging adolescent patients directly through WhatsApp activity seems to increase regularity in wearing removable retainers, attendance to follow-up schedule, and yield better long-term outcome in terms of orthodontic stability and compliance

Tra mondano e sensazionale: il malessere dei musei nell’era dei consumi

The essay focuses on the idea of crisis in museums, analyzed through Jean Clair’s work Malaise dans les musées. Starting from the Centre Pompidou, in the age of mass consumption the museum is no longer a place devoted to study and education, but it has become an amusement location and a mass tourist attraction. Mostly thanks to its seductive and appealing architectural structure, the museum itself is now a work of art and the Guggenheim Foundation perfectly embodies the role of museum during the archistar’s era

Da spettatore a cavia. Nuove forme di fruizione nell’opera di Carsten Höller

The article focuses on the idea of participation in contemporary art practice, analyzed through Carsten Höller’s artistic production. Starting from Guy Debord’s essay La société du spectacle, the public is no longer seen as an alienated mass of spectators, but it begins to participate by taking part in the activation of artworks, as pointed out in Nicolas Bourriad’s Esthétique Relationnelle. Like a scientist, Höller examines the viewer as if it was a lab rat, similar to the ones of Mäuserplatz black and Mäuserplatz white. The observation of the interaction between the public and Höller’s works shows that it is not only the idea of fruition to be redefined, but the whole concept of aesthetic experience

A Snapshot of Knowledge about Oral Cancer in Italy: A 505 Person Survey

Objectives: Patients' knowledge about oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) plays an important role in primary prevention, early diagnosis, and prognosis and survival rate. The aim of this study was to assess OSCC awareness attitudes among general population in order to provide information for educational interventions. Methods: A survey delivered as a web-based questionnaire was submitted to 505 subjects (aged from 18 to 76 years) in Italy, and the answers collected were statistically analyzed. Information was collected about existence, incidence, features of lesions, risk factors of oral cancer, and self-inspection habits, together with details about professional reference figures and preventive behaviors. Results: Chi-square tests of independence with adjusted standardized residuals highlighted correlations between population features (age, gender, educational attainment, provenance, medical relationship, or previous diagnoses of oral cancer in family) and knowledge about oral cancer. Conclusions: Knowledge about OSCC among the Italian population is limited, and it might be advisable to implement nudging and sensitive customized campaigns in order to promote awareness and therefore improve the prognosis of this disease

Traditional, 2D and 3D Workflows: What Is Better for Aesthetic Rehabilitation of Superior Anterior Teeth?

This study aimed to compare conventional, digital 2D and digital 3D workflows as possible aesthetic rehabilitation processes for the maxillary anterior area using “open-source” software. For the conventional workflow, a diagnostic wax-up was produced by a dental technician. For the 2D digital workflow, Keynote software (version 11.1) was used to perform digital aesthetic analysis and smile planning. Measurements were taken and used by the technician to obtain a dental wax-up. For the 3D session, a plaster model was scanned and used to perform 3D analysis and the guide for the mock-up was digitally printed. Symmetry and aesthetic parameters were assessed for each mock-up, and the opinion of dental professionals and laypeople about the aesthetic outcome of three mockups was assessed by an anonymous questionnaire. The 2D mock-up received the highest score, and this mock-up was found to be the most symmetrical, even though it had the longest operating times. There was a statistically significant difference (p = 0.000) between the scores given to this picture: experts in the dental field gave lower scores compared with non-professionals. Digital planning of aesthetic rehabilitation represents a technologically innovative procedure in dental practice, making it possible to achieve excellent aesthetic results, even when using open-source software

Polarized Foregrounds Power Spectra vs CMB

We briefly review our work about the polarized foreground contamination of the Cosmic Microwave Background maps. We start by summarizing the main properties of the polarized cosmological signal, resulting in "electric" (E) and "magnetic" (B) components of the polarization tensor field on the sky. Then we describe our present understanding of sub-degree anisotropies from Galactic synchrotron and from extra-Galactic point sources. We discuss their contamination of the cosmological E and B modes.Comment: six pages including 2 figures, to appear in S. Cecchini et al., Astrophysical Polarized Backgrounds, AIP Conf. Proceeding

Lithium disilicate posterior overlays: clinical and biomechanical features

The aim of this study was to evaluate the survival rate of lithium disilicate overlays in increasing occlusal vertical dimension (OVD) in the setting of minimally invasive techniques and the restoration thicknesses at different tooth sites. This is an observational study evaluating 43 lithium disilicate overlays (Lithium IPS e.max Press, Ivoclar Vivadent) on 8 patients, prepared with minimally invasive criteria over a follow-up period between 19 to 45 months (mean follow-up of 32 months). Occlusal vertical dimension's increase was planned using occlusal treatment plan and diagnostic wax-up. Prior to adhesive cementation, restoration thicknesses were measured with a caliber. The survival rate was calculated by Kaplan-Meier analysis. Restoration survival rates at 32 months were 97.7%. One infiltration was observed, no cases of fracture occurred. The greatest thickness in monolithic restorations was detected in the cusp sides of teeth, whereas the thinnest was highlighted in the central fossa. The average amount of dental tissue removed during preparation was 0.98 mm in non-functional cusps, 0.88 mm in functional cusps, and 0.57 mm in the central fossa. Lithium disilicate posterior overlays show an excellent complication-free survival rate, and the material allows for conservative restorations with minimum thickness. Monolithic lithium disilicate overlays feature a satisfying 32-month survival rate. The technique allows to perform restorations with a minimal removal of dental tissue, while limiting fractures over time. Its esthetical performance is excellent

Clinical activities suspended: How the COVID-19 affected the self-confidence of Italian dental students

Introduction: COVID-19 emergency caused several effects on the dental educational system, especially affecting courses including practical activities. The study aims to evaluate the impact of the suspension of dental clinical activities on the Italian dental students' self-confidence. Furthermore, the other purpose of the research is to find an integrative didactics solution to improve the clinical training of dentistry during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and methods: A questionnaire was administered to evaluate the impact of the suspension of clinical activities on dental students' self-confidence. A 67-questions survey tested the students' self-confidence in several dental disciplines (Conservative Dentistry, Endodontics, Oral Surgery and Dental Emergency). The study reached a sample of 193 dental students and the answers from 9 different Italian dental schools were analysed. Results: The degree of students' self-confidence for all the dental disciplines investigated was found statistically different between the periods before and after the interruption of clinical activities. The students proposed, as a potential solution to improve their practice during the COVID-19 pandemic, to combinate the use of a video tutorials and dental simulators. Conclusion: The interruption of the training in clinical practice significantly affected the educational career and the self-confidence of students. An alternative teaching method involving the use of video tutorials as support in teaching clinical procedures deserves to be considered