Evidence concerning the medical management of caries

Caries is an infectious, chronic and cumulative disease. It seriously affects quality of life and creates considerable expense for individuals and communities. The disease can be managed by acting on biofilm formation and maturation, by modifying the kinetics of apatite solution or with a combination of the two processes. This can be achieved by mechanical and chemical control of plaque, appropriate use of fluorides, controlling diet and salivary flow, when possible. Many of these factors depend on the patient?s co-operation. Decisions concerning treatment are influenced by two questions: the scientific evidence for the different alternatives available and each patient?s individual caries risk. The use of different fluoride regimes, depending on the individual risk, remains the most scientifically proven method for avoiding the appearance of new lesions and curbing the speed at which existing ones progress. Chemical control of plaque using chlorhexidine is indicated for patients at high microbiological risk; it is more effective at controlling caries when used in combination with fluorides. Fissure sealing is an effective means of controlling occlusal caries of the molars when the patient?s caries risk and the eruptive age of the tooth are taken into account

Anomalía morfológica coronal inusual de un incisivo: diente evaginado anterior

Entre las diversas manifestaciones clínicas de la anomalías morfológicas que afectan a las coronas de los dientes anteriores se encuentra el crecimiento exofítico de una porción de su estructura tisular. El trastorno de la forma dental que presentamos afecta a la corona del diente, y se caracteriza por un abultamiento parcial de la superficie vestibular, asintomático, a costa del crecimiento del esmalte y de la dentina, sin que radiológicamente se constate ningún prolapso pulpar hacia esta protrusión de tejidos mineralizados. El caso que se describe se manifiesta en un solo diente y no se asocia a ninguna otra alteración dentaria morfológica o estructural, ni tampoco a otros síndromes que sí se han descrito como asociados a esta anomalía. La literatura científica no determina de forma clara la terminología que se debe usar para definir esta situación en los dientes anteriores, empleándose diversas denominaciones, como cúspide en garra, cíngulo pseudocuspídeo (cuando afecta a la superficie lingual o palatina) o diente evaginado, que es como se nombra siempre a esta situación en dientes posteriores.Exophytic growth of a portion of the tissue structure is one of the various clinical manifestations of the morphological anomalies that can affect the crown of the anterior teeth. The crown form disorder presented in this paper consists of an asymptomatic bulge on part of the vestibular surface of the tooth, due to enamel and dentine growth, with no radiological evidence of the pulp having extended into the protrusion of mineralised tissues. In this case, it only affects one tooth and is not associated with any other dental morphology or structure disorder, or with any of the syndromes that have been described in association with this anomaly. The term to describe this situation in the anterior teeth is not clearly defined in the relevant literature, which employs various names such as talon cusp, accentuated cingulum (when it affects the lingual or palatal surface) or dens evaginatus (evaginated tooth, evaginated odontome), the term that is always used when it is present in the posterior teeth

Review of ultrasonic irrigation in endodontics : increasing action of irrigating solutions

Introduction: Effective irrigant delivery and agitation are prerequisites for successful endodontic treatment. Ultrasonic irrigation can be performed with or without simultaneous ultrasonic instrumentation. Existing literature reveals that ultrasonic irrigation may have a very positive effect on chemical, biological and physical debridement of the root canal system as investigated in many in vitro studies. Objective: The purpose of this review article was to summarize and discuss the available information concerning ultrasonic irrigation in endodontics. Methods: This article presents an overview of ultrasonic irrigation methods and their debridement efficacy. In this paper the relevant literature on passive ultrasonic irrigation is reviewed. Information from original scientific papers or reviews listed in MEDLINE and Cochrane were included in the review. Results: The use of ultrasound in the irrigation procedure results in improved canal cleanliness, better irrigant transfer to the canal system, soft tissue debridement, and removal of smear layer and bacteria. There are many in vitro studies, but there is a need to standardize protocols, and correlate the clinical efficacy of ultrasonic devices with improved treatment outcomes. Understanding the basis of ultrasonic irrigation is fundamental for clinicians and researchers to improve the design and use of ultrasonic irrigation

Smear layer removal in canals shaped with reciprocating rotary systems

The aim was to assess the presence of smear layer after canal instrumentation with two reciprocating rotary systems and a continuous motion one. Thirty canals were shaped with Reciproc, WaveOne or Mtwo systems. Smear layer was assessed following a three value scale at coronal, middle and apical levels with a scanning electron microscopy. Reciproc scores: coronal third, 20% of the cases: 0, 60%: 1, 20%: 2; middle third, 10%: 0, 20%: 1, 70%:2; apical third: 2 in all cases. WaveOne scores: coronal third, 0 (40%), 1 (30%) and 2 (30%); middle third, 0 (20%), 1 (50%), 2 (30%); apical third, 0 (20%), 2 (80%) of cases. MTwo scores: coronal third 0 (50%), 1 (30%) 2 (20%); middle third 0 (20%), 1 (50%), 2 (30%); apical third, 0 (10%), 1 (10%), 2 (80%). No significant differences (p>0.05) were found between the three used systems

At-home vital bleaching : a comparison of hydrogen peroxide and carbamide peroxide treatments

El blanqueamiento de los dientes vitales que realiza el/la paciente domiciliariamente con férulas bajo supervisión del/de la dentista es una alternativa interesante entre las que integran este tipo de terapéutica odontológica, ya sea, de forma aislada o combinada con alguna de las modalidades de tratamiento en la consulta. En este procedimiento blanqueador se usan peróxidos de baja concentración que se aplican sobre el esmalte dentario mediante una cubeta individualizada especialmente diseñada para ello. El objetivo del presente trabajo es analizar y comparar dos productos blanqueadores comerciales de diferente concentración indicados para esta técnica, VivaStyle (Vivadent) y FKD (Kin); el primero de ellos es un peróxido de carbamida al 10%, mientras que el segundo es un peróxido de hidrógeno al 3,5%. Se analizan los parámetros que deben ser controlados durante la puesta en práctica de este tipo de procedimiento y se presentan 6 casos (3 de ellos tratados con uno de los productos mencionados y los otros 3 con el otro) en los que se constata su capacidad blanqueadora y la aparición y la intensidad de hipersensibilidad postoperatoria. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que ambos productos son eficaces para la función para la que han sido desarrollados. En general, la hipersensibilidad dentaria es mínima

In vivo evaluation of the effects of 10% carbamide peroxide and 3.5% hydrogen peroxide on the enamel surface

Objetivos: El blanqueamiento de los dientes vitales que realiza el/la paciente en su domicilio bajo la supervisión del/de la dentista con férulas individualizadas especialmente diseñadas para ello y peróxidos de baja concentración, es una opción de entre las que integran esta terapéutica odontológica, ya sea, como tratamiento único o combinada con otra modalidad de blanqueamiento en la consulta. El objetivo del presente trabajo es analizar el efecto que producen sobre la superficie del esmalte dos productos blanqueadores indicados para esta técnica. Diseño del estudio: Se emplearon dos productos blanqueadores, el VivaStyle (Vivadent), peróxido de carbamida al 10%, y el FKD (Kin), peróxido de hidrógeno al 3,5%, que se aplicaron mediante férulas sobre los dientes anteriores de 20 pacientes (10 en cada grupo). El tiempo de aplicación de cada producto fue de 2 y 3 horas al día respectivamente durante 28-33 días. Se obtuvieron réplicas de las superficies dentales antes y después del tratamiento, las cuales fueron observadas con un microscopio electrónico de barrido. Resultados: Las imágenes obtenidas muestran la integridad de la superficie dental, con el mantenimiento de las estructuras normales de la superficie del esmalte. Conclusiones: Los resultados obtenidos muestran que ninguno de los dos productos alteran la superficie del esmalte, no observándose, pues, cambios postoperatorios

Student evaluation of clickers in a dental pathology course

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the degree of satisfaction of students and teachers, and to determine whether the students notice improvements in learning and in the learning environment as a result of the use of clicker. Material and Methods: Descriptive study. Fifty-one students and 8 teachers participated in the use of clicker technology in 8 preclinical seminars in dental pathology. Students and teachers filled a three-domain questionnaire at the end of the preclinical course. We used the Mann-Whitney U-test to compare the results between the two groups. Results: The domain “perception and expectation” showed the use of clickers to be simple and convenient for 80% of the students, who expressed interest in extending the practice to other teaching areas. In the domain “active learning”, over 70% of the students found the technique to be dynamic, participative and motivating. In the domain “improved learning”, over 70% considered it useful to know their level of knowledge before the seminar and found the contents of the lesson to be clear. Thirty percent considered the items of the examination to be of a complexity similar to that of the first and second tests. Only in this latter aspect were significant differences found between the teachers and students ( p =0.001). Conclusions: Participants described the use of clickers as simple and useful, motivating and participative. Both the students and teachers considered the technique to improve teaching and the learning environmen

Microscopic assessment of the sealing ability of three endodontic filling techniques

Background: Several techniques have been proposed for root canal filling. New rotary files, with non-standardized taper, are appearing, so, points adapted to the taper of the last instrument used to prepare the canal can help in the obturation process. The aim of this study is to assess the sealing ability of different root canal filling techniques. Material and Methods: Root canals from 30 teeth were shaped with Mtwo and divided in three groups; A, standard lateral condensation with size 35 and 20 gutta-percha points; B, standard lateral condensation and injected gutta-percha; C, single gutta-percha point (standardized 35 Mtwo), continuous wave technique and injected gutta- percha. Root surfaces were covered with nail varnish, except for the apical 2 mm, and submerged in a NO 3 Ag 2 solution; apical stain penetration was measured in mm. Data were compared using the Kruskal-Wallis test with a 90% confidence interval. Results: A and B groups showed stain leakage in the 90% of the cases, whereas it was of 80% for group C. Stain leakage intervals were 1-5 mm for groups A and B and 1-3 mm for group C. There were no statistically significant differences between the three studied groups ( p >.05). Conclusions: All the analyzed root canal filling techniques showed some apical stain leakage, without significant differences among the