The influence of resin infiltration pretreatment on orthodontic bonding to demineralized human enamel

Prior research reveal that low-viscosity resin is able to significantly penetrate initial caries lesions, which leads to their stabilization. The objective of the present report is to assess the shear bond strength (SBS) of orthodontic brackets bonded with different adhesives to demineralized enamel treated with a low-viscosity resin infiltrant. It also aims to compare the achieved bond strengths to those achieved in relation to sound enamel (SE). A total of 48 newly extracted third molars were collected, distributed in four groups (n=12), covered with a nail varnish, with 4 x 4 mm of uncoated area, immersed in Buskes demineralizing solution (14 days, 37 °C) or remained untreated. Group I: SE + Transbond XT; Group II: demineralized enamel (DE) + ICON + Transbond XT; Group III: DE + ICON + Scotchbond Universal; Group IV: DE + ICON + Assure PLUS. SBS was quantified in megapascals (MPa) and statistically analyzed (ANOVA, p 0.05). The mode of failure was assessed microscopically (10 x magnification). The highest SBS detected was in Group IV, and the difference was statistically significant (F = 14.37; p = 0.000). Treatment with a resin infiltrant on DE does not impair the shear bond strength when compared to SE, although it does produce a significantly higher strength when combined with Assure PLUS

Electrophysiological Correlates Activated During the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST)

In the present study we investigated changes in Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) during the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) in order to identify cognitive processes underlying the set-shifting aspects of the task and to determine test sensitivity for frontal and prefrontal cortical areas. ERP’s were recorded from a sample of 20 healthy adults while they performed a computerized version of the Grant & Berg (1948) version of the WCST, using 32-channel electroencephalogram recordings. The ERP waveforms were calculated for the set-shifting trials, or more precisely for the 2nd and the 3rd trials in the WCST series (set change condition) and compared to those associated with the last two trials in a series before the set change (set unchanged condition). The results indicated changes in central frontal and parietal electrodes during attentional set-shifting. More precisely, the P300 effect was replicated in this dataset, confirming the claim that theWCST measures function of prefrontal cortical areas of the brain. However, the obtained wave resembled P3b indicating the working memory component of the task. The results suggest that the frontal and parietal cortical activity is especially involved in set-shifting during WCST performance. Therefore, these electrophysiological results are not consistent with some recent studies that question the specificity of WCST as a measure of frontal and parietal lesions

Global, Regional, and National Levels and Trends in Burden of Oral Conditions from 1990 to 2017: A Systematic Analysis for the Global Burden of Disease 2017 Study

Government and nongovernmental organizations need national and global estimates on the descriptive epidemiology of common oral conditions for policy planning and evaluation. The aim of this component of the Global Burden of Disease study was to produce estimates on prevalence, incidence, and years lived with disability for oral conditions from 1990 to 2017 by sex, age, and countries. In addition, this study reports the global socioeconomic pattern in burden of oral conditions by the standard World Bank classification of economies as well as the Global Burden of Disease Socio-demographic Index. The findings show that oral conditions remain a substantial population health challenge. Globally, there were 3.5 billion cases (95% uncertainty interval [95% UI], 3.2 to 3.7 billion) of oral conditions, of which 2.3 billion (95% UI, 2.1 to 2.5 billion) had untreated caries in permanent teeth, 796 million (95% UI, 671 to 930 million) had severe periodontitis, 532 million (95% UI, 443 to 622 million) had untreated caries in deciduous teeth, 267 million (95% UI, 235 to 300 million) had total tooth loss, and 139 million (95% UI, 133 to 146 million) had other oral conditions in 2017. Several patterns emerged when the World Bank's classification of economies and the Socio-demographic Index were used as indicators of economic development. In general, more economically developed countries have the lowest burden of untreated dental caries and severe periodontitis and the highest burden of total tooth loss. The findings offer an opportunity for policy makers to identify successful oral health strategies and strengthen them; introduce and monitor different approaches where oral diseases are increasing; plan integration of oral health in the agenda for prevention of noncommunicable diseases; and estimate the cost of providing universal coverage for dental care

PROCSEE_2ndPHEExcellenceForum_Report.pdf

PROCSEE is a policy-oriented project, aimed at strengthening the provision of professional higher education, by strengthening the policy-work conducted by umbrella organizations representing professional higher education institutions (PHE) in Central and South-Eastern in Europe (CSEE). Working together over three years, the project consortium intends to:<br>- Identify the main challenges facing PHE in the region;<br>- Propose policy solutions to address those challenges in the short-to-midterm, through a mixture of good-practice identification and stakeholder consultation;<br>- Bring together the main actors in PHE in each participating country, so as to build implementation roadmaps for the identified policy solutions.<br><br>The result of the 2nd PHE Excellence Forum, this document outlines the Policy Recommendations for actions to be taken by the main actors in the PHE sector in the CSEE region, as well as by the European Commission, with the aim of promoting quality improvement and better recognition of PHE in the future.<br