Rapid Tooling Method for Soft Customized Removable Oral Appliances

Traditionally oral appliances i.e. removable orthodontic appliances, bite splints and snoring / sleep apnea appliances are made with alginate impressions and wax registrations. Our aim was to describe the process of manufacturing customized oral appliances with a new technique i.e. rapid tooling method. The appliance should ideally be custom made to match the teeth. An orthodontic patient, scheduled for conventional orthodontic treatment, served as a study subject. After a precise clinical and radiographic examination, the approach was to digitize the patient’s dental arches and then to correct them virtually by computer. Additive manufacturing was then used to fabricate a mould for a soft customized appliance. The mould was manufactured using stereolithography from Somos ProtoGen O-XT 18420 material. Casting material for the mould to obtain the final appliance was silicone. As a result we managed to create a customized soft orthodontic appliance. Also, the accuracy of the method was found to be adequate. Two versions of the described device were manufactured: one with small and one with moderate orthodontic force. The study person also gave information on the subjective patient adaptation aspects of the oral appliance

Hypothyroidism and the increased risk of preeclampsia – interpretative factors?

Objective To evaluate the causes behind the association between hypothyroidism and the risk of preeclampsia. Methods Checking of individual hospital and birth records from 149 levothyroxine users among 2,508 women in the preeclampsia case–control study (2002-2016). Results There were significant association between levothyroxine medication and preeclampsia (OR 1.48, 95th CI 1.06–2.07; p ≤ 0.022). The presence of comorbid diseases was associated with a significantly higher risk for the development of preeclampsia in women using levothyroxine. Conclusion Levothyroxine use during pregnancy was associated with 1.5-times higher risk for preeclampsia, but it is also linked to the other comorbid risk factors.published versionpeerReviewe