The effects of a periodontal ligament analogue on occlusal contact forces.

Background: Previous bench-top studies examined the details of the mechanical environment of rigidly fixed occluding teeth. It was demonstrated that during each chomp, contacting molar teeth experience in-occlusal-plane forces (F ) that are highly transient in magnitude and direction.

Objectives: The objectives of this study are to identify F behaviours that are attributable to the presence of a visco-elastic periodontal ligament (PDL) analogue, and to assess the necessity of incorporating it into future studies.

Measuring condom use among sex workers in the Dominican Republic.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the internal consistency of self-reported condom use among sex workers in Puerto Plata and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. We examined the responses to questions about condom use among 4 cross-sectional samples of sex workers. We compared measures based on: (1) questions using always-to-never scales; (2) questions about use with the past 5 clients; and (3) questions about use in the past week obtained from a retrospective coital log.