Nonclinical research areas of future importance for clinical therapies: Exploring the concepts of nonlinearity in dentistry.

Linear system analysis has been dominating medical and dental research, and most of the research achievements in these fields have come from applying a reductionist view of nature. However, biologic systems are fundamentally nonlinear with highly composite dynamics made up of numerous interacting elements and feedback loops, therefore studying them as linear models may not result in an accurate representation of their true features. The authors reviewed and utilized some of the principles of chaos and nonlinearity and extended them to clinical dentistry, from cracked tooth and flare-up after root canal procedures to the outcome of clinical treatments.

Reasons for Apical Surgery Treatment in an Underserved New York City Population.

Endodontic retreatment often involves remaking restorations. The total cost may steer the treatment towards surgery. The aim of this study was to retrospectively record the reasons for performing apical surgery in an economically deprived patient population.

Retrospective Evaluation of Treatment Planning for Dental Implant.

This retrospective study investigates the diagnostic rationale for the extraction of teeth and their replacement with implants in a dental school setting. Most of the teeth were extracted for restorative reasons (62.7%).

Pulp vitality after rapid palatal expansion.

Introduction: Although it has been suggested that orthodontic treatment might lead to changes in the dental pulp, no clinical study has attempted to investigate the incidence of pulp necrosis after orthodontic therapy. The purpose of this clinical trial was to determine whether pulp testing response is altered after rapid palatal expansion (RPE).

Methods: Twenty-five adolescent patients (9 boys, 16 girls; ages, 10-16 years) participated in the study.

Occurrence of nighttime gastroesophageal reflux in disturbed and normal sleepers.

Background & Aims: It is not uncommon in a sleep laboratory to encounter individuals who have complaints of disturbed sleep, but who do not meet the criteria for a sleep disorder when evaluated by polysomnography. Because gastroesophageal reflux is known to occur in many individuals without their awareness, it is possible that some of these individuals might be suffering from reflux that is disturbing their sleep.

Methods: Eighty-one individuals with complaints of disturbed or unrefreshing sleep, but no complaints of heartburn, were recruited.