Radiographic study of ethnic variation in alveolar bone height among New Zealand dental students.

Background: The aim of this study was to determine anatomical variations in the radiographic distance between the cemento-enamel junction and the alveolar crest with respect to ethnic heritage and gender in New Zealand dental students.

Methods: Digitized bitewing films of 123 second-year New Zealand dental students were examined with a computer imaging program on a desktop computer screen. The race of parents and grandparents was obtained by questionnaire.

Areca nut extracts modulated expression of alkaline phosphatase and receptor activator of nuclear factor kappaB ligand in osteoblasts.

Objectives: Areca chewers have a higher prevalence of periodontal diseases than non-chewers. This study was to determine the possible effects of ripe areca nut extracts (rANE) on viability and gene expression of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappaB ligand (RANKL) and osteoprotegerin (OPG) in human osteoblasts.

Methods: The effects of rANE on cell viability of osteoblast-like MG63 cells were determined using 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5 diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) that measures metabolic activity.

The involvement of New Zealand dentists in smoking cessation interventions.

Objectives: To determine the attitudes and practices of dentists towards smoking cessation interventions (SCI), to identify perceived barriers to providing SCI, and to determine the level of interest in future training in smoking cessation for dental staff.

Design: Self-administered questionnaire.

Subjects And Methods: 204 NZDA members in Wellington, Otago, and Southland completed a self-administered questionnaire about SCI.

Workforce and planning issues for the profession of periodontics in Australia and New Zealand.

The speciality of periodontics in Australia and New Zealand has seen steady growth since 1986, when the Australian and New Zealand Academy of Periodontics (ANZAP) was formed. Very few members of ANZAP have retired in the 16 years since its formation. However, the results of a survey of members revealed that one-third of members plan to retire within the next 10 years, and over 50% of members will have retired within 15 years.

Scaling and root-planing treatment with adjunctive subgingival minocycline. A clinical pilot study over six months, of sites adjacent to and remote from the antibiotic application.

Aim: A clinical trial was performed to determine if a single dose of subgingival minocycline has (i) a clinical spillover effect at adjacent and remote sites and (ii) an adjunctive effect to scaling and root-planing.

Materials And Methods: Each of the 15 adult subjects included in the study had to present with at least two pairs of adjacent 6-9 mm pockets each pair located on adjacent teeth in an interproximal space, on opposite sides of the mouth. Each study site was required to have at least 3 mm loss of attachment.

Periodontitis in a 13-year old: an illustration of a new periodontal classification.

This report describes a periodontal abscess and bone loss in a 13-year-old boy being treated as a patient in the Dental Benefit Scheme, a year after his entry to the Scheme. His condition illustrates well the rationale of a new classification for periodontitis. We suggest that periodontal screening is important so that instances such as this can be identified earlier; a small number of young patients require conventional, conservative periodontal treatment and ongoing monitoring of periodontal disease.

Guided tissue regeneration with and without demineralized freeze-dried bone allografts for maxillary Class II furca invasions of rapidly progressive periodontitis.

Background: Guided tissue regeneration (GTR) using an expanded polytetrafluorethylene (ePTFE) membrane is an established treatment modality for periodontal disease. This study was designed to compare the effects of ePTFE membranes with and without demineralized, freeze-dried bone allografts (DFDBA) for treating maxillary class II buccal furca invasions of rapidly progressive periodonitis.

Methods: Seven patients with pairs of maxillary class II buccal furca invasions comprised the study group.

Local delivery of chlorhexidine using a tooth-bonded delivery system.

Films containing 20% w/w chlorhexidine base (particle size 63-125 microm) in poly(epsilon-caprolactone), MW 35,000-45,000, were prepared by solvent evaporation and sections attached to the mesio-lingual and mesio-buccal surfaces of the lower first molar in healthy volunteers. Saliva (<1.5 microl) was collected on Periopaper and chlorhexidine concentrations measured by HPLC were typically higher in the area immediately adjacent to the tooth-bonded film sections and lower at more distant sites.

The Community Periodontal Index of Treatment Needs--uses and abuses?

The CPITN system has undergone modifications to enable it to be used for the screening of patients in general practice. Many of the features of the original index are retained. The modifications overcome some of the concerns raised by critics of CPITN by allowing recession and furcation defects to be recorded.

The prevention and management of oral barotrauma.

The recent increase in the popularity of scuba diving has emphasised the role of the dentist in the prevention and treatment of oral barotrauma. Pain and injury to oral structures can result from rapid changes in pressure gradients, and involve enclosed spaces such as the sinuses, exposed dentinal tubules, or root canals. Three patients provide clinical examples of dental barotrauma and highlight the need for an awareness that some patients are divers who need meticulous restorative dentistry.

Subject recruitment, retention, and compliance in clinical trials in periodontics.

Recruitment of subjects in randomized controlled trials is the process of screening and enrolling a predetermined number of subjects within a planned time. Differences between projected and actual recruitment rates are common and, when large, form a serious threat to the successful completion of the trial. Recruitment can be enhanced by 1) use of different, concurrent recruitment methods; 2) avoiding underestimations of the costs and time intensity of subject recruitment; and 3) regular monitoring of the efficiency of the recruitment effort.

The effect of local application of chlorhexidine on plaque and gingivitis.

This study compared the effects on plaque accumulation and gingival inflammation, of a 0.2 percent chlorhexidine solution applied with an interdental brush, with the effects of the interdental brush with control solution. Thirty-three subjects with at least one tooth-bounded edentulous space were chosen.

Determination of small sample volumes in the analysis of drugs at specific sites in the oral cavity.

Two methods for the determination of sample volumes between 0.2 and 0.6 microliters were compared by preparing standard curves for volumes over this range.

Familial gingival fibromatosis: a report of two patients.

This report describes two patients with familial gingival fibromatosis. Treatment for both patients involved gingivectomies to provide acceptable gingival function and appearance. The first patient has been monitored for only a short period, the second patient for 11 years.

A 3-year community-based periodontal disease prevention programme for adults in a developing nation.

A field trail of a community programme for improving periodontal health of adults was carried out in a geographically remote, unsophisticated rural population in the South Pacific islands of Tonga. The 3-year project (1986-89) involved three village communities, each with a population of approximately 1200. Village N received supplies of toothbrushes and toothpaste without charge, health education (videos, talks, posters) and periodic dental scaling (ultrasonic).

Bacteraemia and tissue damage resulting from air polishing.

This study investigates the production of bacteraemia in dental prophylaxis by use of a commercially available air polishing device. Prophylaxis by means of the conventional rubber cup and paste method was used as a control. The study showed that air polishing can result in loss of epithelium at the gingival margin.

Monolithic tetracycline-containing fibers for controlled delivery to periodontal pockets.

For the purpose of developing controlled delivery devices for periodontal therapy which would release over several days, six fiber types made of tetracycline-loaded biocompatible polymers were manufactured and tested. Polyethylene, polypropylene, polycaprolactone, polyurethane and cellulose acetate propionate all released their drug load within 1 day. Ethylene vinyl acetate fibers, however, provided in vitro sustained release for periods up to 9 days.