Activated Charcoal Dental Products: Evidence of Effectiveness Is Lacking.

With society trending toward the avoidance of artificial components, so-called "natural" products have been gaining space and people's attention in recent years. Activated charcoal-based dental products are a prominent example of this movement because of their promise of removal of extrinsic stains or whitening of teeth by a natural means. Such products have gained popularity among patients, and companies have explored this market, launching charcoal-based and activated charcoal-based dentifrices, mouthrinses, toothbrushes, and whitening products that can be easily found at nearby stores and on the internet.

Errors in light-emitting diodes positioning when curing bulk fill and incremental composites: impact on properties after aging.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of improper positioning single-peak and multi-peak lights on color change, microhardness of bottom and top, and surface topography of bulk fill and incremental composites after artificial aging for 1 year.

Materials And Methods: Bulk fill and incremental composites were cured using multi-peak and single-peak light-emitting diode (LED) following 4 clinical conditions: (1) optimal condition (no angulation or tip displacement), (2) tip-displacement (2 mm), (3) slight tip angulation (α = 20°) and (4) moderate tip angulation (α = 35°). After 1-year of water aging, the specimens were analyzed for color changes (ΔE), Vickers hardness, surface topography (Ra, Rt, and Rv), and scanning electron microscopy.

Improper Light Curing of Bulkfill Composite Drives Surface Changes and Increases Biofilm Growth as a Pathway for Higher Risk of Recurrent Caries around Restorations.

How dentists cure a resin-based material has deleterious effects on the material's properties and its interaction with surrounding dental tissues. Biofilm accumulation has been implicated in the pathogenesis of carious lesions around dental restorations, with its composition manifesting expressed dysbiosis in patients suffering from dental caries. To evaluate the influence of varying radiant exposure on the degree of conversion (DC%), biofilm growth, and surface roughness of bulk-fill composites under different light-curing conditions.

Assessment of the radiant emittance of damaged/contaminated dental light-curing tips by spectrophotometric methods.

Objectives: This study investigated the effects of physically damaged and resin-contaminated tips on radiant emittance, comparing them with new undamaged, non-contaminated tips using 3 pieces of spectrophotometric laboratory equipment.

Materials And Methods: Nine tips with damage and/or resin contaminants from actual clinical situations were compared with a new tip without damage or contamination (control group). The radiant emittance was recorded using 3 spectrophotometric methods: a laboratory-grade thermopile, a laboratory-grade integrating sphere, and a portable light collector (checkMARC).

Hands-on training based on quantifying radiant exposure improves how dental students cure composites: Skill retention at 2-year follow-up.

Introduction: The durability and longevity of composite restoration are much dependent on the accurate delivery of the energy required to polymerise the material. This study aimed to investigate the extent to which undergraduate dental students acquire and retain light-curing skills following hands-on training.

Materials And Methods: Hands-on training comprises faculty tutoring for critical aspects of the light-curing procedure, such as distance and angulation of the light-curing tip.

Underperforming light curing procedures trigger detrimental irradiance-dependent biofilm response on incrementally placed dental composites.

Objectives: Insufficient radiant exposure (J/cm) may provide an early trigger in a cascade of detrimental responses on incrementally-place composite, especially the bottom layer. This study aimed to assess the influence of poor radiant exposure, the degree of conversion (%DC), water sorption/ solubility and S. mutans biofilm formation on conventional, incrementally placed composites and to establish a relationship between these factors.

Current Concepts and Best Evidence on Strategies to Prevent Dental Erosion.

Dental erosion is a multifactorial condition associated with chemical, biological, and behavioral factors whereby a non-bacterial chemical process leads to an irreversible loss of dental structure. Consequences of this erosive process include painful sensitivity, susceptibility to further erosion, mechanical wear, changes in occlusion, exposure of dental pulp, and poor esthetics. Substantial evidence has revealed new insights to diagnosing early stages of dental erosion and enabling novel preventive approaches to control its progression.

Factors influencing success of radiant exposure in light-curing posterior dental composite in the clinical setting.

Purpose: (1) To conduct a comprehensive review of the literature on factors influencing the radiant exposure of resin-based composite (RBC) restorations and (2) To fully understand the appropriate way of using the light curing units (LCUs) to perform restorations with optimal mechanical/physical properties.

Methods: A PubMed search identified recent publications in English that addressed the factors affecting the longevity of the RBC restorations and the optimal usage of LCUs.

Results: RBCs require light-induced polymerization of methacrylate monomers present in its composition to reach acceptable mechanical and physical properties.

Effect of instruction, light curing unit, and location in the mouth on the energy delivered to simulated restorations.

Purpose: To determine the amount of energy (Joules/cm²) delivered by students to simulated restorations in a patient simulator based on the restoration location, the curing light unit used, and before vs. after instruction on how to improve their light curing technique.

Methods: 30 dental students "light cured" two simulated restorations (that were 1-mm deep anterior and 4-mm deep posterior) using three light-curing units (LCUs) : VALO, Bluephase G2, and Optilux 401.

The dental curing light: A potential health risk.

Powerful blue-light emitting dental curing lights are used in dental offices to photocure resins in the mouth. In addition, many dental personnel use magnification loupes. This study measured the effect of magnification loupes on the "blue light hazard" when the light from a dental curing light was reflected off a human tooth.

Effects of water-aging on self-healing dental composite containing microcapsules.

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to develop a self-healing dental composite containing poly(urea-formaldehyde) (PUF) shells with triethylene glycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA) and N,N-dihydroxyethyl-p-toluidine (DHEPT) as healing liquid, and to investigate the mechanical properties of the composite and its self-healing efficacy after water-aging for 6 months.

Methods: PUF microspheres were synthesized encapsulating a TEGDMA-DHEPT healing liquid. Composite containing 30% of a resin matrix and 70% of glass fillers by mass was incorporated with 0%, 2.

Using fiber-optic transillumination as a diagnostic aid in dental practice.

Fiber-optic transillumination (FOTI) is a well-accepted and valuable adjunctive diagnostic tool with a wide range of clinical applications. In dentistry, FOTI has been primarily associated with caries diagnosis and has been corroborated through research studies to be a valid indicator of the histological presence or absence of bacterially infected tooth structure. In this review, techniques for using FOTI for tooth evaluation are presented along with examples of how FOTI can be effectively used as a supplemental diagnostic aid.

The effectiveness of using a patient simulator to teach light-curing skills.

Background: The authors evaluated the effectiveness of using a patient simulator (MARC Patient Simulator [MARC PS], BlueLight analytics, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada), to instruct dental students (DS) on how to deliver energy optimally to a restoration from a curing light. Five months later, the authors evaluated the retention of the instruction provided to the DS.

Methods: Toward the end of the DS' first year of dental education, the authors evaluated the light-curing techniques of one-half of the class of first-year DS (Group 1) before and after receiving instruction by means of the patient simulator.

Fixed prosthodontics provisional materials: making the right selection.

Clinicians have many choices when selecting an appropriate material for interim restorations for both single crowns and multi-units. Interim restorations serve as a diagnostic as well as biologic and biomechanical component of fixed prosthodontics treatment; in the anterior, they are also important in evaluating the esthetics for the definitive restoration. Factors to be considered when choosing provisional materials are physical properties, handling characteristics, patient response to the appearance of the interim restoration, durability of the restoration, and the cost of the material.

Nanocomposite containing CaF(2) nanoparticles: thermal cycling, wear and long-term water-aging.

Objectives: Fluoride (F) releasing dental restoratives are promising to promote remineralization and combat caries. The objectives of this study were to develop nanocomposite containing calcium fluoride nanoparticles (nCaF(2)), and to investigate the long-term mechanical durability including wear, thermal-cycling and long-term water-aging behavior.

Methods: Two types of fillers were used: nCaF(2) with a diameter of 53 nm, and glass particles of 1.

Chairside resin-based provisional restorative materials for fixed prosthodontics.

Provisional restorations are vital to fixed prosthodontics treatment, providing an important diagnostic function while in place. In addition to protecting the prepared teeth, provisionalization enables clinicians to refine biologic and biomechanical issues before the final restoration is fabricated. Adjustments can be made in the provisional restoration to achieve both the clinician's and patient's desired results.