Altering occlusal vertical dimension provisionally with base metal onlays: a clinical report.

This article presents a method for altering occlusal vertical dimension (OVD) to restore dentitions with limited restorative space due to loss of tooth structure. A provisional increase in OVD is achieved using predominately base metal onlays, which offer advantages over conventional techniques. The onlays are resistant to wear, may be bonded well to nonrestored and restored tooth surfaces with resin cements, and provide a fairly reversible method of increasing OVD.

Production of an extracellular toxin by the oral pathogen Campylobacter rectus.

The ATCC type strain and six clinical isolates of Campylobacter rectus were tested for toxicity against HL-60 cells and human polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs). After challenge with bacterial cell suspensions and media supernatants for up to 4 h, eukaryotic cell viability was assayed by trypan blue dye exclusion and lactate dehydrogenase release. Cells of the C.