Can in-hospital or post discharge caregiver involvement increase functional performance of older patients? A systematic review.

Background: Regaining pre-hospitalization activity levels is only achieved in 30-50% of older patients. Extra physiotherapy time has been proven to improve functional outcome and shorten length of stay, but is costly. Considering their key role in caring for older people, involving informal caregivers in rehabilitation might further improve functional performance.

Pulpal-temperature rise and polymerization efficiency of LED curing lights.

This paper assesses the effects of light characteristics and irradiation time on the Vickers microhardness (VH) of a dual-photoinitiator commercial composite and on temperature increase in the pulp chamber (deltaT). Four recent light-emitting diodes (LEDs)--bluephaseG2 (BG2), bluephase16i (B16i), G-Light (G) and Freelight2 (F2)--and one control halogen light (XL3000-X) were tested on two shades of Tetric EvoCeram (A2 and Bleach XL), whose respective commercial formulations differed based on their concentration of camphorquinone and lucirin TPO. Three different irradiation times were applied--10, 20 and 40 seconds-and VH was measured on the upper and lower surfaces of 2-mm thick samples.

Investigating filler morphology and mechanical properties of new low-shrinkage resin composite types.

Three types of low-shrinkage composites are today commercially available: Ormocers, cationic ring-opening curing systems and highly filled methacrylate-based materials, which cure via free-radical polymerization mechanisms. The aim of this study was to characterize the inorganic fraction of materials belonging to each type and to compare their mechanical properties. Two Ormocers (Admira and an experimental Ormocer V35694), one ring-opening composite (Filtek Silorane) and five methacrylate-based composites [Filtek Supreme XT, Tetric EvoCeram, Grandio, Synergy D6 (Coltène-Whaledent, Langenau, Germany) and an experimental material, V34930] were tested.

Microtensile bond strength and interfacial characterization of 11 contemporary adhesives bonded to bur-cut dentin.

Objectives: This study evaluated mechanically and ultra-morphologically 11 different adhesive systems bonded to dentin.

Methods: The microtensile bond strength (microTBS) of 11 contemporary adhesives, including two three-step etch&rinse, three two-step etch&rinse, two two-step self-etch and four one-step self-etch adhesives to dentin, were measured. The resultant interfacial ultra-structure at dentin was characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM).

Immediate bonding effectiveness of contemporary composite cements to dentin.

The objective of this study was to compare the one-week bonding effectiveness of nine contemporary composite cements used to lute ceramic to dentin and to determine an appropriate processing method for pretesting failures. The microtensile bond strengths (µTBS) of different luting agents including five self-adhesive cements (Unicem, 3 M ESPE; Maxcem, Kerr; Monocem, Shofu; G-Cem, GC; and Multilink Sprint, Ivoclar-Vivadent), two self-etch cements (Panavia F2.0 and Clearfil Esthetic Cement, Kuraray), and two etch-and-rinse cements (Calibra, Dentsply, and Variolink II, Ivoclar-Vivadent) were measured using a standardized protocol.