Residual Bacteriome after Chemomechanical Preparation of Root Canals in Primary and Secondary Infections.

Introduction: Secondary infections may be linked to the presence of residual microorganisms within dental root canals. The purpose of this study was to investigate the bacterial composition of primary and secondary root canal infections before and after chemomechanical treatment.

Methods: Samples were collected before chemomechanical preparation (S1) and before obturation (S2) from 19 subjects (10 primary and 9 secondary infections).

Frontal theta brain activity varies as a function of surgical experience and task error.

Objective: Investigations into surgical expertise have almost exclusively focused on overt behavioral characteristics with little consideration of the underlying neural processes. Recent advances in neuroimaging technologies, for example, wireless, wearable scalp-recorded electroencephalography (EEG), allow an insight into the neural processes governing performance. We used scalp-recorded EEG to examine whether surgical expertise and task performance could be differentiated according to an oscillatory brain activity signal known as frontal theta-a putative biomarker for cognitive control processes.

Exploring the Presence of Core Skills for Surgical Practice Through Simulation.

Objective: The ability to simulate procedures in silico has transformed surgical training and practice. Today's simulators, designed for the training of a highly specialized set of procedures, also present a powerful scientific tool for understanding the neural control processes that underpin the learning and application of surgical skills. Here, we examined whether 2 simulators designed for training in 2 different surgical domains could be used to examine the extent to which fundamental sensorimotor skills transcend surgical specialty.

Early assessment with a virtual reality haptic simulator predicts performance in clinical practice.

Background: Prediction of clinical training aptitude in medicine and dentistry is largely driven by measures of a student's intellectual capabilities. The measurement of sensorimotor ability has lagged behind, despite being a key constraint for safe and efficient practice in procedure-based medical specialties. Virtual reality (VR) haptic simulators, systems able to provide objective measures of sensorimotor performance, are beginning to establish their utility in facilitating sensorimotor skill acquisition, and it is possible that they may also inform the prediction of clinical performance.

The factors that count in selecting future dentists: sensorimotor and soft skills.

Introduction Dental schools across the world are increasingly adopting 'multiple mini interview' (MMI) approaches to evaluate prospective students. But what skills and abilities are being assessed within these short, structured 'interview' stations and do they map on to the requirements of dental practice? Understanding the fundamental processes being measured is important if these assessments are to serve the purpose of identifying the students with the greatest potential to succeed in dental practice.Materials and methods To this end, we performed factor analysis on data from 239 participants on ten MMI stations used for undergraduate selection at a UK dental school.

Drilling into the functional significance of stereopsis: the impact of stereoscopic information on surgical performance.

Purpose: One suggested advantage of human binocular vision is the facilitation of sophisticated motor control behaviours via stereopsis - but little empirical evidence exists to support this suggestion. We examined the functional significance of stereopsis by exploring whether stereopsis is used to perform a highly skilled real-world motor task essential for the occupational practice of dentistry.

Methods: We used a high fidelity virtual reality simulator to study how dentists' performance is affected by the removal of horizontal retinal image disparities under direct and indirect (mirror) observation.

Cardiac electrophysiology of patients with spinal cord injury.

Spinal cord injury is a clinical syndrome encountered frequently in trauma centers and is accompanied by both acute and chronic heart rhythm abnormalities. The injury is characterized by sympathetic nervous system impairment with preservation of parasympathetic output via the vagus nerve. Severe bradycardia in the form of life-threatening sinus arrest or complete heart block may be observed in the acute recovery phase.

Capturing differences in dental training using a virtual reality simulator.

Virtual reality simulators are becoming increasingly popular in dental schools across the world. But to what extent do these systems reflect actual dental ability? Addressing this question of construct validity is a fundamental step that is necessary before these systems can be fully integrated into a dental school's curriculum. In this study, we examined the sensitivity of the Simodont (a haptic virtual reality dental simulator) to differences in dental training experience.

Should prospective dental students be screened for colour vision deficits?

A perennial question in dental education is: what skills and aptitudes should be assessed in prospective dental students? Intellectual capacity and manual dexterity understandably rank highly, but are there minimum thresholds for visual perception that applicants need be able to demonstrate before they enter the profession? We have recently flagged this issue with regard to the thresholds of stereoscopic acuity required for a dentist when operating on teeth. In the present article, we highlight the issue of identifying a minimum acceptable level of colour vision.

Feedback and motor skill acquisition using a haptic dental simulator.

Aim: To investigate the effect of qualitatively different types of pedagogical feedback (FB) on the training, transfer and retention of basic manual dexterity dental skills using a virtual reality (VR) haptic dental simulator.

Methods: Sixty-three participants (M = 22.7 years; SD = 3.

Can virtual reality trainers improve the compliance discrimination abilities of trainee surgeons?

The assessment of tissue compliance using a handheld tool is an important skill in medical areas such as laparoscopic and dental surgery. The increasing prevalence of virtual reality devices raises the question of whether we can exploit these systems to accelerate the training of compliance discrimination in trainee surgeons. We used a haptic feedback device and stylus to assess the abilities of naïve participants to detect compliance differences with and without knowledge of results (KR) (groups 1 and 2), as well as the abilities of participants who had undergone repetitive training over several days (group 3).

A three dimensional view of stereopsis in dentistry.

Stereopsis and its role in dental practice has been a topic of debate in recent editions of this Journal. These discussions are particularly timely as they come at a point when virtual reality simulators are becoming increasingly popular in the education of tomorrow's dentists. The aim of this article is to discuss the lack of robust empirical evidence to ascertain the relationship (if any) between stereopsis and dentistry and to build a case for the need for further research to build a strong evidence base on the topic.

Smooth muscle specific overexpression of p22phox potentiates carotid artery wall thickening in response to injury.

We hypothesized that transgenic mice overexpressing the p22(phox) subunit of the NADPH oxidase selectively in smooth muscle (Tg(p22smc)) would exhibit an exacerbated response to transluminal carotid injury compared to wild-type mice. To examine the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) as a mediator of vascular injury, the injury response was quantified by measuring wall thickness (WT) and cross-sectional wall area (CSWA) of the injured and noninjured arteries in both Tg(p22smc) and wild-type animals at days 3, 7, and 14 after injury. Akt, p38 MAPK, and Src activation were evaluated at the same time points using Western blotting.

Transitioning to the radial artery as the preferred access site for cardiac catheterization: an academic medical center experience.

Objectives: To evaluate procedural and safety metrics of transradial (TR) versus transfemoral (TF) cardiac catheterization (CATH) and percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) during a complete institutional transition from TF to TR as the preferred access.

Background: The TR approach has been shown to reduce complications compared to TF for CATH and PCI, but concerns of longer procedure times have limited utilization in the United States.

Methods: 4,172 consecutive CATH and PCI procedures were performed (2,665 TF; 1,507 TR) at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center from January 2009 to November 2010.

Curriculum structure, content, learning and assessment in European undergraduate dental education - update 2010.

This paper presents an updated statement on behalf of the Association for Dental Education in Europe (ADEE) in relation to proposals for undergraduate Curriculum Structure, Content, Learning, Assessment and Student / Staff Exchange for dental education in Europe. A task force was constituted to consider these issues and the two previous, related publications produced by the Association (Plasschaert et al 2006 and 2007) were revised. The broad European dental community was circulated and contributed to the revisions.

Communications skills in dental education: a systematic research review.

Communication is an essential element of the relationship between patient and dentist. Dental schools are required to ensure that undergraduates are adequately trained in communication skills yet little evidence exists to suggest what constitutes appropriate training and how competency can be assessed. This review aimed to explore the scope and quality of evidence relating to communication skills training for dental students.

Tobacco, alcohol and drug use among dental undergraduates at one English university in 1998 and 2008.

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of tobacco, alcohol and drug use among dental undergraduates at one English university in 2008, and compare these with prevalence in 1998.

Design: Cross-sectional survey using an anonymous self-report questionnaire.

Subjects And Methods: In 2008 all 384 dental undergraduates at one English university were sent a questionnaire in order to obtain data on the frequency and amount of tobacco, alcohol, cannabis and other illicit drugs used before and during their time as a dental undergraduate.

Who will pass the dental OSCE? Comparison of the Angoff and the borderline regression standard setting methods.

Aim: Aim of this study is to elucidate which standard setting method is optimal to prevent incompetent students to pass and competent students to fail a dental Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE).

Material And Methods: An OSCE with 14 test stations was used to assess the performance of 119 third year dental students in a training group practice. To establish the pass/fail standard per station, three standard setting methods were applied: the Angoff I method, the modified Angoff II with reality check and the Borderline Regression (BR) method.