Publications by authors named "Manuel Lopez-Nicolas"

Normal aging affects the different structures of teeth, in particular, the dentine. These changes are useful in forensic disciplines as a tool for age estimation. Although multiphoton (MP) microscopy has been used to explore dental pieces, a relationship between age and MP response of the human dentine has not been proposed yet.

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Percutaneous needle electrolysis (PNE) is a physiotherapy technique that has been shown to be effective in different pathologies such as tendinopathies or mammary fistula. For many years, theoretical bactericidal and germicidal effects have been attributed to this type of galvanic currents, partly explained by the changes in pH that it generates. However, these effects have not yet been demonstrated.

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Teeth are a fundamental tool in forensic odontology for identification in a legal context of those individuals who cannot be identified visually or by other means. Dentine presents physiological exchanges of in trace elements after a period of mineralization and several factors can affect its concentration. The aim of this study was to investigate the concentration of 25 trace elements in the coronal dentine according to sex and type of tooth to determine their relationship with age.

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Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of different ergonomic supports on the muscle activity of two trunk muscles while a group of dentists performed a common dental procedure on a phantom head, divided into three tasks.

Methods: A one-way repeated measures study (ANOVA) was conducted on a group of 36 dentists. The middle trapezius and lumbar erector spinae muscles were measured with and without the use of different ergonomic supports (ergonomic stool, magnification lenses and both) using a portable surface electromyography (sEMG) device.

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The aim of this study was to evaluate the validity of the Veloflex infrared dynamic angle-meter (Veloflex-IDA) and the intra- and inter-rater reliability when measuring the ranges of motion (ROMs) of the upper limb joints. Thirty-five healthy and 20 symptomatic participants were evaluated. Twelve upper limb movements were measured in two sessions with the Veloflex-IDA, which is a device composed of a camera that tracks the trajectory of retro-reflective markers.

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Ergonomic supports have become popular for the prevention of musculoskeletal disorders. This study sought to evaluate the efficacy of different ergonomic supports and their combination to reduce muscle activity of the neck and shoulder muscles. A one-way repeated measures design was used to evaluate 36 practicing dentists while they performed three posterior composite restoration procedures on a phantom head.

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The aim of this paper is to study the role of a professional dental organization in the resolution of malpractice claims in Murcia (southeast of Spain). We analysed all the claims presented to the College of Dentists during the last sixteen years (n = 84). Professional behaviour was demonstrated as adequate in 29 cases and as malpractice in 55 (32 cases were considered technically correct but with information failures and in 23 cases technical errors were observed).

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With the introduction of informed consent in dental practice in Spain during the last ten years activity has been focused on avoiding complaints rather than on giving adequate information to the patient. However, in the eyes of many professionals the document by which patients accept the cost or estimated charge of treatment is the equivalent of informed consent. Although Spanish law permits verbal consent in some cases (low risk therapeutic activities), some dentists interpret this law in a very broad way.

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