Oral diagnosis and treatment planning: part 7. Treatment planning for missing teeth.

Although more people are retaining increasing numbers of their natural teeth into older ages, approximately 30-40% of persons over the age of 75 years in Western countries are edentulous. The causes and significance of tooth loss vary widely among individuals and cultures, and missing teeth may be replaced by a variety of means for functional, social and psychological reasons, rather than for significant physical health benefits. Therefore, it is essential to determine what the loss of teeth means to patients and what their expectations are for the outcomes following tooth replacement by various methods.

Attachment of Candida albicans to denture base acrylic resin processed by three different methods.

Denture stomatitis is a debilitating disease associated with the presence of adherent Candida albicans. This study compared the attachment capacity of C. albicans to three different acrylic resin materials (self-curing [SC], conventional pressure-packed [CPP], and injection-molded [IM]) to determine whether the physical properties of the materials influenced candidal attachment.

Understanding prosthodontics--where did it all go wrong?

This paper addresses the anatomical and physiological effects of tooth loss on the patient and, further, audits the teaching of prosthodontics over the last 30 years. There is an abundance of evidence to outline changes that occur post-extraction related to morphological changes in the maxilla, the mandible and combined changes in inter-maxillary relations. In addition to the knowledge of patterns of bone loss, we are also now well aware that there is evidence to suggest that planned retention of roots and/or the placement of implants can help reduce post-extraction bone loss.

Gender aesthetics in the natural dentition.

This paper questions whether the size, position and angulation of upper anterior teeth 'reflect' the gender of a patient. Forty-six casts of natural teeth were given to 11 experts. The experts were asked to assess the gender of the patients.

The use of tricalcium phosphate to preserve alveolar bone in a patient with ectodermal dysplasia: a case report.

The prosthodontic management of the child with ectodermal dysplasia is made difficult because of the under-development of the alveolar ridges. This paper describes a case where tricalcium phosphate was placed in sockets immediately following the extraction of the primary incisor teeth to help maintain alveolar bone width, offering a valuable alternative treatment option in the prosthodontic management of the child patient with ectodermal dysplasia.

The effect of ovariectomy on the healing tooth socket of the rat.

Under general anaesthesia, 35-day-old female rats were ovariectomized and the right maxillary molar teeth removed. Dynamic measures of alveolar bone formation were determined at 10 days after surgery, using the fluorochrome labelling technique, and compared with control animals. Ovariectomy significantly increased buccal resorption and palatal bone formation.

Acute effects of instillation of surfactant in severe respiratory distress syndrome.

Doppler ultrasound measurements of pulmonary blood flow in 20 babies with severe respiratory distress syndrome treated in a randomised controlled trial of surfactant replacement showed that the immediate improvement of oxygenation was not associated with a significant increase in pulmonary blood flow. Reduction in ventilator settings and increases in the extent of chest wall movements measured by a cardiorespiratory monitor suggested that the improvement after surfactant had been given was a result of alveolar stabilisation and increased pulmonary compliance. Further simultaneous studies of pulmonary blood flow and pulmonary compliance are needed to confirm these findings.

Surfactant treatment and incidence of intraventricular haemorrhage in severe respiratory distress syndrome.

As part of a multicentre study of porcine surfactant administration in respiratory distress syndrome, 29 babies weighing 2000 g or less were studied in the neonatal intensive care unit of the Royal Maternity Hospital, Belfast. Fourteen babies of a mean gestational age of 28.1 weeks were randomly allocated to the treatment group (200 mg/kg phospholipid given intratracheally) and 15 babies of a mean gestational age of 28.

Cerebral arteriovenous malformation in a neonate: treatment by embolisation.

A neonate with an aneurysm of the vein of Galen was treated by embolisation using Giant-urco coils. Doppler ultrasound examination showed that blood flow in the internal carotid artery decreased while that in the pericallosal artery increased after occlusion, suggesting a 'steal phenomenon' with blood directed preferentially towards the aneurysm.

Platelet accumulation on an artificial surface in vivo: effect of intravascular hemolysis.

Studies of thromboembolic complications after implantation of cardiovascular prosthetic devices have suggested that there is a correlation between the occurrence of hemolysis and the way in which platelets respond to an artificial surface. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the effect of low-level hemolysis (involving approximately 1% of the circulating red blood cells [RBCs] per hour) on the number of platelets that accumulated on woven Dacron arterial grafts used to bypass the carotid artery in six dogs. Each dog was used in one control and one test procedure, which were performed in random order.

Thermal and heart rate response to ultrasonic exposure in the second and third trimester dog fetus.

A total of 39 fetuses from five pregnant dogs were used in this study. Following pentobarbital anesthesia of the dams the gravid uterus was exposed and partially exteriorized. Fetal and maternal electrocardiograms were recorded, along with fetal abdominal temperatures, during ultrasound exposures of 3.

Pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of orally administered bishydroxycoumarin in the goat.

Eight goats, 2 nontreated controls and 6 treated, were used to study the pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of bishydroxycoumarin. In 5 of the 6 treated goats, there was a significant relationship between prothrombin times and drug concentrations. Activated clotting times did not change with time in either the controls or the treated goats.