Evaluation of the single and combined therapeutic effects of individually manufactured earplug therapy in patients with myogenous temporomandibular disorders: A randomized controlled clinical trial.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of individually manufactured earplug therapy on pain intensity (PI), symptom severity (SS), and maximum mouth opening (MMO), in patients with myogenous temporomandibular disorders (TMD).

Methods: One-hundred-twenty patients were randomly allocated to six groups: Groups EP (earplug), OS (occlusal splint), EX (exercise), EPO (earplug with occlusal splint), EPE (earplug with exercise), and C (control). Outcomes were PI (assessed with a visual analog scale (VAS)), SS (assessed with the modified Symptom Severity Index Questionnaire (mSSI)), and MMO (evaluated with a digital caliper).

CODA standard 2-24 h-"replacement of teeth" dilemma: Unintended consequences and proposed solutions.

Background: The Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) was established in 1975 with the goal of serving the public and the dental profession by developing and implementing standards that guide and maintain the quality of dental educational programs. These standards are defined broadly around competencies reflective of an evidence-based definition of general dentistry and that should be met by the new graduates to function as an entry level provider. Consequently, CODA "expects each school to develop specific competency definitions and assessment methods in the context of the broad scope of general dental practice".

Analyzing Dental Students' Clinic Production Using Time-Based Relative Value Units: Ten-Year Cross-Cohort Mapping.

The analysis of dental students' clinical production/participation has been used to assess whether a prospective graduate is capable of unsupervised and independent practice (that is, competent to perform that practice). This method and others have inherent biases that may not accurately reflect whether the student has mastered the associated concepts and techniques required for dentistry. The aim of this study was to assess an informatics system that assigned curriculum meta-tags with time-based relative educational value units (ReVUs) to each clinical procedure performed by Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) students.

Locator retention: does variation in number and configuration matter?

This pilot study was designed to collect initial data on overdenture attachment retention in varying configurations of attachment location in an implant-retained mandibular overdenture. A clear acrylic model of a mandible with 6 numbered implants and Locator resilient abutments was used to simulate implant placement in a patient. A clear acrylic denture was fabricated with 6 Locator housings to match the implants in the model.

Shear bond strength comparison of implant-retained overdenture attachment pickup materials.

This study evaluated the shear bond strength (SBS) of 4 different retentive materials for the chairside pickup of dental implant attachments. Shear force was applied to determine the SBS of each material to denture acrylic resin. The difference between SBSs of polymethyl methacrylate and UBAR (claimed to bond to metal) to metal housings was also evaluated.

Accuracy of dental torque wrenches.

The aim of this in vitro study was to compare the actual torque of 2 manual wrench systems to their stated (target) torque. New spring- (Nobel Biocare USA, LLC) and friction-style (Zimmer Dental, Inc.) manual dental torque wrenches, as well as spring torque wrenches that had undergone sterilization and clinical use, were tested.

Three-dimensional analysis of dual-arch impression trays.

Objective: The objective of this investigation was to measure and compare the dimensions of casts made using four types of impression trays and two impression materials to the dimensions of the original master model. This study differed from previous studies by using three-dimensional measurement.

Method And Materials: Vinyl polysiloxane and polyether impressions were made of two crown preparations of ivorine teeth cemented into an acrylic master model.