Antibacterial coating of orthodontic elastomeric ligatures with silver and bismuth nanofilms by magnetron sputtering: A feasibility study.

Objectives: Magnetron sputtering was evaluated to equip surfaces of orthodontic elastomeric ligatures with silver and bismuth nanofilms.

Material And Methods: Antibacterial properties were evaluated by the adhesion of Streptococcus mutans. Polyurethane-based elastomeric ligatures were coated with silver and bismuth nanofilms via direct current magnetron sputtering.

Changes in Maximum Mandibular Mobility Due to Splint Therapy in Patients with Temporomandibular Disorders.

Splint therapy is widely used in the treatment of myofascial pain, but valid studies on the efficacy of this therapy are rare. The purpose of the present study was to investigate which qualifiable and quantifiable effects of splint therapy are detectable. For this purpose, 29 patients (21 women, mean age 44.

Removal forces of adhesively and self-adhesively luted implant-supported zirconia copings depend on abutment geometry.

This in vitro study evaluated the effects of different abutment axial heights on the retentiveness of adhesively and self-adhesively luted zirconia copings. Ankylos implants were embedded in resin blocks. Two groups of titanium abutments ("long", height: 6.

Real-time MRI of the temporomandibular joint at 15 frames per second-A feasibility study.

The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate a novel method for real-time MRI of TMJ function at high temporal resolution and with two different contrasts. Real-time MRI was based on undersampled radial fast low angle shot (FLASH) acquisitions with iterative image reconstruction by regularized nonlinear inversion. Real-time MRI movies with T1 contrast were obtained with use of a radiofrequency-spoiled FLASH sequence, while movies with T2/T1 contrast employed a gradient-refocused FLASH version.

Comparative study using video analysis and an ultrasonic measurement system to quantify mandibular movement.

Objectives: This study provides a direct comparison between two registration systems used in quantifying mandibular opening movements: two-dimensional videography and electronic axiography, which is used as a reference.

Method: A total of 32 volunteers (age: 27.2 ± 6.