A recall program for the outcome of conventional root canal treatment performed in a teaching hospital.

Objectives: This study investigated the long-term survival and the prognostic factors of endodontic treatments performed in a dental teaching hospital. The aim was to calculate the probabilities of success or failure according to the follow-up extent and to assess the time allowed for a complete periapical healing.

Materials And Methods: A cohort of 185 teeth were re-examined 1-4 years after treatment.

Clinical outcomes after nonsurgical periodontal therapy with an Er:YAG laser device: a randomized controlled pilot study.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the short-term effects of nonsurgical periodontal treatment with the short-term effects of Er:YAG laser debridement (ERL) and manual scaling and root planning (SRP) in nonsmoking patients with chronic periodontitis.

Methods: Nineteen nonsmoking patients (mean age 60.7) with chronic generalized periodontitis were randomly treated with ERL or SRP in a split-mouth design.

Tooth desensitization with an Er:YAG laser: in vitro microscopical observation and a case report.

Tooth hypersensitivity is a frequent condition that causes discomfort and sometimes severe pain. It is caused by exposure of spots of dentinal tubules to the oral environment. Conventional desensitizing agents (professional pastes, toothpastes, mouthwashes) aim to obliterate the exposed dentinal tubules.

Bioactive materials in endodontics.

Endodontic treatment in dentistry is a delicate procedure and many treatment attempts fail. Despite constant development of new root canal filling techniques, the clinician is confronted with both a complex root canal system and the use of filling materials that are harmful for periapical tissues. This paper evaluates reported studies on biomaterials used in endodontics, including calcium hydroxide, mineral trioxide aggregate, calcium phosphate ceramics and calcium phosphate cements.

[Stem cells of dental pulp].

Any clinician dreams to obtain the regeneration of the destroyed organ for his patient. In the human being, the regeneration of complex structures is not possible, except the liver and the bone marrow, which can be regenerated because of the presence of adult stem cells in these tissues. The stem cells have two principal properties: they ensure their self-renewal and they have the ability to differentiate into several cellular types.

Microwave irradiation of ethanol-fixed bone improves preservation, reduces processing time, and allows both light and electron microscopy on the same sample.

Methylmethacrylate (MMA) embedding is routinely used for histomorphometry of undecalcified bone preserved by prolonged immersion in ethanol, a procedure that yields poor ultrastructural detail. Because microwave irradiation (MWI) facilitates penetration of fixatives, we have investigated whether it can improve preservation by ethanol. Rat tibiae, some labeled with tetracycline, and a human iliac crest biopsy were immersed in 70% ethanol and dehydrated, both under MWI, for a total processing time of approximately 7 hr.

Current state of the art of biphasic calcium phosphate bioceramics.

We have developed 15 years ago, with the collaboration of Lynch, Nery, and LeGeros in the USA, a bioactive concept based on biphasic calcium phosphate (BCP) ceramics. The concept is determined by an optimum balance of the more stable phase of HA and more soluble TCP. The material is soluble and gradually dissolves in the body, seeding new bone formation as it releases calcium and phosphate ions into the biological medium.