Topical Hemostatic Agents: What the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon Needs to Know.

Hemostasis is a key step in safe and predictable surgery. Knowledge of normal blood clotting mechanisms and abnormal diathesis is necessary to anticipate potential problems during and after surgery. As an adjunct to bleeding control, topical hemostatic agents have long been used in all surgical disciplines.

Reuse of healing abutments: an in vitro model of plasma cleaning and common sterilization techniques.

The reuse of transgingival healing abutments has been advocated by several implant manufacturers, but cleaning and sterilization procedures to yield clean and optimal surfaces have yet to be developed. The objective of this in vitro project was to investigate various cleaning and sterilization regimens for the removal of biological debris to support reattachment of subgingival connective tissue. Simulated clinical healing abutment surfaces were exposed to culture medium with serum for 1 hour to simulate biological exposure.

Dental extraction wound management: medicating postextraction sockets.

The rather impressive percentage of extraction sites undergoing clot loss and deranged healing results in significant morbidity for the patient and frequent visits to the surgeon to effect relief of discomfort, most often by the use of anodyne dressings. The amount of work lost by patients needing such palliative treatment, and loss of productive time for the surgeon, translate into an unknown, but potentially large, economic loss to society. This would mandate that economical methods of ensuring normal extraction socket healing with minimal morbidity be developed.

Effects of multiple sterilization on surface characteristics and in vitro biologic responses to titanium.

Purpose: This study evaluates the surface changes and effects on in vitro cell attachment and spreading brought about on prepared commercially pure titanium by multiple exposures to common sterilization methods.

Materials And Methods: Discs of commercially pure titanium were prepared to approximate the surface roughness of commercially available bone miniplates. Samples underwent sterilization by exposure to ultraviolet light; ethylene oxide sterilization (1, 5, or 10 cycles); or by steam autoclaving (1, 5, or 10 cycles).