Provisional restorations (Part 2).

This chapter will emphasise the need to: 1) Provide a provisional restoration following tooth preparation to protect the pulp; secure positional stability, function and aesthetics; and maintain gingival health; 2) Consider using long-term provisional restorations to assess aesthetic, occlusal and periodontal changes before embarking on definitive restorations; 3) Distinguish between preparations for conventional and adhesive restorations when providing provisional restorations; 4) Determine in advance the type of provisional restorations and materials to be used, ideally, while treatment planning; 5) Be aware of materials for making provisional restorations and how to control potential hazards; and 6) Make provisional restorations to a high standard to ensure a predictable restorative outcome.

Provisional restorations (Part 1).

This chapter will emphasise the need to: 1) Provide a provisional restoration following tooth preparation to protect the pulp; secure positional stability, function and aesthetics; and maintain gingival health; 2) Consider using long-term provisional restorations to assess aesthetic, occlusal and periodontal changes before embarking on definitive restorations; 3) Distinguish between preparations for conventional and adhesive restorations when providing provisional restorations; 4) Determine in advance the type of provisional restorations and materials to be used, ideally, while treatment planning; 5) Be aware of materials for making provisional restorations and how to control potential hazards; and 6) Make provisional restorations to a high standard to ensure a predictable restorative outcome.

Pain Part 6: Temporomandibular Disorders.

TMDs are a complex collection of conditions which can have a significant impact on an individual's quality of life. The aetiology, diagnosis and management of TMDs will be described in this article with the hope of increasing a general dental practitioner's knowledge of these problems, thus helping them to institute simple, initial, conservative therapies for such patients. Diagnosis of TMDs can be simplified by following recent published clinical diagnostic criteria such as those outlined in this article.

OHIP-TMDs: a patient-reported outcome measure for temporomandibular disorders.

Objectives: This research aims to assess the test-retest reliability, the face, content and known groups validity, and responsiveness to change, of OHIP-TMDs, a 22-item TMDs-specific version of the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP).

Methods: Test-retest reliability - A group of patients with TMDs (n = 20) was administered OHIP-TMDs twice before initial consultation with a 2-week interval. Face and content validity - Content validity index assessments were undertaken with professionals and patients.

The local anaesthetic effect of a dental laser prior to cavity preparation: a pilot volunteer study.

Objectives: It has been suggested that laser preconditioning can produce dental anaesthesia. This study aimed to assess the response of the dental pulp to laser preconditioning.

Methods: The effects of laser preconditioning, sham laser (negative control), and composite curing light (positive control) on the response of the dental pulp to electric pulp testing was investigated in this double-blind crossover trial with six volunteers.