Efficacy of Adjunctives in Periodontal Surgeries: An Evidenced-Based Summary.

Periodontal surgery is required to access the root surfaces in order to debride them of dental plaque and calculus, promote pocket reduction, create healthy bone architecture, and provide patients greater access to out-of-reach areas to maintain oral hygiene. The use of adjunctive agents and materials-enamel matrix derivatives, low-laser treatment, ozone, locally administered minocycline HCL, doxycycline gels, tetracycline fibers, chlorhexidine chips, granular beta-tricalcium phosphate, and hyaluronic acid, and the like-have been reported to improve pocket depth reduction, periodontal ligament healing, bone defect filling, and mechanical debridement during guided tissue regeneration/flap surgeries. However, the efficacy and benefits of these adjuvants compared to periodontal surgery alone is still widely debated.

Building Consensus for a Shared Definition of Adverse Events: A Case Study in the Profession of Dentistry.

Background: To achieve high-quality health care, adverse events (AEs) must be proactively recognized and mitigated. However, there is often ambiguity in applying guidelines and definitions. We describe the iterative calibration process needed to achieve a shared definition of AEs in dentistry.

A generative adversarial inpainting network to enhance prediction of periodontal clinical attachment level.

Objectives: Bone level as measured by clinical attachment levels (CAL) are critical findings that determine the diagnosis of periodontal disease. Deep learning algorithms are being used to determine CAL which aid in the diagnosis of periodontal disease. However, the limited field-of-view of bitewing x-rays poses a challenge for convolutional neural networks (CNN) because out-of-view anatomy cannot be directly considered.

Temporomandibular Total Joint Replacement Implant Devices: A Systematic Review of Their Outcomes.

Functional impairment affecting the quality of life results when a wide range of both muscular and joint pathologies affect the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). There are several total temporomandibular joint prosthesis systems available for total joint replacement (TJR). This systematic review provides an overview of the different TJR systems available and discusses their outcomes and efficiency.

Comparative Bone Graft Evaluation for Dental Implant Success: An Evidence-Based Review.

In this review, we provide a comparative evaluation of different bone grafts for dental implants success. We performed a literature review to analyze dental implant success and survival rates after the use of various grafts for bone augmentation. A total of 41 studies were selected and analyzed based on parameters including study design, number of implants placed, total number of participants, type of graft used, site from which graft was obtained, time elapsed between bone augmentation and implant placement, implant survival, and success rates.

Long-Term Success of All-Ceramic Dental Implants Compared with Titanium Implants.

All-ceramic dental implants have been identified as a potential alternative to the traditional titanium-based implant systems used in dentistry to satisfy the demands for esthetic metal-free treatment of edentulous jaws. Among the all-ceramic implants introduced in dentistry, zirconia implants have emerged as the forerunner. The success of zirconia as an implant material has paralleled that of titanium in the short-term, however, few clinical studies assess success in the long-term.

Developing and Testing Electronic Health Record-Derived Caries Indices.

Caries indices, the basis of epidemiologic caries measures, are not easily obtained in clinical settings. This study's objective was to design, test, and validate an automated program (Valid Electronic Health Record Dental Caries Indices Calculator Tool [VERDICT]) to calculate caries indices from an electronic health record (EHR). Synthetic use case scenarios and actual patient cases of primary, mixed, and permanent dentition, including decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT/dmft) and tooth surfaces (DMFS/dmfs) were entered into the EHR.

Considerations on the Use of a Temporary Anchorage Device for Improving Longevity and Success.

Controlled movement of teeth is both a science and an art that relies on applied forces and anchoring or resistance points. The temporary anchorage device (TAD) is a mini-implant that is used as an anchoring point. Applied to appropriate cases with optimal technique, TAD can enhance results.

Bond strength of etch-and-rinse and self-etch adhesive systems to enamel and dentin irradiated with a novel CO 9.3 μm short-pulsed laser for dental restorative procedures.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of CO 9.3 μm short-pulsed laser irradiation on the shear bond strength of composite resin to enamel and dentin. Two hundred enamel and 210 dentin samples were irradiated with a 9.

Classifying Adverse Events in the Dental Office.

Background: Dentists strive to provide safe and effective oral healthcare. However, some patients may encounter an adverse event (AE) defined as "unnecessary harm due to dental treatment." In this research, we propose and evaluate two systems for categorizing the type and severity of AEs encountered at the dental office.

Evaluating quality of dental care among patients with diabetes: Adaptation and testing of a dental quality measure in electronic health records.

Background: Patients with diabetes are at increased risk of developing oral complications, and annual dental examinations are an endorsed preventive strategy. The authors evaluated the feasibility and validity of implementing an automated electronic health record (EHR)-based dental quality measure to determine whether patients with diabetes received such evaluations.

Methods: The authors selected a Dental Quality Alliance measure developed for claims data and adapted the specifications for EHRs.

Dental Students' Clinical Experience Across Three Successive Curricula at One U.S. Dental School.

As dental schools continue to seek the most effective ways to provide clinical education for students, it is important to track the effects innovations have on students' clinical experience to allow for quantitative comparisons of various curricula. The aim of this study was to compare the impact of three successive clinical curricula on students' experience at one U.S.

Influence of irradiation by a novel CO 9.3-μm short-pulsed laser on sealant bond strength.

The objective of this in vitro study was to evaluate whether irradiation of enamel with a novel CO 9.3-μm short-pulsed laser using energies that enhance caries resistance influences the shear bond strength of composite resin sealants to the irradiated enamel. Seventy bovine and 240 human enamel samples were irradiated with a 9.

How dental team members describe adverse events.

Background: Although some patients experience adverse events (AEs) resulting in harm caused by treatments in dentistry, few published reports have detailed how dental providers describe these events. Understanding how dental treatment professionals view AEs is essential to building a safer environment in dental practice.

Methods: The authors interviewed dental professionals and domain experts through focus groups and in-depth interviews and asked them to identify the types of AEs that may occur in dental settings.

Honoring Dental Patients' Privacy Rule Right of Access in the Context of Electronic Health Records.

A person's right to access his or her protected health information is a core feature of the U.S. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule.

Near-infrared imaging of secondary caries lesions around composite restorations at wavelengths from 1300-1700-nm.

Background And Objectives: Current clinical methods for diagnosing secondary caries are unreliable for identifying the early stages of decay around restorative materials. The objective of this study was to access the integrity of restoration margins in natural teeth using near-infrared (NIR) reflectance and transillumination images at wavelengths between 1300 and 1700-nm and to determine the optimal NIR wavelengths for discriminating composite materials from dental hard tissues.

Materials And Methods: Twelve composite margins (n=12) consisting of class I, II and V restorations were chosen from ten extracted teeth.

Provider Attitudes Toward the Implementation of Clinical Decision Support Tools in Dental Practice.

Purpose: The objective of this paper is to assess clinical dental providers' baseline knowledge and attitudes about the implementation of three clinical decision support (CDS) tools built into the electronic health record (EHR) of a multi-specialty group dental practice.

Procedures: An electronic survey designed to examine predisposing factors for acceptance of EHR-based tools, caries and periodontal disease management by risk assessment and a risk assessment-based Proactive Dental Care Plan, was distributed to all Willamette Dental Group (WDG) employees. The survey collected demographic data, along with measures of job experience and satisfaction, comfort with dental information technology, and attitudes and knowledge of each CDS tool.

Dental clinical research: an illustration of the value of standardized diagnostic terms.

Objective: Secondary data are a significant resource for in-depth epidemiologic and public health research. It also allows for effective quality control and clinical outcomes measurement. To illustrate the value of structured diagnostic entry, a use case was developed to quantify adherence to current practice guidelines for managing chronic moderate periodontitis (CMP).

The dangers of dental devices as reported in the Food and Drug Administration Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience Database.

Background: The authors conducted a study to determine the frequency and type of adverse events (AEs) associated with dental devices reported to the Food and Drug Administration Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience (MAUDE) database.

Methods: The authors downloaded and reviewed the dental device-related AEs reported to MAUDE from January 1, 1996, through December 31,2011.

Results: MAUDE received a total of 1,978,056 reports between January 1, 1996, and December 31, 2011.

Open wide: looking into the safety culture of dental school clinics.

Although dentists perform highly technical procedures in complex environments, patient safety has not received the same focus in dentistry as in medicine. Cultivating a robust patient safety culture is foundational to minimizing patient harm, but little is known about how dental teams view patient safety or the patient safety culture within their practice. As a step toward rectifying that omission, the goals of this study were to benchmark the patient safety culture in three U.

Are three methods better than one? A comparative assessment of usability evaluation methods in an EHR.

Objective: To comparatively evaluate the effectiveness of three different methods involving end-users for detecting usability problems in an EHR: user testing, semi-structured interviews and surveys.

Materials And Methods: Data were collected at two major urban dental schools from faculty, residents and dental students to assess the usability of a dental EHR for developing a treatment plan. These included user testing (N=32), semi-structured interviews (N=36), and surveys (N=35).

Assessing use of a standardized dental diagnostic terminology in an electronic health record.

Although standardized terminologies such as the International Classification of Diseases have been in use in medicine for over a century, efforts in the dental profession to standardize dental diagnostic terms have not achieved widespread acceptance. To address this gap, a standardized dental diagnostic terminology, the EZCodes, was developed in 2009. Fifteen dental education institutions in the United States and Europe have implemented the EZCodes dental diagnostic terminology.