The impact of intravenous corticosteroids with third molar surgery in patients at high risk for delayed health-related quality of life and clinical recovery.

Purpose: To compare recovery for clinical and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) outcomes after third molar surgery in patients predicted to be at risk for delayed recovery, treated with or without intravenous (IV) corticosteroids at surgery.

Patients And Methods: Patients at least 18 years of age and with all 4 third molars below the occlusal plane were given IV corticosteroids just before third molar surgery. Clinical and HRQOL outcomes of these patients were compared with those of a nonconcurrent control group who did not receive corticosteroids.

The xerogenic potency and mechanism of action of tramadol inhibition of salivary secretion in rats.

Tramadol is a centrally acting analgesic with weak opioid agonist properties, which also has monoaminergic activity, exerted via inhibition of neuronal uptake of serotonin and norepinephrine. Tramadol is generally well tolerated and the most common adverse events are nausea, dizziness, drowsiness, sweating, vomiting and dry mouth. Currently it was examined by which principal mechanism tramadol induces oral dryness.

Efficacy and cytotoxicity of cationic-agent-mediated nonviral gene transfer into osteoblasts.

Ex vivo gene transfer into osteoblastic cells is an advantageous strategy for bone tissue engineering. This study investigated the efficacy and cytotoxicity of in vitro cationic-agent-mediated nonviral gene transfer into osteoblasts. Various cationic agents, lipid, gelatin, and polyethylenimine (PEI) were tested.

Handpiece speed and postoperative outcomes in third molar surgery.

Objective: This study was performed to assess surgical outcomes when externally irrigated slow-speed surgical handpieces (30,000 rpm) were compared to externally irrigated high-speed handpieces (90,000 rpm) in the removal of impacted lower third molar teeth.

Study Design: One hundred patients with bilater ally impacted third molar s were enrolled in the study; 53 remained to completion. Each patient served as his/her own control.

Survey of oral care practices in US intensive care units.

Background: Research has shown that oral care involving toothbrushes and topical antimicrobials improves the oral health of medically compromised patients and may reduce the incidence of nosocomial infections including pneumonia. This survey research was undertaken to determine the type and frequency of oral care in intensive care units (ICUs) in the United States and the attitudes, beliefs, and knowledge of health care workers.

Methods: A randomly selected survey of 102 ICUs within the continental United States participated with 556 respondents; 97% of respondents were registered nurses.

Photoelastic analysis of the effect of palatal support on various implant-supported overdenture designs.

Statement Of Problem: The effect of palatal support on various types of implant-supported maxillary overdenture designs has not been sufficiently assessed.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to photoelastically evaluate the palatal support of 3 designs of maxillary implant-supported overdentures.

Material And Methods: A photoelastic model of an edentulous maxilla was fabricated with four 3.

Dental management of the Down and Eisenmenger syndrome patient.

About 40% to 50% of Down syndrome (DS) patients can have significant congenital heart defects such as patent ductus arteriosus, Tetralogy of Fallot, and septal defects. Patients with large septal defects may develop Eisenmenger syndrome (ES), which is defined by the cardiac septal defect and pulmonary hypertension coupled with a reverse right to left shunting of blood flow. DS patients that suffer from this condition require special considerations in the delivery of their dental care to prevent further medical complications or emergencies such as infection, cyanotic episodes, and thromboemboli.

Oral pilocarpine for treatment of opioid-induced oral dryness in healthy adults.

Pilocarpine induces a profuse flow of saliva when administered orally, but effects on drug-induced oral dryness have not been examined. The aim of this trial was to investigate if pilocarpine increases production of saliva in individuals suffering from dry mouth due to treatment with opioids. Sixty-five individuals were enrolled in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

The flow rate of whole and submandibular/sublingual gland saliva in patients receiving replacement complete dentures.

Provision of complete dentures to a new denture wearer increases the salivary flow rate is well known. The new dentures act as an additional mechanical stimulus to the salivary reflexes, thus increasing the flow rate. The purpose of this study was to determine whether replacing complete dentures would elicit the same response.

Impact of Human Genome Project on treatment of frail and edentulous patients.

Objective: Because of ongoing increases in life expectancy and deferment of edentulousness to older age, dentists are facing a different challenge to satisfy elderly denture wearers with a higher prevalence of chronic diseases. This discussion introduces the Human Genome databases as novel and powerful resources to re-examine the core problems experienced by frail and edentulous patients.

Background: Recent studies demonstrated that mandibular implant overdentures do not necessarily increase masticatory function, perception and satisfaction in denture wearers with adequate edentulous residual ridges.

Effects of various irrigation solutions on microleakage of Class V composite restorations.

Statement Of The Problem: Irrigation solutions used in the preparation of composite restorations have been reported to contain potential contaminants that may interfere with, and compromise, composite bonding.

Purpose: The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate microleakage of Class V composite restorations after irrigation of acid conditioner with various solutions. MATERIAL AND MENTODS: Standardized Class V preparations (5 mm wide, 4 mm high and 2 mm deep) were made at the cemento-enamel junction on available buccal, lingual, mesial, and distal surfaces of extracted human posterior teeth.

Mapping, profiling and clustering of pressure pain threshold (PPT) in edentulous oral mucosa.

Objectives: Edentulous oral mucosa involves different tissue types, various innervation and wound healing process. We hypothesized that pressure pain threshold (PPT) of edentulous oral mucosa varies significantly among different regions. The objective of this study is to examine regional differences and correlations of PPT in edentulous oral mucosa.

Elastofibroma: the initial report in the oral mucosa.

Elastofibroma is a well known pseudotumorous process that characteristically occurs in the scapular region in the presence of trauma or injury. Additionally, numerous other sites of origin have been reported in the literature, but to date none have presented in the oral cavity. A 56-year-old female presented with a painless small mass in the floor of the mouth.

Comparisons of chewing difficulty of consumed foods with mandibular conventional dentures and implant-supported overdentures in diabetic denture wearers.

Purpose: This study compared the chewing difficulty of foods in diets of denture wearers with mandibular conventional and implant-supported overdentures.

Materials And Methods: One-week dietary logs were evaluated for 58 subjects with controlled diabetes at baseline with their original dentures and with new dentures 6 months after treatment completion. Subjects received new maxillary and mandibular complete dentures, 21 with mandibular conventional dentures and 37 with implant-supported overdentures.

Pressure-pain threshold of oral mucosa and its region-specific modulation by pre-loading.

Once subjected to denture wearing, oral mucosa has to withstand mechanical loads of various levels and durations. However, how this load affects oral mucosal sensitivity is unknown. This study investigated the pressure-pain threshold (PPT) of oral mucosa with or without pre-loading.

Solid-state temporomandibular joint imaging: accuracy in detecting osseous changes of degenerative joint disease and determining condylar spatial relations.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the off-label use of an intraoral charge-coupled device (CCD) for extraoral transcranial radiography of the temporomandibular joint. Corrected linear tomograms and transcranial images made with conventional screen-film combinations and a CCD detector were compared with sectioned cadaver specimens. Radiation dosage, qualitative assessment of condylar degenerative features, and condylar position within the glenoid fossa of the 3 modalities were assessed and compared.

ENU large-scale mutagenesis and quantitative trait linkage (QTL) analysis in mice: novel technologies for searching polygenetic determinants of craniofacial abnormalities.

Discrepancies in size and shape of the jaws are the underlying etiology in many orthodontic and orthognathic surgery patients. Genetic factors combined with environmental interactions have been postulated to play a causal or contributory role in these craniofacial abnormalities. Along with the soon-to-be-available complete human and mouse genomic sequence data, mouse mutants have become a valuable tool in the functional mapping of genes involved in the development of human maxillofacial dysmorphologies.

Oral fibroblast expression of wound-inducible transcript 3.0 (wit3.0) accelerates the collagen gel contraction in vitro.

Wounds of the oral mucosa show faster closure with less scar formation than skin wounds in other areas. A differentially expressed cDNA, wound-inducible transcript 3.0 (wit3.

Precursor tissue analogs as a tissue-engineering strategy.

Natural tissues are composed of functionally diverse cell types that are organized in spatially complex arrangements. Organogenesis of complex tissues requires a coordinated sequential transformation process, with individual stages involving time-dependent expression of cell-cell, cell-matrix, and cell-signal interactions in three dimensions. The common theme of temporal-spatial patterning of these cellular interactions is also observed in other physiological processes, such as growth and development, wound healing, and tumor migration.

New innovations in craniomaxillofacial fixation: the 2.0 lock system.

Rigid internal fixation with plates and screws is now standard for the treatment of fractures, osteotomies and reconstruction of the craniomaxillofacial skeleton. The latest innovations are self-drilling, self-tapping screws and locking miniplates. These screws offer the prospect of less instrumentation and faster application.

Oral lichen planus: progress in understanding its malignant potential and the implications for clinical management.

Oral lichen planus (OLP) is an inflammatory lesion that has malignant potential, but few cases of OLP progress to malignancy. A diagnosis of OLP should be confirmed on the basis of historical, clinical, and histologic data. The presence of dysplasia in an OLP-like lesion increases the risk of malignant transformation, mandating management and close follow-up.

Photoelastic stress analysis of implant-tooth connected prostheses with segmented and nonsegmented abutments.

Statement Of Problem: There is some question about whether implant abutment selection affects the transfer of load between connected implants and natural teeth.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare stress transfer patterns with either 1 or 2 posterior implants connected to a single anteriorly located simulated natural tooth with either 1 or 2 segmented and nonsegmented implant abutments under relevant functional loads by use of the photoelastic stress analysis technique.

Material And Methods: A model of a human left mandible, edentulous posterior to the first premolar, with two 3.