Sample records for focal infection dental

  1. Dentistry and internal medicine: from the focal infection theory to the periodontal medicine concept.

    PubMed

    Pizzo, Giuseppe; Guiglia, Rosario; Lo Russo, Lucio; Campisi, Giuseppina

    2010-12-01

    During past decades the relationship between dentistry and internal medicine and especially the concept of the so-called focal infection theory have long been a matter of debate. The pathogenesis of focal diseases has been classically attributed to dental pulp pathologies and periapical infections. Nonetheless, in recent years, their role is being dismissed while increasing interest is being devoted to the possible associations between periodontal infection and systemic diseases. In fact, periodontal pathogens and their products, as well as inflammatory mediators produced in periodontal tissues, might enter the bloodstream, causing systemic effects and/or contributing to systemic diseases. On the basis of this mechanism, chronic periodontitis has been suggested as a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases associated with atherosclerosis, bacterial endocarditis, diabetes mellitus, respiratory disease, preterm delivery, rheumatoid arthritis, and, recently, osteoporosis, pancreatic cancer, metabolic syndrome, renal diseases and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. Various hypotheses, including common susceptibility, systemic inflammation, direct bacterial infection and cross-reactivity, or molecular mimicry, between bacterial antigens and self-antigens, have been postulated to explain these relationships. In this scenario, the association of periodontal disease with systemic diseases has set the stage for introducing the concept of periodontal medicine. This narrative review summarizes the evolution of focal infection theory up to the current pathophysiology of periodontal disease, and presents an update on the relationships between chronic periodontitis and systemic diseases. Copyright © 2010 European Federation of Internal Medicine. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Management of infection control in dental practice.

    PubMed

    Smith, A; Creanor, S; Hurrell, D; Bagg, J; McCowan, M

    2009-04-01

    This was an observational study in which the management policies and procedures associated with infection control and instrument decontamination were examined in 179 dental surgeries by a team of trained surveyors. Information relating to the management of a wide range of infection control procedures, in particular the decontamination of dental instruments, was collected by interview and by examination of practice documentation. This study found that although the majority of surgeries (70%) claimed to have a management policy on infection control, only 50% of these were documented. For infection control policies, 79% of surgeries had access to the British Dental Association Advice Sheet A12. Infection control policies were claimed to be present in 89% of surgeries, of which 62% were documented. Seventy-seven per cent of staff claimed to have received specific infection control training, but for instrument decontamination this was provided mainly by demonstration (97%) or observed practice (88%). Many dental nurses (74%) and dental practitioners (57%) did not recognise the symbol used to designate a single-use device. Audit of infection control or decontamination activities was undertaken in 11% of surgeries. The majority of surgeries have policies and procedures for the management of infection control in dental practice, but in many instances these are not documented. The training of staff in infection control and its documentation is poorly managed and consideration should be given to development of quality management systems for use in dental practice.

  3. Historical review: Autointoxication and focal infection theories of dementia praecox.

    PubMed

    Noll, Richard

    2004-04-01

    The popularity of theories of autointoxication and focal infection in general medicine and dentistry in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries led Emil Kraepelin and others to speculate that dementia praecox was caused by a poisoning of the brain from toxins produced in other parts of the body, notably the sex glands, the intestines and the mouth. Emil Kraepelin's commitment to the autointoxication theory is ignored in the literature on the history of psychiatry due to the focus of historians and clinicians on the major contributions of Kraepelin's methods of clinical psychopathology. Besides heredity, autointoxication and focal infection were the other most dominant theories of the organic aetiology of dementia praecox in the first three decades of its existence as a nosological entity in psychiatry. Rational treatments for dementia praecox that followed logically from these aetio-logical theories were colonic irrigations and major abdominal surgeries such as appendicostomies, colectomies and the removal of presumably infected ovaries, testes and other organs associated with reproduction. Autointoxication and focal infection theories disappeared from psychiatry by the mid-1930s.

  4. Extensive Focal Epithelial Hyperplasia: A Case Report.

    PubMed

    Mansouri, Zahra; Bakhtiari, Sedigheh; Noormohamadi, Robab

    2015-01-01

    Focal epithelial hyperplasia (FEH) or Heck's disease is a rare viral infection of the oral mucosa caused by human papilloma virus especially subtypes 13 or 32. The frequency of this disease varies widely from one geographic region and ethnic groups to another. This paper reports an Iranian case of extensive focal epithelial hyperplasia. A 35-year-old man with FEH is described, in whom the lesions had persisted for more than 25 years. The lesion was diagnosed according to both clinical and histopathological features. Dental practitioner should be aware of these types of lesions and histopathological examination together and a careful clinical observation should be carried out for a definitive diagnosis.

  5. Compliance with infection control practices in an university hospital dental clinic

    PubMed Central

    Mutters, Nico T.; Hägele, Ulrike; Hagenfeld, Daniel; Hellwig, Elmar; Frank, Uwe

    2014-01-01

    Aim: Compliance with infection control practices is the key to quality care and excellence in dentistry. Infection control remains one of the most cost-beneficial interventions available. However, implementing control procedures requires full compliance of the whole dental team. The aim of our study was to measure the compliance in daily clinical practice. Methods: The compliance with infection control practices in dentistry by dental health care personnel (DHCP) in a German university dental clinic was observed during clinical work. In addition, a survey was conducted to assess the individual knowledge about infection control procedures. Contamination of the workplace during invasive dental procedures was tested, as well. Results: A total of 58 invasive dental treatments implying close contacts between HCWs and patients were scrutinized. All HCWs (100%) wore gloves during dental work, but in some cases (female dentists: 14.3%; dental assistants: 28.6%) gloves were neither changed nor hands were disinfected between different activities or patient contacts (female dentists: 68.6%; male dentists: 60.9%; dental assistants: 93%). Only 31.4% of female and 39.1% of male dentists carried out adequate hygienic hand disinfection after removing gloves. Male dentists wore significantly more often (100%) protective eyewear compared to 77.1% of female dentists (p<0.05). In addition, most of female dentists (62.9%) and dental assistants (80.7%) wore jewelry during dental procedures. Conclusion: Despite the knowledge of distinct hygiene procedures only a small percentage of dental staff performs hygiene practices according to recommended guidelines. Strict audit is clearly needed in the dental setting to ensure compliance with infection control guidelines to prevent transmission of pathogens. Our results provide insights for the development of a targeted education and training strategy to enhance compliance of dental staff especially of dental assistants with infection control

  6. Compliance with infection control practices in an university hospital dental clinic.

    PubMed

    Mutters, Nico T; Hägele, Ulrike; Hagenfeld, Daniel; Hellwig, Elmar; Frank, Uwe

    2014-01-01

    Compliance with infection control practices is the key to quality care and excellence in dentistry. Infection control remains one of the most cost-beneficial interventions available. However, implementing control procedures requires full compliance of the whole dental team. The aim of our study was to measure the compliance in daily clinical practice. The compliance with infection control practices in dentistry by dental health care personnel (DHCP) in a German university dental clinic was observed during clinical work. In addition, a survey was conducted to assess the individual knowledge about infection control procedures. Contamination of the workplace during invasive dental procedures was tested, as well. A total of 58 invasive dental treatments implying close contacts between HCWs and patients were scrutinized. All HCWs (100%) wore gloves during dental work, but in some cases (female dentists: 14.3%; dental assistants: 28.6%) gloves were neither changed nor hands were disinfected between different activities or patient contacts (female dentists: 68.6%; male dentists: 60.9%; dental assistants: 93%). Only 31.4% of female and 39.1% of male dentists carried out adequate hygienic hand disinfection after removing gloves. Male dentists wore significantly more often (100%) protective eyewear compared to 77.1% of female dentists (p<0.05). In addition, most of female dentists (62.9%) and dental assistants (80.7%) wore jewelry during dental procedures. Despite the knowledge of distinct hygiene procedures only a small percentage of dental staff performs hygiene practices according to recommended guidelines. Strict audit is clearly needed in the dental setting to ensure compliance with infection control guidelines to prevent transmission of pathogens. Our results provide insights for the development of a targeted education and training strategy to enhance compliance of dental staff especially of dental assistants with infection control procedures.

  7. Granulicatella adiacens prosthetic hip joint infection after dental treatment.

    PubMed

    Aweid, Osama; Sundararajan, Sabapathy; Teferi, Abraham

    2016-06-01

    Granulicatella adiacens is a Gram-positive bacteria and a normal component of oral flora. It is also found in dental plaques, endodontic abscesses and can rarely cause more serious infections. We describe a prosthetic hip joint infection in an 81-year-old fit and healthy man due to Granulicatella adiacens who underwent a prolonged dental intervention two days earlier without antibiotic prophylaxis. The infection was successfully treated with surgical intervention and a combination of antibiotics. The patient eventually succumbed to severe community-acquired pneumonia two months later. Current guidelines recommend avoidance of antibiotic prophylaxis prior to dental treatment in patients who have no co-morbidities and no prior operation on the index prosthetic joint. This case report indicates that infections of prosthetic joints may be associated with dental procedures even in fit and healthy patients without the recognized risk factors.

  8. Compliance of Saudi dental students with infection control guidelines.

    PubMed

    Ahmad, Ibrahim Ali; Rehan, Elaf Ali; Pani, Sharat Chandra

    2013-08-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate compliance of dental students in a Saudi dental school with recommended infection control protocols. A pilot-tested questionnaire concerning various aspects of infection control practices was distributed to 330 dental students. The response rate was 93.9% (n = 311). About 99% of students recorded the medical history of their patients and 80% were vaccinated against hepatitis B. The highest compliance (100%) with recommended guidelines was reported for wearing gloves and use of a new saliva ejector for each patient. Over 90% of the respondents changed gloves between patients, wore face masks, changed hand instruments, burs and handpieces between patients, used a rubber dam in restorative procedures and discarded sharp objects in special containers. A lower usage rate was reported for changing face masks between patients (81%), disinfecting impression materials (87%) and dental prosthesis (74%) and wearing gowns (57%). Eye glasses and face shield were used by less than one-third of the sample. The majority of students were found to be in compliance with most of the investigated infection control measures. Nevertheless, further education is needed to improve some infection control measures including vaccination for Hepatitis B virus (HBV), wearing eye glasses, gowns and face shields and disinfecting impression materials and dental prostheses. © 2013 FDI World Dental Federation.

  9. Improvement of Cheilitis granulomatosa after Dental Treatment

    PubMed Central

    Sasaki, Ryosuke; Suzuki, Kayoko; Hayashi, Teppei; Inasaka, Hiroshi; Matsunaga, Kayoko

    2011-01-01

    A 38-year-old male suffered from swelling of the lower lip for 3 months. Neither facial nerve palsy nor fissuring of the tongue was present. Histological examination of a biopsy taken from the lower lip revealed non-caseous epithelioid cell granulomas, suggestive of cheilitis granulomatosa. Patch testing revealed positive reactions to mercury chloride and amalgam. His symptoms markedly improved 3 months after treatment of the apical periodontitis and replacement of dental crowns. As his dental crowns did not contain mercury, we believe that the cheilitis granulomatosa may have been related to the focal dental infection. PMID:21941479

  10. Dental Infection and Pregnancy: the Lack of Treatment by the Dental Professional Evolving to a Complex Maxillofacial Infection.

    PubMed

    Pereira, Rodrigo Dos Santos; Gomes-Ferreira, Pedro Henrique Silva; Bonardi, João Paulo; Silva, Jonathan Ribeiro da; Latini, Gustavo Lima; Hochuli-Vieira, Eduardo

    2017-11-01

    Infections of the maxillofacial complex caused by caries disease are common in dental practice. The professionals have to have technical knowledge to treat it at the onset of the condition and avoid the spread to deep anatomical spaces of face and neck, which can implicate in a risk of patients' life.In Brazil, current dental professionals usually denied oral surgical treatments in patients with some clinical conditions, not because of fear to resolve it but for lack of knowledge to treat it. An example of these conditionals is pregnancy. It is well known that during the pregnancy period, the patient can be treated in the correct period of gestation. Early diagnosis is crucial for effective therapy in serious infections. The treatment has to be crucial during pregnancy because of the potentially fatal situation that the disease can create to the pregnant woman and the fetus.The aim of this article is to demonstrate a case of dental caries in a pregnant patient, which was evaluated by other professionals and had the treatment denied, evolving to a serious maxillofacial infection.

  11. Uniform-related infection control practices of dental students

    PubMed Central

    Aljohani, Yazan; Almutadares, Mohammed; Alfaifi, Khalid; El Madhoun, Mona; Albahiti, Maysoon H; Al-Hazmi, Nadia

    2017-01-01

    Background Uniform-related infection control practices are sometimes overlooked and underemphasized. In Saudi Arabia, personal protective equipment must meet global standards for infection control, but the country’s Islamic legislature also needs to be taken into account. Aim To assess uniform-related infection control practices of a group of dental students in a dental school in Saudi Arabia and compare the results with existing literature related to cross-contamination through uniforms in the dental field. Method A questionnaire was formulated and distributed to dental students at King Abdulaziz University Faculty of Dentistry in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, which queried the students about their uniform-related infection control practices and their methods and frequency of laundering and sanitizing their uniforms, footwear, and name tags. Results There is a significant difference between genders with regard to daily uniform habits. The frequency of uniform washing was below the standard and almost 30% of students were not aware of how their uniforms are washed. Added to this, there is no consensus on a unified uniform for male and female students. Conclusion Information on preventing cross-contamination through wearing uniforms must be supplied, reinforced, and emphasized while taking into consideration the cultural needs of the Saudi society. PMID:28490894

  12. Deep neck infection with dental origin: analysis of 85 consecutive cases (2000-2006).

    PubMed

    Marioni, Gino; Rinaldi, Roberto; Staffieri, Claudia; Marchese-Ragona, Rosario; Saia, Giorgia; Stramare, Roberto; Bertolin, Andy; Dal Borgo, Roberto; Ragno, Fabrizio; Staffieri, Alberto

    2008-02-01

    Diagnostic work-up should include contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) and mandible orthopantogram. When a dental origin of deep neck infection is suspected, the intravenous antibiotic regimen has to be active against gram-positive bacteria, both aerobes and anaerobes. Surgical exploration and drainage may be mandatory at presentation, or in cases not responding to medical therapy within the first 24 h. Deep neck infections are still associated with significant morbidity and mortality rates when complications occur. Despite worldwide improvement in dental care and oral hygiene, a significant prevalence of deep neck infections caused by dental infections has been described recently (> 40%). We analysed retrospectively 85 cases of deep neck infection with dental origin out of 206 consecutive cases of deep neck infection diagnosed in our institution between 2000 and 2006. The most frequent dental source was a periapical infection of the first mandibular molar, followed by second and third molar, respectively. Submandibular space infection involvement was diagnosed in 73 of 85 patients (85.9%), masticatory space infection in 28 (32.9%); in 56 patients (65.9%) the infection involved more than one space. Twenty-four patients (28.2%) were treated only with intravenous antibiotic therapy; 61 patients (71.8%) required both medical and surgical procedures.

  13. Advancing infection control in dental care settings

    PubMed Central

    Cleveland, Jennifer L.; Bonito, Arthur J.; Corley, Tammy J.; Foster, Misty; Barker, Laurie; Brown, G. Gordon; Lenfestey, Nancy; Lux, Linda

    2015-01-01

    Background and Overview The authors set out to identify factors associated with implementation by U.S. dentists of four practices first recommended in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Guidelines for Infection Control in Dental Health-Care Settings—2003. Methods In 2008, the authors surveyed a stratified random sample of 6,825 U.S. dentists. The response rate was 49 percent. The authors gathered data regarding dentists’ demographic and practice characteristics, attitudes toward infection control, sources of instruction regarding the guidelines and knowledge about the need to use sterile water for surgical procedures. Then they assessed the impact of those factors on the implementation of four recommendations: having an infection control coordinator, maintaining dental unit water quality, documenting percutaneous injuries and using safer medical devices, such as safer syringes and scalpels. The authors conducted bivariate analyses and proportional odds modeling. Results Responding dentists in 34 percent of practices had implemented none or one of the four recommendations, 40 percent had implemented two of the recommendations and 26 percent had implemented three or four of the recommendations. The likelihood of implementation was higher among dentists who acknowledged the importance of infection control, had practiced dentistry for less than 30 years, had received more continuing dental education credits in infection control, correctly identified more surgical procedures that require the use of sterile water, worked in larger practices and had at least three sources of instruction regarding the guidelines. Dentists with practices in the South Atlantic, Middle Atlantic or East South Central U.S. Census divisions were less likely to have complied. Conclusions Implementation of the four recommendations varied among U.S. dentists. Strategies targeted at raising awareness of the importance of infection control, increasing continuing education

  14. Altered development of the brain after focal herpesvirus infection of the central nervous system.

    PubMed

    Koontz, Thad; Bralic, Marina; Tomac, Jelena; Pernjak-Pugel, Ester; Bantug, Glen; Jonjic, Stipan; Britt, William J

    2008-02-18

    Human cytomegalovirus infection of the developing central nervous system (CNS) is a major cause of neurological damage in newborn infants and children. To investigate the pathogenesis of this human infection, we developed a mouse model of infection in the developing CNS. Intraperitoneal inoculation of newborn animals with murine cytomegalovirus resulted in virus replication in the liver followed by virus spread to the brain. Virus infection of the CNS was associated with the induction of inflammatory responses, including the induction of a large number of interferon-stimulated genes and histological evidence of focal encephalitis with recruitment of mononuclear cells to foci containing virus-infected cells. The morphogenesis of the cerebellum was delayed in infected animals. The defects in cerebellar development in infected animals were generalized and, although correlated temporally with virus replication and CNS inflammation, spatially unrelated to foci of virus-infected cells. Specific defects included decreased granular neuron proliferation and migration, expression of differentiation markers, and activation of neurotrophin receptors. These findings suggested that in the developing CNS, focal virus infection and induction of inflammatory responses in resident and infiltrating mononuclear cells resulted in delayed cerebellar morphogenesis.

  15. Altered development of the brain after focal herpesvirus infection of the central nervous system

    PubMed Central

    Koontz, Thad; Bralic, Marina; Tomac, Jelena; Pernjak-Pugel, Ester; Bantug, Glen; Jonjic, Stipan; Britt, William J.

    2008-01-01

    Human cytomegalovirus infection of the developing central nervous system (CNS) is a major cause of neurological damage in newborn infants and children. To investigate the pathogenesis of this human infection, we developed a mouse model of infection in the developing CNS. Intraperitoneal inoculation of newborn animals with murine cytomegalovirus resulted in virus replication in the liver followed by virus spread to the brain. Virus infection of the CNS was associated with the induction of inflammatory responses, including the induction of a large number of interferon-stimulated genes and histological evidence of focal encephalitis with recruitment of mononuclear cells to foci containing virus-infected cells. The morphogenesis of the cerebellum was delayed in infected animals. The defects in cerebellar development in infected animals were generalized and, although correlated temporally with virus replication and CNS inflammation, spatially unrelated to foci of virus-infected cells. Specific defects included decreased granular neuron proliferation and migration, expression of differentiation markers, and activation of neurotrophin receptors. These findings suggested that in the developing CNS, focal virus infection and induction of inflammatory responses in resident and infiltrating mononuclear cells resulted in delayed cerebellar morphogenesis. PMID:18268036

  16. Dental students' compliance with antibiotic prescribing guidelines for dental infections in children.

    PubMed

    Wong, Yee Chen; Mohan, Mandakini; Pau, Allan

    2016-01-01

    To investigate the antibiotic prescribing training received by dental students, clinical experience in treating child patients, awareness of antibiotic prescribing guidelines, preparedness in antibiotic prescribing, and compliance with antibiotic prescribing guidelines for the management of dental infections in children. This was a cross-sectional study involving final year dentals students from Malaysian and Asian dental schools. A self-administered questionnaire consisting of five clinical case scenarios was e-mailed to all final year students at selected dental schools. Students' responses were compared for each clinical case scenario with the prescribing guidelines of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and the American Dental Association. Compliance in each scenario was tested for association with their preparedness in antibiotic prescribing, previous training on antibiotic prescribing and awareness of antibiotic prescribing guidelines using Chi-square test. Data collected were analyzed using SPSS statistics version 20. A total of 108 completed responses were received. About 74 (69%) students were from Malaysian dental schools. The compliance rate with prescribing guidelines ranged from 15.7% to 43.5%. Those attending Malaysian dental schools (47.3%) and those who had treated child patient more often (46.3%) were more likely (P < 0.05) to be aware of the guidelines. Those who had received antibiotic prescribing training (21.3%) were more likely to think they were well prepared in antibiotic prescribing (P < 0.05). Final year dental students had low awareness and compliance with antibiotic prescribing guidelines. Further research is needed to investigate how compliance with the guidelines may be enhanced.

  17. Dental caries is common in Finnish children infected with Helicobacter pylori.

    PubMed

    Kolho, K L; Hölttä, P; Alaluusua, S; Lindahl, H; Savilahti, E; Rautelin, H

    2001-01-01

    Childhood factors such as low socioeconomic status are risk factors for Helicobacter pylori infection and Streptococcus mutans-related dental caries. We examined whether H. pylori infection and dental caries are present today in the same group of children examined previously. We reviewed the public dental health service files of 21 H. pylori-positive children (upper gastrointestinal endoscopy at a median age of 13.5 y) and 27 H. pylori-negative children (endoscopy at a median age of 12.5 y) examined during 1995-98 at the Helsinki University Central Hospital, Finland. All H. pylori-positive children had experienced dental caries in their primary or permanent teeth or in both whereas among H. pylori-negative children the respective proportion was 70% (p < 0.01). At the age of 7 y, 18% (3/17) of the H. pylori-positive children had experienced caries in permanent teeth as compared to 0% among H. pylori-negative children (0/24; p < 0.05). At the age of 12 y, H. pylori-positive children had more decayed, missing or filled permanent teeth than H. pylori-negative children (80% vs. 38%; p < 0.05). Although a causal relationship between H. pylori and dental caries is unlikely, it is possible that H. pylori-infected children have an increased risk of other health problems, such as dental caries, for which proper treatment is needed.

  18. Infection control: Knowledge and compliance among Saudi undergraduate dental students

    PubMed Central

    Al-Maweri, Sadeq Ali; Tarakji, Bassel; Shugaa-Addin, Bassam; Al-Shamiri, Hashem M.; Alaizari, Nader Ahmed; AlMasri, Ousamah

    2015-01-01

    Objective: This study aimed to assess the level of knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding infection control procedures among undergraduate dental students. Methods: This was a questionnaire-based cross-sectional survey. A self-administered questionnaire consisting of questions on students’ vaccination status as well as knowledge and attitudes regarding infection control was sent to 600 undergraduate dental students in the fourth, fifth, and sixth year of the Al-Farabi College for Dentistry and Nursing, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS software. The significance level was set at P<0.05. Results: The response rate was 85% (512 out of 600). While the vast majority of students (90%) had been vaccinated against hepatitis, only 37.4% have been assessed for anti-HBs. A total of 98.8% and 90.8% reported always wearing gloves and masks, respectively, during dental procedures. The use of protective eyewear was reported by only 29.2%. A significantly higher proportion of sixth-year students showed a positive attitude toward the treatment of patients with infectious diseases than other students of lower academic years. Approximately one-third of students reported having one or more occupational injuries while treating their patients. Conclusion: Although the students had good knowledge and attitudes regarding infection control, the compliance and practice levels regarding the same were low. Such findings highlight the necessity of continued infection-control education of Saudi dental students. PMID:26199855

  19. Infection control practices for dental radiography.

    PubMed

    Palenik, Charles John

    2004-06-01

    Infection control for dental radiography employs the same materials, processes, and techniques used in the operatory, yet unless proper procedures are established and followed, there is a definite potential for cross-contamination to clinical area surfaces and DHCP. In general, the aseptic practices used are relatively simple and inexpensive, yet they require complete application in every situation.

  20. Enterococcus faecalis and Candida albicans in the dental root canal and periapical infections.

    PubMed

    Kovac, J; Kovac, D; Slobodnikova, L; Kotulova, D

    2013-01-01

    The aim of the present study was to examine the prevalence of Enterococcus faecalis and Candida albicans in endodontic infections. Samples for microbiological examination were collected from 32 patients with deep dental caries, infected dental root canal, or periapical infection. Cultivation of the dental samples yielded four strains of Enterococcus faecalis (12.5 %), and three strains of Candida albicans (9.4 %). All Enterococcus faecalis isolates were susceptible to ampicillin, one isolate was resistant to tetracycline, two to erythromycin and azithromycin (additional 2 had intermediate susceptibility), and one strain had intermediate susceptibility to ciprofloxacin and moxifloxacin. We conclude that Enterococcus faecalis and Candida albicans can participate in the dental root canal and periapical infections, and the use of effective irrigant solutions and intracanal medicaments active against these microbes is important in order to prevent endodontic therapy failures. Unexpected was the isolation of C. albicans from a nine-year-old child with periodontitis apicalis. This finding must draw attention to the possibility that even at such a young age, this microorganism could be a potential etiological agent in endodontic infections (Tab. 2, Ref. 34). Text in PDF www.elis.sk.

  1. Today's minimal requirements for a practical dental office infection control and exposure control program.

    PubMed

    Terezhalmy, G T; Gitto, C A

    1998-10-01

    The current climate in society regarding infectious diseases in general, and herpes, hepatitis, and HIV infections in particular, dictates that today's dental practices must use effective infection control techniques. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration continues to inspect, cite, and fine health care facilities. More states are implementing regulations concerning the operation of health care facilities. Patients are becoming more sophisticated in their scrutinizing of the dental and medical professions' approach to asepsis. Media coverage of exposure incidents is becoming more intense. All these factors leave dentists no choice; they must implement appropriate infection control techniques. The life-time cost of effective infection control is far less than one malpractice settlement. Implementation of an effective infection control program to promote dental asepsis can be cost-effective. In addition, it can be a practice builder.

  2. Infections Control in North American Dental Schools.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sampson, Elise; Dhuru, Virendra B.

    1989-01-01

    Results from 1982 and 1987 surveys of dental schools concerning infection control issues found greater recent emphasis on instrument sterilization and barrier use, but some inconsistency and confusion concerning hepatitis B and HIV virus carrier patients and personnel. The information was used to develop guidelines for school policy formation.…

  3. A cross-sectional survey of dental caries, oral hygiene, and Helicobacter pylori infection in adults.

    PubMed

    Liu, Peng; Yue, Ji; Han, Shufang; Deng, Tianzheng; Fu, Chongjian; Zhu, Guoxiong; Chen, Dong

    2013-07-01

    We explored the epidemiological risk factors for dental caries to help explain differences in the prevalence of adult dental caries. We examined 841 people for the presence of Helicobacter pylori in their dental plaque and for dental caries. Of the 841 subjects, 574 (68.25%) were infected with H pylori, and 516 (61.36%) were diagnosed with dental caries. Among the 574 subjects with H pylori, the prevalence of dental caries was 73.52% (422/574), while the prevalence among the 267 cases without H pylori was 35.21% (94/267). A correlation existed between the presence of H pylori and the occurrence of dental caries (χ(2) = 112.8, P < .01, odds ratio = 5.110, 95% confidence interval = 3.740-6.982). The 574 persons with H pylori had a higher mean dental plaque index than those without. In conclusion, H pylori infection in the oral cavity is associated with dental caries and poor dental hygiene.

  4. Cross-infection and infection control in dentistry: Knowledge, attitude and practice of patients attended dental clinics in King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

    PubMed

    Ibrahim, Nahla K; Alwafi, Hebah A; Sangoof, Samaa O; Turkistani, Asraa K; Alattas, Bushra M

    The objective of the study was to determine the level of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) of patients attended dental clinics at King Abdulaziz University Hospital (KAUH) regarding cross infections and infection control in dentistry. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 225 patients who attended the dental clinics of KAUH, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 2014. A standardized, confidential, anonymous, interviewing questionnaire was used. Knowledge about dental infections was assessed by 12 MCQs. The attitudes were assessed through answering seven statements on a three- point Likert scale. Patients' self reported practices were also evaluated. Descriptive and inferential statistics were done. Results of the study revealed that 39.5%, 38.7% and 21.8% of the participants obtained poor, fair and satisfactory level of knowledge about infections and infection control in dentistry, respectively. Social media was the commonest source of information about dental infection. Participant's educational level was significantly associated with the level of knowledge about dental infection. Patients had positive attitudes towards infection control in dentistry. Regarding self-reported practice, only few participants would ask dentists about sterilization of dental instruments (9.3%), wearing face mask (13.3%) and gloves (16.4%) if they don't do so. In conclusion, our participants had good attitudes towards infection control in dentistry. However, their knowledge and practice need improvements. Conduction of educational programs is needed through social media, mass media, schools and public places. These programs involve both patients and providers. Copyright © 2016 King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Etiopathogenetic, clinical and histopathological aspects regarding the involvement of dental focal infection in premature births with fetal hypotrophy.

    PubMed

    Rîcă, Gabriel Radu; Badi, Claudia Paula; Rîcă, Ana Maria; Sîrbu, Carmen Mirela; Rîcă, Nicolae

    2014-01-01

    The study conducted on a total of 1344 preterm births, of which 403 hypotrophic fetuses births (between 2010-2012 within the Maternal Clinics of Craiova, Romania), studied the involvement of dental inflammatory infections in the chorioamnionitis onset. The possibility of transferring germs, toxins and degraded materials into the blood flow, and them entering the chorioamniotic structures is quite a common issue. Subclinically often evolving chorioamniotic membrane and its existence is clearly established after birth by histopathological and bacteriological examinations, being partially responsible for the growth delay of the conception product. Our study revealed this fact, by using clinical examinations, ultrasound exams, bacteriological determinations of the amniotic fluid and the placenta, alongside the histopathological examinations. The chorioamnionitis inflammatory process is responsible for premature birth, through a high synthesis of interleukins (IL) and prostaglandins, causing uterine contractions. Our IL-6 dosage determinations show its growth that can be considered a prediction marker for preterm birth.

  6. Infection control procedures used in conjunction with computed dental radiography.

    PubMed

    Hubar, J S; Gardiner, D M

    2000-10-01

    Infection control guidelines for dental radiography have been modified since 1986, when the American Dental Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention supported the concept of "universal blood and body fluid precautions." With the introduction of computed digital radiography, hardware manufacturers recommend that alternative infection control techniques are necessary to prevent potential damage to the digital x-ray sensors placed inside the patient's mouth. Thirty first-year dental hygiene students were asked to insert and remove a Schick CDR number 2 size intraoral digital x-ray sensor into modified Rinn XCP bitewing bite blocks and a modified Rinn Snap-a-ray five times with each of the recommended infection control covers. Reduced rates of cross contamination are possible if the plastic barrier envelope has an additional latex finger cot stretched over it and the x-ray sensor. Sole usage of a latex finger cot will result in a reduced incidence of contamination, but still not to acceptable levels. However, a plastic barrier envelope placed over the x-ray sensor and over the modified XCP bite block together or a covered sensor in a Snap-a-ray under normal conditions does not result in a perforation and is least likely to result in cross contamination.

  7. Focal seizure associated with human parvovirus B19 infection in a non-encephalopathic child.

    PubMed

    Samanta, Debopam; Willis, Erin

    2016-02-01

    The incidence of acute symptomatic (at the time of documented brain insult) seizures and single unprovoked seizures are 29-39 and 23-61 per 100 000 per year, respectively. After stabilization of the patient, finding the etiology of the seizure is of paramount importance. A careful history and physical examination may allow a diagnosis without need for further evaluation. In the literature, severe central nervous system involvement has been reported from human parvovirus B19 infection. We reported a previously healthy 7-year-old girl who presented after an episode of focal seizure. She was afebrile and didn't have any focal neurological abnormalities. She had erythematous malar rash along with reticulating pattern of rash over her both upper extremities. Parvovirus infection was suspected due to the characteristic erythematous malar rash. Serum human parvovirus B19 DNA polymerase chain reaction was positive which was consistent with acute parvovirus infection. Further confirmation of current infection was done with Sandwich enzyme immunoassays showing positive anti-B19 IgM Index (>1.1). IgG index was equivocal (0.9-1.1). We report an extremely rare presentation of non-febrile seizure from acute parvovirus infection in a child without encephalopathy who had an excellent recovery. Timely diagnosis can provide counselling regarding future seizure recurrence risk, curtail expenditure from expensive diagnostic work up and provide additional recommendations about potential risks to a pregnant caregiver.

  8. Dental infections increase the likelihood of hospital admissions among adult patients with sickle cell disease

    PubMed Central

    Laurence, B.; Haywood, C; Lanzkron, S.

    2014-01-01

    The objective To determine if dental infections increase the likelihood of hospital admission among adult patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). Basic Research Design Cross-sectional analysis of data from the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (NEDS) pooled for the years 2006 through 2008. Prevalence ratios (PR) for the effects of interest were estimated using Poisson regression with robust estimates of the variance. Participants Adults, aged 18 and over, diagnosed with SCD using ICD-9-CM codes excluding participants discharged with a code for sickle cell trait. Main outcome measure Emergency department (ED) visit disposition, dichotomised to represent whether or not the ED visit ended in admission versus being treated and released. Results Among patients having a sickle cell crisis, those with dental infections were 72% more likely to be admitted compared to those not having dental infections (PR=1.72, 95%CI 1.58-1.87). No association was observed among adult SCD patients not having a sickle crisis event. Based on preliminary data from this analysis, prevention of dental infection among patients with SCD could result in an estimated cost saving of $2.5 million dollars per year. Conclusions Having a dental infection complicated by a sickle cell crisis significantly increases the likelihood of hospital admission among adult SCD patients presenting to the ED. PMID:24151791

  9. Presentation and antimicrobial treatment of acute orofacial infections in general dental practice.

    PubMed

    Lewis, M A; Meechan, C; MacFarlane, T W; Lamey, P J; Kay, E

    1989-01-21

    Information on the presentation of orofacial infections and the use of antimicrobial agents in general dental practice in the United Kingdom was obtained using a postal questionnaire. Six hundred dentists were randomly selected and a total of 340 replies were received, giving a response rate of 57%. The dental practitioners estimated that acute infection was present in only a minority (approximately 5%) of patients. A total of seven different antibiotics were prescribed, in a variety of regimens, for the treatment of bacterial infection. However, the majority of dentists (46-62%) preferred a 5-day course of penicillin (250 mg, qid) for bacterial conditions other than acute ulcerative gingivitis, for which most practitioners (89%) prescribed 3 days of metronidazole (200 mg, tid). Nystatin was the most frequently selected anticandidal agent and topical acyclovir the most popular therapy for Herpes simplex infection.

  10. Dental Procedures and the Risk of Infective Endocarditis

    PubMed Central

    Chen, Pei-Chun; Tung, Ying-Chang; Wu, Patricia W.; Wu, Lung-Sheng; Lin, Yu-Sheng; Chang, Chee-Jen; Kung, Suefang; Chu, Pao-Hsien

    2015-01-01

    Abstract Infective endocarditis (IE) is an uncommon but potentially devastating disease. Recently published data have revealed a significant increase in the incidence of IE following the restriction on indications for antibiotic prophylaxis as recommended by the revised guidelines. This study aims to reexamine the basic assumption behind the rationale of prophylaxis that dental procedures increase the risk of IE. Using the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database of Taiwan, we retrospectively analyzed a total of 739 patients hospitalized for IE between 1999 and 2012. A case-crossover design was conducted to compare the odds of exposure to dental procedures within 3 months preceding hospitalization with that during matched control periods when no IE developed. In the unadjusted model, the odds ratio (OR) was 0.93 for tooth extraction (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.54–1.59), 1.64 for surgery (95% CI 0.61–4.42), 0.92 for dental scaling (95% CI 0.59–1.42), 1.69 for periodontal treatment (95% CI 0.88–3.21), and 1.29 for endodontic treatment (95% CI 0.72–2.31). The association between dental procedures and the risk of IE remained insignificant after adjustment for antibiotic use, indicating that dental procedures did not increase the risk of IE. Therefore, this result may argue against the conventional assumption on which the recommended prophylaxis for IE is based. PMID:26512586

  11. Oral and dental infections with anaerobic bacteria: clinical features, predominant pathogens, and treatment.

    PubMed

    Tanner, A; Stillman, N

    1993-06-01

    Microbial populations colonizing the teeth are a major source of pathogens responsible for oral and dental infections, including periodontal diseases, gingivitis, pericoronitis, endodontitis, peri-implantitis, and postextraction infections. Each entity has distinct clinical and microbial features. Bacterial species associated with oral infections include Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotella intermedia, Bacteroides forsythus, Campylobacter rectus, Eubacterium species, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Eikenella corrodens, and Peptostreptococcus micros. Treponema pallidum-related spirochetes have been associated with acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis. Porphyromonas endodontalis appears to be specifically related to endodontic infections. Oral infections in medically compromised patients, including those with AIDS, are associated with similar species and are usually complicated by superinfection with enteric and Candida species. Isolation of species causing oral infections requires the collection of appropriate samples and the use of strictly anaerobic techniques. Rapid selective culture, immunofluorescence, and DNA probe methods have been developed for the identification of these oral species. The varied measures required in the management of oral and dental infections may include antimicrobial therapy. Accurate microbiological diagnosis, including antibiotic susceptibility testing, is indicated for cases that do not respond to therapy.

  12. Modeling Dental Health Care Workers' Risk of Occupational Infection from Bloodborne Pathogens.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Capilouto, Eli; And Others

    1990-01-01

    The brief paper offers a model which permits quantification of the dental health care workers' risk of occupationally acquiring infection from bloodborne pathogens such as human immunodeficiency virus and hepatitis B virus. The model incorporates five parameters such as the probability that any individual patient is infected and number of patients…

  13. High prevalence of dental caries among HIV-infected children in West Africa compared to uninfected siblings.

    PubMed

    Rajonson, Noëlla; Meless, David; Ba, Boubacar; Faye, Malick; Diby, Jean-Serge; N'zore, Serge; Datté, Sébastien; Diecket, Lucrèce; N'Diaye, Clémentine; Aka, Edmond Addi; Kouakou, Kouadio; Ba, Abou; Ekouévi, Didier Koumavi; Dabis, François; Shiboski, Caroline; Arrivé, Elise

    2017-06-01

    The objectives of this study were to investigate the association between HIV infection and dental caries among children in West Africa, and to identify factors associated with dental caries among HIV-infected children. We conducted a multi-center cross-sectional study in Mali, Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire with a random sample of HIV-infected children aged 5-15 years on antiretroviral therapy and their uninfected siblings. A standardized examination was performed by calibrated dentists. The association between the number of decayed, missing or filled permanent and primary teeth surfaces (DMFdefS) and HIV status was investigated by fitting multivariable zero-inflated negative binomial models, for each age group (<12 and ≥12 years). Factors associated with dental caries could be investigated only for HIV-infected children <12 years old. The sample included 420 HIV-infected children and 418 non-infected siblings. The median DMFdefS was 7 for the HIV-infected children and 2 for the uninfected siblings. The proportion of children with DMFdefS ≥1 was significantly higher among the HIV-infected children than uninfected children (86.0 percent versus 64.4 percent, P < 0.001). The HIV-infected children were less likely to be caries-free than the uninfected siblings in both age groups. We found a higher degree of caries experience among HIV-infected children < 12 years old, in whom it was associated with sweet drink consumption, history of night bottle use, immunosuppression, and younger age at study entry. Although preventable, the burden of dental disease was high in children from families affected by HIV in West Africa and was associated with HIV infection and immunosuppression. © 2017 American Association of Public Health Dentistry.

  14. Oral and dental lesions in HIV infected Nigerian children.

    PubMed

    Oyedeji, Olusola Adetunji; Gbolahan, Olalere Omoyosola; Abe, Elizabeth Oluwatoyin; Agelebe, Efeturi

    2015-01-01

    Oral diseases in the HIV infected children though commonly encountered are under researched and often overlooked by physicians in developing countries. The aim of this study is to document the types and frequency of oral lesions in HIV infected children and examine the effects of management with HAART on their rates. A cross sectional study designed to identify the oral lesions in consecutive HIV infected children and their distribution at a Paediatric Anti-retroviral clinic. Information on oral disease and clinical features of the subjects were obtained by history and clinical examination and laboratory investigations by the pediatricians and dental surgeons. The 58 children studied consisted of 34 boys and 24 girls with their ages ranging from 3 months to 13 years. Thirty seven (63.8%) of the 58 children had oral diseases. Enamel hypoplasia, candidiasis, caries, angular chelitis, and herpes labialis were the most common oral lesions found in the patients. Oral soft tissue lesions were less frequently encountered among children on HAART. Statistical significance was recorded among those infected with candidiasis. More than 60% of the children diagnosed with oral disease had no knowledge of the state of their oral health before the study. Oral diseases are very common amongst the children studied. Awareness of oral disease among the children and their caregivers is low. Administration of HAART may have a preventive effect on the development of oral soft tissue disease. There is a need to integrate dental care into the paediatric HIV care programs.

  15. Focal retinal phlebitis.

    PubMed

    Hoang, Quan V; Freund, K Bailey; Klancnik, James M; Sorenson, John A; Cunningham, Emmett T; Yannuzzi, Lawrence A

    2012-01-01

    To report three cases of solitary, focal retinal phlebitis. An observational case series. Three eyes in three patients were noted to have unilateral decreased vision, macular edema, and a focal retinal phlebitis, which was not at an arteriovenous crossing. All three patients developed a branch retinal vein occlusion at the site of inflammation. These patients had no other evidence of intraocular inflammation, including vitritis, retinitis, retinal vasculitis, or choroiditis, nor was there any systemic disorder associated with inflammation, infection, or coagulation identified. Focal retinal phlebitis appears to be an uncommon and unique entity that produces macular edema and ultimately branch retinal vein occlusion. In our patients, the focal phlebitis and venous occlusion did not occur at an arteriovenous crossing, which is the typical site for branch retinal venous occlusive disease. This suggests that our cases represent a distinct clinical entity, which starts with a focal abnormality in the wall of a retinal venule, resulting in surrounding exudation and, ultimately, ends with branch retinal vein occlusion.

  16. Association of dental infections with systemic diseases in Brazilian Native Indigenous: a cross-sectional study.

    PubMed

    Ribeiro, Lívia S F; Santos, Jean N; Vieira, Carolina L Z; Caramelli, Bruno; Ramalho, Luciana M P; Cury, Patricia R

    2016-05-01

    The aim of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate the association between dental infections and systemic diseases in the Indigenous population of Brazil. A representative sample of 225 Indigenous (≥19 years) was assessed. The T-test and bivariate and logistic models were used to assess the associations of diabetes, hypertension, and obesity with dental caries and destructive periodontal disease. After adjustments for covariates, dental caries were associated with hypertension (odds ratio = 1.95; 95% confidence interval: 1.03-3.66; P = .04). Individuals with destructive periodontal disease had a higher systolic blood pressure (124 ± 20.34 mm Hg) than those without destructive periodontal disease (117.52 ± 16.54 mm Hg; P = .01). In conclusion, dental infections were found to be associated with hypertension in the present population. Thus, patients diagnosed with hypertension should be referred for dental evaluation and vice versa. Copyright © 2016 American Society of Hypertension. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. [Effect of furazolidone quadruple regimen plus dental plaque removal procedures as rescue treatment of refractory Helicobacter pylori infection].

    PubMed

    Gao, Wen; Hu, Fu-lian; Wang, Xiao-min

    2011-03-29

    To observe the effect of furazolidone quadruple regimen plus dental plaque removal procedures as rescue treatment of refractory H. pylori infection. A total of 104 patients with H. pylori positive [(13)C-urea breath test (UBT) or rapid urease test positive] failing in previous treatment two or more were enrolled and divided into 2 groups. One group (n = 64) were given quadruple regimen [proton pump inhibitor (PPI) + bismuth + amoxicillin + furazolidone, 10 days] treatment and dental plaque removal treatment. And the others (n = 40) received only quadruple regimen treatment. The status of H. pylori was detected by (13)C-UBT at 4 weeks post-therapy and the eradication rates of two groups were compared. The eradication rate of quadruple regimen + dental treatment group was 85.9% (55/64) while that of the other group 72.5% (29/40) (P = 0.091). The PPI + bismuth quadruple regimen plus dental plaque removal procedures as rescue treatment may boost the eradication rate of refractory H. pylori infection patients. And the furazolidone quadruple therapy can be chosen for the treatment of refractory H. pylori infection. Oral H. pylori infection may play a role in the failure of H. pylori infection treatment.

  18. Hospitalizations for dental infections: optimally versus nonoptimally fluoridated areas in Israel.

    PubMed

    Klivitsky, Amir; Tasher, Diana; Stein, Michal; Gavron, Etan; Somekh, Eli

    2015-03-01

    Odontogenic infections may result in local, systemic, and even potentially life-threatening complications. The authors investigated whether water fluoridation was associated with reduction in rates of hospitalizations due to odontogenic infections. The authors included cities in Israel that had fluoride concentrations of either 0.7 milligrams per liter or more (optimally fluoridated) or 0.5 mg/L or less (nonoptimally fluoridated) and that had a public water fluoride concentration consistent for the last decade. The authors compared hospitalization rates (per 10,000 children) for odontogenic infections in children younger than 18 years in each socioeconomic group between optimally and nonoptimally fluoridated cities. The authors included 1,413 hospitalizations between January 2005 and December 2011 of children residing in the 38 studied municipalities. The cities with the higher fluoride concentration reported a lower hospitalization rate (2.0 versus 4.3 for cities with a lower fluoride concentration; relative risk [RR]: 2.16; P < .001). When the authors divided cities into 3 socioeconomic groups, a large difference in hospitalization rates was seen in the lowest socioeconomic group (10.1 versus 2.6; RR: 3.79; P < .001) and the middle socioeconomic group (3.6 versus 1.9; RR: 2.35; P < .001) in optimally and nonoptimally fluoridated cities, respectively. No significant difference in hospitalization rates was apparent between the 2 fluoridation groups in the higher socioeconomic level. These results clearly indicate that there is an association between adequacy of water fluoridation and hospitalization due to dental infections among children and adolescents. This effect is more prominent in populations of lower socioeconomic status. Water fluoridation is associated with reduction in dental health disparity. Copyright © 2015 American Dental Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Role of dental plaque, saliva and periodontal disease in Helicobacter pylori infection

    PubMed Central

    Anand, Pradeep S; Kamath, Kavitha P; Anil, Sukumaran

    2014-01-01

    Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is one of the most common bacterial infections in humans. Although H. pylori may be detected in the stomach of approximately half of the world’s population, the mechanisms of transmission of the microorganism from individual to individual are not yet clear. Transmission of H. pylori could occur through iatrogenic, fecal-oral, and oral-oral routes, and through food and water. The microorganism may be transmitted orally and has been detected in dental plaque and saliva. However, the role of the oral cavity in the transmission and recurrence of H. pylori infection has been the subject of debate. A large number of studies investigating the role of oral hygiene and periodontal disease in H. pylori infection have varied significantly in terms of their methodology and sample population, resulting in a wide variation in the reported results. Nevertheless, recent studies have not only shown that the microorganism can be detected fairly consistently from the oral cavity but also demonstrated that the chances of recurrence of H. pylori infection is more likely among patients who harbor the organism in the oral cavity. Furthermore, initial results from clinical trials have shown that H. pylori-positive dyspeptic patients may benefit from periodontal therapy. This paper attempts to review the current body of evidence regarding the role of dental plaque, saliva, and periodontal disease in H. pylori infection. PMID:24914323

  20. Role of dental plaque, saliva and periodontal disease in Helicobacter pylori infection.

    PubMed

    Anand, Pradeep S; Kamath, Kavitha P; Anil, Sukumaran

    2014-05-21

    Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is one of the most common bacterial infections in humans. Although H. pylori may be detected in the stomach of approximately half of the world's population, the mechanisms of transmission of the microorganism from individual to individual are not yet clear. Transmission of H. pylori could occur through iatrogenic, fecal-oral, and oral-oral routes, and through food and water. The microorganism may be transmitted orally and has been detected in dental plaque and saliva. However, the role of the oral cavity in the transmission and recurrence of H. pylori infection has been the subject of debate. A large number of studies investigating the role of oral hygiene and periodontal disease in H. pylori infection have varied significantly in terms of their methodology and sample population, resulting in a wide variation in the reported results. Nevertheless, recent studies have not only shown that the microorganism can be detected fairly consistently from the oral cavity but also demonstrated that the chances of recurrence of H. pylori infection is more likely among patients who harbor the organism in the oral cavity. Furthermore, initial results from clinical trials have shown that H. pylori-positive dyspeptic patients may benefit from periodontal therapy. This paper attempts to review the current body of evidence regarding the role of dental plaque, saliva, and periodontal disease in H. pylori infection.

  1. How to Tackle Natural Focal Infections: From Risk Assessment to Vaccination Strategies.

    PubMed

    Busani, Luca; Platonov, Alexander E; Ergonul, Onder; Rezza, Giovanni

    2017-01-01

    Natural focal diseases are caused by biological agents associated with specific landscapes. The natural focus of such diseases is defined as any natural ecosystem containing the pathogen's population as an essential component. In such context, the agent circulates independently on human presence, and humans may become accidentally infected through contact with vectors or reservoirs. Some viruses (i.e., tick-borne encephalitis and Congo-Crimean hemorrhagic fever virus) are paradigmatic examples of natural focal diseases. When environmental changes, increase of reservoir/vector populations, demographic pressure, and/or changes in human behavior occur, increased risk of exposure to the pathogen may lead to clusters of cases or even to larger outbreaks. Intervention is often not highly cost-effective, thus only a few examples of large-scale or even targeted vaccination campaigns are reported in the international literature. To develop intervention models, risk assessment through disease mapping is an essential component of the response against these neglected threats and key to the design of prevention strategies, especially when effective vaccines against the disease are available.

  2. Focal Point Theory Models for Dissecting Dynamic Duality Problems of Microbial Infections

    PubMed Central

    Huang, S.-H.; Zhou, W.; Jong, A.

    2008-01-01

    Extending along the dynamic continuum from conflict to cooperation, microbial infections always involve symbiosis (Sym) and pathogenesis (Pat). There exists a dynamic Sym-Pat duality (DSPD) in microbial infection that is the most fundamental problem in infectomics. DSPD is encoded by the genomes of both the microbes and their hosts. Three focal point (FP) theory-based game models (pure cooperative, dilemma, and pure conflict) are proposed for resolving those problems. Our health is associated with the dynamic interactions of three microbial communities (nonpathogenic microbiota (NP) (Cooperation), conditional pathogens (CP) (Dilemma), and unconditional pathogens (UP) (Conflict)) with the hosts at different health statuses. Sym and Pat can be quantitated by measuring symbiotic index (SI), which is quantitative fitness for the symbiotic partnership, and pathogenic index (PI), which is quantitative damage to the symbiotic partnership, respectively. Symbiotic point (SP), which bears analogy to FP, is a function of SI and PI. SP-converting and specific pathogen-targeting strategies can be used for the rational control of microbial infections. PMID:18350122

  3. Knowledge, Attitude, Practice, and Status of Infection Control among Iranian Dentists and Dental Students: A Systematic Review

    PubMed Central

    Moradi Khanghahi, Behnam; Jamali, Zahra; Pournaghi Azar, Fatemeh; Naghavi Behzad, Mohammad; Azami-Aghdash, Saber

    2013-01-01

    Background and aims Infection control is an important issue in dentistry, and the dentists are primarily responsible for observing the relevant procedures. Therefore, the present study evaluated knowledge, attitude, practice, and status of infection control among Iranian dentists through systematic review of published results. Materials and methods In this systematic review, the required data was collected searching for keywords including infection, infection control, behavior, performance, practice, attitude, knowledge, dent*, prevention, Iran* and their Persian equivalents in PubMed, Science Direct, Iranmedex, SID, Medlib, and Magiran databases with a time limit of 1985 to 2012. Out of 698 articles, 15 completely related articles were finally considered and the rest were excluded due to lake of relev-ance to the study goals. The required data were extracted and summarized in an Extraction Table and were analyzed ma-nually. Results Evaluating the results of studies indicated inappropriate knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding infection control among Iranian dentists and dental students. Using personal protection devices and observing measures required for infection control were not in accordance with global standards. Conclusion The knowledge, attitudes, and practice of infection control in Iranian dental settings were found to be inadequate. Therefore, dentists should be educated more on the subject and special programs should be in place to monitor the dental settings for observing infection control standards. PMID:23875081

  4. Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practice of Infection Control among Dental Students at Sana’a University, Yemen

    PubMed Central

    Halboub, Esam Saleh; Al-Maweri, Sadeq Ali; Al-Jamaei, Aisha Ahmed; Tarakji, Bassel; Al-Soneidar, Walid Ahmed

    2015-01-01

    Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding infection control procedures among senior dental students. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire-based cross-sectional survey was conducted among 145 4th- and 5th-year dental students at the Faculty of Dentistry, Sana’a University, Yemen. The self-administered questionnaire was comprised of 20 open- and close-ended items regarding barrier techniques, vaccination status, infection control practices, and awareness. Data were analyzed with a Chi-square test. A P ≤ 0.05 was considered significant. Results: The response rate was 72% (145 out of 204 potential respondents). Overall, 71.7% of the students had been vaccinated for hepatitis B and only 9.5% were tested for post-hepatitis B virus immunization serology. While the vast majority (96.6%) reported always wearing gloves for all dental procedures, the use of face masks and eyewear were reported by only 53.8% and 14.0% of students, respectively, with no significant difference between genders and year of study (P > 0.05). A significantly higher percentage of 5th-year students (58.9%) showed positive attitudes toward the treatment of patients with infectious diseases, as compared to only 31.0% of 4th year students (P < 0.01). A great number of students (62%) reported non-sterile occupational percutaneous and mucous injuries while treating their patients. Conclusions: These unsatisfactory findings highlight the necessity of continued infection control education in order to improve knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding infection control among dental students at Sana’a University. PMID:26028896

  5. Infection Control Measures in Private Dental Clinics in Lebanon.

    PubMed

    Dagher, Jihad; Sfeir, Charles; Abdallah, Ahmad; Majzoub, Zeina

    2017-01-01

    Evaluate infection control knowledge, attitude, and practice in Lebanese private dental clinics. A survey including 46 questions related to routine safety procedures was sent to 1150 Lebanese dentists between July 1st and 2nd, 2015. The study sample was selected from the database of registered dentists based on a proportional random sampling ensuring equitable representation of the 5 geographic regions of Lebanon. A subset of 29 questions was used to generate an overall score of compliance (excellent, good, fair, and poor). Comparisons according to gender, type, region, and years of practice were performed. 417 dentists returned the completed questionnaires. 96% expressed concern about infection transmission, 90.6% were vaccinated against Hepatitis B, and 61.8% asked routinely about patients medical history. Only 43% used protective eyewear. Although most dentists (65%) used autoclaves, dry heat was still used. Significant correlations were found between gender and use of personal protective equipment. Less compliance was shown by clinicians with fewer years of experience. In the overall compliance questionnaire, the mean percentage of correct answers was roughly 54% with <5% of the practitioners scoring "excellent." Conclusions . The study found inadequacy of compliance in private Lebanese dental clinics necessitating improved educational training and sustained monitoring by regulatory bodies.

  6. Infection Control Measures in Private Dental Clinics in Lebanon

    PubMed Central

    Sfeir, Charles

    2017-01-01

    Purpose Evaluate infection control knowledge, attitude, and practice in Lebanese private dental clinics. Materials and Methods A survey including 46 questions related to routine safety procedures was sent to 1150 Lebanese dentists between July 1st and 2nd, 2015. The study sample was selected from the database of registered dentists based on a proportional random sampling ensuring equitable representation of the 5 geographic regions of Lebanon. A subset of 29 questions was used to generate an overall score of compliance (excellent, good, fair, and poor). Comparisons according to gender, type, region, and years of practice were performed. Results 417 dentists returned the completed questionnaires. 96% expressed concern about infection transmission, 90.6% were vaccinated against Hepatitis B, and 61.8% asked routinely about patients medical history. Only 43% used protective eyewear. Although most dentists (65%) used autoclaves, dry heat was still used. Significant correlations were found between gender and use of personal protective equipment. Less compliance was shown by clinicians with fewer years of experience. In the overall compliance questionnaire, the mean percentage of correct answers was roughly 54% with <5% of the practitioners scoring “excellent.” Conclusions. The study found inadequacy of compliance in private Lebanese dental clinics necessitating improved educational training and sustained monitoring by regulatory bodies. PMID:28642792

  7. Does the presence of the Helicobacter pylori in the dental plaque associate with its gastric infection? A meta-analysis and systematic review.

    PubMed

    Navabi, Nader; Aramon, Moein; Mirzazadeh, Ali

    2011-10-01

    There is a great deal of studies on the relationship between the existence of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) in oral cavity (dental plaque) and in stomach of patients, with conflicting results worldwide. The purpose of this study was to systematically review the existing litreature to assess if the dental plaque could be a source of gastric H. pylori infection and to explore the source of heterogeneity around it. We searched all the papers published since 2000 on international (Medline, ISI, Embase) databases using standard keywords. Two researchers evaluated the articles with standard critical appraisal form independently and those articles with the quality acquired greater than 70% were included in the study. The combined results were calculated with weighted average and the source of hetrogeneity was tested by meta-regression (random) model. Finally, 23 studies were included (1861 patients). The prevalence of co-infection of gastric and dental plaque H. pylori was 49.7% (95% CI 16-83.4%) and the percent of agreement between the dental plaque H. pylori status and the gastric H. pylori was estimated as 82%. Only one study has reported that dental treatment has a preventive effect on the recurrence of gastric H. pylori infection. Co-infection of gastric H. pylori and dental plaque is reported by half of the studies. However, there is not enough evidence for the efficacy of dental treatment on prevention of recurrent gastric H. pylori infection.

  8. Does the presence of the Helicobacter pylori in the dental plaque associate with its gastric infection? A meta-analysis and systematic review

    PubMed Central

    Navabi, Nader; Aramon, Moein; Mirzazadeh, Ali

    2011-01-01

    Background: There is a great deal of studies on the relationship between the existence of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) in oral cavity (dental plaque) and in stomach of patients, with conflicting results worldwide. The purpose of this study was to systematically review the existing litreature to assess if the dental plaque could be a source of gastric H. pylori infection and to explore the source of heterogeneity around it. Methods: We searched all the papers published since 2000 on international (Medline, ISI, Embase) databases using standard keywords. Two researchers evaluated the articles with standard critical appraisal form independently and those articles with the quality acquired greater than 70% were included in the study. The combined results were calculated with weighted average and the source of hetrogeneity was tested by meta-regression (random) model. Results: Finally, 23 studies were included (1861 patients). The prevalence of co-infection of gastric and dental plaque H. pylori was 49.7% (95% CI 16–83.4%) and the percent of agreement between the dental plaque H. pylori status and the gastric H. pylori was estimated as 82%. Only one study has reported that dental treatment has a preventive effect on the recurrence of gastric H. pylori infection. Conclusion: Co-infection of gastric H. pylori and dental plaque is reported by half of the studies. However, there is not enough evidence for the efficacy of dental treatment on prevention of recurrent gastric H. pylori infection. PMID:22135688

  9. Does access to general dental treatment affect the number and complexity of patients presenting to the acute hospital service with severe dentofacial infections?

    PubMed

    Bowe, Conor M; Gargan, Mary Louise; Kearns, Gerard J; Stassen, Leo F A

    2015-01-01

    This is a retrospective study to review the treatment and management of patients presenting with odontogenic infections in a large urban teaching hospital over a four-year period, comparing the number and complexity of odontogenic infections presenting to an acute general hospital in two periods, as follows: Group A (January 2008 to March 2010) versus Group B (April 2010 to December 2011). The background to the study is 'An alteration in patient access to primary dental care instituted by the Department of Health in April 2010'. a) to identify any alteration in the pattern and complexity of patients' presentation with odontogenic infections following recent changes in access to treatment via the Dental Treatment Services Scheme (DTSS) and the Dental Treatment Benefit Scheme (DTBS) in April 2010; and, b) to evaluate the management of severe odontogenic infections. Data was collated by a combination of a comprehensive chart review and electronic patient record analysis based on the primary discharge diagnosis as recorded in the Hospital In-Patient Enquiry (HIPE) system. Fifty patients were admitted to the National Maxillofacial Unit, St James's Hospital, under the oral and maxillofacial service over a four-year period, with an odontogenic infection as the primary diagnosis. There was an increased number of patients presenting with odontogenic infections during Group B of the study. These patients showed an increased complexity and severity of infection. Although there was an upward trend in the numbers and complexity of infections, this trending did not reach statistical significance. The primary cause of infection was dental caries in all patients. Dental caries is a preventable and treatable disease. Increased resources should be made available to support access to dental care, and thereby lessen the potential for the morbidity and mortality associated with serious odontogenic infections. The study at present continues as a prospective study.

  10. Focal epithelial hyperplasia arising after delivery of metal-ceramic fixed dental prosthesis.

    PubMed

    Park, Min-Woo; Cho, Young-Ah; Kim, Soung-Min; Myoung, Hoon; Lee, Jong-Ho; Lee, Suk-Keun

    2014-12-01

    Focal epithelial hyperplasia (FEH) is a human papillomavirus (HPV)-induced alteration of the oral mucosa that presents with a clinically distinct appearance. While other HPV-infected lesions such as squamous papilloma, verruca vulgaris, and condyloma acuminatum involve the skin, oral mucosa, and genital mucosa, FEH occurs only in the oral mucosa. The affected oral mucosa exhibits multiple papules and nodules with each papule/nodule being flat-topped or sessile. The affected region resembles the normal color of oral mucosa rather than appearing as a white color since the epithelial surface is not hyperkeratinized. Almost all cases present with multiple sites of occurrence. This rare, benign epithelial proliferation is related to low-risk HPV, especially HPV-13 and -32, and is not transformed into carcinoma. We report a case of FEH that arose on the attached gingiva of an East Asian male adult related to prosthesis without detection of any HPV subtype in HPV DNA chip and sequencing.

  11. Computed tomography in the management of orbital infections associated with dental disease.

    PubMed Central

    Flood, T. P.; Braude, L. S.; Jampol, L. M.; Herzog, S.

    1982-01-01

    Two patients developed orbital infection secondary to dental infections. In one patient the infection spread from maxillary premolar and molar teeth to the infratemporal and pterygopalatine fossa and then through the inferior orbital fissure to the subperiosteal space. A subperiosteal abscess in the posterior orbital wall developed, which subsequently spread within the muscle cone. In the second patient infection of an anterior maxillary tooth caused a pansinusitis and unilateral orbital cellulitis. In both patients computed tomographic scanning of the orbit proved valuable in localising the infection and, in one case, planning a surgical approach to the orbit. The infection in both patients responded to treatment, with no permanent visual impairment. Appropriate antibiotics and prompt identification and surgical drainage of orbital abscesses are essential for the preservation of vision in cases of orbital infection. Images PMID:7066283

  12. Breaking the Chain of Infection: Dental Unit Water Quality Control.

    PubMed

    Pawar, Amrita; Garg, Sandeep; Mehta, Sonia; Dang, Rajat

    2016-07-01

    The air-water syringes, ultrasonic scalers, high speed air turbine handpieces are connected to dental units by a network of small-bore plastic tubes through which water and air travel to activate or cool the instruments and it had been shown that this system is extensively contaminated with microbial biofilms and pose a potential risk of infection for patients as well as dental professionals. To evaluate and compare the efficacy of various disinfectants in reducing the microbial colony count in water derived from Dental Unit Waterlines. Five random dental units were selected and samples were collected before and after intervention with 5 disinfectants (0.02% H2O2 continuously, 0.02% H2O2 continuously with shock treatment with 0.25% H2O2 weekly, 0.12% Chlorohexidine and 12% Ethanol overnight, 1:50 Original Listerine overnight, 2% Sodium Perborate and 2% EDTA 5 minutes in morning) using different disinfection methods for 4 weeks. Samples were cultured on Reasoner's 2A (R2A) agar for microbial counting. Results were recorded as Colony forming units/ml (cfu/ml) and were evaluated statistically. Results showed that all the dental unit waterlines were heavily contaminated with microbes before any intervention. After 1 day of disinfection regime the counts reduced significantly and showed progressive reduction in consecutive weeks. Goals set by ADA & CDC were ultimately achieved at the end of 4 weeks. All the disinfectants were equally effective in reducing the microbial colony count of DUWLs, irrespective of their concentration and method of disinfection.

  13. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and infection control for restorative dental treatment in nursing homes.

    PubMed

    Hall, David L

    2003-01-01

    The prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in nursing home residents now averages 20-35%. This includes both numerous asymptomatic mostly unidentified carriers, and the occasional patient with an active infection. Among the most common sites for positive MRSA colonization are the nares and mouth (saliva). Ohio State University (OSU) dental students perform routine restorative dental care onsite in local nursing homes using portable equipment including handpieces that can generate aerosols. Using a series of cultured test swabs and plates, this pilot study suggests that protection for both dental health care personnel and patients are provided by the following: 1. universal barrier precautions (for example, gloves, gowns, masks, hats, facial shields, glasses), 2. surface disinfectants, 3. pre-op 0.12% chlorhexidene mouth rinses, 4. high volume evacuation, 5. perioral skin scrubs. Additional infection control methods, techniques and equipment were evaluated and compared including rubber dam isolation, hand excavation and bond technique, high-speed air turbine and electric "high" speed handpiece. There was no indication of a special tendency or heightened ability of MRSA to aerosolize.

  14. Group A beta streptococcal infections in children after oral or dental trauma: a case series of 5 patients.

    PubMed

    Goldberg, Brittany E; Sulman, Cecile G; Chusid, Michael J

    2015-01-01

    Group A streptococcus (GAS) produces a variety of disease processes in children. Severe invasive diseases such as necrotizing fasciitis can result. Traumatic dental injuries are common in the pediatric population, although the role of dental injuries in invasive GAS disease is not well characterized. In this article, we describe our retrospective series of 5 cases of GAS infection following oral or dental trauma in children.

  15. Breaking the Chain of Infection: Dental Unit Water Quality Control

    PubMed Central

    Pawar, Amrita; Mehta, Sonia; Dang, Rajat

    2016-01-01

    Introduction The air–water syringes, ultrasonic scalers, high speed air turbine handpieces are connected to dental units by a network of small-bore plastic tubes through which water and air travel to activate or cool the instruments and it had been shown that this system is extensively contaminated with microbial biofilms and pose a potential risk of infection for patients as well as dental professionals. Aim To evaluate and compare the efficacy of various disinfectants in reducing the microbial colony count in water derived from Dental Unit Waterlines. Materials and Methods Five random dental units were selected and samples were collected before and after intervention with 5 disinfectants (0.02% H2O2 continuously, 0.02% H2O2 continuously with shock treatment with 0.25% H2O2 weekly, 0.12% Chlorohexidine and 12% Ethanol overnight, 1:50 Original Listerine overnight, 2% Sodium Perborate and 2% EDTA 5 minutes in morning) using different disinfection methods for 4 weeks. Samples were cultured on Reasoner’s 2A (R2A) agar for microbial counting. Results Results were recorded as Colony forming units/ml (cfu/ml) and were evaluated statistically. Results showed that all the dental unit waterlines were heavily contaminated with microbes before any intervention. After 1 day of disinfection regime the counts reduced significantly and showed progressive reduction in consecutive weeks. Goals set by ADA & CDC were ultimately achieved at the end of 4 weeks. Conclusion All the disinfectants were equally effective in reducing the microbial colony count of DUWLs, irrespective of their concentration and method of disinfection. PMID:27630960

  16. Prevalence and associated risk factors of latent tuberculosis infection among undergraduate and postgraduate dental students: A retrospective study.

    PubMed

    Lamberti, Monica; Muoio, Maria Rosaria; Westermann, Claudia; Nienhaus, Albert; Arnese, Antonio; Ribeiro Sobrinho, Antônio Paulino; Di Giuseppe, Gabriella; Garzillo, Elpidio Maria; Crispino, Vincenzo; Coppola, Nicola; De Rosa, Alfredo

    2017-03-04

    To estimate the prevalence of latent tuberculosis (TB) infection (LTBI) in Italian dental students exposed to the same occupational risks as dental health care personnel and to evaluate potential risk factors, a cross-sectional study was conducted on undergraduate and postgraduate students. After clinical evaluation, students were given a tuberculin skin test; in those found positive, an interferon-γ release assay (IGRA) was conducted. Of the 281 students enrolled, 10 were only TST positive; 8 were TST or/and IGRA positive. We found that participants testing positive at TST and/or IGRA, a group in which the risk of false LTBI positives is minimal, were older and had been studying longer. Although the prevalence of LTBI among dental students in our study was low, a risk of acquiring a work-related infection exists even in a country with a low incidence of TB. Thus, dental students should be screened to catch LTBI early on.

  17. Dental negligence.

    PubMed

    Tay, C S

    2000-02-01

    Medical and dental errors and negligence are again in the spotlight in recent news report. Dead because of doctor's bad handwriting Prescribing drug overdoses Germ-infested soap pumps--infections in hospitals This articles explains dental negligence including dental duty of care and the standard of care expected of dentists in relation to the Bolam principle.

  18. Quality assurance in digital dental radiography--justification and dose reduction in dental and maxillofacial radiology.

    PubMed

    Hellstern, F; Geibel, M-A

    2012-01-01

    To evaluate the implementation of quality assurance requirements for digital dental radiography in routine clinical practice. The results should be discussed by radiation protection authorities in the context of the relevant legal requirements and current debates on radiation protection. Two hundred digital dental radiographs were randomly selected from the digital database of the Department of Dentistry's Dental and Maxillofacial Surgery Clinic, Ulm University, and evaluated for various aspects of image quality and compliance with radiographic documentation requirements. The dental films were prepared by different radiology assistants (RAs) using one of two digital intraoral radiographic systems: Sirona Heliodent DS, 60 kV, focal spot size: 0.7 mm (group A) or KaVo Gendex 765 DC, 65 kV, focal spot size: 0.4 mm (group B). Radiographic justification was documented in 70.5% of cases, and the radiographic findings in 76.5%. Both variables were documented in the patient records as well as in the software in 14% of cases. Clinical documentation of the required information (name of the responsible dentist and radiology assistant, date, patient name, department, tube voltage, tube current, exposure time, type of radiograph, film size, department and serial number of the dental radiograph) was 100% complete in all cases. Moreover, the department certified according to DIN ISO 9001:2008 specifications demonstrated complete clinical documentation of radiographic justifications and radiographic findings. The entire dentition was visible on 83% of the digital films. The visible area corresponded to the target region on 85.7% of the digital dental radiographs. Seven to 8.5% of the images were classified as "hypometric" or "hypermetric". This study indicates that improvements in radiology training and continuing education fordentists and dental staff performing x-ray examinations are needed to ensure consistent high quality of digital dental radiography. Implementation of

  19. Association between maternal dental periapical infections and pregnancy outcomes: results from a cross-sectional study in Malawi.

    PubMed

    Harjunmaa, Ulla; Järnstedt, Jorma; Alho, Lotta; Dewey, Kathryn G; Cheung, Yin Bun; Deitchler, Megan; Ashorn, Ulla; Maleta, Kenneth; Klein, Nigel J; Ashorn, Per

    2015-11-01

    Maternal infections are associated with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and preterm birth (PTB). Dental infections are common in low-income settings, but their contribution to adverse pregnancy outcomes is unknown. We studied the epidemiology of dental periapical infections among pregnant women and their association to foetal growth restriction and the duration of pregnancy in a rural sub-Saharan African population. This was a cross-sectional study on the association between maternal dental periapical infections and birth outcomes, in Malawi, Africa. We assessed oral health clinically and radiologically among recently delivered women with known duration of pregnancy and measured birthweight (BW), length and head circumference of their infants. Of 1024 analysed participants, 23.5% had periapical infections. Mean duration of pregnancy was 39.4 weeks, BW 2979 g and length 49.7 cm. Women with periapical infection had mean (95% CI) pregnancy duration 0.4 weeks (0.1-0.8) shorter and delivered infants with 79 g (13-145) lower BW and 0.5 cm (0.2-0.9) shorter neonatal length than women without periapical infection. The incidence of PTB was 10.0% among women with periapical infection and 7.3% among those without (adjusted difference 3.5%, 95% CI -1.1-8.1%). Corresponding prevalences for stunting were 20.9% and 14.2% (adjusted difference 9.0%, 95% CI 2.7%-15.2%). The population-attributable risk fraction attributable to periapical infection was 9.7% for PTB and 12.8% for stunting. Periapical infection was associated with shorter pregnancy duration and IUGR in the study area; interventions addressing this risk factor may improve birth outcomes in low-income settings. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  20. Metal TiO2 Nanotube Layers for the Treatment of Dental Implant Infections.

    PubMed

    Roguska, Agata; Belcarz, Anna; Zalewska, Justyna; Hołdyński, Marcin; Andrzejczuk, Mariusz; Pisarek, Marcin; Ginalska, Grazyna

    2018-05-23

    Titanium oxide nanotube layers with silver and zinc nanoparticles are attracting increasing attention in the design of bone and dental implants due to their antimicrobial potential and their ability to control host cell adhesion, growth, and differentiation. However, recent reports indicate that the etiology of dental infections is more complex than has been previously considered. Therefore, the antimicrobial potential of dental implants should be evaluated against at least several different microorganisms cooperating in human mouth colonization. In this study, Ag and Zn nanoparticles incorporated into titanium oxide nanotubular layers were studied with regard to how they affect Candida albicans, Candida parapsilosis, and Streptococcus mutans. Layers of titanium oxide nanotubes with an average diameter of 110 nm were fabricated by electrochemical anodization, annealed at 650 °C, and modified with approx. 5 wt % Ag or Zn nanoparticles. The surfaces were examined with the scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray analysis, scanning transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy techniques and subjected to evaluation of microbial-killing and microbial adhesion-inhibiting potency. In a 1.5 h long adhesion test, the samples were found more effective toward yeast strains than toward S. mutans. In a release-killing test, the microorganisms were almost completely eliminated by the samples, either within 3 h of contact (for S. mutans) or 24 h of contact (for both yeast strains). Although further improvement is advisable, it seems that Ag and Zn nanoparticles incorporated into TiO 2 nanotubular surfaces provide a powerful tool for reducing the incidence of bone implant infections. Their high bidirectional activity (against both Candida species and S. mutans) makes the layers tested particularly promising for the design of dental implants.

  1. Occupational risk for Legionella infection among dental healthcare workers: meta-analysis in occupational epidemiology.

    PubMed

    Petti, Stefano; Vitali, Matteo

    2017-07-13

    The occupational risk for Legionella infection among dental healthcare workers (DHCWs) is conjectured because of the risk of routine inhalation of potentially contaminated aerosols produced by the dental instruments. Nevertheless, occupational epidemiology studies are contrasting. This meta-analysis assessed the level of scientific evidence regarding the relative occupational risk for Legionella infection among DHCWs. Literature search was performed without time and language restrictions, using broad data banks (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, GOOGLE Scholar) and generic keywords ('legionella' AND 'dent*'). Analytical cross-sectional studies comparing prevalence of high serum Legionella antibody levels in DHCWs and occupationally unexposed individuals were considered. The relative occupational risk was assessed through prevalence ratio (PR) with 95% CI. Between-study heterogeneity was assessed (Cochran's Q test) and was used to choose the meta-analytic method. Study quality (modified Newcastle-Ottawa Scale) and publication bias (Begg and Mazumdar's test, Egger and colleagues' test, trim and fill R 0 method) were assessed formally and considered for the sensitivity analysis. Sensitivity analysis to study inclusion, subgroup analyses (dental staff categories; publication year, before vs after 1998, ie, 5 years after the release by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the infection control guidelines in dental healthcare setting) were performed. Seven studies were included (2232 DHCWs, 1172 occupationally unexposed individuals). No evidence of publication bias was detected. The pooled PR estimate was statistically non-significant at 95% level (1.7; 95% CI 0.8 to 3.2), study-quality adjustment did not change the PR considerably (PR, 1.5; 95% CI 0.5 to 4.1). PR was statistically significant before 1998 and no longer significant after 1998. Subgroup analysis according to DHCW categories was inconclusive. There is no scientific evidence that DHCWs are

  2. Study on the relationship between Helicobacter pylori in the dental plaque and the occurrence of dental caries or oral hygiene index.

    PubMed

    Liu, Ying; Lin, Huanjian; Bai, Yang; Qin, Xiaoshu; Zheng, Xin; Sun, Yong; Zhang, Yali

    2008-08-01

    The aims of our study were to determine the presence of Helicobacter pylori DNA in the dental plaque of Chinese children aged 3-6 years by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and to investigate the relationship between this infection and the occurrence of dental caries or oral hygiene index. Two hundred and fourteen children from a kindergarten in Guangzhou City of China were evaluated. The children's plaques were assessed by plaque indices of Quigley-Hein. Dental plaque was analyzed using nested PCR for two sets of primers directed to the 860-bp fragment of H. pylori genomic DNA, which have been reported to be highly sensitive and specific by other researchers. H. pylori was detected in dental plaque samples from 126 children, and 70 children with dental caries carried H. pylori in dental plaque. Of these children without infection, only 36 of 88 suffered dental caries. Besides, the average dental plaque index of 126 H. pylori-positive children was higher than that of 88 children without infection. In the present study, there was a significant correlation between H. pylori infection and dental caries or dental hygiene. The oral cavity may be a reservoir for H. pylori infection in children. H. pylori in dental plaque may play a role in the occurrence of dental caries, and poor oral hygiene may represent a risk factor for H. pylori in the oral cavity.

  3. Acute dental infections managed in an outpatient parenteral antibiotic program setting: prospective analysis and public health implications.

    PubMed

    Connors, William J; Rabie, Heidi H; Figueiredo, Rafael L; Holton, Donna L; Parkins, Michael D

    2017-03-09

    The number of Acute Dental Infections (ADI) presenting for emergency department (ED) care are steadily increasing. Outpatient Parenteral Antibiotic Therapy (OPAT) programs are increasingly utilized as an alternative cost-effective approach to the management of serious infectious diseases but their role in the management of severe ADI is not established. This study aims to address this knowledge gap through evaluation of ADI referrals to a regional OPAT program in a large Canadian center. All adult ED and OPAT program ADI referrals from four acute care adult hospitals in Calgary, Alberta, were quantified using ICD diagnosis codes in a regional reporting system. Citywide OPAT program referrals were prospectively enrolled over a five-month period from February to June 2014. Participants completed a questionnaire and OPAT medical records were reviewed upon completion of care. Of 704 adults presenting to acute care facilities with dental infections during the study period 343 (49%) were referred to OPAT for ADI treatment and 110 were included in the study. Participant mean age was 44 years, 55% were women, and a majority of participants had dental insurance (65%), had seen a dentist in the past six months (65%) and reported prior dental infections (77%), 36% reporting the current ADI as a recurrence. Median length of parenteral antibiotic therapy was 3 days, average total course of antibiotics was 15-days, with a cumulative 1326 antibiotic days over the study period. There was no difference in total duration of antibiotics between broad and narrow spectrum regimes. Conservative cost estimate of OPAT care was $120,096, a cost savings of $597,434 (83%) compared with hospitalization. ADI represent a common preventable cause of recurrent morbidity. Although OPAT programs may offer short-term cost savings compared with hospitalization, risks associated with extended antibiotic exposures and delayed definitive dental management must also be gauged.

  4. Acidity-triggered charge-convertible nanoparticles that can cause bacterium-specific aggregation in situ to enhance photothermal ablation of focal infection.

    PubMed

    Korupalli, Chiranjeevi; Huang, Chieh-Cheng; Lin, Wei-Chih; Pan, Wen-Yu; Lin, Po-Yen; Wan, Wei-Lin; Li, Meng-Ju; Chang, Yen; Sung, Hsing-Wen

    2017-02-01

    Focal infections that are caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria are becoming an ever-growing challenge to human health. To address this challenge, a pH-responsive amphiphilic polymer of polyaniline-conjugated glycol chitosan (PANI-GCS) that can self-assemble into nanoparticles (NPs) in situ is developed. The PANI-GCS NPs undergo a unique surface charge conversion that is induced by their local pH, favoring bacterium-specific aggregation without direct contact with host cells. Following conjugation onto GCS, the optical-absorbance peak of PANI is red-shifted toward the near-infrared (NIR) region, enabling PANI-GCS NPs to generate a substantial amount of heat, which is emitted to their neighborhood. The local temperature of the NIR-irradiated PANI-GCS NPs is estimated to be approximately 5 °C higher than their ambient tissue temperature, ensuring specific and direct heating of their aggregated bacteria; hence, damage to tissue is reduced and wound healing is accelerated. The above results demonstrate that PANI-GCS NPs are practical for use in the photothermal ablation of focal infections. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Antibiotic prophylaxis is not indicated prior to dental procedures for prevention of periprosthetic joint infections.

    PubMed

    Rademacher, Willem M H; Walenkamp, Geert H I M; Moojen, Dirk Jan F; Hendriks, Johannes G E; Goedendorp, Theo A; Rozema, Frederik R

    2017-10-01

    Background and purpose - To minimize the risk of hematogenous periprosthetic joint infection (HPJI), international and Dutch guidelines recommended antibiotic prophylaxis prior to dental procedures. Unclear definitions and contradictory recommendations in these guidelines have led to unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions. To formulate new guidelines, a joint committee of the Dutch Orthopaedic and Dental Societies conducted a systematic literature review to answer the following question: can antibiotic prophylaxis be recommended for patients (with joint prostheses) undergoing dental procedures in order to prevent dental HPJI? Methods - The Medline, Embase, and Cochrane databases were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs), reviews, and observational studies up to July 2015. Studies were included if they involved patients with joint implants undergoing dental procedures, and either considered HPJI as an outcome measure or described a correlation between HPJI and prophylactic antibiotics. A guideline was formulated using the GRADE method and AGREE II guidelines. Results - 9 studies were included in this systematic review. All were rated "very low quality of evidence". Additional literature was therefore consulted to address clinical questions that provide further insight into pathophysiology and risk factors. The 9 studies did not provide evidence that use of antibiotic prophylaxis reduces the incidence of dental HPJI, and the additional literature supported the conclusion that antibiotic prophylaxis should be discouraged in dental procedures. Interpretation - Prophylactic antibiotics in order to prevent dental HPJI should not be prescribed to patients with a normal or an impaired immune system function. Patients are recommended to maintain good oral hygiene and visit the dentist regularly.

  6. Spatial Distribution of Falciparum Malaria Infections in Zanzibar: Implications for Focal Drug Administration Strategies Targeting Asymptomatic Parasite Carriers

    PubMed Central

    Cook, Jackie; Sturrock, Hugh; Msellem, Mwinyi; Ali, Abdullah; Xu, Weiping; Molteni, Fabrizio; Gosling, Roly; Drakeley, Chris; Mårtensson, Andreas

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Background. Optimal use of mass/targeted screen-and-treat or mass or focal drug administration as malaria elimination strategies remains unclear. We therefore studied spatial distribution of Plasmodium falciparum infections to compare simulated effects of these strategies on reducing the parasite reservoir in a pre-elimination setting. Methods. P. falciparum rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) and molecular (polymerase chain reaction [PCR]) and serological (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) analyses were performed on finger-prick blood samples from a population-based survey in 3 adjacent communities. Results. Among 5278 persons screened, 13 (0.2%) were positive by RDT and 123 (2.3%) by PCR. PCR-positive individuals were scattered over the study area, but logistic regression analysis suggested a propensity of these infections to cluster around RDT-positive individuals. The odds ratios for being PCR positive was 7.4 (95% confidence interval, 2.8–19.9) for those living in the household of an RDT-positive individual and 1.64 (1.0–2.8; P = .06) for those living within <300 m, compared with >1000 m. Treating everyone within households of RDT-positive individuals (1% population) would target 13% of those who are PCR positive. Treating all living within a radius of <300 or <1000 m (14% or 58% population) would target 30% or 66% of infections, respectively. Among 4431 serologically screened individuals, 26% were seropositive. Treating everyone within seropositive households (63% population) would target 77% of PCR-positive individuals. Conclusions. Presumptive malaria treatment seemed justified within RDT-positive households and potentially worth considering within, for example, a radius of <300 m. Serology was not discriminative enough in identifying ongoing infections for improving focal interventions in this setting but may rather be useful to detect larger transmission foci. PMID:28431115

  7. Dental scaling and risk reduction in infective endocarditis: a nationwide population-based case-control study.

    PubMed

    Chen, Su-Jung; Liu, Chia-Jen; Chao, Tze-Fan; Wang, Kang-Ling; Wang, Fu-Der; Chen, Tzeng-Ji; Chiang, Chern-En

    2013-04-01

    Infective endocarditis (IE) is an uncommon but potentially life-threatening disease. Poor oral hygiene has been assumed as an important risk factor for IE. We aimed to investigate whether the improvement of oral hygiene through dental scaling could reduce the risk of IE. From January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2009, a total of 736 patients with newly diagnosed IE were identified from the National Health Insurance Research Database. On the same date of enrollment, 10 patients (without IE) with matched age, sex, and underlying diseases were selected to be the control group for each study patient. The frequency of dental scaling before the enrollment was analyzed and compared between the study and the control groups. The percentages of patients who ever received dental scaling before the enrollment were higher in the control group than that in the study group. For patients who received dental scaling once in 2 years, the risk of IE can be reduced by about 15% (odds ratio, 0.845; 95% confidence interval, 0.693-1.012) with a borderline P value (P = 0.058). Moreover, the risk of IE decreased significantly among patients who received dental scaling at least once per year, with an odds ratio of 0.696 (95% confidence interval, 0.542-0.894; P = 0.005). Improvement of oral hygiene by dental scaling may reduce the risk of IE. More frequent and regular dental scaling (at least once per year) was associated with a significant decrease in IE. Copyright © 2013 Canadian Cardiovascular Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Knowledge of hepatitis B virus infection and its control practices among dental students in an Indian city.

    PubMed

    Khandelwal, Vishal; Khandelwal, Sushma; Gupta, Neetu; Nayak, Ullal Anand; Kulshreshtha, Namrata; Baliga, Sudhindra

    2017-08-18

    Background Hepatitis B virus infection is a general cause of chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis and hepato-cellular carcinoma worldwide. It is highly contagious. It is an important reason for morbidity and mortality in the Indian population. Oral health professionals are at the highest risk. Vaccination for hepatitis B can prevent this deadly disease. Methods The present study was designed to evaluate the degree of awareness, knowledge of hepatitis B infection and status of hepatitis B vaccination among dental students. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 240 students of 3rd year, 4th year and interns of a professional dental course. A pre-tested questionnaire was given to the students of each year. All the data management and analysis were carried out using SPSS software version 16. Results Eighty-six percent of the students had knowledge about hepatitis B infection. The majority of the students had correct knowledge regarding mode of transmission, however, 21% failed to recognize saliva as the mode of hepatitis B transmission. Forty-five percent of the students were vaccinated for hepatitis B. Conclusion The present study concludes that there is reasonable awareness of hepatitis B infection hazards, its transmission and vaccination, among the dental students who will be entering into the profession. However, half of the students were not vaccinated for hepatitis B in our study group, which keeps them at risk to the disease. The Indian Health Ministry should make hepatitis B vaccination mandatory for all health care professionals. A strategy should be executed for health education and compulsory vaccination of all students joining the health care professional colleges. Antibody titers should be routinely checked among those who are vaccinated.

  9. Mutations in X-linked PORCN, a putative regulator of Wnt signaling, cause focal dermal hypoplasia

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Focal dermal hypoplasia is an X-linked dominant disorder characterized by patchy hypoplastic skin and digital, ocular, and dental malformations. We used array comparative genomic hybridization to identify a 219-kb deletion in Xp11.23 in two affected females. We sequenced genes in this region and fou...

  10. Epigenetic regulation in dental pulp inflammation

    PubMed Central

    Hui, T; Wang, C; Chen, D; Zheng, L; Huang, D; Ye, L

    2016-01-01

    Dental caries, trauma, and other possible factors could lead to injury of the dental pulp. Dental infection could result in immune and inflammatory responses mediated by molecular and cellular events and tissue breakdown. The inflammatory response of dental pulp could be regulated by genetic and epigenetic events. Epigenetic modifications play a fundamental role in gene expression. The epigenetic events might play critical roles in the inflammatory process of dental pulp injury. Major epigenetic events include methylation and acetylation of histones and regulatory factors, DNA methylation, and small non-coding RNAs. Infections and other environmental factors have profound effects on epigenetic modifications and trigger diseases. Despite growing evidences of literatures addressing the role of epigenetics in the field of medicine and biology, very little is known about the epigenetic pathways involved in dental pulp inflammation. This review summarized the current knowledge about epigenetic mechanisms during dental pulp inflammation. Progress in studies of epigenetic alterations during inflammatory response would provide opportunities for the development of efficient medications of epigenetic therapy for pulpitis. PMID:26901577

  11. Dental Implant Complications.

    PubMed

    Liaw, Kevin; Delfini, Ronald H; Abrahams, James J

    2015-10-01

    Dental implants have increased in the last few decades thus increasing the number of complications. Since many of these complications are easily diagnosed on postsurgical images, it is important for radiologists to be familiar with them and to be able to recognize and diagnose them. Radiologists should also have a basic understanding of their treatment. In a pictorial fashion, this article will present the basic complications of dental implants which we have divided into three general categories: biomechanical overload, infection or inflammation, and other causes. Examples of implant fracture, loosening, infection, inflammation from subgingival cement, failure of bone and soft tissue preservation, injury to surround structures, and other complications will be discussed as well as their common imaging appearances and treatment. Lastly, we will review pertinent dental anatomy and important structures that are vital for radiologists to evaluate in postoperative oral cavity imaging. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Clinical characteristics of dental emergencies and prevalence of dental trauma at a university hospital emergency center in Korea.

    PubMed

    Bae, Ji-Hyun; Kim, Young-Kyun; Choi, Yong-Hoon

    2011-10-01

    The aim of this study was to examine the clinical characteristics of dental emergency patients who visited a university hospital emergency center and to evaluate the incidence of dental trauma. A retrospective chart review of patients with dental complaints and who visited the Seoul National University Bundang Hospital (SNUBH) emergency center in Gyeonggi-do, Korea, from January 2009 to December 2009 was conducted. Information regarding age, gender, the time, day, and month of presentation, diagnosis, treatment, and follow up was collected and analyzed. One thousand four hundred twenty-five patients with dental problems visited the SNUBH emergency center. Dental patients accounted for 1.47% of the total 96,708 patients at the emergency center. The male-to-female ratio was 1.68:1, with a considerably larger number of male patients (62.7%). The age distribution peak was at 0-9 years (27.5%), followed by patients in their forties (14.1%). The number of patients visiting the dental emergency center peaked in May (14.2%), on Sundays (22.4%), and between 2100 and 2400 h (20.8%). The patients' chief complaints were as follows: dental trauma, dental infection, oral bleeding, and temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD). The prevalence of dental trauma was 66%. The reasons for dental emergency visits included the following: dental trauma, dental infection, oral bleeding, and TMD, with 66% of the patients requiring management of dental trauma. It is important that dentists make a prompt, accurate diagnosis and initiate effective treatment in case of dental emergencies, especially dental trauma. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

  13. Utilization of dental health care services in context of the HIV epidemic- a cross-sectional study of dental patients in the Sudan.

    PubMed

    Nasir, Elwalid Fadul; Astrøm, Anne Nordrehaug; David, Jamil; Ali, Raouf Wahab

    2009-11-16

    HIV infected patients should be expected in the Sudanese dental health care services with an increasing frequency. Dental care utilization in the context of the HIV epidemic is generally poorly understood. Focusing on Sudanese dental patients with reported unknown HIV status, this study assessed the extent to which Andersen's model in terms of predisposing (socio-demographics), enabling (knowledge, attitudes and perceived risk related to HIV) and need related factors (oral health status) predict dental care utilization. It was hypothesized that enabling factors would add to the explanation of dental care utilization beyond that of predisposing and need related factors. Dental patients were recruited from Khartoum Dental Teaching Hospital (KDTH) and University of Science and Technology (UST) during March-July 2008. A total of 1262 patients (mean age 30.7, 56.5% females and 61% from KDTH) were examined clinically (DMFT) and participated in an interview. A total of 53.9% confirmed having attended a dental clinic for treatment at least once in the past 2 years. Logistic regression analysis revealed that predisposing factors; travelling inside Sudan (OR = 0.5) were associated with lower odds and females were associated with higher odds (OR = 2.0) for dental service utilization. Enabling factors; higher knowledge of HIV transmission (OR = 0.6) and higher HIV related experience (OR = 0.7) were associated with lower odds, whereas positive attitudes towards infected people and high perceived risk of contagion (OR = 1.3) were associated with higher odds for dental care utilization. Among need related factors dental caries experience was strongly associated with dental care utilization (OR = 4.8). Disparity in the history of dental care utilization goes beyond socio-demographic position and need for dental care. Public awareness of HIV infection control and confidence on the competence of dentists should be improved to minimize avoidance behaviour and help establish dental

  14. From focal sepsis to periodontal medicine: a century of exploring the role of the oral microbiome in systemic disease.

    PubMed

    Kumar, Purnima S

    2017-01-15

    The oral microbiome is established within a few minutes after birth and consists of stable multi-species communities that engage in a dynamic equilibrium with the host immune system. Dental caries, endodontic infections and periodontal diseases are bacterially driven diseases that are caused by dysbiotic microbiomes. Over a century ago, the focal infection theory implicated these infections in the aetiology of several systemic diseases, ranging from arthritis to neurodegenerative diseases. However, a lack of concrete evidence, combined with the urgency with which clinicians embraced this approach without regard for appropriate case selection, led to its demise within 30 years. In the last decade of the 20th century, the concept of periodontal medicine was introduced to explain the correlations that were being observed between periodontitis and cardiovascular disease, rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer's disease, pulmonary disease, pre-term delivery of low birth weight infants and metabolic disease. It was proposed that periodontal pathobionts played a causal role in the initiating or exacerbating certain diseases either by direct invasion or by stimulating a florid immune-inflammatory response that extended into the systemic circulation. This review will examine the strength of current evidence in establishing a causal link between oral pathobionts and systemic disease. © 2016 The Authors. The Journal of Physiology © 2016 The Physiological Society.

  15. From focal sepsis to periodontal medicine: a century of exploring the role of the oral microbiome in systemic disease

    PubMed Central

    2016-01-01

    Abstract The oral microbiome is established within a few minutes after birth and consists of stable multi‐species communities that engage in a dynamic equilibrium with the host immune system. Dental caries, endodontic infections and periodontal diseases are bacterially driven diseases that are caused by dysbiotic microbiomes. Over a century ago, the focal infection theory implicated these infections in the aetiology of several systemic diseases, ranging from arthritis to neurodegenerative diseases. However, a lack of concrete evidence, combined with the urgency with which clinicians embraced this approach without regard for appropriate case selection, led to its demise within 30 years. In the last decade of the 20th century, the concept of periodontal medicine was introduced to explain the correlations that were being observed between periodontitis and cardiovascular disease, rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer's disease, pulmonary disease, pre‐term delivery of low birth weight infants and metabolic disease. It was proposed that periodontal pathobionts played a causal role in the initiating or exacerbating certain diseases either by direct invasion or by stimulating a florid immune‐inflammatory response that extended into the systemic circulation. This review will examine the strength of current evidence in establishing a causal link between oral pathobionts and systemic disease. PMID:27426277

  16. Dental caries and its relationship to bacterial infection, hypoplasia, diet, and oral hygiene in 6- to 36-month-old children.

    PubMed

    Milgrom, P; Riedy, C A; Weinstein, P; Tanner, A C; Manibusan, L; Bruss, J

    2000-08-01

    Caufield et al. (1) have suggested that the acquisition of mutans streptococci in young children most likely takes place during a "window of infectivity" from 19 to 31 months of age. This study determined the prevalence of dental caries and bacterial infection in a randomly selected sample of 199 children 6 to 36 months old from the island of Saipan in the Common-wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, USA. The relationships between caries and Streptococcus mutans infection, hypoplasia, diet and oral hygiene behavior were investigated. The overall estimated prevalence of caries was high: 46.8% of the children had white spot lesions and 39.1% had enamel cavitation. Colonization was seen in very young children; S. mutans was detected in 25% of the predentate children. The results of multi-variable modeling support the hypothesis that bacterial infection, diet, and hypoplasia are important in the etiology of dental caries in this population. Adjusted for age and ethnicity, children with a high level of S. mutans detected were 5 times more likely to have dental caries than children with a lower level of S. mutans detected. Hypoplasia and a high cariogenicity score (diet) were also significant independent predictors. The odds of having any white spot lesions or enamel cavitation were 9.6 times greater for children with any hypoplasia, and 7.8 times greater for children with high cariogenicity scores relative to those with lower scores after adjusting for level of S. mutans, age and ethnicity. Sleeping with a bottle, maternal sharing of utensils, and high snacking frequency were not significant predictors of caries in this population.

  17. Dental health and odontogenic infections among 6- to 16-year-old German students with special health care needs (SHCN).

    PubMed

    Dziwak, Marco; Heinrich-Weltzien, Roswitha; Limberger, Kathrin; Ifland, Susanne; Gottstein, Ilka; Lehmann, Thomas; Schüler, Ina M

    2017-07-01

    This cross-sectional study aimed to assess dental health and odontogenic infections in students with special health care needs (SHCN) in the Free State of Thuringia, Germany. From 1283 students with SHCN aged 6-16 years, 66.0 % (n = 848 of whom are 35.7 % females and 64.3 % males) with intellectual/learning disabilities (ID/LD), physical disabilities (PD), and sensory disorders (SD) participated after informed consent in oral examinations according to WHO standards. Dental caries was assessed by dmft/DMFT, odontogenic infections by pufa/PUFA. Fissure sealants (FS) were scored in permanent molars. Data were compared to regional and national reference data and analysed by t test and age-adjusted logistic regression models. Students with SHCN revealed 41.2 % caries prevalence in permanent and 31.7 % in primary teeth. Highest prevalence/experience of caries and odontogenic infections in primary teeth was recorded in 6-11-year-olds with PD (65.1 %/2.3 dmft; 14.0 %/0.3 pufa). Most affected permanent teeth were observed in students with ID/LD (12-16-year-olds 59.6 %/2.4 DMFT; 6-11-year-olds 2.8 %/0.03 PUFA). All odontogenic infections in 12-16-year-olds occurred in males; n = 9 students revealed n = 9 teeth with pufa/PUFA. Students with ID/LD aged 6-11 years exhibited lowest prevalence of FS (29.0 %) and mean of 0.8 FS. Students with SHCN suffered more than twice as frequent from untreated dental caries and benefited up to 29.0 % less from FS than peers without disabilities. This first study investigating odontogenic infections of German students with SHCN revealed highest prevalence in primary teeth and in males. Oral health among students with SHCN is reduced, and FS are underutilized compared to German students without disabilities. Reinforcing the application of FS in students with SHCN might contribute to reducing disparities in oral health.

  18. Advancing infection control in dental care settings: factors associated with dentists' implementation of guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    PubMed

    Cleveland, Jennifer L; Bonito, Arthur J; Corley, Tammy J; Foster, Misty; Barker, Laurie; Gordon Brown, G; Lenfestey, Nancy; Lux, Linda

    2012-10-01

    The authors set out to identify factors associated with implementation by U.S. dentists of four practices first recommended in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Guidelines for Infection Control in Dental Health-Care Settings-2003. In 2008, the authors surveyed a stratified random sample of 6,825 U.S. dentists. The response rate was 49 percent. The authors gathered data regarding dentists' demographic and practice characteristics, attitudes toward infection control, sources of instruction regarding the guidelines and knowledge about the need to use sterile water for surgical procedures. Then they assessed the impact of those factors on the implementation of four recommendations: having an infection control coordinator, maintaining dental unit water quality, documenting percutaneous injuries and using safer medical devices, such as safer syringes and scalpels. The authors conducted bivariate analyses and proportional odds modeling. Responding dentists in 34 percent of practices had implemented none or one of the four recommendations, 40 percent had implemented two of the recommendations and 26 percent had implemented three or four of the recommendations. The likelihood of implementation was higher among dentists who acknowledged the importance of infection control, had practiced dentistry for less than 30 years, had received more continuing dental education credits in infection control, correctly identified more surgical procedures that require the use of sterile water, worked in larger practices and had at least three sources of instruction regarding the guidelines. Dentists with practices in the South Atlantic, Middle Atlantic or East South Central U.S. Census divisions were less likely to have complied. Implementation of the four recommendations varied among U.S. dentists. Strategies targeted at raising awareness of the importance of infection control, increasing continuing education requirements and developing multiple modes of instruction may

  19. Epidemiology of Oral and Maxillofacial Infections.

    PubMed

    Rajendra Santosh, Arvind Babu; Ogle, Orrett E; Williams, Dwight; Woodbine, Edward F

    2017-04-01

    Dental caries and periodontal disease are the most common dental infections and are constantly increasing worldwide. Distribution, occurrence of dental caries, gingivitis, periodontitis, odontogenic infections, antibiotic resistance, oral mucosal infections, and microbe-related oral cancer are important to understand the public impact and methods of controlling such disease. Distribution of human papilloma virus and human immunodeficiency virus -related oral cancers in the US population is presented. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Tuberculosis epidemiology, diagnosis and infection control recommendations for dental settings: an update on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

    PubMed

    Cleveland, Jennifer L; Robison, Valerie A; Panlilio, Adelisa L

    2009-09-01

    Although rates of tuberculosis (TB) in the United States have decreased in recent years, disparities in TB incidence still exist between U.S.-born and foreign-born people (people living in the United States but born outside it) and between white people and nonwhite people. In addition, the number of TB outbreaks among health care personnel and patients has decreased since the implementation of the 1994 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines to prevent transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In this article, the authors provide updates on the epidemiology of TB, advances in TB diagnostic methods and TB infection control guidelines for dental settings. In 2008, 83 percent of all reported TB cases in the United States occurred in nonwhite people and 17 percent occurred in white people. Foreign-born people had a TB rate about 10 times higher than that of U.S.-born people. New blood assays for M. tuberculosis have been developed to diagnose TB infection and disease. Changes from the 1994 CDC guidelines incorporated into CDC's "Guidelines for Preventing the Transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Health-Care Settings, 2005" include revised risk classifications, new TB diagnostic methods, decreased frequencies of tuberculin skin testing in various settings and changes in terminology. Although the principles of TB infection control have remained the same, the changing epidemiology of TB and the advent of new diagnostic methods for TB led to the development of the 2005 update to the 1994 guidelines. Dental health care personnel should be aware of the modifications that are pertinent to dental settings and incorporate them into their overall infection control programs.

  1. A survey of infection control teaching in U.S. dental schools.

    PubMed

    Porteous, Nuala B; Bizra, Eamon; Cothron, Annaliese; Yeh, Chih-Ko

    2014-02-01

    This study was conducted to determine the content of infection control (IC) curricula, the extent of IC monitoring and compliance, and the number of bloodborne pathogen (BBP) exposures/year in U.S. dental schools. A questionnaire was emailed to persons responsible for predoctoral IC programs. The response rate was 60 percent. Most schools did not have an independent course and used classroom lectures and clinic demonstrations to teach IC. Schools with an IC committee were more likely to use online learning (p<0.05), utilize multiple teaching methods (p<0.05), issue written warnings for IC violations (p<0.0001), and use multiple disciplinary actions (p<0.005) than schools without an IC committee. Schools with an IC coordinator were less likely to issue grade reductions for IC violations than schools with no IC coordinator (p<0.05). Thirty-eight percent reported ≥ 16 BBP exposures/year, and 18 percent reported <5. There was significant correlation between BBP exposure incidents and large class size (p<0.005). Respondents were satisfied with their IC curriculum and perceived that dental students had a high level of IC compliance and satisfaction, along with staff IC promotion and compliance. The findings suggest that schools without an IC committee should consider its benefits. Further investigation of schools with high numbers of BBP exposures is recommended.

  2. Controlling dental enamel-cavity ablation depth with optimized stepping parameters along the focal plane normal using a three axis, numerically controlled picosecond laser.

    PubMed

    Yuan, Fusong; Lv, Peijun; Wang, Dangxiao; Wang, Lei; Sun, Yuchun; Wang, Yong

    2015-02-01

    The purpose of this study was to establish a depth-control method in enamel-cavity ablation by optimizing the timing of the focal-plane-normal stepping and the single-step size of a three axis, numerically controlled picosecond laser. Although it has been proposed that picosecond lasers may be used to ablate dental hard tissue, the viability of such a depth-control method in enamel-cavity ablation remains uncertain. Forty-two enamel slices with approximately level surfaces were prepared and subjected to two-dimensional ablation by a picosecond laser. The additive-pulse layer, n, was set to 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70. A three-dimensional microscope was then used to measure the ablation depth, d, to obtain a quantitative function relating n and d. Six enamel slices were then subjected to three dimensional ablation to produce 10 cavities, respectively, with additive-pulse layer and single-step size set to corresponding values. The difference between the theoretical and measured values was calculated for both the cavity depth and the ablation depth of a single step. These were used to determine minimum-difference values for both the additive-pulse layer (n) and single-step size (d). When the additive-pulse layer and the single-step size were set 5 and 45, respectively, the depth error had a minimum of 2.25 μm, and 450 μm deep enamel cavities were produced. When performing three-dimensional ablating of enamel with a picosecond laser, adjusting the timing of the focal-plane-normal stepping and the single-step size allows for the control of ablation-depth error to the order of micrometers.

  3. Dental Pulp Defence and Repair Mechanisms in Dental Caries

    PubMed Central

    Farges, Jean-Christophe; Alliot-Licht, Brigitte; Renard, Emmanuelle; Ducret, Maxime; Gaudin, Alexis; Smith, Anthony J.; Cooper, Paul R.

    2015-01-01

    Dental caries is a chronic infectious disease resulting from the penetration of oral bacteria into the enamel and dentin. Microorganisms subsequently trigger inflammatory responses in the dental pulp. These events can lead to pulp healing if the infection is not too severe following the removal of diseased enamel and dentin tissues and clinical restoration of the tooth. However, chronic inflammation often persists in the pulp despite treatment, inducing permanent loss of normal tissue and reducing innate repair capacities. For complete tooth healing the formation of a reactionary/reparative dentin barrier to distance and protect the pulp from infectious agents and restorative materials is required. Clinical and in vitro experimental data clearly indicate that dentin barrier formation only occurs when pulp inflammation and infection are minimised, thus enabling reestablishment of tissue homeostasis and health. Therefore, promoting the resolution of pulp inflammation may provide a valuable therapeutic opportunity to ensure the sustainability of dental treatments. This paper focusses on key cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in pulp responses to bacteria and in the pulpal transition between caries-induced inflammation and dentinogenic-based repair. We report, using selected examples, different strategies potentially used by odontoblasts and specialized immune cells to combat dentin-invading bacteria in vivo. PMID:26538821

  4. Dental Pulp Defence and Repair Mechanisms in Dental Caries.

    PubMed

    Farges, Jean-Christophe; Alliot-Licht, Brigitte; Renard, Emmanuelle; Ducret, Maxime; Gaudin, Alexis; Smith, Anthony J; Cooper, Paul R

    2015-01-01

    Dental caries is a chronic infectious disease resulting from the penetration of oral bacteria into the enamel and dentin. Microorganisms subsequently trigger inflammatory responses in the dental pulp. These events can lead to pulp healing if the infection is not too severe following the removal of diseased enamel and dentin tissues and clinical restoration of the tooth. However, chronic inflammation often persists in the pulp despite treatment, inducing permanent loss of normal tissue and reducing innate repair capacities. For complete tooth healing the formation of a reactionary/reparative dentin barrier to distance and protect the pulp from infectious agents and restorative materials is required. Clinical and in vitro experimental data clearly indicate that dentin barrier formation only occurs when pulp inflammation and infection are minimised, thus enabling reestablishment of tissue homeostasis and health. Therefore, promoting the resolution of pulp inflammation may provide a valuable therapeutic opportunity to ensure the sustainability of dental treatments. This paper focusses on key cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in pulp responses to bacteria and in the pulpal transition between caries-induced inflammation and dentinogenic-based repair. We report, using selected examples, different strategies potentially used by odontoblasts and specialized immune cells to combat dentin-invading bacteria in vivo.

  5. Exposure to the dental environment and prevalence of respiratory illness in dental student populations.

    PubMed

    Scannapieco, Frank A; Ho, Alex W; DiTolla, Maris; Chen, Casey; Dentino, Andrew R

    2004-03-01

    To determine if the prevalence of respiratory disease among dental students and dental residents varies with their exposure to the clinical dental environment. A detailed questionnaire was administered to 817 students at 3 dental schools. The questionnaire sought information concerning demographic characteristics, school year, exposure to the dental environment and dental procedures, and history of respiratory disease. The data obtained were subjected to bivariate and multiple logistic regression analysis. Respondents reported experiencing the following respiratory conditions during the previous year: asthma (26 cases), bronchitis (11 cases), chronic lung disease (6 cases), pneumonia (5 cases) and streptococcal pharyngitis (50 cases). Bivariate statistical analyses indicated no significant associations between the prevalence of any of the respiratory conditions and year in dental school, except for asthma, for which there was a significantly higher prevalence at 1 school compared to the other 2 schools. When all cases of respiratory disease were combined as a composite variable and subjected to multivariate logistic regression analysis controlling for age, sex, race, dental school, smoking history and alcohol consumption, no statistically significant association was observed between respiratory condition and year in dental school or exposure to the dental environment as a dental patient. No association was found between the prevalence of respiratory disease and a student's year in dental school or previous exposure to the dental environment as a patient. These results suggest that exposure to the dental environment does not increase the risk for respiratory infection in healthy dental health care workers.

  6. Hepatitis B virus infection in dentistry: a forgotten topic.

    PubMed

    Mahboobi, N; Agha-Hosseini, F; Mahboobi, N; Safari, S; Lavanchy, D; Alavian, S-M

    2010-05-01

    More than two billion people have been infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV). Globally, 350-400 million suffer from chronic HBV infection. It is postulated that dentists and dental staff are infected and transmit the virus to their patients more than any other occupation. The aim of this article is to review the HBV incidence in dental society, the points of view of dentists and their patients regarding transmission of the virus during dental procedures, the occurrence of HBV outbreaks in dental clinics and the importance of methods of preventing HBV infection in dentistry.

  7. Cross-infection risks associated with current procedures for using high-speed dental handpieces.

    PubMed Central

    Lewis, D L; Boe, R K

    1992-01-01

    When a dye solution used to simulate patient material was either injected into high-speed dental handpiece (drill) waterlines or applied to the equipment externally, internal air turbine chambers became contaminated. These chambers served as a reservoir of the material, which was slowly dislodged by air expelled during subsequent handpiece operation and which was diluted by water spray used for cooling the drilling surface. Considering the fact that patient materials could reside in internal parts of the equipment that are not usually disinfected and that the material may be subsequently sprayed into cuts and abrasions in the oral cavity, the common approach to reprocessing handpieces (external wiping in combination with flushing) may pose unacceptably high risks to those individuals treated soon after infected patients. Therefore, unless reliable data on cross-infection frequencies are obtained and prove it unnecessary, heat-treating high-speed handpieces between each patient should be considered an essential component of standard procedures whenever universal precautions are practiced in dentistry. PMID:1537909

  8. A systematic review of dental disease management in cancer patients.

    PubMed

    Hong, Catherine H L; Hu, Shijia; Haverman, Thijs; Stokman, Monique; Napeñas, Joel J; Braber, Jacolien Bos-den; Gerber, Erich; Geuke, Margot; Vardas, Emmanouil; Waltimo, Tuomas; Jensen, Siri Beier; Saunders, Deborah P

    2018-01-01

    This systematic review aims to update on the prevalence of odontogenic-related infections and the efficacy of dental strategies in preventing dental-related complications in cancer patients since the 2010 systematic review. A literature search was conducted in the databases MEDLINE/PubMed and EMBASE for articles published between 1 January 2009 and 30 June 2016. Each study was assessed by 2 reviewers and the body of evidence for each intervention was assigned an evidence level. After examination of the abstracts and full-text articles, 59 articles satisfied the inclusion criteria. The weighted prevalence of dental infections and pericoronitis during cancer therapy was 5.4 and 5.3%, respectively. The frequency of dental-related infections during intensive chemotherapy after complete, partial, and minimal pre-cancer dental evaluation/treatment protocols ranged from 0 to 4%. Protocols involving third molars extractions had the highest complications (40%). In view of the low prevalence of infections and the potential for complications after third molar extractions, it is suggested that partial dental evaluation/treatment protocols prior to intensive chemotherapy; whereby minor caries (within dentin), asymptomatic third molars or asymptomatic teeth without excessive probing depth (<8 mm), mobility (mobility I or II) or with periapical lesions of <5 mm were observed; is a viable option when there is insufficient time for complete dental evaluation/treatment protocols. The use of chlorhexidine, fluoride mouth rinses as well as composite resin, resin-modified glass ionomer cement (GIC), and amalgam restorations over conventional GIC in post head and neck radiation patients who are compliant fluoride users is recommended.

  9. Utilization of free dental health care services provided to the perinatally infected human immunodeficiency virus children in Bangalore: longitudinal study.

    PubMed

    Parvathy, Beena Javaregowda

    2014-01-01

    Use of Highly active anti-retroviral therapy have increased the life expectancy of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected patients and hence it is imperative that all efforts have to be made by Pediatric dentists to provide a better oral health for these children. The aim of this study was to evaluate the rate of utilization of free dental treatment provided to these perinatally infected HIV positive children who were previously screened as a part of oral health survey. Purposive sampling was used. Perinatally infected HIV children screened for oral health status. Patients not screened during the oral health survey. Attendance records of 319 perinatally HIV infected children consisting of 178 males and 141 females attending a specialized pediatric outpatient clinic at Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health were examined to compare treatment compliance rates. The number of patients in the severe category who completed treatment was significantly less compared with mild and advanced categories (P < 0.001). The difference in the proportion of patients who completed treatment between mild and advanced group was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). The results show that children with HIV have significantly lower compliance. Even though all dental treatment provided to them was free of the cost it still had no impetus to encourage them to go through with the treatment.

  10. A survey of United States dental hygienists' knowledge, attitudes, and practices with infection control guidelines.

    PubMed

    Garland, Kandis V

    2013-06-01

    To assess knowledge, attitudes and practices of U.S. dental hygienists with infection control guidelines (ICG). Research has shown improved compliance with specific aspects of dental ICG is needed. This study supports the American Dental Hygienists' Association National Research Agenda's Occupational Health and Safety objective to investigate methods to decrease errors, risks and or hazards in health care. Data are needed to assess compliance, prevention and behavioral issues with current ICG practices. A proportional stratified random sample (n=2,500) was recruited for an online survey. Descriptive statistics summarized demographic characteristics and knowledge, attitudes and practices responses. Spearman's rho correlations determined relationships between knowledge, attitudes and practices responses (p<0.05). Dominant themes were identified from open-ended responses. A 31% response rate (n=765) was attained. Respondents agreed/strongly agreed with familiarity with ICG (86%) and believed ICG are relevant to their patients (88%). Responses indicated low compliance (rarely/never used) with handpiece sterilization (n=209, 31%), utility glove use (n=317, 47%), and pre-procedural rinsing (n=324, 48%). Significant relationships were found between ICG implementation and access to necessary supplies (rs=0.549), supervisors' expectations for using ICG (rs=0.529) and no time to use (rs=-0.537). Themes from comments indicated time is a barrier, and respondents' perceived a need for involvement of all co-workers. Dental hygienists are adhering with most aspects of the ICG. High compliance with ICG among respondents in this study was associated with positive safety beliefs and practices, whereas lower compliance with ICG was associated with less positive safety beliefs and practices. A safety culture appears to be a factor in compliance with ICG.

  11. Barriers and facilitators of evidence-based management of patients with bacterial infections among general dental practitioners: a theory-informed interview study.

    PubMed

    Newlands, Rumana; Duncan, Eilidh M; Prior, Maria; Elouafkaoui, Paula; Elders, Andrew; Young, Linda; Clarkson, Jan E; Ramsay, Craig R

    2016-01-29

    General dental practitioners (GDPs) regularly prescribe antibiotics to manage dental infections although most infections can be treated successfully by local measures. Published guidance to support GDPs to make appropriate prescribing decisions exists but there continues to be wide variation in dental antibiotic prescribing. An interview study was conducted as part of the Reducing Antibiotic Prescribing in Dentistry (RAPiD) trial to understand the barriers and facilitators of using local measures instead of prescribing antibiotics to manage bacterial infections. Thirty semi-structured one-to-one telephone interviews were conducted using the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF). Responses were coded into domains of the TDF and sub-themes. Priority domains (high frequency: ≥50 % interviewees discussed) relevant to behaviour change were identified as targets for future intervention efforts and mapped onto 'intervention functions' of the Behaviour Change Wheel system. Five domains (behavioural regulation, social influences, reinforcement, environmental context and resources, and beliefs about consequences) with seven sub-themes were identified as targets for future intervention. All participants had knowledge about the evidence-based management of bacterial infections, but they reported difficulties in following this due to patient factors and time management. Lack of time was found to significantly influence their decision processes with regard to performing local measures. Beliefs about their capabilities to overcome patient influence, beliefs that performing local measures would impact on subsequent appointment times as well as there being no incentives for performing local measures were also featured. Though no knowledge or basic skills issues were identified, the participants suggested some continuous professional development programmes (e.g. time management, an overview of published guidance) to address some of the barriers. The domain results suggest a number

  12. Focal enhanced gastritis and macrophage microaggregates in the gastric mucosa: potential role in the differential diagnosis between Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

    PubMed

    Magalhães-Costa, Marcia Henriques de; Reis, Beatriz Ribeiro dos; Chagas, Vera Lúcia Antunes; Nunes, Tiago; Souza, Heitor Siffert Pereira de; Zaltman, Cyrla

    2014-01-01

    Focally enhanced gastritis and macrophage microaggregates are found in the upper gastrointestinal involvement of Crohn's disease, and may reflect an underlying defective innate immunity. These features, however, are also described in patients with Helicobacter pylori infection. The role of these gastric abnormalities in the diagnosis of Crohn's disease was assessed in a population with high prevalence of H. pylori infection. Thirty-seven Crohn's disease, 26 ulcerative colitis, and 30 control patients were included. The H. pylori status was evaluated by the rapid urease test and histology. The presence of focally enhanced gastritis and macrophage microaggregates was recorded. Focally enhanced gastritis was present in 24% of Crohn's disease patients, 4% of ulcerative colitis patients and 11.5% of controls, presenting an overall sensitivity and specificity for Crohn's disease of 24% and 88%, respectively. Macrophage microaggregates were found in all groups, but were only detected in ulcerative colitis and controls in association with H. pylori infection, with an overall sensitivity and specificity for Crohn's disease of 61% and 69%, respectively. In the absence of H. pylori infection, focally enhanced gastritis and macrophage microaggregates were significantly associated with Crohn's disease (P<0.02 and P = 0.001 respectively). Focally gastritis and macrophage microaggregates are suggestive of Crohn's disease only in H. pylori-negative specimens.

  13. Transmission of blood-borne pathogens in US dental health care settings

    PubMed Central

    Cleveland, Jennifer L.; Gray, Shellie Kolavic; Harte, Jennifer A.; Robison, Valerie A.; Moorman, Anne C.; Gooch, Barbara F.

    2016-01-01

    Background During the past decade, investigators have reported transmissions of blood-borne pathogens (BBPs) in dental settings. In this article, the authors describe these transmissions and examine the lapses in infection prevention on the basis of available information. Methods The authors reviewed the literature from 2003 through 2015 to identify reports of the transmission of BBPs in dental settings and related lapses in infection prevention efforts, as well as to identify reports of known or suspected health care–associated BBP infections submitted by state health departments to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Results The authors identified 3 published reports whose investigators described the transmission of hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus. In 2 of these reports, the investigators described single-transmission events (from 1 patient to another) in outpatient oral surgery practices. The authors of the third report described the possible transmission of hepatitis B virus to 3 patients and 2 dental health care personnel in a large temporary dental clinic. The authors identified lapses in infection prevention practices that occurred during 2 of the investigations; however, the investigators were not always able to link a specific lapse to a transmission event. Examples of lapses included the failure to heat-sterilize handpieces between patients, a lack of training for volunteers on BBPs, and the use of a combination of unsafe injection practices. Conclusions The authors found that reports describing the transmission of BBPs in dental settings since 2003 were rare. Failure to adhere to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations for infection control in dental settings likely led to disease transmission in these cases. Practical Implications The existence of these reports emphasizes the need to improve dental health care personnel's understanding of the basic principles and implementation of standard precautions through the

  14. Microbial diversity in dental unit waterlines.

    PubMed

    Lisboa, Guacyra M; Lisboa, Yves R M; Pinheiro, Telma M L; Stegun, Roberto C; da Silva-Filho, Eurípedes A

    2014-01-01

    Dental health care providers and patients are exposed during ongoing work to contamination by the water used in the dental units, due to accidental swallowing or aspiration of the sprays generated by the high-speed handpiece and the threeway syringe. This study evaluated the quality of water in dental units in the public dental care system of Maceio, Alagoas, Brazil, by conducting analyses of contamination by total coliforms, E.Coli, heterotrophic bacteria and filamentous fungi. We collected 200 mL of water at 5 sites in 6 dental offices of the Department of Health located in different parts of the city. A total 212 isolates and 16 genera of filamentous fungi were identified in the water collected from the dental units. Total coliforms indicated that the water used in dental units was not appropriate for human consumption. The high levels of contamination found in this study showed that water was a potential source of cross-infection.

  15. Is treatment under general anaesthesia associated with dental neglect and dental disability among caries active preschool children?

    PubMed

    Kvist, T; Zedrén-Sunemo, J; Graca, E; Dahllöf, G

    2014-10-01

    To study if treatment under general anaesthesia (GA) is associated with dental neglect or dental disability. This was a retrospective study. Dental records of all children in the age 0-6 years who underwent GA at a specialist paediatric dentistry clinic during 2006-2011 were studied with regard to decayed-missed-filled teeth, traumatic injuries, emergency visits, behaviour management problems and the history of attendance. The final sample consisted of 134 children. Matched controls were selected among recall patients who had not received treatment under GA. Fishers exact test or Pearson Chi-square test analysed response distribution and comparisons between groups, and for multivariate analyses, logistic regression was used. The results show that children treated under GA had significantly higher caries prevalence, apical periodontitis and infections due to pulpal necrosis. Dental neglect as well as dental disability was significantly more prevalent in the GA group compared to the control group. In a multivariate analysis with dental neglect as independent factor, dental disability was the only significant factor (p = 0.006). Children treated under general anaesthesia were significantly more often diagnosed with both dental neglect and dental disability. Dental disability was the only factor significantly related to dental neglect. There is a need for improved documentation in the dental records to better identify dental neglect and dental disability, and also a continued training of dentists regarding child protection.

  16. A retrospective investigation of the clinical management of patients attending an out of hours dental clinic in Merseyside under the new NHS dental contract.

    PubMed

    Tulip, D E; Palmer, N O A

    2008-12-20

    To investigate the clinical management of patients attending for emergency dental treatment. A retrospective analysis of clinical record cards. Information was collected from patient record cards concerning the patient's reason for attendance and their management at an emergency dental clinic in South Sefton, Liverpool. Over a nine month period, 1,718 patients attended the clinic; 1,472 record cards were analysed. Over 80% of the patients attending the out of hours (OOH) clinic had pain associated with a localised dental infection or dental abscess. Where a diagnosis was recorded, only 67% of patients received appropriate treatment. Over 50% of patients received antibiotics alone with no other definitive treatment provided. The principal antibiotic prescribed for both adult and child patients was amoxicillin. The current study has highlighted that GDPs working within the OOH services are not adhering to current clinical and best practice guidelines with respect to patient examination, diagnosis, management, in particular the correct prescribing of antibiotics for dental infections, and clinical record keeping.

  17. Dental prescribing in Wales and associated public health issues.

    PubMed

    Karki, A J; Holyfield, G; Thomas, D

    2011-01-08

    Dental prescribing data in Wales have not been studied in detail previously. The analysis of national data available from Health Solutions Wales showed that dental prescribing in Wales accounted for 9% of total antibacterial prescribing in primary care in 2008. Penicillin and metronidazole constituted the bulk of antibiotics prescribed by dentists. Since the publication of National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidance (March 2008) on prophylaxis against infective endocarditis, dental prescriptions for amoxicillin 3g sachets and clindamycin capsules have decreased. Dental prescriptions for fluoride preparations increased in number from 2007 to 2008. Dental prescribing of controlled drugs raises no concern. The figure for antibiotic prescribing in Wales is similar to that of England. Nevertheless, the figure seems a little high, indicating potential inappropriate prescribing behaviour among dentists. Antibiotic resistance is a major public health issue and many patients each year die from infections from bacterial strains that are resistant to one or more antibiotics. Inappropriate use of antibiotics is a major cause of antibiotic resistance and every effort should be made to reduce the number of inappropriate antibiotic prescriptions in dental practice.

  18. Hepatitis B virus transmissions associated with a portable dental clinic, West Virginia, 2009

    PubMed Central

    Radcliffe, Rachel A.; Bixler, Danae; Moorman, Anne; Hogan, Vicki A.; Greenfield, Vickie S.; Gaviria, Diana M.; Patel, Priti R.; Schaefer, Melissa K.; Collins, Amy S.; Khudyakov, Yury E.; Drobeniuc, Jan; Gooch, Barbara F.; Cleveland, Jennifer L.

    2017-01-01

    Background Although hepatitis B virus (HBV) transmission in dental settings is rare, in 2009 a cluster of acute HBV infections was reported among attendees of a two-day portable dental clinic in West Virginia. Methods The authors conducted a retrospective investigation by using treatment records and volunteer logs, interviews of patients and volunteers with acute HBV infection as well as of other clinic volunteers, and molecular sequencing of the virus from those acutely infected. Results The clinic was held under the auspices of a charitable organization in a gymnasium staffed by 750 volunteers, including dental care providers who treated 1,137 adults. Five acute HBV infections—involving three patients and two volunteers—were identified by the local and state health departments. Of four viral isolates available for testing, all were genotype D. Three case patients underwent extractions; one received restorations and one a dental prophylaxis. None shared a treatment provider with any of the others. One case volunteer worked in maintenance; the other directed patients from triage to the treatment waiting area. Case patients reported no behavioral risk factors for HBV infection. The investigation revealed numerous infection control breaches. Conclusions Transmission of HBV to three patients and two volunteers is likely to have occurred at a portable dental clinic. Specific breaches in infection control could not be linked to these HBV transmissions. Practical Implications All dental settings should adhere to recommended infection control practices, including oversight; training in prevention of bloodborne pathogens transmission; receipt of HBV vaccination for staff who may come into contact with blood or body fluids; use of appropriate personal protective equipment, sterilization and disinfection procedures; and use of measures, such as high-volume suction, to minimize the spread of blood. PMID:24080927

  19. Survey of Infection Control Policies within Dental/Educational Patient Treatment Centers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dickey, Keith Winfield

    1986-01-01

    The article describes a survey of 36 dental education programs to identify educators' reactive policies and procedures in their patient treatment centers to minimize dental contamination and cross-contamination. (Author/CT)

  20. Focal Contacts as Mechanosensors

    PubMed Central

    Riveline, Daniel; Zamir, Eli; Balaban, Nathalie Q.; Schwarz, Ulrich S.; Ishizaki, Toshimasa; Narumiya, Shuh; Kam, Zvi; Geiger, Benjamin; Bershadsky, Alexander D.

    2001-01-01

    The transition of cell–matrix adhesions from the initial punctate focal complexes into the mature elongated form, known as focal contacts, requires GTPase Rho activity. In particular, activation of myosin II–driven contractility by a Rho target known as Rho-associated kinase (ROCK) was shown to be essential for focal contact formation. To dissect the mechanism of Rho-dependent induction of focal contacts and to elucidate the role of cell contractility, we applied mechanical force to vinculin-containing dot-like adhesions at the cell edge using a micropipette. Local centripetal pulling led to local assembly and elongation of these structures and to their development into streak-like focal contacts, as revealed by the dynamics of green fluorescent protein–tagged vinculin or paxillin and interference reflection microscopy. Inhibition of Rho activity by C3 transferase suppressed this force-induced focal contact formation. However, constitutively active mutants of another Rho target, the formin homology protein mDia1 (Watanabe, N., T. Kato, A. Fujita, T. Ishizaki, and S. Narumiya. 1999. Nat. Cell Biol. 1:136–143), were sufficient to restore force-induced focal contact formation in C3 transferase-treated cells. Force-induced formation of the focal contacts still occurred in cells subjected to myosin II and ROCK inhibition. Thus, as long as mDia1 is active, external tension force bypasses the requirement for ROCK-mediated myosin II contractility in the induction of focal contacts. Our experiments show that integrin-containing focal complexes behave as individual mechanosensors exhibiting directional assembly in response to local force. PMID:11402062

  1. P. gingivalis Peptidyl Arginine Deiminase Can Modulate Neutrophil Activity via Infection of Human Dental Stem Cells.

    PubMed

    Kriebel, Katja; Hieke, Cathleen; Engelmann, Robby; Potempa, Jan; Müller-Hilke, Brigitte; Lang, Hermann; Kreikemeyer, Bernd

    2018-06-01

    Periodontitis (PD) is a widespread chronic inflammatory disease in the human population. Porphyromonas gingivalis is associated with PD and can citrullinate host proteins via P. gingivalis peptidyl arginine deiminase (PPAD). Here, we hypothesized that infection of human dental follicle stem cells (hDFSCs) with P. gingivalis and subsequent interaction with neutrophils will alter the neutrophil phenotype. To test this hypothesis, we established and analyzed a triple-culture system of neutrophils and hDFSCs primed with P. gingivalis. Mitogen-activated pathway blocking reagents were applied to gain insight into stem cell signaling after infection. Naïve hDFSCs do not influence the neutrophil phenotype. However, infection of hDFSCs with P. gingivalis prolongs the survival of neutrophils and increases their migration. These phenotypic changes depend on direct cellular contacts and PPAD expression by P. gingivalis. Active JNK and ERK pathways in primed hDFSCs are essential for the phenotypic changes in neutrophils. Collectively, our results confirm that P. gingivalis modifies hDFSCs, thereby causing an immune imbalance. © 2018 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  2. [Dental care during pregnancy].

    PubMed

    Luc, Egea; Coulibaly, Nadin; Demoersman, Julien; Boutigny, Hervé; Soueidan, Assem

    2012-01-01

    to understand and analyze knowledge and practices of dentists regarding dental care during pregnancy using a questionnaire which focuses on the knowledge of the relationship between oral infections and complications of pregnancy, the attitude of practitioners on the implementation of dental care during pregnancy and the training of practitioners. 53.9% of pregnant women are not referred by an obstetrician. Only 59.8% of practitioners believe that dental anesthesia is not contraindicated, and most practitioners believe that the best time for care is the second trimester or after pregnancy. During pregnancy, practitioners realize the motivation for hygiene (90.7%), drainage of an abscess (82.2%), scaling (76.1%), the placement of a splint (74.1%), the treatment of caries (70%), and the removable prosthesis (67.2%). these results indicate the existence of a gap between the care of pregnant women and the state of the art in dental science, despite current clinical recommendations to deliver all necessary care to pregnant patients during the first, second and third trimester. Moreover, the results highlight the need to reinforce the initial training of dental students, but also to develop the training for practitioners in this field.

  3. Natural-focal diseases: mapping experience in Russia.

    PubMed

    Malkhazova, Svetlana M; Mironova, Varvara A; Kotova, Tatiana V; Shartova, Natalia V; Orlov, Dmitry S

    2014-06-14

    Natural-focal diseases constitute a serious hazard for human health. Agents and vectors of such diseases belong to natural landscapes. The aim of this study is to identify the diversity and geography of natural-focal diseases in Russia and to develop cartographic approaches for their mapping, including mathematical-cartographical modeling. Russian medico-geographical mapping of natural-focal diseases is highly developed regionally and locally but extremely limited at the national level. To solve this problem, a scientific team of the Faculty of Geography at Lomonosov Moscow State University has developed and implemented a project of a medico-geographical Atlas of Russia "Natural-Focal Diseases". The mapping is based on medical statistics data. The Atlas contains a series of maps on disease incidence, long-term dynamics of disease morbidity, etc. In addition, other materials available to the authors were used: mapping of the natural environment, field data, archival materials, analyzed satellite images, etc. The maps are processed using ArcGIS (ESRI) software application. Different methods of rendering of mapped phenomena are used (geographical ranges, diagrams, choropleth maps etc.). A series of analytical, integrated, and synthetic maps shows disease incidence in the population at both the national and regional levels for the last 15 years. Maps of the mean annual morbidity of certain infections and maps of morbidity dynamics and nosological profiles allow for a detailed analysis of the situation for each of 83 administrative units of the Russian Federation. The degree of epidemic hazard in Russia by natural-focal diseases is reflected in a synthetic medico-geographical map that shows the degree of epidemic risks due to such diseases in Russia and allows one to estimate the risk of disease manifestation in a given region. This is the first attempt at aggregation and public presentation of diverse and multifaceted information about natural-focal diseases in Russia

  4. Qualitative assessment of the dental health services provided at a dental school in Kerman, Iran.

    PubMed

    Rad, Maryam; Haghani, Jahangir; Shahravan, Arash; Khosravifar, Ali

    2009-01-01

    Increasing the quality of the services provided in a Dental School can raise the satisfaction level of patients and consequently increase the level of their oral health. This study was conducted to evaluate the quality of dental care and services provided to patients referred to a Dental School in Kerman, Iran. In this qualitative study, face-to-face, in-depth interviews were conducted with 41 participants [25 patients (P), 5 nurses (N), 6 dental academic staff (AS), and 5 dental students (S)]. Then, the interviews were transcribed and analyzed, using content analysis of data. Data analysis in qualitative research involves breaking down the data and searching for codes and categories that are then reassembled to form themes. Both positive and negative themes emerged. Positive themes included: good infection control, service accessibility, patient appointments and visits were not assigned on merit, precise examinations, and comprehensive treatment plans. Negative themes included: long wait time, lack of options to pass waiting time, such as newspapers and television, an insufficient number of nurses, and not enough professors for supervision. In addition, the results of this study show that the patients and dental staff have high expectations in relation to dental services, and that implementation of these expectations would increase the overall satisfaction with and the quality of the level of services. Finally, some recommendations for improving services in the Kerman Dental School were given to the managing team of the Dental School.

  5. Knowledge and attitude of Indian clinical dental students towards the dental treatment of patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immune-deficiency syndrome (AIDS).

    PubMed

    Oberoi, Sukhvinder Singh; Marya, Charu Mohan; Sharma, Nilima; Mohanty, Vikrant; Marwah, Mohita; Oberoi, Avneet

    2014-12-01

    Oral health care of patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immune-deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a growing area of concern. Information on HIV- and AIDS-related knowledge among dental students provides a crucial foundation for efforts aimed at developing an appropriate dental curriculum on HIV and AIDS. The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge and attitude of Indian clinical dental students towards the treatment of patients with HIV/AIDS and perceived sources of information regarding HIV-related issues. Data were collected from clinical dental students (third year, fourth year and internship) from three dental institutions in Delhi National Capital Region (NCR). The questions assessed the knowledge and attitude towards treatment of patients with HIV and the perceived source of information related to HIV. The willingness to treat HIV-positive patients among dental students was 67.0%, and 74.20% were confident of treating a patient with HIV/AIDS. The potential problems in rendering treatment to these patients were effect on the attitude of other patients (49.90%) and staff fears (52.50%). The correct knowledge regarding the infection-control practice (barrier technique) was found among only 15.50% of respondents. The respondents had sufficient knowledge regarding the oral manifestations of HIV/AIDS. There was no correlation between the knowledge and attitude score, demonstrating a gap between knowledge and attitude among dental students regarding treatment of HIV-infected patients. Appropriate knowledge has to be delivered through the dental education curriculum, which can instil confidence in students about their ability to manage HIV-positive patients. © 2014 FDI World Dental Federation.

  6. Report of the Task Force on AIDS and Dental Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Molinari, John; Gray, Carolyn F.

    1988-01-01

    The American Association of Dental Schools' task force on acquired immune deficiency syndrome and dental education recommends that educational strategies stress the necessity for routine infection control procedures in treatment, enhancing the health professionals' knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors concerning all aspects of disease prevention.…

  7. Vital Pulp Therapy—Current Progress of Dental Pulp Regeneration and Revascularization

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Weibo; Yelick, Pamela C.

    2010-01-01

    Pulp vitality is extremely important for the tooth viability, since it provides nutrition and acts as biosensor to detect pathogenic stimuli. In the dental clinic, most dental pulp infections are irreversible due to its anatomical position and organization. It is difficult for the body to eliminate the infection, which subsequently persists and worsens. The widely used strategy currently in the clinic is to partly or fully remove the contaminated pulp tissue, and fill and seal the void space with synthetic material. Over time, the pulpless tooth, now lacking proper blood supply and nervous system, becomes more vulnerable to injury. Recently, potential for successful pulp regeneration and revascularization therapies is increasing due to accumulated knowledge of stem cells, especially dental pulp stem cells. This paper will review current progress and feasible strategies for dental pulp regeneration and revascularization. PMID:20454445

  8. Is a drill-less dental filling possible?

    PubMed

    Quock, Ryan L; Patel, Shalizeh A; Falcao, Felipe A; Barros, Juliana A

    2011-09-01

    Dental caries, a bacterial process that results in the acidic destruction of tooth structure, has historically been managed by the mechanical excavation of diseased tooth structure and then restoration with a synthetic material. The mechanical excavation of the infected site is most commonly achieved by a dental handpiece, or "drill"; this handpiece may induce stress and anxiety in many patients. Alternatively, a drill-less filling will involve the utilization of silver diamine fluoride (38%) to arrest and prevent dental caries, followed by restoration with a bonded filling material to achieve adequate seal at the lesion margins. This is a minimally invasive procedure that addresses both microbial and mechanical issues posed by dental caries. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Transparent Meta-Analysis: Does Aging Spare Prospective Memory with Focal vs. Non-Focal Cues?

    PubMed Central

    Uttl, Bob

    2011-01-01

    Background Prospective memory (ProM) is the ability to become aware of a previously-formed plan at the right time and place. For over twenty years, researchers have been debating whether prospective memory declines with aging or whether it is spared by aging and, most recently, whether aging spares prospective memory with focal vs. non-focal cues. Two recent meta-analyses examining these claims did not include all relevant studies and ignored prevalent ceiling effects, age confounds, and did not distinguish between prospective memory subdomains (e.g., ProM proper, vigilance, habitual ProM) (see Uttl, 2008, PLoS ONE). The present meta-analysis focuses on the following questions: Does prospective memory decline with aging? Does prospective memory with focal vs. non-focal cues decline with aging? Does the size of age-related declines with focal vs. non-focal cues vary across ProM subdomains? And are age-related declines in ProM smaller than age-related declines in retrospective memory? Methods and Findings A meta-analysis of event-cued ProM using data visualization and modeling, robust count methods, and conventional meta-analysis techniques revealed that first, the size of age-related declines in ProM with both focal and non-focal cues are large. Second, age-related declines in ProM with focal cues are larger in ProM proper and smaller in vigilance. Third, age-related declines in ProM proper with focal cues are as large as age-related declines in recall measures of retrospective memory. Conclusions The results are consistent with Craik's (1983) proposal that age-related declines on ProM tasks are generally large, support the distinction between ProM proper vs. vigilance, and directly contradict widespread claims that ProM, with or without focal cues, is spared by aging. PMID:21304905

  10. General health risk of periodontal disease.

    PubMed

    Slots, J; Kamma, J J

    2001-12-01

    The possibility that periodontal disease might influence the morbidity and mortality of systemic diseases constitutes a research topic of great current interest. Human periodontal disease is associated with a complex microbiota containing approximately 500 microbial taxa and various human viruses, many of which possess significant virulence potential. Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Porphyromonas gingivalis and other periodontopathic bacteria that are unique to the oral cavity and may disseminate to other body sites comprise the best-documented form of dental focal infection. However, systemically healthy individuals seem to be at low risk of acquiring acute non-oral diseases from direct infections by periodontal pathogens. Research data from various laboratories point to periodontal infections as a risk factor for chronic medical disorders, including cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular accidents and low-birth-weight infants. However, recent epidemiological studies have failed to show a significant relationship between periodontal disease and cardiovascular disease. This review paper evaluates the current status of knowledge on dental focal infection and suggests avenues for further research into the topic of general health risks of periodontal disease.

  11. Core biopsy as a simple and effective diagnostic tool in head and neck focal myositis.

    PubMed

    Tan, Chun Yee; Chong, Sheldon; Shaw, Chi-Kee Leslie

    2015-12-01

    Most unilateral head and neck masses are benign, although malignancy is a possibility in some cases. However, there are other rare causes of unilateral neck masses, such as focal myositis, which is a rare, benign condition belonging to the family of inflammatory pseudotumors of the skeletal muscles, with rare presentations in the head and neck region. Focal myositis presents as a rapidly enlarging neck mass that can be misdiagnosed by fine-needle aspiration biopsy and/or radiologic imaging as either an infective or a neoplastic process. To date, there are only 5 reported cases of adult focal myositis of the sternocleidomastoid muscle in the medical literature. In this article, the authors present 2 cases involving patients with focal myositis of the sternocleidomastoid muscle that were successfully diagnosed with core-needle biopsy and managed conservatively. The pros and cons of fine-needle aspiration biopsy and core-needle biopsy are discussed. Based on the authors' results, fine-needle aspiration biopsy universally fails to provide the diagnosis of focal myositis. In contrast, core-needle biopsy successfully diagnosed focal myositis in both of our patients. Both of them had complete resolution with conservative management.

  12. [Differential diagnosis of dental enamel focal demineralization and fluorosis by means of spectrophotometry].

    PubMed

    Makarova, N E; Vinnichenko, Yu A

    2018-01-01

    The article presents the results of spectrophotometric tooth enamel scanning for differential diagnosis of focal enamel demineralization and fluorosis. Research was conducted in vivo on teeth affected by these diseases. VITA EasyShade spectrophotometer measurements were made on the affected area and on the visually healthy part of enamel. The lightness appeared as the only one differential significant optical characteristics of tooth enamel. Lightness metrics were higher in the case of initial caries than on the healthy part of enamel when these metrics were lower in the case of fluorosis than on the healthy part of enamel.

  13. Subdural abscess secondary to covert dental sepsis

    PubMed Central

    Sprott, Mae S.; Hall, K.; Newman, P. K.; Welbury, R. R.; Ingham, H. R.

    1981-01-01

    The bacterial flora of a subdural abscess in a 17-year-old male, with radiological evidence of unilateral infection of the maxillary and frontal air sinuses, was typical of that encountered in the dental sulcus. Extensive examination revealed no primary focus of infection other than apical infection in the 2 upper first molar teeth, which were extracted. Treatment with ampicillin, gentamicin and metronidazole rapidly controlled the subdural infection, and resolution, as evidenced by computerized tomography, was complete at 10 months. PMID:7335566

  14. Focal cryotherapy for prostate cancer.

    PubMed

    Tsivian, Matvey; Polascik, Thomas J

    2010-05-01

    Focal therapy for prostate cancer has emerged an interesting concept as a less morbid option for the treatment of localized low-risk disease. Despite the growing interest in focal therapy, this approach has not yet gained sufficient popularity nor provided enough data to be discussed outside the experimental application. Herein we summarize the available data on focal cryotherapy and focus on the targets to be achieved in order to increase the applicability of focal cryotherapy to clinical practice. A cautious approach to candidate selection and generation of solid scientific data that would result in wide consensus on patient selection strategies and follow-up schemes would provide the tools necessary to take the path of focal therapy. Currently available focal cryotherapy data demonstrate excellent short-term results and a favorable quality-of-life profile. Although the future role of focal treatment is debated, a growing amount of science is generated in support of this minimally invasive approach.

  15. Oral, Maxillofacial and Dental Diseases in Captive Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus).

    PubMed

    Steenkamp, G; Boy, S C; van Staden, P J; Bester, M N

    2018-01-01

    Descriptions of several oral, maxillofacial and dental conditions/diseases exist for a variety of captive large felids, but little is reported on the pathology of free roaming large felids. Apart from focal palatine erosions (FPEs) as initially described by Fitch and Fagan (1982) and some reference to absent incisor teeth, few data exist on diseases affecting the oral, maxillofacial and dental structures of cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus), regardless of their captivity status. This study reports 18 different conditions affecting the teeth, bone and oral cavity soft tissue of cheetahs, based on initial assessment of 256 animals over 11 years (2002-2012) in South Africa and Namibia. This report excludes oral tumours or FPEs, but includes several acquired and developmental conditions never described before. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Compliance with infection control standard precautions guidelines: a survey among dental healthcare workers in Hail Region, Saudi Arabia

    PubMed Central

    Haridi, Hassan Kasim; Al-Ammar, Abdalmohsen Saud; Al-Mansour, Moazzy Ibraheim

    2016-01-01

    Background: The concept of standard precautions (SP) has been a cornerstone of dental infection control (IC) practice. Full adherence with SP guidelines is still a matter of concern in many institutions. The objectives of the present study were to assess and characterise compliance with SP guidelines among dental healthcare workers (DHCWs) and to analyse factors that affect compliance. Methods: A regional cross-sectional questionnaire survey among DHCWs in all health facilities was carried out from August to November 2014. Results: A total of 307 returned valid self-report questionnaires with a response rate of 73.1%. Most participants (86.3%) were aware of the SP guidelines, 84.4% received IC training and 88.9% received hepatitis B vaccination. Compliance with SP was found to be high; the majority (90.1%) attained 75% on the compliance scale. In the multivariate logistic regression model, perceived higher institutional commitment as regard IC requirements (odds ratio [OR], 4.34; P <0.001), perceived training as adequate (OR, 3.51; P = 0.003), dentist job (OR, 2.99; P = 0.035) and younger age (OR, 0.59; P = 0.041) were independently predicted as good compliant behaviour. Conclusions: This survey revealed high self-reported compliance with SP guidelines. Institutional factors appear to have an important role. Attention should be paid to dental assistants and private DHCWs. PMID:28989490

  17. Oral focal epithelial hyperplasia: report of 3 cases with human papillomavirus DNA sequencing analysis.

    PubMed

    Gültekin, S E; Tokman Yildirim, Benay; Sarisoy, S

    2011-01-01

    Focal epithelial hyperplasia (FEH), or Heck's disease, is a benign proliferative viral infection of the oral mucosa that is related to Human Papil-lomavirus (HPV), mainly subtypes 13 and 32. Although this condition is known to exist in numerous populations and ethnic groups, the reported cases among Caucasians are relatively rare. It presents as asymptomatic papules or nodules on the oral mucosa, gingiva, tongue, and lips. Histopathologically, it is characterized by parakeratosis, epithelial hyperplasia, focal acanthosis, fusion, and horizontal outgrowth of epithelial ridges and the cells named mitozoids. The purpose of this case report was to present 3 cases of focal epithelial hyperplasia in a pediatric age group. Histopathological and clinical features of cases are discussed and DNA sequencing analysis is reported in which HPV 13, HPV 32, and HPV 11 genomes are detected.

  18. ZIKA virus infection causes persistent chorioretinal lesions.

    PubMed

    Manangeeswaran, Mohanraj; Kielczewski, Jennifer L; Sen, H Nida; Xu, Biying C; Ireland, Derek D C; McWilliams, Ian L; Chan, Chi-Chao; Caspi, Rachel R; Verthelyi, Daniela

    2018-05-25

    Zika-infected patients can have eye involvement ranging from mild conjunctivitis to severe chorioretinal lesions, however the possible long-term sequelae of infection and timeline to recovery remain unknown. Here we describe the partial recovery of chorioretinal lesions in an immunocompetent patient diagnosed with bilateral posterior uveitis associated with Zika infection and show that some lesions resolved with focal atrophy evident as pigmentary changes on funduscopy. To better understand the progression of the lesions and correlate the changes in fundus imaging with local viral load, immune responses, and retinal damage, we developed a symptomatic mouse model of ocular Zika virus infection. Imaging of the fundus revealed multiple hypopigmentary patches indicative of chorioretinal degeneration as well as thinning of the retina that mirror the lesions in patients. Microscopically, the virus primarily infected the optic nerve, retinal ganglion cells, and inner nuclear layer cells, showing thinning of the outer plexiform layer. During acute infection, the eyes showed retinal layer disorganization, retinitis, vitritis, and focal choroiditis, with mild cellular infiltration and increased expression of tumor necrosis factor, interferon-γ, granzyme B, and perforin. Focal areas of gliosis and retinal degeneration persisted 60 dpi. The model recapitulates features of ZIKA infections in patients and should help elucidate the mechanisms underlying the damage to the eyes and aid in the development of effective therapeutics.

  19. Dual-layer electrode-driven liquid crystal lens with electrically tunable focal length and focal plane

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Y. A.; Lin, C. F.; Lin, J. P.; Zeng, X. Y.; Yan, Q.; Zhou, X. T.; Guo, T. L.

    2018-04-01

    Electric-field-driven liquid crystal (ELC) lens with tunable focal length and their depth of field has been extensively applied in 3D display and imaging systems. In this work, a dual-layer electrode-driven liquid crystal (DELC) lens with electrically tunable focal length and controllable focal plane is demonstrated. ITO-SiO2-AZO electrodes with the dual-layer staggered structure on the top substrate are used as driven electrodes within a LC cell, which permits the establishment of an alternative controllability. The focal length of the DELC lens can be adjusted from 1.41 cm to 0.29 cm when the operating voltage changes from 15 V to 40 V. Furthermore, the focal plane of the DELC lens can selectively move by changing the driving method of the applied voltage to the next driven electrodes. This work demonstrates that the DELC lens has potential applications in imaging systems because of electrically tunable focal length and controllable focal plane.

  20. Septic arthritis of the shoulder in a dental patient: a case report and review.

    PubMed

    Dolin, Elana; Perlmutter, Leigh D; Segelnick, Stuart L; Weinberg, Mea A; Schoor, Robert

    2014-04-01

    Septic arthritis of the glenohumoral joint is rare following dental procedures, comprising approximately 3% of all joint infections. Septic arthritis following bacteremia from dental procedures is uncommon and generally occurs in prosthetic joints. Predisposing causes may include immunocompromising diseases such as diabetes, HIV infection, renal failure and intravenous drug abuse. We report a rare case of unilateral glenohumoral joint septic arthritis in a 60-year-old male patient (without a prosthetic joint) secondary to a dental procedure. The insidious nature of the presentation is highlighted. Septic arthritis infections, though rare, require a high level of clinical suspicion. Vague symptoms of shoulder pain may mask the initial diagnosis, as was the case in our patient. Incision and drainage via surgical intervention are often required, followed by parenteral antibiotics.

  1. Pulmonary uptake in Indium-111 leukocyte imaging: clinical significance in patients with suspected occult infections

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Cook, P.S.; Datz, F.L.; Disbro, M.A.

    1984-02-01

    A retrospective review was undertaken to evaluate the frequency and significance of pulmonary activity noted on 306 indium-111 leukocyte studies involving 232 patients with suspected occult infections. Forty-eight studies showed pulmonary activity in one of two patterns of uptake, focal or diffuse. Fourteen of 27 studies (52%) with focal uptake and two of 21 studies (10%) with diffuse uptake were associated with infectious processes. Lung uptake of indium-111-labeled leukocytes was a poor predictor of pulmonary infection in patients studied for occult infection, although the focal pattern was more likely than the diffuse pattern to be associated with infection.

  2. Jordanian dentists' knowledge and implementation of eco-friendly dental office strategies.

    PubMed

    Al Shatrat, Sabha M; Shuman, Deanne; Darby, Michele L; Jeng, Hueiwang A

    2013-06-01

    To investigate the implementation of eco-friendly dental office strategies by Jordanian dentists. Self-designed questionnaires were provided to 150 dentists working in private dental practices in the city of Amman, the capital of Jordan. Dentists' names and addresses were obtained from the Jordanian Dental Association. Overall, the level of knowledge about eco-friendly dental offices strategies was high for amalgam, radiology, paper waste, infection control and energy and water conservation. In terms of implementation, the majority of Jordanian dentists apply few eco-friendly dental offices strategies. The most frequently identified barriers to implementation of eco-friendly dental offices strategies were cost and lack of incentives from the government. Most Jordanian dental practices are not eco-friendly. A continued focus on the impact of dental practices on the environment is needed through formal and continuing dental education. Results of this study can guide policy development to encourage implementation of eco-friendly strategies. © 2013 FDI World Dental Federation.

  3. Education About Dental Hygienists' Roles in Public Dental Prevention Programs: Dental and Dental Hygiene Students' and Faculty Members' and Dental Hygienists' Perspectives.

    PubMed

    Pervez, Anushey; Kinney, Janet S; Gwozdek, Anne; Farrell, Christine M; Inglehart, Marita R

    2016-09-01

    In 2005, Public Act No. 161 (PA 161) was passed in Michigan, allowing dental hygienists to practice in approved public dental prevention programs to provide services for underserved populations while utilizing a collaborative agreement with a supervising dentist. The aims of this study were to assess how well dental and dental hygiene students and faculty members and practicing dental hygienists have been educated about PA 161, what attitudes and knowledge about the act they have, and how interested they are in additional education about it. University of Michigan dental and dental hygiene students and faculty members, students in other Michigan dental hygiene programs, and dental hygienists in the state were surveyed. Respondents (response rate) were 160 dental students (50%), 63 dental hygiene students (82%), 30 dental faculty members (26%), and 12 dental hygiene faculty members (52%) at the University of Michigan; 143 dental hygiene students in other programs (20%); and 95 members of the Michigan Dental Hygienists' Association (10%). The results showed that the dental students were less educated about PA 161 than the dental hygiene students, and the dental faculty members were less informed than the dental hygiene faculty members and dental hygienists. Responding dental hygiene faculty members and dental hygienists had more positive attitudes about PA 161 than did the students and dental faculty members. Most of the dental hygiene faculty members and dental hygienists knew a person providing services in a PA 161 program. Most dental hygiene students, faculty members, and dental hygienists wanted more education about PA 161. Overall, the better educated about the program the respondents were, the more positive their attitudes, and the more interested they were in learning more.

  4. Effect of different disinfection protocols on microbial and biofilm contamination of dental unit waterlines in community dental practices.

    PubMed

    Dallolio, Laura; Scuderi, Amalia; Rini, Maria S; Valente, Sabrina; Farruggia, Patrizia; Sabattini, Maria A Bucci; Pasquinelli, Gianandrea; Acacci, Anna; Roncarati, Greta; Leoni, Erica

    2014-02-18

    Output water from dental unit waterlines (DUWLs) may be a potential source of infection for both dental healthcare staff and patients. This study compared the efficacy of different disinfection methods with regard to the water quality and the presence of biofilm in DUWLs. Five dental units operating in a public dental health care setting were selected. The control dental unit had no disinfection system; two were disinfected intermittently with peracetic acid/hydrogen peroxide 0.26% and two underwent continuous disinfection with hydrogen peroxide/silver ions (0.02%) and stabilized chlorine dioxide (0.22%), respectively. After three months of applying the disinfection protocols, continuous disinfection systems were more effective than intermittent systems in reducing the microbial contamination of the water, allowing compliance with the CDC guidelines and the European Council regulatory thresholds for drinking water. P. aeruginosa, Legionella spp, sulphite-reducing Clostridium spores, S. aureus and β-haemolytic streptococci were also absent from units treated with continuous disinfection. The biofilm covering the DUWLs was more extensive, thicker and more friable in the intermittent disinfection dental units than in those with continuous disinfection. Overall, the findings showed that the products used for continuous disinfection of dental unit waterlines showed statistically better results than the intermittent treatment products under the study conditions.

  5. Effect of Different Disinfection Protocols on Microbial and Biofilm Contamination of Dental Unit Waterlines in Community Dental Practices

    PubMed Central

    Dallolio, Laura; Scuderi, Amalia; Rini, Maria S.; Valente, Sabrina; Farruggia, Patrizia; Bucci Sabattini, Maria A.; Pasquinelli, Gianandrea; Acacci, Anna; Roncarati, Greta; Leoni, Erica

    2014-01-01

    Output water from dental unit waterlines (DUWLs) may be a potential source of infection for both dental healthcare staff and patients. This study compared the efficacy of different disinfection methods with regard to the water quality and the presence of biofilm in DUWLs. Five dental units operating in a public dental health care setting were selected. The control dental unit had no disinfection system; two were disinfected intermittently with peracetic acid/hydrogen peroxide 0.26% and two underwent continuous disinfection with hydrogen peroxide/silver ions (0.02%) and stabilized chlorine dioxide (0.22%), respectively. After three months of applying the disinfection protocols, continuous disinfection systems were more effective than intermittent systems in reducing the microbial contamination of the water, allowing compliance with the CDC guidelines and the European Council regulatory thresholds for drinking water. P. aeruginosa, Legionella spp, sulphite-reducing Clostridium spores, S. aureus and β-haemolytic streptococci were also absent from units treated with continuous disinfection. The biofilm covering the DUWLs was more extensive, thicker and more friable in the intermittent disinfection dental units than in those with continuous disinfection. Overall, the findings showed that the products used for continuous disinfection of dental unit waterlines showed statistically better results than the intermittent treatment products under the study conditions. PMID:24552789

  6. Dental management of pediatric HIV patients--state of Israel, Ministry of Health Project at Rambam Health Care Campus, 2006-2011.

    PubMed

    Yavnai, Nirit; Rosen-Walther, Anda; Pery-Front, Yael; Aizenbud, Dror

    2011-01-01

    Over two million children around the world are living with AIDS. Oral health and oral manifestations, such as dental caries and periodontitis, are important issues requiring focus when treating these children. Descriptive data of a project conducted at Rambam Hospital, financed by the Israeli Ministry of Health, are presented in order to investigate and characterize dental treatment for HIV infected children. Thirty-seven infected children, most originating from the Ethiopian community, participated in the project between 2006 and 2011. A total of 724 dental procedures during 185 dental appointments were performed successfully. These children should be provided proactive preventive dental care, while health service providers should undergo further training on prevention and early identification and management of orofacial manifestations. All dental and medical personnel should be made aware of this service in order to refer HIV infected children who can greatly benefit from this special program.

  7. Evans Blue Staining Reveals Vascular Leakage Associated with Focal Areas of Host-Parasite Interaction in Brains of Pigs Infected with Taenia solium

    PubMed Central

    Paredes, Adriana; Cangalaya, Carla; Rivera, Andrea; Gonzalez, Armando E.; Mahanty, Siddhartha; Garcia, Hector H.; Nash, Theodore E.

    2014-01-01

    Cysticidal drug treatment of viable Taenia solium brain parenchymal cysts leads to an acute pericystic host inflammatory response and blood brain barrier breakdown (BBB), commonly resulting in seizures. Naturally infected pigs, untreated or treated one time with praziquantel were sacrificed at 48 hr and 120 hr following the injection of Evans blue (EB) to assess the effect of treatment on larval parasites and surrounding tissue. Examination of harvested non encapsulated muscle cysts unexpectedly revealed one or more small, focal round region(s) of Evans blue dye infiltration (REBI) on the surface of otherwise non dye-stained muscle cysts. Histopathological analysis of REBI revealed focal areas of eosinophil-rich inflammatory infiltrates that migrated from the capsule into the tegument and internal structures of the parasite. In addition some encapsulated brain cysts, in which the presence of REBI could not be directly assessed, showed histopathology identical to that of the REBI. Muscle cysts with REBI were more frequent in pigs that had received praziquantel (6.6% of 3736 cysts; n = 6 pigs) than in those that were untreated (0.2% of 3172 cysts; n = 2 pigs). Similar results were found in the brain, where 20.7% of 29 cysts showed histopathology identical to muscle REBI cysts in praziquantel-treated pigs compared to the 4.3% of 47 cysts in untreated pigs. Closer examination of REBI infiltrates showed that EB was taken up only by eosinophils, a major component of the cellular infiltrates, which likely explains persistence of EB in the REBI. REBI likely represent early damaging host responses to T. solium cysts and highlight the focal nature of this initial host response and the importance of eosinophils at sites of host-parasite interaction. These findings suggest new avenues for immunomodulation to reduce inflammatory side effects of anthelmintic therapy. PMID:24915533

  8. Application of immunoassay for detection of Helicobacter pylori antigens in the dental plaque.

    PubMed

    Leszczyńska, K; Namiot, D B; Namiot, Z; Leszczyńska, J K; Jakoniuk, P; Kemona, A

    2009-01-01

    The aim of this study was to determine the viability of the commercial test currently used for detection of H. pylori antigens in the stool for detection of H. pylori antigens in dental plaque. A total of 164 dyspeptic patients entered the study; 95 H. pylori infected (positive result of at least 4 of 5 diagnostic tests: Campylobacter-like organisms test (CLO test), histology, culture, stool antigens, serology) and 69 noninfected (negative results of 4 diagnostic tests: CLO test, histology, culture, stool antigens). Dental plaque was collected from natural teeth of the patients and incubated in microaerophilic conditions for 72 hours before immunoassay. Experimental findings included that optimal dental plaque weight to perform the examination was over 2 mg and that preliminary incubation increased significantly the number of positive results (p<0.002). It was also found that H. pylori antigens in the dental plaque were positive in 81.2% of infected and only 17.7% of non-infected subjects (p<0.001), while the reproducibility of results was 95%. The immunoassay for detection of H. pylori antigens in the stool may be used, after minor adaptations (specifically pre-incubation in microaerophilic conditions) for H. pylori antigen detection in dental plaque.

  9. Dental neglect among children in Chennai.

    PubMed

    Gurunathan, Deepa; Shanmugaavel, Arunachalam Karthikeyan

    2016-01-01

    Child dental neglect is the failure of a parent or guardian to meet the child's basic oral health needs such that the child enjoys adequate function and freedom from pain and infection, where reasonable resources are available to family or caregiver. The aim of the study is to evaluate the phenomenon of dental neglect among children in Chennai and to associate dental neglect with oral health status of children aged 3-12 years. This is a cross-sectional study involving 478 pairs of parents and children. Dental neglect scale and a questionnaire were used to assess the dental neglect score among parents of the children involved in the study. Oral health status of children was clinically assessed using oral hygiene index, decayed, extracted, filled teeth (def(t)), pulp, ulcers, fistula, abscess (pufa), decayed, missing, filled teeth (DMFT), PUFA as per the World Health Organization criteria and pufa/PUFA index. Student's t-test and one-way ANOVA were used appropriately for statistical analysis using SPSS software version 20.0. A significant higher dental neglect score was reported among the parents who reside in the suburban location (P < 0.001), whose educational qualification was secondary (P < 0.001) and who have not availed any dental service for >3 years (P = 0.001). A significant higher DMFT (P = 0.003), deft (P = 0 < 0.001), pufa (P = 0.011), and debris index (P = 0.002) scores were seen in the higher dental neglect group. Child dental neglect is seen among the parents whose educational qualification was secondary, who reside in the suburban location, and who have not utilized the dental services for more than 3 years in Chennai. This dental neglect results in poorer oral health of children.

  10. Healthcare-associated viral and bacterial infections in dentistry

    PubMed Central

    Laheij, A.M.G.A.; Kistler, J.O.; Belibasakis, G.N.; Välimaa, H.; de Soet, J.J.

    2012-01-01

    Infection prevention in dentistry is an important topic that has gained more interest in recent years and guidelines for the prevention of cross-transmission are common practice in many countries. However, little is known about the real risks of cross-transmission, specifically in the dental healthcare setting. This paper evaluated the literature to determine the risk of cross-transmission and infection of viruses and bacteria that are of particular relevance in the dental practice environment. Facts from the literature on HSV, VZV, HIV, Hepatitis B, C and D viruses, Mycobacterium spp., Pseudomonas spp., Legionella spp. and multi-resistant bacteria are presented. There is evidence that Hepatitis B virus is a real threat for cross-infection in dentistry. Data for the transmission of, and infection with, other viruses or bacteria in dental practice are scarce. However, a number of cases are probably not acknowledged by patients, healthcare workers and authorities. Furthermore, cross-transmission in dentistry is under-reported in the literature. For the above reasons, the real risks of cross-transmission are likely to be higher. There is therefore a need for prospective longitudinal research in this area, to determine the real risks of cross-infection in dentistry. This will assist the adoption of effective hygiene procedures in dental practice. PMID:22701774

  11. Root canal treatment and general health: a review of the literature.

    PubMed

    Murray, C A; Saunders, W P

    2000-01-01

    The focal infection theory was prominent in the medical literature during the early 1900s and curtailed the progress of endodontics. This theory proposed that microorganisms, or their toxins, arising from a focus of circumscribed infection within a tissue could disseminate systemically, resulting in the initiation or exacerbation of systemic illness or the damage of a distant tissue site. For example, during the focal infection era rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was identified as having a close relationship with dental health. The theory was eventually discredited because there was only anecdotal evidence to support its claims and few scientifically controlled studies. There has been a renewed interest in the influence that foci of infection within the oral tissues may have on general health. Some current research suggests a possible relationship between dental health and cardiovascular disease and published case reports have cited dental sources as causes for several systemic illnesses. Improved laboratory procedures employing sophisticated molecular biological techniques and enhanced culturing techniques have allowed researchers to confirm that bacteria recovered from the peripheral blood during root canal treatment originated in the root canal. It has been suggested that the bacteraemia, or the associated bacterial endotoxins, subsequent to root canal treatment, may cause potential systemic complications. Further research is required, however, using current sampling and laboratory methods from scientifically controlled population groups to determine if a significant relationship between general health and periradicular infection exists.

  12. Levels of career satisfaction amongst dental healthcare professionals: comparison of dental therapists, dental hygienists and dental practitioners.

    PubMed

    Newton, J T; Gibbons, D E

    2001-09-01

    To compare the levels of career satisfaction expressed by three professional groups working in dental health: dental therapists, dental hygienists and dental practitioners. Level of career satisfaction was assessed using a ten point scale in three surveys. Postal surveys were conducted of all dental therapists and dental hygienists registered with the General Dental Council. Data for dental practitioners were collected as part of the British Dental Association Omnibus Survey 2000. Data are reported for 227 dental therapists, 2,251 dental hygienists and 970 dental practitioners. Significant differences were found between groups in the level of career satisfaction expressed. Dental practitioners were less likely to express high levels of satisfaction in comparison with the other two professional groups. Within each group characteristics of the respondents were associated with satisfaction levels. Younger dental therapists and dental hygienists expressed lower levels of career satisfaction. The level of career satisfaction expressed by dental practitioners was associated with gender, place of work (North vs South UK), year of qualification, size of practice and system of remuneration. Dental practitioners express lower levels of job satisfaction in comparison to other groups of dental health care professionals. Job dissatisfaction among dental practitioners is related to a number of socio-demographic factors.

  13. Dental Emergencies: Management Strategies That Improve Outcomes [Digest].

    PubMed

    Pedigo, Ryan Anthony; Zaurova, Milana

    2017-06-22

    Points & Pearls is a digest of Emergency Medicine Practice . Acute dental emergencies are a common chief complaint presenting to emergency departments, and they are increasing substantially in frequency. The diagnosis and management of dental emergencies is a core competency of the emergency clinician, and proper therapeutic strategies can significantly improve cosmetic and functional outcomes for patients. This issue provides a systematic review of the literature on common acute traumatic and atraumatic dental emergencies with a focus on the historical and physical examination findings that must be understood to identify life-threatening infections, relieve pain, salvage natural teeth, and communicate with specialists in the further management of patients after emergency treatment.

  14. Dental Calculus Arrest of Dental Caries.

    PubMed

    Keyes, Paul H; Rams, Thomas E

    An inverse relationship between dental calculus mineralization and dental caries demineralization on teeth has been noted in some studies. Dental calculus may even form superficial layers over existing dental caries and arrest their progression, but this phenomenon has been only rarely documented and infrequently considered in the field of Cariology. To further assess the occurrence of dental calculus arrest of dental caries, this study evaluated a large number of extracted human teeth for the presence and location of dental caries, dental calculus, and dental plaque biofilms. A total of 1,200 teeth were preserved in 10% buffered formal saline, and viewed while moist by a single experienced examiner using a research stereomicroscope at 15-25× magnification. Representative teeth were sectioned and photographed, and their dental plaque biofilms subjected to gram-stain examination with light microscopy at 100× magnification. Dental calculus was observed on 1,140 (95%) of the extracted human teeth, and no dental carious lesions were found underlying dental calculus-covered surfaces on 1,139 of these teeth. However, dental calculus arrest of dental caries was found on one (0.54%) of 187 evaluated teeth that presented with unrestored proximal enamel caries. On the distal surface of a maxillary premolar tooth, dental calculus mineralization filled the outer surface cavitation of an incipient dental caries lesion. The dental calculus-covered carious lesion extended only slightly into enamel, and exhibited a brown pigmentation characteristic of inactive or arrested dental caries. In contrast, the tooth's mesial surface, without a superficial layer of dental calculus, had a large carious lesion going through enamel and deep into dentin. These observations further document the potential protective effects of dental calculus mineralization against dental caries.

  15. Dental Calculus Arrest of Dental Caries

    PubMed Central

    Keyes, Paul H.; Rams, Thomas E.

    2016-01-01

    Background An inverse relationship between dental calculus mineralization and dental caries demineralization on teeth has been noted in some studies. Dental calculus may even form superficial layers over existing dental caries and arrest their progression, but this phenomenon has been only rarely documented and infrequently considered in the field of Cariology. To further assess the occurrence of dental calculus arrest of dental caries, this study evaluated a large number of extracted human teeth for the presence and location of dental caries, dental calculus, and dental plaque biofilms. Materials and methods A total of 1,200 teeth were preserved in 10% buffered formal saline, and viewed while moist by a single experienced examiner using a research stereomicroscope at 15-25× magnification. Representative teeth were sectioned and photographed, and their dental plaque biofilms subjected to gram-stain examination with light microscopy at 100× magnification. Results Dental calculus was observed on 1,140 (95%) of the extracted human teeth, and no dental carious lesions were found underlying dental calculus-covered surfaces on 1,139 of these teeth. However, dental calculus arrest of dental caries was found on one (0.54%) of 187 evaluated teeth that presented with unrestored proximal enamel caries. On the distal surface of a maxillary premolar tooth, dental calculus mineralization filled the outer surface cavitation of an incipient dental caries lesion. The dental calculus-covered carious lesion extended only slightly into enamel, and exhibited a brown pigmentation characteristic of inactive or arrested dental caries. In contrast, the tooth's mesial surface, without a superficial layer of dental calculus, had a large carious lesion going through enamel and deep into dentin. Conclusions These observations further document the potential protective effects of dental calculus mineralization against dental caries. PMID:27446993

  16. Extending Medicare coverage to medically necessary dental care.

    PubMed

    Patton, L L; White, B A; Field, M J

    2001-09-01

    Periodically, Congress considers expanding Medicare coverage to include some currently excluded health care services. In 1999 and 2000, an Institute of Medicine committee studied the issues related to coverage for certain services, including "medically necessary dental services." The committee conducted a literature search for dental care studies in five areas: head and neck cancer, leukemia, lymphoma, organ transplantation, and heart valve repair or replacement. The committee examined evidence to support Medicare coverage for dental services related to these conditions and estimated the cost to Medicare of such coverage. Evidence supported Medicare coverage for preventive dental care before jaw radiation therapy for head or neck cancer and coverage for treatment to prevent or eliminate acute oral infections for patients with leukemia before chemotherapy. Insufficient evidence supported dental coverage for patients with lymphoma or organ transplants and for patients who had undergone heart valve repair or replacement. The committee suggested that Congress update statutory language to permit Medicare coverage of effective dental services needed in conjunction with surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy or pharmacological treatment for life-threatening medical conditions. Dental care is important for members of all age groups. More direct, research-based evidence on the efficacy of medically necessary dental care is needed both to guide treatment and to support Medicare payment policy.

  17. Use of Antibiotic Prophylaxis for Tooth Extractions, Dental Implants, and Periodontal Surgical Procedures

    PubMed Central

    Henschel, Heather; Patel, Ursula; Fitzpatrick, Margaret A; Evans, Charlesnika T

    2018-01-01

    Abstract Background Guidelines for antibiotics prior to dental procedures for patients with specific cardiac conditions and prosthetic joints have changed, reducing indications for antibiotic prophylaxis. In addition to guidelines focused on patient comorbidities, systematic reviews specific to dental extractions and implants support preprocedure antibiotics for all patients. However, data on dentist adherence to these recommendations are scarce. Methods This was a cross-sectional study of veterans undergoing tooth extractions, dental implants, and periodontal procedures. Patients receiving antibiotics for oral or nonoral infections were excluded. Data were collected through manual review of the health record. Results Of 183 veterans (mean age, 62 years; 94.5% male) undergoing the included procedures, 82.5% received antibiotic prophylaxis (mean duration, 7.1 ± 1.6 days). Amoxicillin (71.3% of antibiotics) and clindamycin (23.8%) were prescribed most frequently; 44.7% of patients prescribed clindamycin were not labeled as penicillin allergic. Of those who received prophylaxis, 92.1% received postprocedure antibiotics only, 2.6% received preprocedural antibiotics only, and 5.3% received pre- and postprocedure antibiotics. When prophylaxis was indicated, 87.3% of patients received an antibiotic. However, 84.9% received postprocedure antibiotics when preprocedure administration was indicated. While the majority of antibiotics were indicated, only 8.2% of patients received antibiotics appropriately. The primary reason was secondary to prolonged duration. Three months postprocedure, there were no occurrences of Clostridium difficile infection, infective endocarditis, prosthetic joint infections, or postprocedure oral infections. Conclusion The majority of patients undergoing a dental procedure received antibiotic prophylaxis as indicated. Although patients for whom antibiotic prophylaxis was indicated should have received a single preprocedure dose, most antibiotics

  18. Occupational Bloodborne Exposure Incident Survey & Management of Exposure Incidents in a Dental Teaching Environment

    PubMed Central

    Sedky, Nabila A.

    2013-01-01

    Objectives The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of occupational exposure incidents among undergraduate dental students and the factors associated with it in the educational dental clinics at Pharos University in Alexandria – Egypt, and to measure the commitment with applying infection control policy in the form of compliance with post-exposure management protocol and reporting exposure incidents. Materials and Methods An anonymous self-administered questionnaire consisting of thirteen multiple-choice questions was distributed among 350 undergraduate dental students in mid-senior and senior levels during lectures at the end of the second semester of 2011, with a response rate of 90.00%. Results About 62.00% of the senior students reported that exposures occurred outside the patient’s mouth. A high percentage of both the mid-senior and senior students (74.70% and 70.70%, respectively) reported that they were exposed to multiple sources of incidents. The vast majority of studied groups stated that they didn’t follow Infection Control Protocol after Incident Exposure. Conclusion The findings of this study confirm that dental students experience exposure incidents but are not likely to report them, thus it is important that the principles of infection control training and reporting of all exposure incidents continue to be emphasized throughout undergraduate dental education. PMID:24421746

  19. Bruxism and Dental Implants: A Meta-Analysis.

    PubMed

    Chrcanovic, Bruno Ramos; Albrektsson, Tomas; Wennerberg, Ann

    2015-10-01

    To test the null hypothesis of no difference in the implant failure rates, postoperative infection, and marginal bone loss after the insertion of dental implants in bruxers compared with the insertion in non-bruxers against the alternative hypothesis of a difference. An electronic search was undertaken in June 2014. Eligibility criteria included clinical studies, either randomized or not. Ten publications were included with a total of 760 implants inserted in bruxers (49 failures; 6.45%) and 2989 in non-bruxers (109 failures; 3.65%). Due to lack of information, meta-analyses for the outcomes "postoperative infection" and "marginal bone loss" were not possible. A risk ratio of 2.93 was found (95% confidence interval, 1.48-5.81; P = 0.002). These results cannot suggest that the insertion of dental implants in bruxers affects the implant failure rates due to a limited number of published studies, all characterized by a low level of specificity, and most of them deal with a limited number of cases without a control group. Therefore, the real effect of bruxing habits on the osseointegration and survival of endosteal dental implants is still not well established.

  20. Infection Control in Air Force Dental Clinics,

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1980-12-01

    x n. ’ ’, ,’ ,,, ,, , f’K water, sodium hypochlorite , -r dISrhI. Chlorine--Sodiu n hypochlori e solution d, id I,:t - , ical nondi sposable and...ethylene oxide. Dipi?1f’et using a 10- minute glutaraldehyde soak, a 1-minute sodium hypochlorite soak (unless instru- ments contain metal), or an...nonmetal, immerse it in 1:10 diluted sodium hypochlorite (household bleach) for 2-3 minutes. If possible, in the dental treatment room scrub

  1. Complications of correction for focal kyphosis after posterior osteotomy and the corresponding management.

    PubMed

    Zeng, Yan; Chen, Zhongqiang; Guo, Zhaoqing; Qi, Qiang; Li, Weishi; Sun, Chuiguo

    2013-10-01

    A clinical retrospective study. To analyze the complications and relevant management of the correction procedure for focal kyphosis. The treatment of focal kyphosis is a difficult problem in spine surgery. The potential complications of surgery should be considered cautiously and managed positively. Eighty-one patients with focal kyphosis were treated by posterior osteotomy and correction. The etiology was posttraumatic in 31 cases, healed tuberculosis in 31 cases, congenital in 17 cases, and iatrogenic in 2 cases. The surgical procedures were pedicle subtraction osteotomy in 19 cases, posterior osteotomy with anterior opening-posterior closing correction in 23 cases, and posterior vertebral column resection with dual axial rotation correction in 39 cases. The intraoperative and postoperative complications were summarized, and the corresponding management was described in detail. The average follow-up time was 31 months. Among patients who underwent pedicle subtraction osteotomy, the intraoperative and postoperative complications included 3 cases of dural tear and 1 case of wound infection. For posterior osteotomy with anterior opening-posterior closing correction, the complications included 4 cases of dural tear, 1 case of wound infection, and 1 case of instrumentation loosening and recurrence of kyphosis . For posterior vertebral column resection with dual axial rotation correction, the complications included 3 cases of dural tear, 5 cases of nerve root injury, 1 case of titanium mesh loosening, 1 case of osteotomy segment migration, 2 cases of transient neurological compromise, and 1 case of instrumentation loosening and kyphosis recurrence. All the complications were treated positively and pertinently. During the posterior osteotomy and correction of focal kyphosis, the risk of surgery increases along with the more severe deformity and the more complicated surgical procedure. However, most complications do not significantly affect the outcome if treated

  2. Health risks facing travelers to Russia with special reference to natural-focal diseases.

    PubMed

    Malkhazova, Svetlana M; Mironova, Varvara A; Shartova, Natalia V; Pestina, Polina V; Orlov, Dmitry S

    2015-01-01

    Russia, an enormous country almost completely located within temperate latitudes, has a broad spectrum of natural landscapes which attract increasing numbers of tourists, from arctic deserts in the north to steppes and deserts in the south. Currently, tourism is undergoing active development in Russia: new travel routes, including ones that involve visiting the wilderness, are steadily appearing. Among the multitude of infectious diseases that can endanger travelers, natural-focal diseases, whose agents and/or carriers are integral to natural landscapes, are especially prominent. Some of the results of the study of natural-focal infections and parasitoses, which are necessary to evaluate the recreational and travel potential of the Russian Federation, are presented and discussed in this article. A cartographical and statistical analysis of infectious and parasitic natural-focal diseases, spanning more than a decade (1997-2013), is the basis of this article. This analysis, along with that of additional cartographical and textual sources, reveals that natural-focal infections are most diverse between 48° N and 60° N and least diverse in the northern regions of the Far East of Russia. Different regions have different numbers of nosoforms and different morbidity level, which signifies an irregularity in the distribution of parasitic diseases. This medico-geographical information may be useful both for individual tourists planning trips to Russia and tour agencies organizing tour groups. It also can be used by health advisers when they consult people before a trip, to assess the actual risks, suggest a number of precautions and pick the particular diseases out of those listed that actually constitute a risk in certain regions, and suggest a suitable preventative treatment if needed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Molecular identification and antibiotic resistant bacteria isolated from primary dentition infections.

    PubMed

    Loyola-Rodriguez, J P; Garcia-Cortes, J O; Martinez-Martinez, R E; Patiño-Marin, N; Martinez-Castañon, G A; Zavala-Alonso, N V; Amano, A

    2014-12-01

    Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is a health problem in many parts of the world. The aim of this study was to identify bacteria from dental infections and determine bacterial resistance to antibiotics used in dental care in the primary dentition. This cross-sectional study comprised 60 children who presented for dental treatment for active dental infections in the primary dentition. Samples from dental infections were collected and bacteria were identified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. Bacterial resistance to antibiotics was determined by colony forming units on agar plates containing amoxicillin, clindamycin and amoxillicin-clavulanic acid (A-CA) tested at 8 μg/ml or 16 μg/ml. Clindamycin in both concentrations tested (8 μg/ml and 16 μg/ml) showed the highest bacterial resistance (85.9%), followed by amoxicillin (43.7%) and A-CA (12.0%). All comparisons among the three antibiotics used in the study exhibited statistical significance (p = <0.05) in both concentrations tested (8 μg/ml and 16 μg/ml), and under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. The most prevalent resistant species identified by PCR in primary dentition infections were: Streptococcus oralis and Prevotella intermedia (75.0%); Treponema denticola and Porphyromonas gingivalis (48.3%); Streptococcus mutans (45.0%); Campylobacter rectus; and Streptococcus salivarius (40%). This study demonstrated that A-CA exhibited the lowest bacterial resistance for clinical isolates in primary dentition infections. © 2014 Australian Dental Association.

  4. Focal surfaces of hyperbolic cylinders

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Georgiev, Georgi Hristov; Pavlov, Milen Dimov

    2017-12-01

    Cylindrical surfaces have many applications in geometric modeling, architecture and other branches of engineering. In this paper, we describe two cylindrical surfaces associated to a given hyperbolic cylinder. The first one is a focal surface which is determined by reciprocal principle curvature of the hyperbolic cylinder. The second one is a generalized focal surface obtained by reciprocal mean curvature of the same hyperbolic cylinder. In particular, we show that each of these surfaces admits three different parametric representations. As consequence, it is proved that the focal and generalized focal surfaces of the hyperbolic cylinder are rational surfaces. An illustrative example is included.

  5. Knowledge and attitude toward human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immuno deficiency syndrome among dental and medical undergraduate students

    PubMed Central

    Kumar, Vinod; Patil, Kavitha; Munoli, Karishma

    2015-01-01

    Background and Objectives: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a major public health challenge. Unjustified calls for the isolation of patients with HIV infection might further constrain the potential for expansion of clinical services to deal with a greater number of such patients. This infectious illness can evoke irrational emotions and fears in health care providers. Keeping this in view, a study was conducted to assess the knowledge and attitudes related to HIV/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) among dental and medical students. Methodology: Descriptive cross-sectional survey of the entire dental and medical undergraduate students from two colleges was carried out using a pretested, self-administered questionnaire. Descriptive statistics such as percentage was used to present the data. Results: Ninety-eight percentage medical and dental undergraduate graduate students knew about HIV transmission in the hospital. Journals and internet were the leading source of information among both medical and dental undergraduates. The majority of respondents discussed HIV-related issues with their classmates. Surprisingly, 38% medical and 52% dental undergraduates think that HIV patient should be quarantined (isolation) to prevent the spread of infection. 68% medical and 60% dental undergraduates are willing to rendering dental/medical care to HIV-infected patients. Relatively large proportion (98%) of participants was willing to participate for HIV prevention program. Conclusion: The knowledge of medical and dental students is adequate, but the attitude needs improvement. Dental and medical students constitute a useful public health education resource. Comprehensive training, continuing education, and motivation will improve their knowledge and attitude, which enable them to provide better care to HIV patients. PMID:26538940

  6. [Clinico-pathogenetic variants of neurocirculatory dystonia in patients with a chronic focal infection of the upper respiratory tract].

    PubMed

    Bashmakova, N V

    1994-01-01

    Particular features have been studied of clinical course of neurocirculatory dystonia (NCD) in 604 patients with chronic focal infection (ChFI) of upper respiratory tract. Comprehensive paraclinical examination of patients included the analysis of actual psychoemotional state and certain psychophysiological parameters such as time for simple and complex sensomotor reaction, memory, attention; status of vegetative regulation (tone, reactivity, vegetative security of activity) and its neurohumoral and metabolic provision; adaptive potentialities of vegetative, neuroendocrine and cardiorespiratory systems to mental, psychoemotional and physical demands; tonsillocardiac and palatocardiac reflexes according to an original methodology. Described for the first time are two clinico-pathogenetic variants ("peripheral" and "central") of NCD in patients with ChFI, which can be distinguished by severity of clinical manifestations, as well as by degree of disturbances in homeostasis and adaptation in vegetative, neurohumoral, somatic and psychoemotional spheres. Practical significance of the aforementioned variants consists in feasibility of employing pathogenetic approaches to the treatment of NCD and ChFI patients. Pathogenetic method of treatment of patients with NCD and ChFI is discussed.

  7. Classification of Focal and Non Focal Epileptic Seizures Using Multi-Features and SVM Classifier.

    PubMed

    Sriraam, N; Raghu, S

    2017-09-02

    Identifying epileptogenic zones prior to surgery is an essential and crucial step in treating patients having pharmacoresistant focal epilepsy. Electroencephalogram (EEG) is a significant measurement benchmark to assess patients suffering from epilepsy. This paper investigates the application of multi-features derived from different domains to recognize the focal and non focal epileptic seizures obtained from pharmacoresistant focal epilepsy patients from Bern Barcelona database. From the dataset, five different classification tasks were formed. Total 26 features were extracted from focal and non focal EEG. Significant features were selected using Wilcoxon rank sum test by setting p-value (p < 0.05) and z-score (-1.96 > z > 1.96) at 95% significance interval. Hypothesis was made that the effect of removing outliers improves the classification accuracy. Turkey's range test was adopted for pruning outliers from feature set. Finally, 21 features were classified using optimized support vector machine (SVM) classifier with 10-fold cross validation. Bayesian optimization technique was adopted to minimize the cross-validation loss. From the simulation results, it was inferred that the highest sensitivity, specificity, and classification accuracy of 94.56%, 89.74%, and 92.15% achieved respectively and found to be better than the state-of-the-art approaches. Further, it was observed that the classification accuracy improved from 80.2% with outliers to 92.15% without outliers. The classifier performance metrics ensures the suitability of the proposed multi-features with optimized SVM classifier. It can be concluded that the proposed approach can be applied for recognition of focal EEG signals to localize epileptogenic zones.

  8. Eye protection in dental laboratories.

    PubMed

    Palenik, C J

    1997-09-01

    Many dental laboratory procedures increase the chances of serious eye injury. This would include traumatic injuries due to projectiles or through exposure to harsh chemicals or heat and infections from contact with patient body fluids. To help assure a safer working environment, awareness of the need for eye protection must be established and maintained by all laboratory personnel. The purpose of this article are: 1) to list the applicable federal regulations concerning eye safety in dental laboratory workplaces; 2) to describe the various types of appropriate eyewear; and 3) to identify which protective devices best prevent exposure to specific types of hazards. The goal of this article is to help dental laboratories with their employee safety programs, especially concerning the selection of protective eyewear. Such programs must include engineering controls and work practice controls plus appropriate personal protective equipment. Laboratories today must comply with safety mandates in the most effective and efficient manner.

  9. Prevention of healthcare-associated infections: knowledge among dental students in seven Italian universities.

    PubMed

    Pasquarella, Cesira; Veronesi, Licia; Castiglia, Paolo; D'Alessandro, Daniela; Legnani, Pierpaolo; Minelli, Liliana; Montagna, Maria Teresa; Napoli, Christian; Righi, Elena; Strohmenger, Laura; Tesauro, Marina; Torre, Ida; Tanzi, Maria Luiza

    2015-01-01

    Lack of knowledge is the major reason for non-compliance with correct healthcare-associated infections (HAI) prevention procedures. The aim of this study was to evaluate knowledge of the Dental School (DSS) and Dental Hygiene (DHS) students with regard to the prevention of HAI, as basic knowledge for improving and harmonizing the educational content in the different Italian Universities. A cross-sectional study was carried out using an anonymous questionnaire that was completed by DSS (I, II, III, IV, and V year) in seven Universities and DHS (I, II, and III year) in three Universities. The questions dealt with three specific areas: healthcare-associated infections, standard precautions and hand hygiene. Factors associated with an unacceptable level of knowledge (score <17.5) were analyzed using a logistic regression model. A p value <0.05 was considered to be significant. Five hundred and four questionnaires were collected: 81.5% for DSS and 18.5% for DHS. Mean overall score (±DS) achieved by the total number of students was 18.2±2.93 on an overall perfect score of 25; 18.2±3.04 for DSS and 17.8±2.31 for DHS. Stratifying by area, the average score 2.7±1.07 (53%) for HAI, 10.3±1.61 (85.9%) for standard precautions, and 5.2±1.44 (64.8%) for hand hygiene was observed. A significantly different level of knowledge (p<0.001) between DSS and DHS was observed only for HAI (2.8±1.07 for DSS vs 2.1±0.96 for DHS). Significant differences among the academic years were found only for DSS concerning HAI and standard precautions. The logistic regression model showed that an age <23 years was a risk factor for lack of knowledge on HAI, but a protective factor for lack of knowledge about standard precautions and hand hygiene; attending DH degree course was associated with lack of knowledge on HAI. Although the overall score obtained both by DSS and DHS indicated an acceptable level of knowledge, lack of knowledge was highlighted, in particular, for hand hygiene. Therefore

  10. Distribution of amoxicillin-resistant oral streptococci in dental plaque specimens obtained from Japanese children and adolescents at risk for infective endocarditis.

    PubMed

    Nemoto, Hirotoshi; Nomura, Ryota; Ooshima, Takashi; Nakano, Kazuhiko

    2013-11-01

    Infective endocarditis (IE) is known to be a life-threatening disease and prevention of its onset is important. Oral amoxicillin (AMPC) is generally prescribed to patients at risk for IE prior to undergoing risky procedures, such as invasive dental treatments. We previously found that approximately 5% of systemically healthy Japanese subjects harbor strains highly resistant to AMPC. In the present study, the prevalence of strains in patients at risk for IE was investigated. Thirty-four Japanese children and adolescents designated at risk for IE by their cardiovascular surgeons participated. Dental plaque specimens were obtained at recall examinations for dental checkups and placed in sterile phosphate-buffered saline, then diluted and streaked onto selective media for oral streptococci and also media containing AMPC. Nine strains with a minimum inhibitory concentration of AMPC of 16μg/mL or more were isolated from 7 of the subjects (20.6%), each of which was also resistant to other antibiotics analyzed except for new quinolone drugs. The 16S rRNA sequence of each strain demonstrated that all were oral streptococcal species. In addition, dental plaque specimens collected from 5 subjects after an additional interval of 3-4 months showed that 2 harbored the same clones at different time points. These findings suggest a higher prevalence of AMPC-resistant strains in children and adolescents at risk for IE as compared to systemically healthy subjects. Thus, alternative antibiotics should be considered for such subjects when performing prophylaxis procedures. Copyright © 2013 Japanese College of Cardiology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. [Correlation between dental pulp demyelination degree and pain visual analogue scale scores data under acute and chronic pulpitis].

    PubMed

    Korsantiia, N B; Davarashvili, X T; Gogiashvili, L E; Mamaladze, M T; Tsagareli, Z G; Melikadze, E B

    2013-05-01

    The aim of study is the analysis of pulp nerve fibers demyelination degree and its relationship with Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score that may be measured as objective criteria. Material and methods of study. Step I: electron micrografs of dental pulp simples with special interest of myelin structural changes detected in 3 scores system, obtained from 80 patients, displays in 4 groups: 1) acute and 2) chronic pulpitis without and with accompined systemic deseases, 20 patients in each group. Dental care was realized in Kutaisi N1 Dental clinic. Step II - self-reported VAS used for describing dental pain. All data were performed by SPSS 10,0 version statistics including Spearmen-rank and Mann-Whitny coefficients for examine the validity between pulp demyelination degree and pain intensity in verbal, numbered and box scales. Researched Data were shown that damaged myelin as focal decomposition of membranes and Schwann cells hyperthrophia correspond with acute dental pain intensity as Spearman index reported in VAS numbered Scales, myelin and axoplasm degeneration as part of chronic gangrenous pulpitis disorders are in direct correlation with VAS in verbal, numbered and behavioral Rating Scales. In fact, all morphological and subjective data, including psychomotoric assessment of dental painin pulpitis may be used in dental practice for evaluation of pain syndrome considered personal story.

  12. The Oral Health Self-Care Behavior and Dental Attitudes among Nursing Home Personnel

    PubMed Central

    Wiener, R. Constance; Meckstroth, Richard

    2014-01-01

    The need for nursing home care will increase for the next several decades. Rural areas will be impacted in particular, as many older adults live in rural areas. Daily oral infection control changes when a person moves from independent living to institutional living. Oral care to dependent individuals is influenced by many factors. The purpose of this study is to determine the association of oral health self-care behavior with dental attitudes in nursing home personnel in a rural state. A survey was provided to attendees at an oral health conference. Questions were asked to determine dental knowledge, oral health self-care behavior, and dental care attitudes. Of 128 long term care health care facilities’ personnel invited, there were 31 attendees, and 21 of the attendees participated (67.7%). Nursing home personnel had a high level of dental knowledge. Oral health self-care behavior was independently influenced by dental knowledge (β=0.17; p=0.0444) and dental attitudes (β=0.55; p=.0081). Further investigation is needed to determine if oral health self-care attitudes and oral self-care behavior of nursing home personnel are factors in the provision of quality daily oral infection control for dependent nursing home residents living in rural areas. PMID:25349776

  13. Statistical Earthquake Focal Mechanism Forecasts

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kagan, Y. Y.; Jackson, D. D.

    2013-12-01

    The new whole Earth focal mechanism forecast, based on the GCMT catalog, has been created. In the present forecast, the sum of normalized seismic moment tensors within 1000 km radius is calculated and the P- and T-axes for the focal mechanism are evaluated on the basis of the sum. Simultaneously we calculate an average rotation angle between the forecasted mechanism and all the surrounding mechanisms. This average angle shows tectonic complexity of a region and indicates the accuracy of the prediction. The method was originally proposed by Kagan and Jackson (1994, JGR). Recent interest by CSEP and GEM has motivated some improvements, particularly to extend the previous forecast to polar and near-polar regions. The major problem in extending the forecast is the focal mechanism calculation on a spherical surface. In the previous forecast as our average focal mechanism was computed, it was assumed that longitude lines are approximately parallel within 1000 km radius. This is largely accurate in the equatorial and near-equatorial areas. However, when one approaches the 75 degree latitude, the longitude lines are no longer parallel: the bearing (azimuthal) difference at points separated by 1000 km reach about 35 degrees. In most situations a forecast point where we calculate an average focal mechanism is surrounded by earthquakes, so a bias should not be strong due to the difference effect cancellation. But if we move into polar regions, the bearing difference could approach 180 degrees. In a modified program focal mechanisms have been projected on a plane tangent to a sphere at a forecast point. New longitude axes which are parallel in the tangent plane are corrected for the bearing difference. A comparison with the old 75S-75N forecast shows that in equatorial regions the forecasted focal mechanisms are almost the same, and the difference in the forecasted focal mechanisms rotation angle is close to zero. However, though the forecasted focal mechanisms are similar

  14. Evaluation of mycological contamination of dental unit waterlines.

    PubMed

    Szymańska, Jolanta

    2005-01-01

    The quality of dental unit water is of great importance since patients and dental staff are regularly exposed to water from aerosols generated during work. The main purpose of this investigation was mycological evaluation of dental unit waterlines (DUWL). The author determined the number and species of fungi present in the water from a unit reservoir which is the source of water for a dental unit, in the water flowing from a high-speed handpiece of a unit, and in the swab sample collected from the wall of a waterline connecting a unit reservoir and dental handpieces. The following mould fungi were identified: Aspergillus amstelodami, Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus spp. from Aspergillus glaucus group, Aspergillus repens, Citromyces spp., Geotrichum candidum, Penicillium aspergilliforme, Penicillium pusillum, Penicillium turolense, Sclerotium sclerotiorum; yeast-like fungi: Candida albicans, Candida curvata and other yeasts. Some of them, in certain circumstances, especially in people with immunological disorders, may be a cause of opportunistic infections. Thus, it is necessary that the DUWL should be submitted to a decontamination protocol and to routine microbial monitoring to guarantee an appropriate quality of water used in dental treatment.

  15. Porphyromonas (Bacteroides) endodontalis: its role in endodontal infections.

    PubMed

    van Winkelhoff, A J; van Steenbergen, T J; de Graaff, J

    1992-09-01

    Porphyromonas endodontalis (formerly Bacteroides endodontalis) is a black-pigmented anaerobic Gram-negative rod which is associated with endodontal infections. It has been isolated from infected dental root canals and submucous abscesses of endodontal origin. The presence of P. endodontalis in infected dental root canals has been correlated with symptoms of an acute infection. It is occasionally found on oral mucous membranes and periodontal pockets. P. endodontalis has shown relatively low virulence in experimental monoinfections. In anaerobic mixed infections it can play an essential role. Differences in virulence between strains have been related to capsular material. On the basis of different types of capsules, three serotypes have been described. P. endodontalis is sensitive to a wide range of antibiotics, including the penicillins, the tetracyclines, and metronidazole.

  16. Impact of the "Guidelines for infection prevention in dentistry" (2006) by the Commission of Hospital Hygiene and Infection Prevention at the Robert Koch-Institute (KRINKO) on hygiene management in dental practices - analysis of a survey from 2009.

    PubMed

    Hübner, Nils-Olaf; Handrup, Stephan; Meyer, Georg; Kramer, Axel

    2012-01-01

    To assess trends in hygiene management in dental practices in comparison to an earlier survey in 2002/2003 and to point out key aspects for future efforts. The infection prevention management of all dental practices in Greifswald (n=35) was determined by a questionnaire in a personal interview in 2008/2009. 26% of the dentists did not use sufficient personal protective equipment during the general examination of the patient. In conservative and prosthetic dentistry, 15% still did not use adequate measures and 9% did not even in surgical interventions. Vaccination coverage was clearly too low, as only 35% of dentists were vaccinated against influenza and coverage with other vaccinations was also quite low. 11% of the dentists did not perform a documented anamnesis and in 29% of the dental practices no appointment system for risk patients existed.There were significant deficiencies in the reprocessing of medical devices and in the equipment needed for reprocessing. The opportunity to participate in further training in this field was rejected by 23% of the dentists.In 10 dental practices, the colony count in the dental unit water-conducting system was five times higher than the limit. A contamination with P. aeruginosa was discovered in 4 practices. All units were renovated. Overall, both the hygiene management and hygiene equipment in the practices have improved considerably compared to the previous survey in 2002/2003. This demonstrates the positive effect of the KRINKO guidelines from 2006. However, the survey again showed relevant deficiences in the hygiene management of dental practices, which agrees with a Germany-wide online survey from 2009. While the study revealed persistent deficiencies in hygiene management, especially in reprocessing, it confirms that the KRINKO guidelines for dental practices from 2006 led to significant improvements in hygiene management. Doubts about the impact of the guidelines are not backed by evidence.

  17. [Dental management in patients with cirrhosis].

    PubMed

    Rodríguez Martínez, Sandra; Talaván Serna, Julio; Silvestre, Francisco-Javier

    2016-03-01

    The present article makes a brief review about dental management of the patients with cirrhosis. It focus on problems related with infections, haemorrhagic events and treatment with drugs of common use in odontology. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier España, S.L.U. and AEEH y AEG. All rights reserved.

  18. Dental Imaging - A basic guide for the radiologist.

    PubMed

    Masthoff, Max; Gerwing, Mirjam; Masthoff, Malte; Timme, Maximilian; Kleinheinz, Johannes; Berninger, Markus; Heindel, Walter; Wildgruber, Moritz; Schülke, Christoph

    2018-06-18

     As dental imaging accounts for approximately 40 % of all X-ray examinations in Germany, profound knowledge of this topic is essential not only for the dentist but also for the clinical radiologist. This review focuses on basic imaging findings regarding the teeth. Therefore, tooth structure, currently available imaging techniques and common findings in conserving dentistry including endodontology, periodontology, implantology and dental trauma are presented.  Literature research on the current state of dental radiology was performed using Pubmed.  Currently, the most frequent imaging techniques are the orthopantomogram (OPG) and single-tooth radiograph, as well as computer tomography (CT) and cone beam CT mainly for implantology (planning or postoperative control) or trauma indications. Especially early diagnosis and correct classification of a dental trauma, such as dental pulp involvement, prevents from treatment delays or worsening of therapy options and prognosis. Furthermore, teeth are commonly a hidden focus of infection.Since radiologists are frequently confronted with dental imaging, either concerning a particular question such as a trauma patient or regarding incidental findings throughout head and neck imaging, further training in this field is more than worthwhile to facilitate an early and sufficient dental treatment.   · This review focuses on dental imaging techniques and the most important pathologies.. · Dental pathologies may not only be locally but also systemically relevant.. · Reporting of dental findings is important for best patient care.. · Masthoff M, Gerwing M, Masthoff M et al. Dental Imaging - A basic guide for the radiologist. Fortschr Röntgenstr 2018; DOI: 10.1055/a-0636-4129. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  19. Sighting optics including an optical element having a first focal length and a second focal length

    DOEpatents

    Crandall, David Lynn [Idaho Falls, ID

    2011-08-01

    One embodiment of sighting optics according to the teachings provided herein may include a front sight and a rear sight positioned in spaced-apart relation. The rear sight includes an optical element having a first focal length and a second focal length. The first focal length is selected so that it is about equal to a distance separating the optical element and the front sight and the second focal length is selected so that it is about equal to a target distance. The optical element thus brings into simultaneous focus, for a user, images of the front sight and the target.

  20. Focal stimulation of the brain by entirely extracranial means. An example of radiation controlled focal pharmacology

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Remler, M.P.

    A method for focal stimulation of the brain by entirely extracranial means is presented. A focal x ray lesion of cortex was made that reduces the blood-brain barrier in that area. Then parenteral penicillin was administered. Penicillin is primarily confined to the vascular space by the blood-brain barrier in all parts of the brain except for some leakage into the brain at higher doses. An increased concentration of penicillin is created in the irradiated cortex. The penicillin creates a focal epileptic lesion in the irradiated area. This is an example of radiation-controlled focal pharmacology in the central nervous system. (auth)

  1. Trends in dental and allied dental education.

    PubMed

    Neumann, Laura M

    2004-09-01

    Educational programs play an important role in preparing a qualified dental work force. This article reviews the current status and trends in dental, advanced dental and allied dental education programs in the United States and examines their impact on the dental work force. This analysis focuses on survey data collected by the American Dental Association during the past 10 to 15 years and compares recent patterns in applications, enrollment and graduation with previous trends. The numbers of educational programs, applicants, enrollees and graduates have increased in dentistry, dental hygiene and dental assisting, while dental laboratory technology has declined in all measures. The proportion of women in dentistry has increased, while the ethnic profile of dental and allied personnel has shown little change. Both the cost of dental education and student debt continue to increase. Despite increases in the number of educational programs and overall numbers of graduates from dental and allied dental education programs, the proportion of underrepresented groups still lags behind their representation in the overall population, and the number of allied personnel falls short of practice needs. Patterns in applications, enrollment and graduation are important determinants of the dental and allied dental work force. The cost and funding of education significantly affect the attractiveness of dental careers and the sustainability of educational programs and should be monitored carefully by the profession.

  2. Public perception of cross-infection control in dentistry.

    PubMed

    Thomson, W M; Stewart, J F; Carter, K D; Spencer, A J

    1997-10-01

    Since the advent of HIV/AIDS at the beginning of the 1980s, concern has generated considerable impetus for change in cross-infection control procedures in dentistry. This process has been hastened partly by media coverage which, in tending to favour sensation over rational discourse, has played a not inconsiderable role in shaping public understanding and expectations. This study aimed to investigate public perceptions of cross-infection control in dentistry in Australia using a postal follow-up to the 1995 National Dental Telephone Interview Survey. The postal survey response rate was 85.2 per cent. Concerns about the procedures used by their dentist to sterilize instruments were reported by 13.3 per cent of respondents overall, and this was greater among non-health-card-holders, individuals who mainly spoke a language other than English in the home, and those who reported a non-routine dental visiting pattern. Avoidance or delaying of dental visits due to the perceived cross-infection risk was reported by an overall 3.6 per cent of people, and this was higher among females and those who expressed concern about cross-infection control. The profession has a responsibility to ensure that information on the measures which have been taken to reduce the risk of cross-infection in dentistry is disseminated as widely and as clearly as possible so that undue public concern and avoidance of dental care are minimized.

  3. Anatomy, Physiology and Non-dental Disorders of the Mouth of Pet Rabbits.

    PubMed

    Donnelly, Thomas M; Vella, David

    2016-09-01

    The first part of this review focuses on the anatomy and physiology of the rabbit mouth. Practical understanding is critical to comprehend the dynamic pathologic changes of dental disease, which is one of the most common presenting problems in rabbits. The major theories of the etiopathogenesis of dental disease are presented. The second part focuses on non-dental oral disorders, which encompass only a small incidence of stomatognathic diseases when compared with dental disease. These diseases are primarily composed of infections (treponematosis, oral papillomatosis), neoplasia (frequently involving calcified tissue proliferation), and congenital abnormalities (mandibular prognathism, absent peg teeth, supernumerary peg teeth). Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Complying with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration: guidelines for the dental office.

    PubMed

    Boyce, Ricardo; Mull, Justin

    2008-07-01

    This article outlines Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) guidelines for maintaining a safe dental practice workplace and covers requirements, such as education and protection for dental health care personnel. OSHA regulations aim to reduce exposure to blood-borne pathogens. Environmental infection control in dental offices and operatories is the goal of enforcement of OSHA codes of practice. Universal precautions reduce the risk for infectious disease. OSHA has a mandate to protect workers in the United States from potential workplace injuries. OSHA standards are available through online and print publications and owners of dental practices must meet OSHA standards for the workplace.

  5. Dental Fear among Medical and Dental Undergraduates

    PubMed Central

    Hakim, H.; Razak, I. A.

    2014-01-01

    Objective. To assess the prevalence and level of dental fear among health related undergraduates and to identify factors causing such fear using Kleinknecht's Dental Fear Survey (DFS) questionnaire. Methods. Kleinknecht's DFS questionnaire was used to assess dental fear and anxiety among the entire enrollment of the medical and dental undergraduates' of the University of Malaya. Results. Overall response rate was 82.2%. Dental students reported higher prevalence of dental fear (96.0% versus 90.4%). However, most of the fear encountered among dental students was in the low fear category as compared to their medical counterpart (69.2 versus 51.2%). Significantly more medical students cancelled dental appointment due to fear compared to dental students (P = 0.004). “Heart beats faster” and “muscle being tensed” were the top two physiological responses experienced by the respondents. “Drill” and “anesthetic needle” were the most fear provoking objects among respondents of both faculties. Conclusion. Dental fear and anxiety are a common problem encountered among medical and dental undergraduates who represent future health care professionals. Also, high level of dental fear and anxiety leads to the avoidance of the dental services. PMID:25386615

  6. Exploring Attitudes of White Dental Students Regarding Willingness to Treat People with HIV.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Driscoll, Jeanine M.; Hoffman, Mary Ann

    1997-01-01

    A study found that white dental students' (n=144) perceptions of clinical ability, attitudes toward gay men, and white racial attitudes account for both their willingness to provide dental care to patients with HIV disease and their perception of the risk of occupational infection with the disease. Results suggest attitudes regarding cultural…

  7. Dental procedures, antibiotic prophylaxis, and endocarditis among people with prosthetic heart valves: nationwide population based cohort and a case crossover study

    PubMed Central

    Blotière, Pierre-Olivier; Hoen, Bruno; Lesclous, Philippe; Millot, Sarah; Rudant, Jérémie; Weill, Alain; Coste, Joel; Alla, François; Duval, Xavier

    2017-01-01

    Objective To assess the relation between invasive dental procedures and infective endocarditis associated with oral streptococci among people with prosthetic heart valves. Design Nationwide population based cohort and a case crossover study. Setting French national health insurance administrative data linked with the national hospital discharge database. Participants All adults aged more than 18 years, living in France, with medical procedure codes for positioning or replacement of prosthetic heart valves between July 2008 and July 2014. Main outcome measures Oral streptococcal infective endocarditis was identified using primary discharge diagnosis codes. In the cohort study, Poisson regression models were performed to estimate the rate of oral streptococcal infective endocarditis during the three month period after invasive dental procedures compared with non-exposure periods. In the case crossover study, conditional logistic regression models calculated the odds ratio and 95% confidence intervals comparing exposure to invasive dental procedures during the three month period preceding oral streptococcal infective endocarditis (case period) with three earlier control periods. Results The cohort included 138 876 adults with prosthetic heart valves (285 034 person years); 69 303 (49.9%) underwent at least one dental procedure. Among the 396 615 dental procedures performed, 103 463 (26.0%) were invasive and therefore presented an indication for antibiotic prophylaxis, which was performed in 52 280 (50.1%). With a median follow-up of 1.7 years, 267 people developed infective endocarditis associated with oral streptococci (incidence rate 93.7 per 100 000 person years, 95% confidence interval 82.4 to 104.9). Compared with non-exposure periods, no statistically significant increased rate of oral streptococcal infective endocarditis was observed during the three months after an invasive dental procedure (relative rate 1.25, 95% confidence interval 0

  8. Legionellosis acquired through a dental unit: a case study.

    PubMed

    Schönning, C; Jernberg, C; Klingenberg, D; Andersson, S; Pääjärvi, A; Alm, E; Tano, E; Lytsy, B

    2017-05-01

    In 2012, an elderly immunocompromised man died from legionellosis at a hospital in Uppsala, Sweden. The patient had visited a dental ward at the hospital during the incubation period. Legionella spp. at a concentration of 2000 colony-forming units/L were isolated from the cupfiller outlet providing water for oral rinsing. Isolates from the patient and the dental unit were Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1, subgroup Knoxville and ST9. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and whole-genome sequencing strongly suggested that the isolates were of common origin. This report presents one of few documented cases of legionellosis acquired through a dental unit. Copyright © 2017 The Healthcare Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Dental hard tissue drilling by longitudinally excited CO2 laser

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Uno, Kazuyuki; Yamamoto, Takuya; Akitsu, Tetsuya; Jitsuno, Takahisa

    2017-07-01

    We developed a longitudinally excited CO2 laser with a long optical cavity and investigated the drilling characteristics of dental hard tissue. The CO2 laser was very simple and consisted of a 45-cm-long alumina ceramic pipe with an inner diameter of 13 mm, a pulse power supply, a step-up transformer, a storage capacitance, a spark gap, and a long optical cavity with a cavity length of 175 cm. The CO2 laser produced a short pulse that had a spike pulse with the width of 337 ns and the energy of 1.9 mJ, a pulse tail with the length of 180 μs and the energy of 37.6 mJ, and a doughnut-like beam. In the investigation, a sample was a natural drying human tooth (enamel and dentine). In a processing system, a ZnSe focusing lens with the focal length of 50 mm was used and the location of the focal plane was that of the sample surface. In 1 pulse irradiation, the drilling characteristics depended on the fluence was investigated. In the enamel and dentin drilling, the drilling depth increased with the fluence. The 1 pulse irradiation with the fluence of 21.5 J/cm2 produced the depth of 79.3 μm in the enamel drilling, and the depth of 152.7 μm in the dentin drilling. The short-pulse CO2 laser produced a deeper drilling depth at a lower fluence than long-pulse CO2 lasers in dental hard tissue processing.

  10. The patient with a heart murmur: evaluation, assessment and dental considerations.

    PubMed

    Lessard, Eric; Glick, Michael; Ahmed, Sultan; Saric, Muhamed

    2005-03-01

    Heart murmurs, a common finding in dental patients, are of major concern to dental professionals because certain dental procedures occasionally can induce severe cardiovascular complications. Murmurs may indicate existing heart disease that is a risk factor for infective endocarditis following a dental procedure, as well as more severe heart conditions such as congenital heart disease, atrial fibrillation or congestive heart failure. This review article is based on data published in peer-reviewed journals, including practice guidelines published by major dental and medical professional organizations. Echocardiography is the primary means of evaluating heart murmurs, and all dental professionals should become familiar with major aspects of an echocardiogram. Understanding the medical evaluation and assessment of a heart murmur fosters better communication with other health care professionals and results in improved patient care. Beyond the need to administer antibiotic prophylaxis, the dentist also needs to address the underlying causes of a patient's heart murmur. By providing dental care to such patients, oral health care providers become part of the patient's overall health care team.

  11. Dental plaque - associated infections and antibacterial oral hygiene products.

    PubMed

    Verran, J

    1991-02-01

    Synopsis Dental plaque accumulates on hard non-shedding surfaces such as teeth, dentures and orthodontic appliances. This accumulation is facilitated by the absence of adequate oral hygiene procedures. The term 'plaque' describes a mass of microorganisms embedded in an organic matrix of host and microbial origin. In addition to the aesthetic desirability of 'clean teeth, healthy gums and fresh breath' associated with the absence of plaque, obvious consequences of the presence of plaque include tooth decay (dental caries), gingivitis and periodontal (gum) disease and denture associated problems. Thus the prevention of plaque formation, the reduction of plaque accumulation and the effective removal of plaque are considerations of the cosmetic and health professions alike. There are many oral hygiene products available to the general public - toothpastes, mouthwashes, denture cleaners, and, more recently, chewing gums and novel mouthwashes. Several of these products have antimicrobial components. This paper reviews the microbiology of plaque and plaque associated problems, and surveys the type of products currently available for maintenance of good oral hygiene. Potential areas for future development are also explored.

  12. Zinc and Metallothionein in the Development and Progression of Dental Caries.

    PubMed

    Rahman, Mohammad Tariqur; Hossain, Ashfaque; Pin, Chew Hooi; Yahya, Noor Azlin

    2018-05-09

    Chronic oxidative stress and reactive oxygen species (ROS) in oral cavity as well as acidic pH on dental enamel surface due to the metabolic activities of bacterial plaque are the major contributors in the development and progression of dental caries. Along with other factors, deposition or dissolution Ca and Mg mostly determines the re- or demineralization of dental enamel. Zn plays an important role for both Ca and Mg bioavailability in oral cavity. Metallothionein (MT), a group of small molecular weight, cysteine-rich proteins (~ 7 kDa), is commonly induced by ROS, bacterial infection, and Zn. In the current review, we evaluated MT at the junction between the progression of dental caries and its etiologies that are common in MT biosynthesis.

  13. Occupational Exposure of Shiraz Dental Students to Patients’ Blood and Body Fluid

    PubMed Central

    Shaghaghian, Soheila; Golkari, Ali; Pardis, Soheil; Rezayi, Ali

    2015-01-01

    Statement of the Problem Exposure to patients’ blood and body fluids would prone the dental students to the risk of blood borne infections. Several studies have shown a high prevalence of these exposures in dental settings particularly in developing countries. However, few studies have evaluated the epidemiology of these exposures in dental students in Iran. Purpose To assess the epidemiology of occupational exposures among dental students and consequently designing the appropriate interventions in order to prevent these exposures. Materials and Method In this cross-sectional study performed during March to June 2011, all 191 Shiraz clinical dental students were asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire. This questionnaire included demographic information and experience of sharp injuries and mucocutaneous contaminations. Chi square and t-test were employed to evaluate the risk factors of exposure. Results 80%of the participants were exposed to the patients’ blood or body fluids during their clinical course. No association was found between the exposure and demographic factors. Injection needle and recapping were the most common causes of these injuries. The most common sites that were injured and caused mucocutaneous contamination were finger and face, respectively. The most frequent activity causing contamination was using high-speed rotary instruments. Only 6.4% of the exposures had been reported to the related authorities and the remains were underreported. Conclusion Blood and body fluid exposure in dental setting is common and a lot of them are not reported. To reduce the hazards of these exposures, infection control authorities should design interventions especially for mentioned high-risk conditions. They should change dental students’ behavior especially regarding not recapping injection needles and using eyewear. Dental schools seem to need a management center and a standard protocol for following up the exposures. PMID:26331151

  14. Bacteremia following dental implant surgery: preliminary results.

    PubMed

    Bölükbaşı, Nilüfer; Özdemir, Tayfun; Öksüz, Lütfiye; Gürler, Nezahat

    2012-01-01

    The aims of this study were to investigate the incidence of bacteremia, bacteriology and antibiotic susceptibility against to causative bacteria associated with dental implant installation. 30 generally healthy patients were enrolled in this study. Blood samples were collected at baseline and at 30 minutes after dental implant installation and 24 hours after dental implant surgery. Blood samples were cultured in a BACTEC system. The isolated bacteria were identified using conventional methods. Antimicrobial sensitivity tests were performed by disc diffusion. No bacteria were isolated at the baseline and 24 hours after surgery, whereas the prevalence of bacteremia at 30 minutes after dental implant installation was 23%. The isolated bacteria species were Staphylococcus epidermidis, Eubacterium spp., Corynebacterium spp. and Streptococcus viridans. The Staphylococcus epidermidis, which was isolated in three patients, was found to be resistant to penicillin which is first choice of many clinicians. Our findings suggest that installation of dental implants can produce bacteremia. Within the limitations of this study, it can be speculated that the resistance of antibiotics may compromise the routine prophylaxis against infective endocarditis. Therefore use of blood cultures and antibiograms may be suggested in risky patients. The outcome of the present study should be verified using a larger patient group with varying conditions.

  15. [Management of odontogenic infections in Primary Care: Antibiotic?

    PubMed

    Robles Raya, Purificación; Javierre Miranda, Ana Pilar; Moreno Millán, Nemesio; Mas Casals, Ariadna; de Frutos Echániz, Elena; Morató Agustí, M Luisa

    2017-12-01

    Our aim is to contribute to the rational use of antibiotics prescribed by family doctors when a patient consults for a dental problem. Nowadays we should not ask which antibiotic to give. The question has to be if we need to prescribe antibiotics in front of the most common odontogenic infections seen in our practice. We review the main dental infections, which should be their appropriate management and the role of prevention. We need to know the complexity of the oral microbiome because it?ll depend on the appropriateness of the antibiotherapy, the evolution towards cure or progression of some odontogenic infections. The bacterial plaque, formed by the biofilm, behaves as a barrier to the action of antimicrobials. It?s in the prevention of its development as well as in it mechanical elimination once shaped, in what the family doctor should insist. We must transmit antibiotics don?t heal dental pain. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  16. Oral and Dental Aspects of Child Abuse and Neglect.

    PubMed

    2017-09-15

    In all 50 states, health care providers (including dentists) are mandated to report suspected cases of abuse and neglect to social service or law enforcement agencies. The purpose of this report is to review the oral and dental aspects of physical and sexual abuse and dental neglect in children and the role of pediatric care providers and dental providers in evaluating such conditions. This report addresses the evaluation of bite marks as well as perioral and intraoral injuries, infections, and diseases that may raise suspicion for child abuse or neglect. Oral health issues can also be associated with bullying and are commonly seen in human trafficking victims. Some medical providers may receive less education pertaining to oral health and dental injury and disease and may not detect the mouth and gum findings that are related to abuse or neglect as readily as they detect those involving other areas of the body. Therefore, pediatric care providers and dental providers are encouraged to collaborate to increase the prevention, detection, and treatment of these conditions in children.

  17. Osseoperception in Dental Implants: A Systematic Review.

    PubMed

    Mishra, Sunil Kumar; Chowdhary, Ramesh; Chrcanovic, Bruno Ramos; Brånemark, Per-Ingvar

    2016-04-01

    Replacement of lost teeth has significant functional and psychosocial effects. The capability of osseointegrated dental implants to transmit a certain amount of sensibility is still unclear. The phenomenon of developing a certain amount of tactile sensibility through osseointegrated dental implants is called osseoperception. The aim of this article is to evaluate the available literature to find osseoperception associated with dental implants. To identify suitable literature, an electronic search was performed using Medline and PubMed database. Articles published in English and articles whose abstract is available in English were included. The articles included in the review were based on osseoperception, tactile sensation, and neurophysiological mechanoreceptors in relation to dental implants. Articles on peri-implantitis and infection-related sensitivity were not included. Review articles without the original data were excluded, although references to potentially pertinent articles were noted for further follow-up. The phenomenon of osseoperception remains a matter of debate, so the search strategy mainly focused on articles on osseoperception and tactile sensibility of dental implants. This review presents the histological, neurophysiological, and psychophysical evidence of osseoperception and also the role of mechanoreceptors in osseoperception. The literature on osseoperception in dental implants is very scarce. The initial literature search resulted in 90 articles, of which 81 articles that fulfilled the inclusion criteria were included in this systematic review. Patients restored with implant-supported prostheses reported improved tactile and motor function when compared with patients wearing complete dentures. © 2016 by the American College of Prosthodontists.

  18. Focal brainstem gliomas

    PubMed Central

    Sabbagh, Abdulrahman J.; Alaqeel, Ahmed M.

    2015-01-01

    Improved neuronavigation guidance as well as intraoperative imaging and neurophysiologic monitoring technologies have enhanced the ability of neurosurgeons to resect focal brainstem gliomas. In contrast, diffuse brainstem gliomas are considered to be inoperable lesions. This article is a continuation of an article that discussed brainstem glioma diagnostics, imaging, and classification. Here, we address open surgical treatment of and approaches to focal, dorsally exophytic, and cervicomedullary brainstem gliomas. Intraoperative neuronavigation, intraoperative neurophysiologic monitoring, as well as intraoperative imaging are discussed as adjunctive measures to help render these procedures safer, more acute, and closer to achieving surgical goals. PMID:25864061

  19. Health Instruction Packages: Permanent Teeth, Dental Deposits, and Dental Instruments. Dientes Permanentes, Depositos Dentales y Instrumentos Dentales.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lind, Patricia; Germano, Catherine

    These five learning modules use text interspersed with illustrations and reinforcement exercises to instruct dental aide and dental hygiene students about jaw bones and gums, dental deposits, and dental instruments. The first four modules were prepared by Patricia Lind in both Spanish and English. "The Gum and Bone of Permanent Teeth"…

  20. Knowledge about Human Papillomavirus and Cervical Cancer: Predictors of HPV Vaccination among Dental Students

    PubMed

    Rajiah, Kingston; Maharajan, Mari Kannan; Fang Num, Kelly Sze; How Koh, Raymond Chee

    2017-06-25

    Background: The objective of this study is to determine the influence of dental students’ knowledge and attitude regarding human papillomavirus infection of cervical cancer on willingness to pay for vaccination. Basic research design: A convenience sampling method was used. The minimal sample size of 136 was calculated using the Raosoft calculator with a 5 % margin of error and 95% confidence level. Participants: The study population were all final year dental students from the School of Dentistry. Methods: A self-administered questionnaire was used to measure knowledge levels and attitudes regarding human papillomavirus vaccination. Contingent valuation was conducted for willingness to pay for vaccination. Main outcome measures: The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has stated that human papillomavirus are associated with oropharynx cancer and the American Dental Association insist on expanding public awareness of the oncogenic potential of some HPV infections. Thus, as future dental practitioners, dental students should be aware of human papillomavirus and their links with cancer and the benefits of vaccination. Results: Knowledge on HPV and cervical cancer did not impact on attitudes towards vaccines. However, significant correlation existed between knowledge and willingness to pay for vaccination. Conclusions: Dental students’ knowledge on HPV and cervical cancer has no influence on their attitude towards HPV vaccines. However, their willingness to pay for HPV vaccination is influenced by their knowledge of cervical cancer and HPV vaccination. Creative Commons Attribution License

  1. Annual Research Progress Report (U.S. Army Institute of Dental Research, Washington, DC)

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1978-10-01

    postoperative edema, minimal postoperative scarring, sterilization of infected wounds, minimal pain and a sharply demarcated operative field. This...evaluate pain killing medicaments used in military dental practice. The hazards involved in the use of various drugs will be studied and...Surgical treatment of orofacial wounds frequently requires use of high-speed equipment and ultrasonic sealers. Water from dental units has been

  2. Microbial contamination of used dental handpieces.

    PubMed

    Smith, Gordon; Smith, Andrew

    2014-09-01

    Microbial contamination of used, unprocessed internal components of dental handpieces (HPs) was assessed. HPs were dismantled aseptically, immersed in phosphate-buffered saline, ultrasonicated, and cultured. A median of 200 CFU per turbine (n = 40), 400 CFU per spray channel (n = 40), and 1000 CFU per item of surgical gear (n = 20) was detected. Isolates included oral streptococci, Pseudomonas spp, and Staphylococcus aureus. Recovery of S aureus confirms the need for appropriate HP cleaning and sterilization after each patient to prevent cross-infection. Copyright © 2014 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Changing profile of infective endocarditis: a clinicopathologic study of 220 patients in a single medical center from 1998 through 2009.

    PubMed

    Li, Li; Wang, Hongyue; Wang, Linlin; Pu, Jielin; Zhao, Hong

    2014-10-01

    The epidemiologic profile of infective endocarditis has changed substantially over the past few years, especially in industrialized countries. Our study evaluates the clinical and pathologic characteristics of infective endocarditis patients treated by cardiac surgery in China during a 12-year period. We retrospectively evaluated 220 surgically treated infective endocarditis patients and analyzed their changes from the beginning of 1998 through 2009. The mean age of the patients increased from 36.9 to 42.7 years during those 12 years (P=0.036). The chief predisposing disease was congenital heart disease (32.8%), rather than rheumatic heart disease (13.2%); this rate did not change significantly during the 12 years. The prevalent congenital lesion was bicuspid aortic valve, the rate of which (55.6%) increased significantly over the 3 time intervals studied (P=0.016). The frequency of infective endocarditis after non-dental surgical and nonsurgical intervention was significantly greater (23.3%) during 1998 through 2001, compared with the 2 intervals that followed (9%; P=0.019). Streptococcus viridans was the most frequent causative agent overall (25.6%). Forty-seven of the 220 patients (21.4%) carried the clinical diagnosis of some other form of heart disease before surgery, but at surgery they were found to have infective endocarditis as the fundamental disease process. Of 47 patients, 33 (70.2%) had either very small or no vegetations but had focal necrosis and inflammation of valve tissue that supported the diagnosis of infective endocarditis.

  4. Changing Profile of Infective Endocarditis: A Clinicopathologic Study of 220 Patients in a Single Medical Center from 1998 through 2009

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Hongyue; Wang, Linlin; Pu, Jielin; Zhao, Hong

    2014-01-01

    The epidemiologic profile of infective endocarditis has changed substantially over the past few years, especially in industrialized countries. Our study evaluates the clinical and pathologic characteristics of infective endocarditis patients treated by cardiac surgery in China during a 12-year period. We retrospectively evaluated 220 surgically treated infective endocarditis patients and analyzed their changes from the beginning of 1998 through 2009. The mean age of the patients increased from 36.9 to 42.7 years during those 12 years (P=0.036). The chief predisposing disease was congenital heart disease (32.8%), rather than rheumatic heart disease (13.2%); this rate did not change significantly during the 12 years. The prevalent congenital lesion was bicuspid aortic valve, the rate of which (55.6%) increased significantly over the 3 time intervals studied (P=0.016). The frequency of infective endocarditis after non-dental surgical and nonsurgical intervention was significantly greater (23.3%) during 1998 through 2001, compared with the 2 intervals that followed (9%; P=0.019). Streptococcus viridans was the most frequent causative agent overall (25.6%). Forty-seven of the 220 patients (21.4%) carried the clinical diagnosis of some other form of heart disease before surgery, but at surgery they were found to have infective endocarditis as the fundamental disease process. Of 47 patients, 33 (70.2%) had either very small or no vegetations but had focal necrosis and inflammation of valve tissue that supported the diagnosis of infective endocarditis. PMID:25425980

  5. 75 FR 33169 - Dental Devices: Classification of Dental Amalgam, Reclassification of Dental Mercury, Designation...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-06-11

    .... FDA-2008-N-0163] (formerly Docket No. 2001N-0067) RIN 0910-AG21 Dental Devices: Classification of Dental Amalgam, Reclassification of Dental Mercury, Designation of Special Controls for Dental Amalgam... the Federal Register of August 4, 2009 (74 FR 38686) which classified dental amalgam as a class II...

  6. Dental calculus is associated with death from heart infarction.

    PubMed

    Söder, Birgitta; Meurman, Jukka H; Söder, Per-Östen

    2014-01-01

    We studied whether the amount of dental calculus is associated with death from heart infarction in the dental infection-atherosclerosis paradigm. Participants were 1676 healthy young Swedes followed up from 1985 to 2011. At the beginning of the study all subjects underwent oral clinical examination including dental calculus registration scored with calculus index (CI). Outcome measure was cause of death classified according to WHO International Classification of Diseases. Unpaired t-test, Chi-square tests, and multiple logistic regressions were used. Of the 1676 participants, 2.8% had died during follow-up. Women died at a mean age of 61.5 years and men at 61.7 years. The difference in the CI index score between the survivors versus deceased patients was significant by the year 2009 (P < 0.01). In multiple regression analysis of the relationship between death from heart infarction as a dependent variable and CI as independent variable with controlling for age, gender, dental visits, dental plaque, periodontal pockets, education, income, socioeconomic status, and pack-years of smoking, CI score appeared to be associated with 2.3 times the odds ratio for cardiac death. The results confirmed our study hypothesis by showing that dental calculus indeed associated statistically with cardiac death due to infarction.

  7. Classifying Adverse Events in the Dental Office.

    PubMed

    Kalenderian, Elsbeth; Obadan-Udoh, Enihomo; Maramaldi, Peter; Etolue, Jini; Yansane, Alfa; Stewart, Denice; White, Joel; Vaderhobli, Ram; Kent, Karla; Hebballi, Nutan B; Delattre, Veronique; Kahn, Maria; Tokede, Oluwabunmi; Ramoni, Rachel B; Walji, Muhammad F

    2017-06-30

    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. Several existing medical AE type and severity classification systems were reviewed and adapted for dentistry. Using data collected in previous work, two initial dental AE type and severity classification systems were developed. Eight independent reviewers performed focused chart reviews, and AEs identified were used to evaluate and modify these newly developed classifications. A total of 958 charts were independently reviewed. Among the reviewed charts, 118 prospective AEs were found and 101 (85.6%) were verified as AEs through a consensus process. At the end of the study, a final AE type classification comprising 12 categories, and an AE severity classification comprising 7 categories emerged. Pain and infection were the most common AE types representing 73% of the cases reviewed (56% and 17%, respectively) and 88% were found to cause temporary, moderate to severe harm to the patient. Adverse events found during the chart review process were successfully classified using the novel dental AE type and severity classifications. Understanding the type of AEs and their severity are important steps if we are to learn from and prevent patient harm in the dental office.

  8. Perceived Dentist and Dental Hygienist Task Distribution After Dental and Dental Hygiene Students' Team Intervention.

    PubMed

    Reinders, Jan J; Krijnen, Wim P; Stegenga, Boudewijn; van der Schans, Cees P

    2017-04-01

    Attitudes of dental students regarding the provision of treatment tend to be dentist-centered; however, facilitating mixed student group formation could change such perceptions. The aim of this study was to investigate the perceived scope of practice of dental and dental hygiene students and whether their perceptions of task distribution between dentists and dental hygienists would change following an educational intervention consisting of feedback, intergroup comparison, and competition between mixed-group teams. The study employed a pretest-posttest single group design. Third-year dental students and second-year dental hygiene students at a university in The Netherlands were randomly assigned to intraprofessional teams (four or five members) and received team-based performance feedback and comparison. The intervention was finalized with an award ceremony for the best intraprofessional team. Before and after the intervention, students completed a questionnaire measuring their perceived distribution of ten tasks between dentists and dental hygienists. A total of 38 dental students and 32 dental hygiene students participated in the intervention-all 70 of those eligible. Questionnaires were completed by a total 88.4% (n=61) of the participants: 34 dental (89.5%) and 27 dental hygiene students (84.4%). Dental and dental hygiene students had similar perceptions regarding teeth cleaning (prophylaxis) (p=0.372, p=0.404) and, after the intervention, preventive tasks (p=0.078). Following the intervention, dental students considered four out of ten tasks as less dentist-centered: radiograph for periodontal diagnosis (p=0.003), local anesthesia (p=0.037), teeth cleaning (p=0.037), and periodontal treatment (p=0.045). Dental hygiene students perceived one task as being less dentist-centered after the intervention: radiograph for cariologic diagnosis (p=0.041). This study found that these dental and dental hygiene students had different opinions regarding the scope of practice

  9. The dispersion-focalization theory of sound systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schwartz, Jean-Luc; Abry, Christian; Boë, Louis-Jean; Vallée, Nathalie; Ménard, Lucie

    2005-04-01

    The Dispersion-Focalization Theory states that sound systems in human languages are shaped by two major perceptual constraints: dispersion driving auditory contrast towards maximal or sufficient values [B. Lindblom, J. Phonetics 18, 135-152 (1990)] and focalization driving auditory spectra towards patterns with close neighboring formants. Dispersion is computed from the sum of the inverse squared inter-spectra distances in the (F1, F2, F3, F4) space, using a non-linear process based on the 3.5 Bark critical distance to estimate F2'. Focalization is based on the idea that close neighboring formants produce vowel spectra with marked peaks, easier to process and memorize in the auditory system. Evidence for increased stability of focal vowels in short-term memory was provided in a discrimination experiment on adult French subjects [J. L. Schwartz and P. Escudier, Speech Comm. 8, 235-259 (1989)]. A reanalysis of infant discrimination data shows that focalization could well be the responsible for recurrent discrimination asymmetries [J. L. Schwartz et al., Speech Comm. (in press)]. Recent data about children vowel production indicate that focalization seems to be part of the perceptual templates driving speech development. The Dispersion-Focalization Theory produces valid predictions for both vowel and consonant systems, in relation with available databases of human languages inventories.

  10. Dental Amalgam

    MedlinePlus

    ... Products and Medical Procedures Dental Devices Dental Amalgam Dental Amalgam Share Tweet Linkedin Pin it More sharing options Linkedin Pin it Email Print Dental amalgam is a dental filling material which is ...

  11. Why do dental implants fail? Part I.

    PubMed

    el Askary, A S; Meffert, R M; Griffin, T

    1999-01-01

    Many factors are attributed to failure of the dental implant, either directly or indirectly. The focus of this article is to define the causation of dental implant failure, as well as to present an evaluation of the implant literature regarding etiology, classification, management, and treatment of implant failures. This article will highlight the initial signs of implant failure with a view of some clinical cases in terms of classification and degrees of implant failure. Finally, a dental implant failure checklist is formulated to guide the practitioner in defining the cause of implant failure, be it infective or noninfective, and to establish percentages and frequency of occurrence. The checklist applies to all implant systems and will help to determine the factors responsible for causation and the repair procedures, whether they are at the surgical or restorative phases. The definition of implant failure is set forth in terms of ailing, failing, failed, and surviving implants, and the appropriate treatments and dispositions are outlined.

  12. Evidence supporting pre-radiation elimination of oral foci of infection in head and neck cancer patients to prevent oral sequelae. A systematic review.

    PubMed

    Schuurhuis, Jennifer M; Stokman, Monique A; Witjes, Max J H; Dijkstra, Pieter U; Vissink, Arjan; Spijkervet, Frederik K L

    2015-03-01

    Pre-radiation dental screening of head-neck cancer patients aims to identify and eliminate oral foci of infection to prevent post-radiation oral problems. The evidence for the efficacy of dental screening is unclear. In this systematic review, we analyzed available evidence on the efficacy of pre-radiation elimination of oral foci of infection in preventing oral sequelae. A search was conducted (MEDLINE/EMBASE) for papers published up to May 2014. Papers on head-neck cancer patients subjected to pre-radiation dental screening, (chemo)radiation and oral follow-up were included. Of the 1770 identified papers, 20 studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria of which 17 were retrospective. A great heterogeneity in patient groups, dental screening techniques, definitions of oral foci of infection and techniques for eliminating foci was found. Most papers lacked essential details on how dental screening was performed and a clear definition of an oral focus of infection. The evidence for efficacy of elimination of oral foci of infection to prevent post-radiotherapy oral sequelae was inconclusive. Consequently, the efficacy of pre-radiation elimination of oral foci of infection remains unclear. No conclusions can be drawn about a definition of an oral focus of infection and whether pre-radiation elimination of these foci should be mandatory. We therefore suggest prospective studies with well-defined criteria for oral foci of infection, a clear description of which foci were eliminated and how, a detailed description of pre-radiation dental screening, clearly described patient and tumor characteristics, and a detailed dental history and dental status. Subsequently, oral problems that occur post-radiation should be systematically recorded. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Contribution of the Collagen-Binding Proteins of Streptococcus mutans to Bacterial Colonization of Inflamed Dental Pulp.

    PubMed

    Nomura, Ryota; Ogaya, Yuko; Nakano, Kazuhiko

    2016-01-01

    Streptococcus mutans is a major pathogen of dental caries. Collagen-binding proteins (CBPs) (approximately 120 kDa), termed Cnm and Cbm, are regarded as important cell surface antigens related to the adherence of S. mutans to collagenous tissue. Furthermore, CBP-positive S. mutans strains are associated with various systemic diseases involving bacteremia, such as infective endocarditis. Endodontic infection is considered to be an important cause of bacteremia, but little is known regarding the presence of S. mutans in dental pulp tissue. In the present study, the distribution and virulence of S. mutans in dental pulp tissues were investigated by focusing on CBPs. Adhesion and invasion properties of various S. mutans strains were analyzed using human dental pulp fibroblasts (HDPFs). CBP-positive strains had a significantly higher rate of adhesion to HDPFs compared with CBP-defective isogenic mutant strains (P<0.001). In addition, CBP-positive strains induced HDPF proliferation, which is a possible mechanism related to development of hyperplastic pulpitis. The distribution of S. mutans strains isolated from infected root canal specimens was then analyzed by PCR. We found that approximately 50% of the root canal specimens were positive for S. mutans. Approximately 20% of these strains were Cnm-positive, while no Cbm-positive strains were isolated. The Cnm-positive strains isolated from the specimens showed adhesion to HDPFs. Our results suggest that CBP-positive S. mutans strains exhibit high colonization in dental pulp. This could be a possible virulence factor for various systemic diseases.

  14. Focal Cryotherapy for Localized Prostate Cancer.

    PubMed

    Tay, K J; Polascik, T J

    2016-07-01

    To systematically review the oncological and functional outcomes of contemporary primary prostate focal cryotherapy for localized prostate cancer in the context of current developments in prostate focal therapy. We performed a systematic search of the Pubmed, Cochrane and Embase databases to identify studies where primary prostate focal cryotherapy was performed to treat prostate cancer. These included reports on focal/ lesion/ sector ablation, hemi-ablation and partial prostate ablation. We excluded salvage focal therapy studies. Where multiple reports were published over time from a single cohort, the latest one was used. Our search yielded 290 publications, including 17 primary reports on eight single-center cohort studies and one multi-center registry report. Of 1,595 men identified, mean age was 60.5-69.5 years and mean PSA 5.1-7.8 ng/ml. When stratified by D'Amico risk criteria, 52% of the aggregate total number of men were low-risk, 38% intermediate-risk and 10% high-risk. Besides 12-core TRUS biopsy, 3 cohorts reported using TTMB and one included mpMRI to select men for focal treatment. Median follow-up ranged from 13-63 months. BPFS ranged from 71-98%. The overall post-treatment positive biopsy rate was 8-25%. Among 5 cohorts with a mandatory 6-12 month posttreatment biopsy, 216 of 272 men (79%) did undergo biopsy, with 47 positive (21.8%). Of these, 15 were infield, 26 outfield, 2 bilateral and 4 undeclared. Ten upgraded to Gleason≥7. Overall, two men had metastatic disease and none died of prostate cancer. Post-treatment continence rates were 96-100% and rates of erectile dysfunction ranged from 0-42%. The rate of post-treatment urinary retention ranged from 0-15%. The rate of recto-urethral fistula was 0-0.1%. Focal cryotherapy for localized prostate cancer is a safe and provides good preservation of sexual and urinary function. Accurate cancer localization and risk stratification is key to patient selection. In highly selected patients, focal therapy

  15. Expansive focal cemento-osseous dysplasia.

    PubMed

    Bulut, Emel Uzun; Acikgoz, Aydan; Ozan, Bora; Zengin, Ayse Zeynep; Gunhan, Omer

    2012-01-01

    To present a case of expansive focal cemento-osseous dysplasia and emphasize the importance of differential diagnosis. Cemento-osseous dysplasia is categorized into three subtypes on the basis of the clinical and radiographic features: Periapical, focal and florid. The focal type exhibits a single site of involvement in any tooth-bearing or edentulous area of the jaws. These lesions are usually asymptomatic; therefore, they are frequently diagnosed incidentally during routine radiographic examinations. Lesions are usually benign, show limited growth, and do not require further surgical intervention, but periodic follow-up is recommended because occasionally, this type of dysplasia progresses into florid osseous dysplasia and simple bone cysts are formed. A 24-year-old female patient was referred to our clinic for swelling in the left edentulous mandibular premolarmolar region and felt discomfort when she wore her prosthetics. She had no pain, tenderness or paresthesia. Clinical examination showed that the swelling in the posterior mandible that was firm, nonfluctuant and covered by normal mucosa. On panoramic radiography and computed tomography, a well defined lesion of approximately 1.5 cm in diameter of mixed density was observed. The swelling increased slightly in size over 2 years making it difficult to use prosthetics and, therefore, the lesion was totally excised under local anesthesia, and surgical specimens were submitted for histopathological examination. The histopathological diagnosis was focal cemento-osseous dysplasia. In the present case, because of the increasing size of the swelling making it difficult to use prosthetics, young age of the patient and localization of the lesion, in the initial examination, cemento-ossifying fibroma was suspected, and the lesion was excised surgically; the histopathological diagnosis confirmed it as focal cemento-osseous dysplasia. We present a case of expansive focal cemento-osseous dysplasia. Differential diagnosis

  16. Oral and Dental Aspects of Child Abuse and Neglect.

    PubMed

    Fisher-Owens, Susan A; Lukefahr, James L; Tate, Anupama Rao

    2017-08-01

    In all 50 states, health care providers (including dentists) are mandated to report suspected cases of abuse and neglect to social service or law enforcement agencies. The purpose of this report is to review the oral and dental aspects of physical and sexual abuse and dental neglect in children and the role of pediatric care providers and dental providers in evaluating such conditions. This report addresses the evaluation of bite marks as well as perioral and intraoral injuries, infections, and diseases that may raise suspicion for child abuse or neglect. Oral health issues can also be associated with bullying and are commonly seen in human trafficking victims. Some medical providers may receive less education pertaining to oral health and dental injury and disease and may not detect the mouth and gum findings that are related to abuse or neglect as readily as they detect those involving other areas of the body. Therefore, pediatric care providers and dental providers are encouraged to collaborate to increase the prevention, detection, and treatment of these conditions in children. Copyright © 2017 by the American Academy of Pediatrics and American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry.

  17. Emergency Department Use for Dental Problems among Homeless Individuals: A Population-Based Cohort Study.

    PubMed

    Figueiredo, Rafael; Dempster, Laura; Quiñonez, Carlos; Hwang, Stephen W

    2016-01-01

    To evaluate emergency department (ED) visits for dental problems among Toronto's homeless population (Ontario, Canada). A random sample of 1,189 homeless was recruited from shelters and meal programs. Emergency department visits for non-traumatic dental problems (ICD-10-CA codes K00-K14) were identified using participants' health insurance number, during 2005-2009. Age- and sex-matched controls were selected from low-income neighborhoods. Homeless and matched controls had 182 and 10 ED visits for dental problems, respectively. Homeless people were more significantly more likely (OR=2.27, p=.007) to make ED visit for dental problems compared with controls. Over 80% of the ED visits by homeless people were for odontogenic infections, and 46% of homeless people had more than one such visit. The high rate of ED visits for dental problems by people who are homeless suggests that access to dental care is inadequate. The large number of repeat visits indicates that ED settings are ineffective for treatment of dental problems.

  18. Weaker dental enamel explains dental decay.

    PubMed

    Vieira, Alexandre R; Gibson, Carolyn W; Deeley, Kathleen; Xue, Hui; Li, Yong

    2015-01-01

    Dental caries continues to be the most prevalent bacteria-mediated non-contagious disease of humankind. Dental professionals assert the disease can be explained by poor oral hygiene and a diet rich in sugars but this does not account for caries free individuals exposed to the same risk factors. In order to test the hypothesis that amount of amelogenin during enamel development can influence caries susceptibility, we generated multiple strains of mice with varying levels of available amelogenin during dental development. Mechanical tests showed that dental enamel developed with less amelogenin is "weaker" while the dental enamel of animals over-expressing amelogenin appears to be more resistant to acid dissolution.

  19. Failure of non-vacuum steam sterilization processes for dental handpieces.

    PubMed

    Winter, S; Smith, A; Lappin, D; McDonagh, G; Kirk, B

    2017-12-01

    Dental handpieces are used in critical and semi-critical operative interventions. Although some dental professional bodies recommend that dental handpieces are sterilized between patient use there is a lack of clarity and understanding of the effectiveness of different steam sterilization processes. The internal mechanisms of dental handpieces contain narrow lumens (0.8-2.3 mm) which can impede the removal of air and ingress of saturated steam required to achieve sterilization conditions. To identify the extent of sterilization failure in dental handpieces using a non-vacuum process. In-vitro and in-vivo investigations were conducted on widely used UK bench-top steam sterilizers and three different types of dental handpieces. The sterilization process was monitored inside the lumens of dental handpieces using thermometric (TM; dataloggers), chemical indicator (CI), and biological indicator (BI) methods. All three methods of assessing achievement of sterility within dental handpieces that had been exposed to non-vacuum sterilization conditions demonstrated a significant number of failures [CI: 8/3024 (fails/no. of tests); BI: 15/3024; TM: 56/56] compared to vacuum sterilization conditions (CI: 2/1944; BI: 0/1944; TM: 0/36). The dental handpiece most likely to fail sterilization in the non-vacuum process was the surgical handpiece. Non-vacuum sterilizers located in general dental practice had a higher rate of sterilization failure (CI: 25/1620; BI: 32/1620; TM: 56/56) with no failures in vacuum process. Non-vacuum downward/gravity displacement, type N steam sterilizers are an unreliable method for sterilization of dental handpieces in general dental practice. The handpiece most likely to fail sterilization is the type most frequently used for surgical interventions. Copyright © 2017 The Healthcare Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis

    MedlinePlus

    ... Alternative Names Segmental glomerulosclerosis; Focal sclerosis with hyalinosis Images Male urinary system References Appel GB, Radhakrishnan J. Glomerular disorders and nephrotic syndromes In: Goldman L, ...

  1. A systematic review of dental disease in patients undergoing cancer therapy

    PubMed Central

    Napeñas, Joel J.; Hodgson, Brian D.; Stokman, Monique A.; Mathers-Stauffer, Vickie; Elting, Linda S.; Spijkervet, Fred K. L.; Brennan, Michael T.

    2010-01-01

    Introduction This purpose of this systematic review was to evaluate the literature and update our current understanding of the impact of present cancer therapies on the dental apparatus (teeth and periodontium) since the 1989 NIH Development Consensus Conference on the Oral Complications of Cancer Therapies. Review method A systematic literature search was conducted with assistance from a research librarian in the databases MEDLINE/PubMed and EMBASE for articles published between 1 January 1990 and 31 December 2008. Each study was independently assessed by two reviewers. Taking into account predetermined quality measures, a weighted prevalence was calculated for the prevalence of dental caries, severe gingival disease, and dental infection. Data on DMFT/dmft, DMFS/dmfs, plaque, and gingival indexes were also gathered. The level of evidence, recommendation, and guideline (if possible) were given for published preventive and management strategies. Results Sixty-four published papers between 1990 and 2008 were reviewed. The weighted overall prevalence of dental caries was 28.1%. The overall DMFT for patients who were post-antineoplastic therapy was 9.19 (SD, 7.98; n = 457). The overall plaque index for patients who were post-antineoplastic therapy was 1.38 (SD, 0.25; n = 189). The GI for patients who were post-chemotherapy was 1.02 (SD, 0.15; n = 162). The weighted prevalence of dental infections/abscess during chemotherapy was reported in three studies and was 5.8%. Conclusions Patients who were post-radiotherapy had the highest DMFT. The use of fluoride products and chlorhexidine rinses are beneficial in patients who are post-radiotherapy. There continues to be lack of clinical studies on the extent and severity of dental disease that are associated with infectious complications during cancer therapy. PMID:20449756

  2. Lawsuit against a dentist related to serious ocular infection possibly linked to water from a dental handpiece.

    PubMed

    Barbeau, Jean

    2007-09-01

    This case report highlights the risks that may be associated with amoebae in the water of a dental unit. A woman with contact lenses visited her dentist for replacement of a bridge. During the treatment, a stream of water was directed from the handpiece into her right eye. Because of subsequent pain in the eye, the patient consulted several ophthalmologists, who discovered abrasive lesions of the cornea and inflammation. Despite antibacterial and anti-inflammatory treatments, the patient"s visual acuity declined gradually over a period of several days. A microbiological examination nearly 2 months later revealed amoebae in corneal samples. A lawsuit against the dentist was initiated. Although a causal relation with the dental treatment was rejected by the judge in this case, high numbers of amoebae in the water of dental units can present a risk if a patient with pre-existing corneal lesions is splashed. According to the precautionary principle, complete evidence of risk does not have to exist to institute measures to protect individuals and society from that risk. This case reinforces the importance of having patients wear safety glasses during dental treatments and of dental personnel draining the waterlines of dental units, as recommended by the Canadian Dental Association.

  3. Dental Aide. Student Manual [and] Instructor Key. Revised.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Heckman, Karen; Noirfalise, Pat

    The first component of this three-part package is a student manual designed to be used independently in secondary health occupations programs or on-the-job training programs for dental assistants. The manual contains seven units that cover the following topics: introduction to dentistry; basic office procedures; infection control and occupational…

  4. Update on clinical attire requirements in dental hygiene programs.

    PubMed

    Foley, E S

    1994-01-01

    Many changes have occurred in the clinical appearance of dental hygienists in the past few years because of increased emphasis on infection control and disease prevention. The purpose of this study was to assess dental hygiene program clinical attire requirements in 1993 and to compare them with requirements as described by a 1988 survey. Checklist questionnaires were mailed to the directors of all 211 dental hygiene programs in the United States and Puerto Rico in October 1993. Questions were asked regarding clinical attire requirements for students and faculty, including uniforms, gowns, lab coats, masks, protective eyewear, shoes, hair coverings, laundry management, and changes under consideration. Percentages were calculated by region and for all responding programs. Of 211 questionnaires mailed, 178 were returned, for a response rate of 84%. Results indicated that students and faculty are currently wearing more colorful uniforms and scrubs than in 1988. Long-sleeved lab coats, disposable gowns, and washable surgical gowns are increasing in use. Glasses and face masks were required for all students and faculty in both surveys, but chin-length face shields are increasing in use as optional face protection. In most instances, face shields are worn with face masks. Laundry services are being provided for faculty (employees); however, most students continue to be responsible for their own laundry after being instructed to follow stringent guidelines taught by the faculty. Increasing emphasis on personal and patient protection is moving clinical attire requirements toward a more surgical appearance. Dental hygiene educators continue to monitor and to stay current with federal infection control recommendations, regulations, and guidelines.

  5. Weaker Dental Enamel Explains Dental Decay

    PubMed Central

    Vieira, Alexandre R.; Gibson, Carolyn W.; Deeley, Kathleen; Xue, Hui; Li, Yong

    2015-01-01

    Dental caries continues to be the most prevalent bacteria-mediated non-contagious disease of humankind. Dental professionals assert the disease can be explained by poor oral hygiene and a diet rich in sugars but this does not account for caries free individuals exposed to the same risk factors. In order to test the hypothesis that amount of amelogenin during enamel development can influence caries susceptibility, we generated multiple strains of mice with varying levels of available amelogenin during dental development. Mechanical tests showed that dental enamel developed with less amelogenin is “weaker” while the dental enamel of animals over-expressing amelogenin appears to be more resistant to acid dissolution. PMID:25885796

  6. An empirical assessment of the focal species hypothesis.

    PubMed

    Lindenmayer, D B; Lane, P W; Westgate, M J; Crane, M; Michael, D; Okada, S; Barton, P S

    2014-12-01

    Biodiversity surrogates and indicators are commonly used in conservation management. The focal species approach (FSA) is one method for identifying biodiversity surrogates, and it is underpinned by the hypothesis that management aimed at a particular focal species will confer protection on co-occurring species. This concept has been the subject of much debate, in part because the validity of the FSA has not been subject to detailed empirical assessment of the extent to which a given focal species actually co-occurs with other species in an assemblage. To address this knowledge gap, we used large-scale, long-term data sets of temperate woodland birds to select focal species associated with threatening processes such as habitat isolation and loss of key vegetation attributes. We quantified co-occurrence patterns among focal species, species in the wider bird assemblage, and species of conservation concern. Some, but not all, focal species were associated with high levels of species richness. One of our selected focal species was negatively associated with the occurrence of other species (i.e., it was an antisurrogate)-a previously undescribed property of nominated focal species. Furthermore, combinations of focal species were not associated with substantially elevated levels of bird species richness, relative to levels associated with individual species. Our results suggest that although there is some merit to the underpinning concept of the FSA, there is also a need to ensure that actions are sufficiently flexible because management tightly focused on a given focal species may not benefit some other species, including species of conservation concern, such of which might not occur in species-rich assemblages. © 2014 Society for Conservation Biology.

  7. “Hepatitis” – Prevention and management in dental practice

    PubMed Central

    Dahiya, Parveen; Kamal, Reet; Sharma, Varun; Kaur, Saravpreet

    2015-01-01

    Today, viral hepatitis has become a silent epidemic worldwide. It is the major cause of liver cirrhosis and liver carcinoma. In a dental office, infections can be expedited through several routes, including direct or indirect contact with blood, oral fluids, droplet splatter, aerosols, etc. The aim of the present review is to increase the awareness among dental practitioners, so as to reduce the burden of hepatitis in their community. Electronic databases like PubMed, Medline, ProQuest, etc. were searched using the keywords hepatitis, dentist, liver disease, and infection control. Manual search of various journals and books was also carried out. Only highly relevant articles from English literature were considered for the present review. The results revealed that the dentists were among the high-risk groups for hepatitis, and they have little information on the factors associated with adherence to hepatitis B vaccination. A dentist can play a major role in the prevention of hepatitis by considering each and every patient as a potential carrier of hepatitis. Proper infection control, sterilization, and prophylactic vaccination protocols should be followed in order to reduce the risk of hepatitis. PMID:26097847

  8. [Importance of cleaning and disinfection of critical surfaces in dental health services. Impact of an intervention program].

    PubMed

    Véliz, Elena; Vergara, Teresa; Pearcy, Mercedes; Dabanch, Jeannette

    Introduction Dental care has become a challenge for healthcare associated infection prevention programs, since the environment, within other factors, plays an important role in the transmission chain. Materials and Methods An intervention program was designed for the Dental Unit of Hospital Militar de Santiago, between years 2014 and 2015. The program contemplated 3 stages: diagnostic, intervention and evaluation stage. Objective To improve the safety of critical surfaces involved in dental healthcare. Results During the diagnostic stage, the cleaning and disinfection process was found to be deficient. The most contaminated critical surface was the instrument holder unit, then the clean area and lamp handle. The surfaces that significantly reduced their contamination, after the intervention, were the clean area and the instrument carrier unit. Conclusion Training in the processes of cleaning and disinfecting surfaces and dental equipment is one of the cost-effective strategies in preventing healthcare-associated infections (HCAI), with simple and easy-to-apply methods.

  9. Helicobacter pylori in dental plaque and stomach of patients from Northern Brazil.

    PubMed

    Assumpção, Mônica Baraúna; Martins, Luisa Caricio; Melo Barbosa, Hivana Patricia; Barile, Katarine Antonia dos Santos; de Almeida, Sintia Silva; Assumpção, Paulo Pimentel; Corvelo, Tereza Cristina de Oliveira

    2010-06-28

    To establish whether virulence factor genes vacA and cagA are present in Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) retrieved from gastric mucosa and dental plaque in patients with dyspepsia. Cumulative dental plaque specimens and gastric biopsies were submitted to histological examination, rapid urease test and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays to detect the presence of cagA and vacA polymorphisms. Detection of H. pylori from dental plaque and gastric biopsy samples was greater by PCR compared to histological examination and the rapid urease test. DNA from H. pylori was detected in 96% of gastric mucosa samples and in 72% of dental plaque samples. Sixty-three (89%) of 71 dental plaque samples that were H. pylori-positive also exhibited identical vacA and cagA genotypes in gastric mucosa. The most common genotype was vacAs1bm1 and cagA positive, either in dental plaque or gastric mucosa. These virulent H. pylori isolates were involved in the severity of clinical outcome. These pathogenic strains were found simultaneously in dental plaque and gastric mucosa, which suggests that gastric infection is correlated with the presence of H. pylori in the mouth.

  10. Helicobacter pylori in dental plaque and stomach of patients from Northern Brazil

    PubMed Central

    Assumpção, Mônica Baraúna; Martins, Luisa Caricio; Melo Barbosa, Hivana Patricia; dos Santos Barile, Katarine Antonia; de Almeida, Sintia Silva; Assumpção, Paulo Pimentel; de Oliveira Corvelo, Tereza Cristina

    2010-01-01

    AIM: To establish whether virulence factor genes vacA and cagA are present in Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) retrieved from gastric mucosa and dental plaque in patients with dyspepsia. METHODS: Cumulative dental plaque specimens and gastric biopsies were submitted to histological examination, rapid urease test and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays to detect the presence of cagA and vacA polymorphisms. RESULTS: Detection of H. pylori from dental plaque and gastric biopsy samples was greater by PCR compared to histological examination and the rapid urease test. DNA from H. pylori was detected in 96% of gastric mucosa samples and in 72% of dental plaque samples. Sixty-three (89%) of 71 dental plaque samples that were H. pylori-positive also exhibited identical vacA and cagA genotypes in gastric mucosa. The most common genotype was vacAs1bm1 and cagA positive, either in dental plaque or gastric mucosa. These virulent H. pylori isolates were involved in the severity of clinical outcome. CONCLUSION: These pathogenic strains were found simultaneously in dental plaque and gastric mucosa, which suggests that gastric infection is correlated with the presence of H. pylori in the mouth. PMID:20572307

  11. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus from dental school clinic surfaces and students.

    PubMed

    Roberts, Marilyn C; Soge, Olusegun O; Horst, Jeremy A; Ly, Kiet A; Milgrom, Peter

    2011-10-01

    Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolated from frequently touched dental school clinic surfaces were compared with MRSA isolated nasal cultures of dental students. Sixty-one dental students and 95 environmental surfaces from 7 clinics were sampled using SANICULT (Starplex Scientific Inc, Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada) swabs. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis analysis, the mecA gene, multilocus sequence type, and SCCmec type were determined by polymerase chain reaction and sequencing. Thirteen (21%) dental students and 8 (8.4%) surfaces were MRSA positive. Three MRSA strains were SCCmec type IV, whereas 3 were nontypeable isolates and Panton-Valentine leukocidin positive (PVL+), and none were USA300. One surface and 1 student isolate shared the same multilocus sequence type ST 8 and were 75% related. Two groups of students carried the same MRSA strains. The MRSA-positive samples were from 4 of 7 dental clinics. In addition, 21% of the dental students carried MRSA, which is > 10 times higher than the general public and twice as frequent as in other university students. This is the first study to characterize MRSA from dental clinic surfaces and dental students and suggests that both may be reservoirs for MRSA. Further studies are needed to verify this premise. Copyright © 2011 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Dental Pulp and Dentin Tissue Engineering and Regeneration – Advancement and Challenge

    PubMed Central

    Huang, George T.-J.

    2012-01-01

    Hard tissue is difficult to repair especially dental structures. Tooth enamel is incapable of self-repairing whereas dentin and cememtum can regenerate with limited capacity. Enamel and dentin are commonly under the attack by caries. Extensive forms of caries destroy enamel and dentin and can lead to dental pulp infection. Entire pulp amputation followed by the pulp space disinfection and filled with an artificial rubber-like material is employed to treat the infection --commonly known as root canal or endodontic therapy. Regeneration of dentin relies on having vital pulps; however, regeneration of pulp tissue has been difficult as the tissue is encased in dentin without collateral blood supply except from the root apical end. With the advent of modern tissue engineering concept and the discovery of dental stem cells, regeneration of pulp and dentin has been tested. This article will review the recent endeavor on pulp and dentin tissue engineering and regeneration. The prospective outcome of the current advancement and challenge in this line of research will be discussed. PMID:21196351

  13. Economic impact of dental hygienists on solo dental practices.

    PubMed

    Lazar, Vickie F; Guay, Albert H; Beazoglou, Tryfon J

    2012-08-01

    The fact that a significant percentage of dentists employ dental hygienists raises an important question: Are dental practices that utilize a dental hygienist structurally and operationally different from practices that do not? This article explores differences among dental practices that operate with and without dental hygienists. Using data from the American Dental Association's 2003 Survey of Dental Practice, a random sample survey of U.S. dentists, descriptive statistics were used to compare selected characteristics of solo general practitioners with and without dental hygienists. Multivariate regression analysis was used to estimate the effect of dental hygienists on the gross billings and net incomes of solo general practitioners. Differences in practice characteristics--such as hours spent in the practice and hours spent treating patients, wait time for a recall visit, number of operatories, square feet of office space, net income, and gross billings--were found between solo general practitioners who had dental hygienists and those who did not. Solo general practitioners with dental hygienists had higher gross billings. Higher gross billings would be expected, as would higher expenses. However, net incomes of those with dental hygienists were also higher. In contrast, the mean waiting time for a recall visit was higher among dentists who employed dental hygienists. Depending on personal preferences, availability of qualified personnel, etc., dentists who do not employ dental hygienists but have been contemplating that path may want to further research the benefits and opportunities that may be realized.

  14. Prevalence of hepatitis d virus infection among hepatitis B virus infected patients in qom province, center of iran.

    PubMed

    Ghadir, Mohammad-Reza; Belbasi, Mojtaba; Heidari, Akram; Sarkeshikian, Seyed Saeid; Kabiri, Alireza; Ghanooni, Amir Hossein; Iranikhah, Abolfazl; Vaez-Javadi, Maryam; Alavian, Seyed Moayed

    2012-03-01

    Hepatitis D virus (HDV) is a defective RNA virus that depends on the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) of hepatitis B virus for its replication, developing exclusively in patients with acute or chronic hepatitis B. There are little data regarding the routes of HDV transmission in Iran. The risk factors for HDV infection in Iran are blood transfusion, surgery, family history, Hejamat wet cupping (traditional phlebotomy), tattooing, war injury, dental interventions, and endoscopy. We performed this study to determine the prevalence of hepatitis D in the general population of Qom province and the potential risk factors for acquiring HDV. This cross-sectional study collected 3690 samples from 7 rural clusters and 116 urban clusters. HBs antigen was measured, and if the test was positive, anti-HDV was measured. Ten teams, each consisting of 2 trained members, were assigned to conduct the sampling and administer the questionnaires. The data were analyzed using SPSS. Forty-eight subjects (1.3%) suffered from hepatitis B, and 1 HBsAg-positive case had HDV infection. The prevalence of hepatitis D infection in Qom Province was 0.03%. The prevalence of hepatitis D infection in HBsAg-positive cases was 2%. Our anti-HDV-positive case had a history of tattooing, surgery, and dental surgery. There was no significant relationship between tattooing, surgery history, or dental surgery and hepatitis D infection. The prevalence of hepatitis D in Qom is the the lowest in Iran, similar to a study in Babol (north of Iran).

  15. Nigerian dental therapy students' knowledge, attitude, and willingness to care for patients with HIV.

    PubMed

    Azodo, Clement Chinedu; Ehizele, Adebola Oluyemisi; Umoh, Agnes; Okechukwu, Robinson

    2013-06-01

    The objective of this study was to assess Nigerian dental therapy students' knowledge, attitudes, and willingness to care for patients with HIV. A twenty-six-item questionnaire was used to conduct a cross-sectional study of the dental therapy students of Federal School of Dental Therapy and Technology, Enugu State, Nigeria. The level of knowledge of HIV transmission and prevention among the respondents was high. However, misconceptions about the transmission of HIV through blood donation, mosquito bite, and sharing cups and plates were noted. Erroneous descriptions of HIV as harmless, self-limiting, antibiotic sensitive infection, punishment virus, and contagious infection were also reported. More than half (56.2 percent) and 25.2 percent of the respondents, respectively, expressed feelings of empathy and sympathy towards individuals with HIV. About three-quarters (74.3 percent) expressed willingness to treat patients with HIV, and 87.6 percent expressed confidence in their ability to prevent occupational HIV acquisition. This expressed confidence was significantly associated with their willingness to treat patients with HIV. More than half (55.7 percent) of the respondents reported they can adequately deliver HIV-related information to patients. A total of 86.2 percent said there is a need for training dental therapists in the clinical care of patients with HIV, and 89.0 percent said that dental therapists can play a significant role in the dissemination of HIV-related information. The vast majority (90.0 percent) expressed willingness to disseminate HIV-related information, and the majority (70.5 percent) considered the dental therapist the most suitable dental professional to give HIV-related information to patients.

  16. [A boy with cervical focal myositis].

    PubMed

    Prop, Serge; van Vuurden, Dannis; van der Kuip, Martijn; van der Voorn, J Patrick; Plötz, Frans B

    2014-01-01

    Focal myositis is a rare idiopathic pseudotumour that mostly occurs in the extremities in adults. An 8-year-old boy presented with a few months history of swelling in the neck and fever. Ultrasound investigation revealed an inhomogenous mass consistent with lymphadenitis. After nine days of antibiotic therapy, the clinical picture of fever and swelling was unchanged. MRI imaging revealed continuity of the swelling in the sternocleidomastoid muscle and a malignant process was suspected. Microscopy showed no malignant cells, however, but a lymphoplasmocytic infiltration with fibrosis and degeneration of muscle fibres, consistent with focal myositis. No intervention was undertaken and one year after presentation the tumour had regressed almost entirely. Focal myositis can present as a cervical tumour. On ultrasound, the condition is hard to distinguish from lymphadenopathy or malignancy. In cases of insufficient response to empirical antibiotic therapy, focal myositis should be considered.

  17. Sighting optics including an optical element having a first focal length and a second focal length and methods for sighting

    DOEpatents

    Crandall, David Lynn

    2011-08-16

    Sighting optics include a front sight and a rear sight positioned in a spaced-apart relation. The rear sight includes an optical element having a first focal length and a second focal length. The first focal length is selected so that it is about equal to a distance separating the optical element and the front sight and the second focal length is selected so that it is about equal to a target distance. The optical element thus brings into simultaneous focus for a user images of the front sight and the target.

  18. The FiCTION dental trial protocol - filling children's teeth: indicated or not?

    PubMed

    Innes, Nicola P T; Clarkson, Jan E; Speed, Chris; Douglas, Gail V A; Maguire, Anne

    2013-06-01

    There is a lack of evidence for effective management of dental caries (decay) in children's primary (baby) teeth and an apparent failure of conventional dental restorations (fillings) to prevent dental pain and infection for UK children in Primary Care. UK dental schools' teaching has been based on British Society of Paediatric Dentistry guidance which recommends that caries in primary teeth should be removed and a restoration placed. However, the evidence base for this is limited in volume and quality, and comes from studies conducted in either secondary care or specialist practices. Restorations provided in specialist environments can be effective but the generalisability of this evidence to Primary Care has been questioned. The FiCTION trial addresses the Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme’s commissioning brief and research question “What is the clinical and cost effectiveness of restoration caries in primary teeth, compared to no treatment?” It compares conventional restorations with an intermediate treatment strategy based on the biological (sealing-in) management of caries and with no restorations. This is a Primary Care-based multi-centre, three-arm, parallel group, patient-randomised controlled trial. Practitioners are recruiting 1461 children, (3-7 years) with at least one primary molar tooth where caries extends into dentine. Children are randomized and treated according to one of three treatment approaches; conventional caries management with best practice prevention, biological management of caries with best practice prevention or best practice prevention alone. Baseline measures and outcome data (at review/treatment during three year follow-up) are assessed through direct reporting, clinical examination including blinded radiograph assessment, and child/parent questionnaires. The primary outcome measure is the incidence of either pain or infection related to dental caries. Secondary outcomes are; incidence of caries in primary and

  19. Effect of Clinically Relevant CAD/CAM Zirconia Polishing on Gingival Fibroblast Proliferation and Focal Adhesions

    PubMed Central

    Fischer, Nicholas G.; Wong, Jeffrey; Cerutis, D. Roselyn

    2017-01-01

    Mucosal seal formation around dental abutments is critical to the successful integration of dental implants into the human oral cavity. No information exists for how clinically relevant polishing procedures for computer-aided design and computer-aided manufactured (CAD/CAM) zirconia abutments affects cellular responses important to mucosal seal formation. CAD/CAM zirconia was divided into four groups for clinically relevant polishing utilizing commercial polishing heads: control, coarse, coarse plus medium, and coarse plus medium plus fine. Surfaces were analyzed with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and optical profilometry (OP). Subsequently, human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs) were seeded onto the zirconia surfaces. Proliferation was measured via a quantitative SEM technique and focal adhesion kinase (FAK) phosphorylation status was measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results showed an increase in proliferation on all polished surfaces as compared to the control. Phosphorylation of FAK at tyrosine 397 (Y397) was up-modulated on the control surfaces. The associated cell adaptation is discussed. In all cases, FAK phosphorylation was greater at 24 h than 48 h. These results suggest that clinicians should be mindful of the effects of abutment polishing methodology, as this may have an impact on early mucosal seal formation. PMID:29186907

  20. Do focal colors look particularly "colorful"?

    PubMed

    Witzel, Christoph; Franklin, Anna

    2014-04-01

    If the most typical red, yellow, green, and blue were particularly colorful (i.e., saturated), they would "jump out to the eye." This would explain why even fundamentally different languages have distinct color terms for these focal colors, and why unique hues play a prominent role in subjective color appearance. In this study, the subjective saturation of 10 colors around each of these focal colors was measured through a pairwise matching task. Results show that subjective saturation changes systematically across hues in a way that is strongly correlated to the visual gamut, and exponentially related to sensitivity but not to focal colors.

  1. Nanosurface design of dental implants for improved cell growth and function

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pan, Hsu-An; Hung, Yao-Ching; Chiou, Jin-Chern; Tai, Shih-Ming; Chen, Hsin-Hung; Huang, G. Steven

    2012-08-01

    A strategy was proposed for the topological design of dental implants based on an in vitro survey of optimized nanodot structures. An in vitro survey was performed using nanodot arrays with dot diameters ranging from 10 to 200 nm. MG63 osteoblasts were seeded on nanodot arrays and cultured for 3 days. Cell number, percentage undergoing apoptotic-like cell death, cell adhesion and cytoskeletal organization were evaluated. Nanodots with a diameter of approximately 50 nm enhanced cell number by 44%, minimized apoptotic-like cell death to 2.7%, promoted a 30% increase in microfilament bundles and maximized cell adhesion with a 73% increase in focal adhesions. An enhancement of about 50% in mineralization was observed, determined by von Kossa staining and by Alizarin Red S staining. Therefore, we provide a complete range of nanosurfaces for growing osteoblasts to discriminate their nanoscale environment. Nanodot arrays present an opportunity to positively and negatively modulate cell behavior and maturation. Our results suggest a topological approach which is beneficial for the design of dental implants.

  2. Partial (focal) seizure

    MedlinePlus

    ... Jacksonian seizure; Seizure - partial (focal); Temporal lobe seizure; Epilepsy - partial seizures ... Abou-Khalil BW, Gallagher MJ, Macdonald RL. Epilepsies. In: Daroff ... Practice . 7th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2016:chap 101. ...

  3. Inverse-designed stretchable metalens with tunable focal distance

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Callewaert, Francois; Velev, Vesselin; Jiang, Shizhou; Sahakian, Alan Varteres; Kumar, Prem; Aydin, Koray

    2018-02-01

    In this paper, we present an inverse-designed 3D-printed all-dielectric stretchable millimeter wave metalens with a tunable focal distance. A computational inverse-design method is used to design a flat metalens made of disconnected polymer building blocks with complex shapes, as opposed to conventional monolithic lenses. The proposed metalens provides better performance than a conventional Fresnel lens, using lesser amount of material and enabling larger focal distance tunability. The metalens is fabricated using a commercial 3D-printer and attached to a stretchable platform. Measurements and simulations show that the focal distance can be tuned by a factor of 4 with a stretching factor of only 75%, a nearly diffraction-limited focal spot, and with a 70% relative focusing efficiency, defined as the ratio between power focused in the focal spot and power going through the focal plane. The proposed platform can be extended for design and fabrication of multiple electromagnetic devices working from visible to microwave radiation depending on scaling of the devices.

  4. Prevalence of Herpes Simplex Virus Antibodies in Dental Students.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rodu, Brad; And Others

    1992-01-01

    A study of 125 sophomore preclinical dental students found that these young professionals, because of having a low prevalence of herpes simplex virus (HSV) antibodies, are at risk for acquiring a primary HSV infection when treating HSV positive patients and should take precautions to avoid virus transmission. (MSE)

  5. Managing the Cutaneous Sinus Tract of Dental Origine.

    PubMed

    Janev, Edvard; Redzep, Enis

    2016-09-15

    Draining cutaneous sinus tract in chin area may be caused by chronic periapical dental infections. Misdiagnosis of these lesions usually leads to destructive invasive treatment of the sinus tract that is not correct and curative. A 31-year-old male patient referred to us with a chronically draining lesion on his chin. The lesion previously was misdiagnosed by medical doctors and had undergone two times surgery with a focus on the skin lesion and had received antibiotic therapy for a prolonged period of time. After clinical and radiologic examination the dental origin of the lesion was evident and proper endodontic and surgical treatment was performed. Three months later, after the treatment, the lesion showed total healing and reoccurrence occurred. The key to successful treatment of cutaneous sinus tract of dental origin must be in appropriate communication between the dentist and the physician in order to achieve correct diagnosis and therapy in such cases.

  6. Focal mechanisms of earthquakes in Mongolia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sodnomsambuu, D.; Natalia, R.; Gangaadorj, B.; Munkhuu, U.; Davaasuren, G.; Danzansan, E.; Yan, R.; Valentina, M.; Battsetseg, B.

    2011-12-01

    Focal mechanism data provide information on the relative magnitudes of the principal stresses, so that a tectonic regime can be assigned. Especially such information is useful for the study of intraplate seismic active regions. A study of earthquake focal mechanisms in the territory of Mongolia as landlocked and intraplate region was conducted. We present map of focal mechanisms of earthquakes with M4.5 which occurred in Mongolia and neighboring regions. Focal mechanisms solutions were constrained by the first motion solutions, as well as by waveform modeling, particularly CMT solutions. Four earthquakes have been recorded in Mongolia in XX century with magnitude more than 8, the 1905 M7.9 Tsetserleg and M8.4 Bolnai earthquakes, the 1931 M8.0 Fu Yun earthquake, the 1957 M8.1 Gobi-Altai earthquake. However the map of focal mechanisms of earthquakes in Mongolia allows seeing all seismic active structures: Gobi Altay, Mongolian Altay, active fringe of Hangay dome, Hentii range etc. Earthquakes in the most of Mongolian territory and neighboring China regions are characterized by strike-slip and reverse movements. Strike-slip movements also are typical for earthquakes in Altay Range in Russia. The north of Mongolia and south part of the Baikal area is a region where have been occurred earthquakes with different focal mechanisms. This region is a zone of the transition between compressive regime associated to India-Eurasian collision and extensive structures localized in north of the country as Huvsgul area and Baykal rift. Earthquakes in the Baikal basin itself are characterized by normal movements. Earthquakes in Trans-Baikal zone and NW of Mongolia are characterized dominantly by strike-slip movements. Analysis of stress-axis orientations, the tectonic stress tensor is presented. The map of focal mechanisms of earthquakes in Mongolia could be useful tool for researchers in their study on Geodynamics of Central Asia, particularly of Mongolian and Baikal regions.

  7. Thick lens chromatic effective focal length variation versus bending

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sparrold, Scott

    2017-11-01

    Longitudinal chromatic aberration (LCA) can limit the optical performance in refractive optical systems. Understanding a singlet's chromatic change of effective focal leads to insights and methods to control LCA. Long established, first order theory, shows the chromatic change in focal length for a zero thickness lens is proportional to it's focal length divided by the lens V number or inverse dispersion. This work presents the derivation of an equation for a thick singlet's chromatic change in effective focal length as a function of center thickness, t, dispersion, V, index of refraction, n, and the Coddington shape factor, K. A plot of bending versus chromatic focal length variation is presented. Lens thickness does not influence chromatic variation of effective focal length for a convex plano or plano convex lens. A lens's center thickness'influence on chromatic focal length variation is more pronounced for lower indices of refraction.

  8. Active Nanomaterials to Meet the Challenge of Dental Pulp Regeneration

    PubMed Central

    Keller, Laetitia; Offner, Damien; Schwinté, Pascale; Morand, David; Wagner, Quentin; Gros, Catherine; Bornert, Fabien; Bahi, Sophie; Musset, Anne-Marie; Benkirane-Jessel, Nadia; Fioretti, Florence

    2015-01-01

    The vitality of the pulp is fundamental to the functional life of the tooth. For this aim, active and living biomaterials are required to avoid the current drastic treatment, which is the removal of all the cellular and molecular content regardless of its regenerative potential. The regeneration of the pulp tissue is the dream of many generations of dental surgeons and will revolutionize clinical practices. Recently, the potential of the regenerative medicine field suggests that it would be possible to achieve such complex regeneration. Indeed, three crucial steps are needed: the control of infection and inflammation and the regeneration of lost pulp tissues. For regenerative medicine, in particular for dental pulp regeneration, the use of nano-structured biomaterials becomes decisive. Nano-designed materials allow the concentration of many different functions in a small volume, the increase in the quality of targeting, as well as the control of cost and delivery of active molecules. Nanomaterials based on extracellular mimetic nanostructure and functionalized with multi-active therapeutics appear essential to reverse infection and inflammation and concomitantly to orchestrate pulp cell colonization and differentiation. This novel generation of nanomaterials seems very promising to meet the challenge of the complex dental pulp regeneration. PMID:28793649

  9. Dental, Dental Hygiene, and Advanced Dental Students' Use, Knowledge, and Beliefs Regarding Tobacco Products.

    PubMed

    Shearston, Jenni A; Shah, Krina; Cheng, Eric; Moosvi, Rizvan; Park, Su Hyun; Patel, Naiya; Spielman, Andrew I; Weitzman, Michael L

    2017-11-01

    Using cigarettes and alternative tobacco products (ATPs) is associated with negative oral health outcomes, and dental health professionals are poised to help patients quit. The aim of this study was to determine dental, dental hygiene, and advanced dental students' use, knowledge, and beliefs about cigarettes and ATPs, including perceptions about their education in tobacco dependence treatment and counseling experience. All 1,783 students enrolled in the dental, dental hygiene, and postdoctoral dental programs at the New York University College of Dentistry were invited to participate in the survey in 2016. A total of 708 students at least partially completed the survey, for a response rate of 39.7%. In the results, 146 of the students (20.1%) reported ever using cigarettes, while 253 (35.7%) reported ever using any ATP. Regarding tobacco use intervention, the students reported they had not received enough training on ATPs, were neutral about cigarettes, and were somewhat confident and not so confident counseling a cigarette smoker or ATP user, respectively. By their fourth year, 77.8% of the dental students reported they had counseled someone to stop smoking cigarettes, but only 40.7% had counseled someone to stop using ATPs. Overall, all groups of students reported feeling more confident and had received more education on interventions for cigarettes than for ATPs (p<0.001). These students reported low confidence in helping people quit tobacco and did not perceive they had received enough training on intervening with patients on use of cigarettes and ATPs. These findings call for a revised tobacco education curriculum for dental, dental hygiene, and advanced dental students, focused on building knowledge and confidence for promoting tobacco dependence treatment.

  10. Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) Oral Prevalence in Scotland (HOPSCOTCH): A Feasibility Study in Dental Settings

    PubMed Central

    Conway, David I.; Robertson, Chris; Gray, Heather; Young, Linda; McDaid, Lisa M.; Winter, Andrew J.; Campbell, Christine; Pan, Jiafeng; Kavanagh, Kimberley; Kean, Sharon; Bhatia, Ramya; Cubie, Heather; Clarkson, Jan E.; Bagg, Jeremy; Pollock, Kevin G.; Cuschieri, Kate

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility of undertaking a full population investigation into the prevalence, incidence, and persistence of oral Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) in Scotland via dental settings. Male and female patients aged 16–69 years were recruited by Research Nurses in 3 primary care and dental outreach teaching centres and 2 General Dental Practices (GDPs), and by Dental Care Teams in 2 further GDPs. Participants completed a questionnaire (via an online tablet computer or paper) with socioeconomic, lifestyle, and sexual history items; and were followed up at 6-months for further questionnaire through appointment or post/online. Saline oral gargle/rinse samples, collected at baseline and follow-up, were subject to molecular HPV genotyping centrally. 1213 dental patients were approached and 402 individuals consented (participation rate 33.1%). 390 completed the baseline questionnaire and 380 provided a baseline oral specimen. Follow-up rate was 61.6% at 6 months. While recruitment was no different in Research Nurse vs Dental Care Team models the Nurse model ensured more rapid recruitment. There were relatively few missing responses in the questionnaire and high levels of disclosure of risk behaviours (99% answered some of the sexual history questions). Data linkage of participant data to routine health records including HPV vaccination data was successful with 99.1% matching. Oral rinse/gargle sample collection and subsequent HPV testing was feasible. Preliminary analyses found over 95% of samples to be valid for molecular HPV detection prevalence of oral HPV infection of 5.5% (95%CI 3.7, 8.3). It is feasible to recruit and follow-up dental patients largely representative / reflective of the wider population, suggesting it would be possible to undertake a study to investigate the prevalence, incidence, and determinants of oral HPV infection in dental settings. PMID:27861508

  11. Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) Oral Prevalence in Scotland (HOPSCOTCH): A Feasibility Study in Dental Settings.

    PubMed

    Conway, David I; Robertson, Chris; Gray, Heather; Young, Linda; McDaid, Lisa M; Winter, Andrew J; Campbell, Christine; Pan, Jiafeng; Kavanagh, Kimberley; Kean, Sharon; Bhatia, Ramya; Cubie, Heather; Clarkson, Jan E; Bagg, Jeremy; Pollock, Kevin G; Cuschieri, Kate

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility of undertaking a full population investigation into the prevalence, incidence, and persistence of oral Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) in Scotland via dental settings. Male and female patients aged 16-69 years were recruited by Research Nurses in 3 primary care and dental outreach teaching centres and 2 General Dental Practices (GDPs), and by Dental Care Teams in 2 further GDPs. Participants completed a questionnaire (via an online tablet computer or paper) with socioeconomic, lifestyle, and sexual history items; and were followed up at 6-months for further questionnaire through appointment or post/online. Saline oral gargle/rinse samples, collected at baseline and follow-up, were subject to molecular HPV genotyping centrally. 1213 dental patients were approached and 402 individuals consented (participation rate 33.1%). 390 completed the baseline questionnaire and 380 provided a baseline oral specimen. Follow-up rate was 61.6% at 6 months. While recruitment was no different in Research Nurse vs Dental Care Team models the Nurse model ensured more rapid recruitment. There were relatively few missing responses in the questionnaire and high levels of disclosure of risk behaviours (99% answered some of the sexual history questions). Data linkage of participant data to routine health records including HPV vaccination data was successful with 99.1% matching. Oral rinse/gargle sample collection and subsequent HPV testing was feasible. Preliminary analyses found over 95% of samples to be valid for molecular HPV detection prevalence of oral HPV infection of 5.5% (95%CI 3.7, 8.3). It is feasible to recruit and follow-up dental patients largely representative / reflective of the wider population, suggesting it would be possible to undertake a study to investigate the prevalence, incidence, and determinants of oral HPV infection in dental settings.

  12. 42 CFR Appendix G to Part 75 - Standards for Licensing Dental Hygienists and Dental Assistants in Dental Radiography

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 1 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Standards for Licensing Dental Hygienists and Dental Assistants in Dental Radiography G Appendix G to Part 75 Public Health PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE...—Standards for Licensing Dental Hygienists and Dental Assistants in Dental Radiography The following section...

  13. 42 CFR Appendix G to Part 75 - Standards for Licensing Dental Hygienists and Dental Assistants in Dental Radiography

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 1 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Standards for Licensing Dental Hygienists and Dental Assistants in Dental Radiography G Appendix G to Part 75 Public Health PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE...—Standards for Licensing Dental Hygienists and Dental Assistants in Dental Radiography The following section...

  14. 42 CFR Appendix G to Part 75 - Standards for Licensing Dental Hygienists and Dental Assistants in Dental Radiography

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 1 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Standards for Licensing Dental Hygienists and Dental Assistants in Dental Radiography G Appendix G to Part 75 Public Health PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE...—Standards for Licensing Dental Hygienists and Dental Assistants in Dental Radiography The following section...

  15. 42 CFR Appendix G to Part 75 - Standards for Licensing Dental Hygienists and Dental Assistants in Dental Radiography

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 1 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Standards for Licensing Dental Hygienists and Dental Assistants in Dental Radiography G Appendix G to Part 75 Public Health PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE...—Standards for Licensing Dental Hygienists and Dental Assistants in Dental Radiography The following section...

  16. 42 CFR Appendix G to Part 75 - Standards for Licensing Dental Hygienists and Dental Assistants in Dental Radiography

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Standards for Licensing Dental Hygienists and Dental Assistants in Dental Radiography G Appendix G to Part 75 Public Health PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE...—Standards for Licensing Dental Hygienists and Dental Assistants in Dental Radiography The following section...

  17. Biomimetic extracellular matrix mediated somatic stem cell differentiation: applications in dental pulp tissue regeneration

    PubMed Central

    Ravindran, Sriram; George, Anne

    2015-01-01

    Dental caries is one of the most widely prevalent infectious diseases in the world. It affects more than half of the world's population. The current treatment for necrotic dental pulp tissue arising from dental caries is root canal therapy. This treatment results in loss of tooth sensitivity and vitality making it prone for secondary infections. Over the past decade, several tissue-engineering approaches have attempted regeneration of the dental pulp tissue. Although several studies have highlighted the potential of dental stem cells, none have transitioned into a clinical setting owing to limited availability of dental stem cells and the need for growth factor delivery systems. Our strategy is to utilize the intact ECM of pulp cells to drive lineage specific differentiation of bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells. From a clinical perspective, pulp ECM scaffolds can be generated using cell lines and patient specific somatic stem cells can be used for regeneration. Our published results have shown the feasibility of using pulp ECM scaffolds for odontogenic differentiation of non-dental mesenchymal cells. This focused review discusses the issues surrounding dental pulp tissue regeneration and the potential of our strategy to overcome these issues. PMID:25954205

  18. Medicaid: State and Federal Actions Have Been Taken to Improve Children's Access to Dental Services, but Gaps Remain. Report to Congressional Requesters. GAO-09-723

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    US Government Accountability Office, 2009

    2009-01-01

    Children's access to Medicaid dental services is a long-standing concern. The tragic case of a 12-year-old boy who died from an untreated infected tooth that led to a fatal brain infection renewed attention to this issue. He was enrolled in Medicaid--a joint federal and state program that provides health care coverage, including dental care, for…

  19. The presence of Helicobacter pylori in dental plaque of children and their parents: is it related to their periodontal status and oral hygiene?

    PubMed

    Tsami, A; Petropoulou, P; Kafritsa, Y; Mentis, Y A; Roma-Giannikou, E

    2011-12-01

    To investigate the possible presence of H. pylori in subgingival dental plaque of children with upper gastrointestinal symptoms, as well as of their parents' and to detect any association between the presence of H. pylori and oral hygiene together with the periodontal status of children and their parents. The study comprised of 35 children with upper gastrointestinal symptoms, aged 4 to 14 years and 45 family members (mothers and/or fathers). Gastric biopsies were collected from all children for CLO-test, histology and culture. Serology was used to assess the H. pylori infection status of their parents. Before endoscopy, subgingival dental plaque from children and their parents were collected from 4 healthy and 4 diseased sites, and the clinical indices (gingival index, plaque index, bleeding on probing, pocket depth, loss of clinical attachment) after plaque collection were recorded. The Chi-square test was performed to investigate possible differences between children and their parents and logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the association of parental infection status with that of children. 15 out of 35 children (42.86%) were found H. pylori-positive. In 6 out of the 15 infected children (40%) H. pylori was also identified in their subgingival plaque samples, as well as in one among the 20 non infected children. The presence of H. pylori in dental plaque was significantly associated with its presence in the gastric antrum (p=0.0274). H. pylori was identified in the dental plaque of 7 mothers corresponding to children with positive PCR in their dental plaque and of 4 fathers (one corresponding with his child found H. pylori positive in dental plaque). Children who had H. pylori identified in their dental plaque belonged to families with members also having H. pylori in dental plaque. No significant relationship between periodontal clinical parameters and detection of H. pylori in dental plaque in both children and their parents was found. However

  20. FOCAL OR INSULAR NECROSIS PRODUCED BY THE BACILLUS OF TUBERCULOSIS.

    PubMed

    Le Count, E R

    1897-11-01

    1. It must be accepted from a comparison between the histological changes described in the focal necroses due to abrin and ricin, diphtheria, eclampsia, blood-serum intoxication, typhoid fever, lobar pneumonia and glanders, and those described here in three cases of tuberculosis, that the last are also instances of focal necrosis. 2. It may be claimed that the areas of necrosis in the three cases of tuberculosis had their origin in ischaemia, for the reason that they were numerous in the spleen and were not found in the kidney. Against such an explanation of their causation are the facts: that other forms of necrosis affect frequently the spleen and seldom the kidney; that thrombosis of vessels or any fixed relation of the areas in the spleen to blood-vessels could not be established; that the tubercle bacilli were invariably present; and lastly and of no slight importance, that these necroses were all present in cases of marked marasmus. 3. That the areas of necrosis in these three cases might be phenomena resulting from a mixed infection with pyogenic bacteria is possible, but no groups, colonies or even single bodies could be found which answered to the requirements in shape or staining properties for such bacteria. Even were it the case that the focal necroses here presented are the histological lesions of a septicaemia occurring as a complication of tuberculosis, the presence of the bacillus of tuberculosis in the areas of necrosis would still require explanation. 4. Lastly, it is not unreasonable to suppose that a diminished resistance on the part of the tissues incidental to marasmus is an important factor in the production of these necrotic lesions.

  1. Prevalence of oro-dental pathology in a working horse population in Egypt and its relation to equine health.

    PubMed

    Salem, S E; Townsend, N B; Refaai, W; Gomaa, M; Archer, D C

    2017-01-01

    Oro-dental disease can have a significant impact on equine welfare. To determine the prevalence of oro-dental disease and to identify risk factors for oro-dental disorders and poor body condition scores (BCS) in a working horse population in Egypt. Cross-sectional survey. Oro-dental examination was performed on 450 working horses in 2 Egyptian provinces. Horse and management historical data were collected and horses were assigned to no/mild, moderate and severe dental disease categories based on findings on examination. Multivariable logistic regression and generalised additive models were used to identify risk factors for oral mucosal injuries and very poor/poor BCS, and to explore the relationship between age and different oro-dental disorders. Oro-dental disease was common, with 45.3% and 8.4% of horses considered to have moderate and severe oro-dental disease, respectively. None of these horses had previously undergone any form of proper dental examination and treatment by trained personnel. Oral mucosal injuries (64.2%) and sharp enamel points (79.8%) were most common. Oral mucosal injuries were significantly associated with increasing age (odds ratio (OR) 1.1, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01-1.1, P = 0.03), focal dental overgrowths (OR 2.4, 95% CI 1.4-4.0, P = 0.002) and sharp enamel points (OR 6.3, 95% CI 3.5-11.0, P<0.001). Very poor and poor BCS were significantly associated with severe dental disease (OR 2.6, 95% CI 1.2-5.8, P = 0.02), horses aged 16-30 years (OR 3.5, 95% CI 1.7-7.0, P = 0.001), height (OR 0.9, 95% CI 0.9-0.97, P = 0.001) and packed cell volume (OR 0.9, 95% CI 0.85-0.95, P<0.001). There is a need for education of working horse-owners in Egypt about the importance of oro-dental disease and for greater availability of veterinarians with suitable training and equipment to perform dental prophylaxis and treatment. Even simple dental prophylaxis could have a significant impact on the health and welfare of this population of working horses.

  2. Study of antibiotic prescribing among dental practitioners in Shiraz, Islamic Republic of Iran.

    PubMed

    Vessal, G; Khabiri, A; Mirkhani, H; Cookson, B D; Askarian, M

    2011-10-01

    Inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics by health care professionals is a worldwide concern. This study evaluated the knowledge and practices of dental practitioners in the city of Shiraz, Islamic Republic of Iran regarding their therapeutic use of antibiotics for patients with dentoalveolar infections. Of 219 (48.6%) dentists responding to the questionnaire more than 40% would prescribe antibiotics for localized fluctuant swelling and for problems for which antibiotics are not required according to good practice guidelines (acute pulpitis, chronic apical infection, periodontal abscess, chronic gingivitis, chronic periodontitis, pericoronitis and dry socket). A majority correctly prescribed antibiotics for acute periapical infection (77.2%), cellulitis (75.3%) and acute ulcerated gingivitis (63.0%). Amoxicillin was the most frequently prescribed antibiotic for all clinical conditions but there was a wide variation in dosage, frequency and duration for all antibiotics used. Guidelines on rational antibiotic use are needed for dental practitioners in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

  3. Dental radiology.

    PubMed

    Woodward, Tony M

    2009-02-01

    Dental radiology is the core diagnostic modality of veterinary dentistry. Dental radiographs assist in detecting hidden painful pathology, estimating the severity of dental conditions, assessing treatment options, providing intraoperative guidance, and also serve to monitor success of prior treatments. Unfortunately, most professional veterinary training programs provide little or no training in veterinary dentistry in general or dental radiology in particular. Although a technical learning curve does exist, the techniques required for producing diagnostic films are not difficult to master. Regular use of dental x-rays will increase the amount of pathology detected, leading to healthier patients and happier clients who notice a difference in how their pet feels. This article covers equipment and materials needed to produce diagnostic intraoral dental films. A simplified guide for positioning will be presented, including a positioning "cheat sheet" to be placed next to the dental x-ray machine in the operatory. Additionally, digital dental radiograph systems will be described and trends for their future discussed.

  4. Human dental stem cells suppress PMN activity after infection with the periodontopathogens Prevotella intermedia and Tannerella forsythia

    PubMed Central

    Hieke, Cathleen; Kriebel, Katja; Engelmann, Robby; Müller-Hilke, Brigitte; Lang, Hermann; Kreikemeyer, Bernd

    2016-01-01

    Periodontitis is characterized by inflammation associated with the colonization of different oral pathogens. We here aimed to investigate how bacteria and host cells shape their environment in order to limit inflammation and tissue damage in the presence of the pathogen. Human dental follicle stem cells (hDFSCs) were co-cultured with gram-negative P. intermedia and T. forsythia and were quantified for adherence and internalization as well as migration and interleukin secretion. To delineate hDFSC-specific effects, gingival epithelial cells (Ca9-22) were used as controls. Direct effects of hDFSCs on neutrophils (PMN) after interaction with bacteria were analyzed via chemotactic attraction, phagocytic activity and NET formation. We show that P. intermedia and T. forsythia adhere to and internalize into hDFSCs. This infection decreased the migratory capacity of the hDFSCs by 50%, did not disturb hDFSC differentiation potential and provoked an increase in IL-6 and IL-8 secretion while leaving IL-10 levels unaltered. These environmental modulations correlated with reduced PMN chemotaxis, phagocytic activity and NET formation. Our results suggest that P. intermedia and T. forsythia infected hDFSCs maintain their stem cell functionality, reduce PMN-induced tissue and bone degradation via suppression of PMN-activity, and at the same time allow for the survival of the oral pathogens. PMID:27974831

  5. Radiographic trends of dental offices and dental schools.

    PubMed

    Suleiman, O H; Spelic, D C; Conway, B; Hart, J C; Boyce, P R; Antonsen, R G

    1999-07-01

    A survey of private practice facilities in the United States that perform dental radiography was conducted in 1993 and repeated in dental schools in 1995-1996. Both surveys were conducted as part of the Nationwide Evaluation of X-ray Trends, or NEXT, survey program. A representative sample of dental facilities from each participating state were surveyed, and data on patient radiation exposure, radiographic technique, film-image quality, film-processing quality and darkroom fog were collected. The authors found that dental schools use E-speed film more frequently than do private practice facilities. The use of E-speed film and better film processing by dental schools resulted in lower patient radiation exposures without sacrificing image quality. The authors also found that dental school darkrooms had lower ambient fog levels than did those of private practice facilities. The distribution for the 1993 NEXT survey facilities was greater than that observed for dental schools for radiation exposure, film-processing quality and darkroom fog. Dental schools, in general, had better film quality and lower radiation exposures than did private practice facilities. Facilities need to emphasize better quality processing and the use of E-speed film to reduce patient exposure and improve image quality.

  6. Dental management of florid cemento-osseous dysplosia.

    PubMed

    Sadda, Raid S; Phelan, Joan

    2014-04-01

    Cemento-osseous dysplasia encompasses several different clinical and radiographic presentations, including periapical, focal and florid cemento-osseous dysplasia (FCOD). FCOD is usually asymptomatic and discovered only fortuitously. No treatment is required unless the lesion is secondarily infected. Oral hygiene advice should be emphasized for patients with FCOD to prevent caries and periodontal diseases and to maintain natural teeth. Osseointegration of implants would likely not be successful in these patients because the bone is abnormal and not well-vascularized.

  7. Does dental caries affect dental development in children and adolescents?

    PubMed Central

    Dhamo, Brunilda; Elezi, Besiana; Kragt, Lea; Wolvius, Eppo B; Ongkosuwito, Edwin M

    2018-01-01

    Although a link between dietary changes, caries, and dental development has been observed, the literature provides little insight about this relationship. The aim of our study was to investigate the association between dental caries and dental development in a clinical sample of Albanian children and adolescents. In total, 118 children and adolescents, born between 1995 and 2004 and aged 6–15 years, were included. Dental caries in the deciduous dentition was assessed using the Decayed, Filled Teeth (dft) index and dental caries in the permanent dentition was assessed using the Decayed, Missing, Filled Teeth (DMFT) index. Dental development during the permanent dentition was determined using the Demirjian method. Linear and ordinal regression models were applied to analyze the associations of dental caries with dental age and developmental stages of each left mandibular tooth. Dental caries in the deciduous dentition, estimated as a median dft of 2.0 (90% range, 0.0–9.1), was significantly associated with lower dental age (β = -0.21; 90% CI: -0.29, -0.12) and with delayed development of the canine, both premolars, and the second molar. Untreated dental caries (dt) was associated with lower dental age (β = -0.19; 90% CI: -0.28, -0.10). Dental caries in the permanent dentition, estimated as a median DMFT of 1.0 (90% range, 0.0–8.0), was not significantly associated with dental age (β = 0.05; 90% CI: -0.04, 0.14). However, the DMFT was associated with the advanced stages of development of both premolars and the second molar. The untreated dental caries in the deciduous dentition delays the development of permanent teeth. PMID:29659350

  8. The implant infection paradox: why do some succeed when others fail? Opinion and discussion paper.

    PubMed

    Yue, C; Zhao, B; Ren, Y; Kuijer, R; van der Mei, H C; Busscher, H J; Rochford, E T J

    2015-06-05

    Biomaterial-implants are frequently used to restore function and form of human anatomy. However, the presence of implanted biomaterials dramatically elevates infection risk. Paradoxically, dental-implants placed in a bacteria-laden milieu experience moderate failure-rates, due to infection (0.0-1.1%), similar to the ones of joint-arthroplasties placed in a near-sterile environment (0.1-1.3%). Transcutaneous bone-fixation pins breach the immune-barrier of the epidermis, exposing underlying sterile-tissue to an unsterile external environment. In contrast to dental-implants, also placed in a highly unsterile environment, these pins give rise to relatively high infection-associated failure-rates of up to 23.0%. Herein, we attempt to identify causes as to why dental-implants so often succeed, where others fail. The major part of all implants considered are metal-made, with similar surface-finishes. Material choice was therefore discarded as underlying the paradox. Antimicrobial activity of saliva has also been suggested as a cause for the success of dental-implants, but was discarded because saliva is the implant-site-fluid from which viable bacteria adhere. Crevicular fluid was discarded as it is largely analogous to serum. Instead, we attribute the relative success of dental-implants to (1) ability of oral tissues to heal rapidly in the continuous presence of commensal bacteria and opportunistic pathogens, and (2) tolerance of the oral immune-system. Inability of local tissue to adhere, spread and grow in presence of bacteria and an intolerant immune-system are identified as the likely main causes explaining the susceptibility of other implants to infection-associated failure. In conclusion, it is the authors' belief that new anti-infection strategies for a wide range of biomaterial-implants may be derived from the relative success of dental-implants.

  9. A comparison of dental hygienists' salaries to state dental supervision levels.

    PubMed

    Catlett, April

    2014-12-01

    The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of dental supervision on registered dental hygienists' salaries in the 50 states and District of Columbia by comparing the average dental hygiene salaries from the largest metropolitan city within each state from May 2011, the most recent valid data, in relation to the required level of dental supervision. A retrospective contrasted-group quasi-experimental design analysis was conducted using the most current mean dental hygiene salaries for the largest metropolitan city within each state and the District of Columbia which was matched to the appropriate dental supervision level. In addition, a dental assisting salary control group was utilized and correlated to the appropriate dental hygienist salary in the same metropolitan city and state. Samples were obtained from the U.S. Department of Labor. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) statistical analysis was utilized to assess the relationship of the 5 levels of dentist supervision, with the registered dental hygienist salaries. The MANOVA analysis was also utilized to assess the control group, dental assistant salaries. No statistically significant results were found among the dental supervision levels on the measures of dental hygiene salaries and dental assistant salaries. Wilks's Λ=0.81, F (8, 90)=1.29, p=0.26. Analyses of variances (ANOVA) on the dependent variables were also conducted as follow-up tests to the MANOVA. Study results suggest dental hygienists who are required to have a dentist on the premises to complete any dental treatment obtain similar salaries to those dental hygienists who are allowed to work in some settings unsupervised by a dentist. Therefore, dental supervision does not seem to have an impact on dental hygienists' salaries. Copyright © 2014 The American Dental Hygienists’ Association.

  10. Focal Adhesion-Independent Cell Migration.

    PubMed

    Paluch, Ewa K; Aspalter, Irene M; Sixt, Michael

    2016-10-06

    Cell migration is central to a multitude of physiological processes, including embryonic development, immune surveillance, and wound healing, and deregulated migration is key to cancer dissemination. Decades of investigations have uncovered many of the molecular and physical mechanisms underlying cell migration. Together with protrusion extension and cell body retraction, adhesion to the substrate via specific focal adhesion points has long been considered an essential step in cell migration. Although this is true for cells moving on two-dimensional substrates, recent studies have demonstrated that focal adhesions are not required for cells moving in three dimensions, in which confinement is sufficient to maintain a cell in contact with its substrate. Here, we review the investigations that have led to challenging the requirement of specific adhesions for migration, discuss the physical mechanisms proposed for cell body translocation during focal adhesion-independent migration, and highlight the remaining open questions for the future.

  11. Dental hygiene intervention to prevent nosocomial pneumonias.

    PubMed

    Barnes, Caren M

    2014-06-01

    Nosocomial and ventilator associated pneumonias that plague critically ill, elderly and long-term care residents could be reduced with effective oral hygiene practices facilitated collaboratively between nurses and dental hygienists. Nosocomial pneumonias, specifically aspiration pneumonias and ventilator-associated pneumonias in the elderly and infirm have become a major health care issue, The provision of oral care in hospital and hospital-like facilities presents challenges that can prevent patients from receiving optimal oral care One sequela can be aspiration pneumonia which ranks first in mortality and second in morbidity among all nosocomial infections. Since aspiration pneumonia is linked to the colonization of oral bacteria in dental plaque and biofilm, it is time to look for creative solutions to integrating the expertise of dental hygienists into health care teams in these institutional settings. A comprehensive review of the literature was conducted regarding the etiology and prevalence of health care related pneumonias. Evidence describing the challenges and barriers that the nurses, nursing staff, and dental hygienists face in the provision of oral care in hospitals and long-term care facilities is provided. Intercollaborative solutions to providing optimal oral care in hospitals and long-term care facilities are suggested. Dental hygienists have the expertise and practice experience to provide oral care in hospitals, long-term care and residential facilities. They can contribute to solving oral care challenges through intercollaboration with other health care team members. Yet, there are long-standing systemic barriers that must be addressed in order to provide this optimal care. Dental hygienists becoming better assimilated within the total health care team in hospital and residential facilities can positively impact the suffering, morbidity and mortality associated with aspiration pneumonias. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Statistical earthquake focal mechanism forecasts

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kagan, Yan Y.; Jackson, David D.

    2014-04-01

    Forecasts of the focal mechanisms of future shallow (depth 0-70 km) earthquakes are important for seismic hazard estimates and Coulomb stress, and other models of earthquake occurrence. Here we report on a high-resolution global forecast of earthquake rate density as a function of location, magnitude and focal mechanism. In previous publications we reported forecasts of 0.5° spatial resolution, covering the latitude range from -75° to +75°, based on the Global Central Moment Tensor earthquake catalogue. In the new forecasts we have improved the spatial resolution to 0.1° and the latitude range from pole to pole. Our focal mechanism estimates require distance-weighted combinations of observed focal mechanisms within 1000 km of each gridpoint. Simultaneously, we calculate an average rotation angle between the forecasted mechanism and all the surrounding mechanisms, using the method of Kagan & Jackson proposed in 1994. This average angle reveals the level of tectonic complexity of a region and indicates the accuracy of the prediction. The procedure becomes problematical where longitude lines are not approximately parallel, and where shallow earthquakes are so sparse that an adequate sample spans very large distances. North or south of 75°, the azimuths of points 1000 km away may vary by about 35°. We solved this problem by calculating focal mechanisms on a plane tangent to the Earth's surface at each forecast point, correcting for the rotation of the longitude lines at the locations of earthquakes included in the averaging. The corrections are negligible between -30° and +30° latitude, but outside that band uncorrected rotations can be significantly off. Improved forecasts at 0.5° and 0.1° resolution are posted at http://eq.ess.ucla.edu/kagan/glob_gcmt_index.html.

  13. Dental hyponatraemia.

    PubMed

    Simpson, R M

    2011-08-01

    A 14-year-old girl developed dental pain and was treated for acute infected pulpitis of her right upper lateral incisor with drilling and filling. The pain continued and was helped by analgesia, sucking ice cubes and drinking cold water. Forty-eight hours later, she became confused and disoriented. She started to vomit and complained of headache. Investigations revealed hyponatraemia with normal serum potassium levels and initially normal urinary sodium excretion. Over the next 24 hours, she passed 5.45 L of urine and her serum sodium rose from 125 to 143 mmol/L. Self-induced water intoxication has been described during drinking games and initiation ceremonies, but this would appear to an unusual cause. Conservative management proved successful in allowing this girl to recover without sequelae.

  14. Fatal thalamic abscess secondary to dental infection.

    PubMed

    Basyuni, Shadi; Sharma, Valmiki; Santhanam, Vijay; Ferro, Ashley

    2015-12-17

    We present the case of poor neurological recovery and subsequent death secondary to a thalamic abscess in a 53-year-old man. This patient initially presented with sudden dysarthria and left hemiparesis while driving. Neuroimaging showed a multilobular abscess involving the right thalamus with oedema extending to the basal ganglionic region and brainstem. The source of the abscess was initially unknown and it required draining multiple times while the different causes were being explored. The patient's neurological state along with intubation made for a difficult and inconclusive oral examination. It was only after neuroimaging included tooth-bearing areas that it became evident that this patient had extensive periodontal disease with multiple areas of periapical radiolucencies. The patient underwent complete dental clearance alongside repeated drainage of the abscess. Despite initial postoperative improvement, the patient never recovered from the neurological damage and died 3 weeks later. 2015 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd.

  15. Pregnancy and oral health: utilisation of dental services during pregnancy in northern Greece.

    PubMed

    Dinas, Konstantinos; Achyropoulos, Vassilios; Hatzipantelis, Emmanouel; Mavromatidis, Georgios; Zepiridis, Leonidas; Theodoridis, Theodoros; Dovas, Dimitrios; Tantanasis, Theoharis; Goutzioulis, Fotios; Bontis, John

    2007-01-01

    Recent studies have shown that gingivitis and periodontal infection during pregnancy represent an independent risk factor for pre-term birth. However, little is known about the prevalence and correlates of dental attendance during pregnancy. During the first 3 days postpartum, an anonymous questionnaire was administered to 425 women in order to explore their dental condition and utilisation of dental health services during pregnancy, as well as their perceptions on the potential associations between dental care during pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes. Almost half of the respondents (46.8%) reported symptoms of gingivitis during their pregnancy. Pregnancy gingivitis was independently associated with non-Greek ethnicity (p=0.008), multiparity versus primiparity (p<0.005), lower economic class versus middle and upper classes (p=0.001), and the lack of routine primary dental care (p=0.005). Some 27.3% reported a visit to the dentist during their pregnancy. The majority (72.2%) believed that dental treatment during pregnancy might have a negative affect on pregnancy outcome. The presence of pregnancy gingivitis and the belief that dental treatment during pregnancy is safe were both independently associated with visiting a dentist during pregnancy (p<0.0005 for both). Despite the increased prevalence of dental problems among pregnant women, few women seek dental services in this population, which can be primarily attributed to women's erroneous beliefs regarding the safety of dental examination. Therefore, there is an imperative need to offer oral health education and develop preventive programs for women of reproductive age.

  16. Dental Implantology in U.S. Dental Schools.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bavitz, J. Bruce

    1990-01-01

    The results of a survey of 44 dental schools corroborate the belief that dental implantology is gaining widespread acceptance in U.S. dental schools. Currently, predoctoral students have limited clinical participation. Most programs have taken the position that clinical techniques are best taught within the existing specialties at a graduate…

  17. Evaluation of a hygiene monitor for detection of contamination in dental surgeries.

    PubMed

    Douglas, C W; Rothwell, P S

    1991-05-11

    Routines for disinfecting working surfaces in dental surgeries are difficult to monitor without time-consuming and labour-intensive microbiological techniques, yet effective monitoring is a vital part of cross-infection control. Easy to use, on-site methods would be valuable in this context. This study evaluates a portable monitor, the Biotrace Hygiene Monitor, which uses bioluminescence to measure adenosine triphosphate (ATP) on surfaces. Under laboratory conditions, the ability of the monitor to detect whole saliva and Streptococcus sanguis was determined and, in the general practice environment, the level of ATP on surfaces in five dental surgeries was assessed. The minimum amount of saliva detectable was 0.5 microliters and in surgeries, the monitor readily identified numerous surfaces with fairly high levels of ATP. Routine cleaning methods sometimes left ATP on surfaces at levels which represented a cross-infection risk, if it is assumed that the ATP derived from patients' saliva. Modification of cleaning methods resulted in a reduction of ATP levels to within that which could be considered reasonably practicably safe. It is concluded that the Biotrace Hygiene Monitor offers a simple and valuable means of monitoring dental practice cleaning routines.

  18. Physical Activity Performance of Focal Middle School Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Erfle, Stephen E.; Gelbaugh, Corey M.

    2013-01-01

    Histograms of push-ups and curl-ups from a sample of more than 9,000 students show periodic spikes at five and 10 unit intervals. This article argues that these spikes are related to focal points, a game theoretic concept popularized by Nobel Laureate Thomas Schelling. Being focal on one test makes one more likely to be focal on the other. Focal…

  19. Recurrent Bilateral Focal Myositis.

    PubMed

    Nagafuchi, Hiroko; Nakano, Hiromasa; Ooka, Seido; Takakuwa, Yukiko; Yamada, Hidehiro; Tadokoro, Mamoru; Shimojo, Sadatomo; Ozaki, Shoichi

    This report describes a rare case of recurrent bilateral focal myositis and its successful treatment via methotrexate. A 38-year-old man presented myalgia of the right gastrocnemius in May 2005. Magnetic resonance imaging showed very high signal intensity in the right gastrocnemius on short-tau inversion recovery images. A muscle biopsy revealed inflammatory CD4+ cell-dominant myogenic change. Focal myositis was diagnosed. The first steroid treatment was effective. Tapering of prednisolone, however, repeatedly induced myositis relapse, which progressed to multiple muscle lesions of both lower limbs. Initiation of methotrexate finally allowed successful tapering of prednisolone, with no relapse in the past 4 years.

  20. Recurrent Bilateral Focal Myositis

    PubMed Central

    Nagafuchi, Hiroko; Nakano, Hiromasa; Ooka, Seido; Takakuwa, Yukiko; Yamada, Hidehiro; Tadokoro, Mamoru; Shimojo, Sadatomo; Ozaki, Shoichi

    2016-01-01

    This report describes a rare case of recurrent bilateral focal myositis and its successful treatment via methotrexate. A 38-year-old man presented myalgia of the right gastrocnemius in May 2005. Magnetic resonance imaging showed very high signal intensity in the right gastrocnemius on short-tau inversion recovery images. A muscle biopsy revealed inflammatory CD4+ cell-dominant myogenic change. Focal myositis was diagnosed. The first steroid treatment was effective. Tapering of prednisolone, however, repeatedly induced myositis relapse, which progressed to multiple muscle lesions of both lower limbs. Initiation of methotrexate finally allowed successful tapering of prednisolone, with no relapse in the past 4 years. PMID:27853086

  1. Dental therapists in general dental practices: an economic evaluation.

    PubMed

    Beazoglou, Tryfon J; Lazar, Vickie F; Guay, Albert H; Heffley, Dennis R; Bailit, Howard L

    2012-08-01

    Dental access disparities are well documented and have been recognized as a national problem. Their major cause is the lack of reasonable Medicaid reimbursement rates for the underserved. Specifically, Medicaid reimbursement rates for children average 40 percent below market rates. In addition, most state Medicaid programs do not cover adults. To address these issues, advocates of better oral health for the underserved are considering support for a new allied provider--a dental therapist--capable of providing services at a lower cost per service and in low-income and rural areas. Using a standard economic analysis, this study estimated the potential cost, price, utilization, and dentist's income effects of dental therapists employed in general dental practices. The analysis is based on national general dental practice data and the broadest scope of responsibility for dental therapists that their advocates have advanced, including the ability to provide restorations and extractions to adults and children, training for three years, and minimum supervision. Assuming dental therapists provide restorative, extraction, and pulpal services to patients of all ages and dental hygienists continue to deliver all hygiene services, the mean reduction in a general practice costs ranges between 1.57 and 2.36 percent. For dental therapists treating children only, the range is 0.31 to 0.47 percent. The effects on price and utilization are even smaller. In addition, the effects on most dentists' gross income, hours of work, and net income are negative. The estimated economic impact of dental therapists in the United States on private dental practice is very limited; therefore, the demand for dental therapists by private practices also would probably be very limited.

  2. Description and Documentation of the Dental School Dental Delivery System.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chase, Rosen and Wallace, Inc., Alexandria, VA.

    A study was undertaken to describe and document the dental school dental delivery system using an integrated systems approach. In late 1976 and early 1977, a team of systems analysts and dental consultants visited three dental schools to observe the delivery of dental services and patient flow and to interview administrative staff and faculty.…

  3. Occupational risks and hepatitis B vaccination status of dental auxiliaries in Nigeria.

    PubMed

    Azodo, C C; Ehigiator, O; Ojo, M A

    2010-01-01

    To assess the occupational exposure to needlestick and sharps injuries and hepatitis B vaccination status among dental auxiliaries. A descriptive cross-sectional survey of 83 dental auxiliaries was conducted that included 12 technologists, 11 therapists, 53 nurses/surgical assistants, and 7 record officers. The survey included demography, history of needlestick and sharps injury, hepatitis B vaccination, knowledge and attitude towards HIV-infected patients, and the dental auxiliaries' information needs on HIV-related issues. Of the 83 dental auxiliaries, 34 (41%) had experienced needlestick and sharps injury in the last 12 months. At the time of the study, only 43 (51.8%) had been immunized against hepatitis B. 62 (74.7%) of the respondents thought that it was easier to contract HIV than hepatitis B through needlestick in a dental clinic. 21 (25.3%) would not assist dentists treating HIV-positive patients. However, 76 (91.6%), a majority, agreed that they needed more information on HIV-related issues, with 59 (71.1%) specifying a single area of need and 17 (20.5%) more than one area of need. The single areas of need specified in descending order were infection control (n = 22, 26.5%), HIV counseling (n = 12, 14.5%), oral manifestations of HIV/AIDS (n = 11, 13.3%), postexposure prophylaxis (n = 9, 10.8%), and antiretroviral therapy (n = 5, 6.0%). The data from this survey underscore the urgent need for educational interventions to encourage safe work practices. Hepatitis B vaccination, HIV-related knowledge and proper postexposure prophylaxis are needed to prevent occupational transmission of blood-borne viruses. Copyright 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  4. Streptococcus sanguinis brain abscess as complication of subclinical endocarditis: emphasizing the importance of prompt diagnosis.

    PubMed

    Kassis, Hayah; Marnejon, Thomas; Gemmel, David; Cutrona, Anthony; Gottimukkula, Rajashree

    2010-06-01

    A 19-year-old male patient was diagnosed with S. sanguinis brain abscess of unknown etiopathology as a complication of subclinical endocarditis. While viridans streptococci are implicated in dental seeding to the heart, S. sanguinis brain abscesses are rare. Six previous cases of S. sanguinis brain abscess in the literature reported dental procedures and maxillofacial trauma. In our patient, there was no obvious source of infective endocarditis preceding the development of brain abscess. This demonstrates the importance of prompt diagnosis and initiation of antimicrobial therapy given the potential for long-term sequelae such as focal deficits and seizures.

  5. Interventions for replacing missing teeth: antibiotics at dental implant placement to prevent complications.

    PubMed

    Esposito, Marco; Worthington, Helen V; Loli, Vassiliki; Coulthard, Paul; Grusovin, Maria Gabriella

    2010-07-07

    Some dental implant failures may be due to bacterial contamination at implant insertion. Infections around biomaterials are difficult to treat and almost all infected implants have to be removed. In general, antibiotic prophylaxis in surgery is only indicated for patients at risk of infectious endocarditis, for patients with reduced host-response, when surgery is performed in infected sites, in cases of extensive and prolonged surgical interventions and when large foreign materials are implanted. To minimise infections after dental implant placement various prophylactic systemic antibiotic regimens have been suggested. More recent protocols recommended short term prophylaxis, if antibiotics have to be used. With the administration of antibiotics adverse events may occur, ranging from diarrhoea to life-threatening allergic reactions. Another major concern associated with the widespread use of antibiotics is the selection of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The use of prophylactic antibiotics in implant dentistry is controversial. To assess the beneficial or harmful effects of systemic prophylactic antibiotics at dental implant placement versus no antibiotic/placebo administration and, if antibiotics are of benefit, to find which type, dosage and duration is the most effective. The Cochrane Oral Health Group's Trials Register, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched up to 2nd June 2010. Several dental journals were handsearched. There were no language restrictions. Randomised controlled clinical trials (RCTs) with a follow up of at least 3 months comparing the administration of various prophylactic antibiotic regimens versus no antibiotics to patients undergoing dental implant placement. Outcome measures were prosthesis failures, implant failures, postoperative infections and adverse events (gastrointestinal, hypersensitivity, etc). Screening of eligible studies, assessment of the methodological quality of the

  6. [Current status of disinfection and sterilization for dental handpieces in the hospitals].

    PubMed

    Deng, Xiao-hong; Sun, Zheng; Su, Jing

    2004-11-01

    To understand current status of the uses of dental handpieces, methods of disinfection and sterilization and their effectiveness in dental-care hospitals and out-patient departments of stomatology in general hospitals. Ten dental-care hospitals and departments of stomatology in general hospitals at varied levels were randomly sampled during 2000 to 2001 to investigate the uses of dental handpieces and means of their disinfection and sterilization. One used dental handpiece from each hospital or department of stomatology in general hospital selected was detected for possible contamination of bacteria by aerobic bacterial count and Coliform bacterial examinations and hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) on it, based on "The Technical Standards for Disinfection" set by the Ministry of Health of China, and the effectiveness of its disinfection and sterilization was evaluated as well. Anti-suction handpieces were used only in 5.9% of the hospitals or departments, 94.1% of them without anti-suction devices. Cleansing disinfection was applied for used dental handpieces in 62.9% of the dental-care hospitals and the departments of stomatology, with an effective rate of 26.17%, immersing disinfection in 10.0%, with an effective rate of 55.88%, and autoclave in 27.1%, with an effective rate of 80.43%. Used dental handpieces in the hospitals and departments of stomatology in general hospitals were all contaminated by bacteria and HBsAg could be detected in 1.67% of them. Dental handpieces without anti-suction should be replaced soon by those with it or comprehensive dental unit with anti-suction device should be used. Used dental handpieces must be sterilized effectively before next use. Awareness on prevention from cross-infection should be improved for dental-care professional staff and operation of sterilization should be standardized.

  7. [Designing dental manpower index to evaluate dental manpower resources].

    PubMed

    Li, Gang; Ni, Zong-zan

    2004-06-01

    The purpose of this investigation is to find out a method to evaluate dental manpower resources. We selected population, GDP, number of dentist and number of different oral health professionals from certain internet stations, published books and journals from 1996 to 2000 as our investigating data. Data was collected from 100 countries. Our investigation found that the design of dental manpower index to evaluate dental manpower resources was effective and convenient. Dental manpower index is a good method to evaluate dental manpower resources.

  8. Dental, Dental Hygiene, and Graduate Students' and Faculty Perspectives on Dental Hygienists' Professional Role and the Potential Contribution of a Peer Teaching Program.

    PubMed

    McComas, Martha J; Inglehart, Marita R

    2016-09-01

    The changing role of dental hygienists deserves dental and dental hygiene educators' attention. The first aim of this survey study was to assess University of Michigan dental, dental hygiene, and graduate students' and faculty members' perceptions of dental hygienists' roles; their attitudes and behaviors related to clinical interactions between dental and dental hygiene students; and perceived benefits of engaging dental hygiene students as peer teachers for dental students. The second aim was to assess whether one group of dental students' experiences with dental hygiene student peer teaching affected their perceptions of the dental hygiene profession. Survey respondents were 57 dental hygiene students in all three years of the program (response rate 60% to 100%); 476 dental students in all four years (response rate 56% to 100%); 28 dental and dental hygiene graduate students (response rate 28%); and 67 dental and dental hygiene faculty members (response rate 56%). Compared to the other groups, dental students reported the lowest average number of services dental hygienists can provide (p≤0.001) and the lowest average number of patient groups for which dental hygienists can provide periodontal care (p<0.001). Dental students also had the least positive attitudes about clinical interactions between dental hygiene and dental students (p<0.001) and perceived the fewest benefits of dental hygiene student peer teaching (p<0.001) before experiencing peer teaching. After experiencing dental hygiene student peer teaching, the dental students' perceptions of dental hygienists' roles, attitudes about clinical interactions with dental hygienists, and perceived benefits of dental hygiene student peer teachers improved and were more positive than the responses of their peers with no peer teaching experiences. These results suggest that dental hygiene student peer teaching may improve dental students' perceptions of dental hygienists' roles and attitudes about

  9. Continuously variable focal length lens

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Adams, Bernhard W; Chollet, Matthieu C

    2013-12-17

    A material preferably in crystal form having a low atomic number such as beryllium (Z=4) provides for the focusing of x-rays in a continuously variable manner. The material is provided with plural spaced curvilinear, optically matched slots and/or recesses through which an x-ray beam is directed. The focal length of the material may be decreased or increased by increasing or decreasing, respectively, the number of slots (or recesses) through which the x-ray beam is directed, while fine tuning of the focal length is accomplished by rotation of the material so as to change the path length of the x-ray beammore » through the aligned cylindrical slows. X-ray analysis of a fixed point in a solid material may be performed by scanning the energy of the x-ray beam while rotating the material to maintain the beam's focal point at a fixed point in the specimen undergoing analysis.« less

  10. 1.4 Research and the dental student.

    PubMed

    DePaola, Dominick; Howell, Howard; Baker, Charles G; Boy-Lefevre, Marie Laure; Hull, Peter; Holmstrup, Palle; Jerolimov, Vjekoslav; Hardwick, Kevin; Lamster, Ira B; Lopez, Nestor J; Rifkin, Barry

    2002-01-01

    There has been significant concern that the dental curriculum and system of clinical education, in particular, is not designed to take advantage of the explosion in knowledge in biomedical science and its application to the health of the public. Although there are some examples of innovations in dental education on a global scale that have the capacity to increase the assimilation of basic and clinical knowledge, most of the dental education models are mired in the traditional '2 + 2' approach to education. This can be seen in North America and the European '2 + 3' model or the stomatological '4 + 2' approach. In each of these systems, the basic and behavioural science courses continue to be perceived as hurdles over which students must leap in order to reach the clinical programmes where there is little opportunity to use basic science information to advance patient care and treatment. Examples of issues that are not well represented include: innovations in imaging; diagnosis; bio-materials; science-based approaches to clinical practice; novel approaches to therapeutics; interactions between the oral, dental and craniofacial complex and systemic health and disorders; the role of oral infections and systemic disease; the increasing appreciation of chronic diseases and disorders such as osteoporosis and diabetes that affect oral tissues; the promise of bioengineering, tissue engineering and biomimetics; the potential use of saliva as a diagnostic tool; the understanding of oral complications of cancer treatment; the treatments of HIV/AIDS diseases and hepatitis; the use of dental and dental hygiene staff on health-care teams to deal with issues such as birth defects, orofacial trauma, head and neck cancer, chronic pain management and so on. There seems to be an excessive emphasis on restorative dentistry and, to a lesser extent, on the more biological approaches to diagnosis, prevention and therapeutics. This continued lack of integration of basic and clinical

  11. Sperm immobilization by dental focus microorganisms.

    PubMed

    Linossier, A; Thumann, A; Bustos-Obregon, E

    1982-01-01

    Focal infections and their ability to produce alterations in different tissues have been in dispute for long time. The purpose of this work was to observe "in vitro" the effect of an Escherichia coli filtrate obtained from open pulpar necrosis on human sperm motility. It was observed that the E. coli filtrate produced a loss in sperm motility. The immobilizating factor was studied and characterized as a heat-stable, resistant to lyophilization and non-dializable substance, which could via blood stream reach the male reproductive system and affect sperm motility.

  12. Dental Training Films.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Veterans Administration Medical Center, Washington, DC.

    This dental training films catalog is organized into two sections. Section I is a category listing of the films by number and title, indexed according to generalized headings; categories are as follow: anatomy, articulator systems, complete dentures, dental assisting, dental laboratory technology, dental materials, dental office emergencies,…

  13. New anionic carbosilane dendrons functionalized with a DO3A ligand at the focal point for the prevention of HIV-1 infection.

    PubMed

    Moreno, Silvia; Sepúlveda-Crespo, Daniel; de la Mata, F Javier; Gómez, Rafael; Muñoz-Fernández, Ma Ángeles

    2017-10-01

    Novel third-generation polyanionic carbosilane dendrons with sulfonate or carboxylate end-groups and functionalized with a DO3A ligand at the focal point, and their corresponding copper complexes, have been prepared as antiviral compounds to prevent HIV-1 infection. The topology enables the compound to have an excellent chelating agent, DO3A, while keeping anionic peripheral groups for a therapeutic action. In this study, the cytotoxicity and anti-HIV-1 abilities of carboxylate- (5) or sulfonate-terminated (6) dendrons containing DO3A and their copper complexes (7 or 8) were evaluated. All compounds showed low cytotoxicity and demonstrated potent and broad-spectrum anti-HIV-1 activity in vitro. We also assessed the mode of antiviral action on the inhibition of HIV-1 through a panel of different in vitro antiviral assays. Our results show that copper-free dendron 6 protects the epithelial monolayer from short-term cell disruption. Copper-free dendrons 5 and 6 exert anti-HIV-1 activity at an early stage of the HIV-1 lifecycle by binding to the envelope glycoproteins of HIV-1 and by interacting with the CD4 cell receptor and blocking the binding of gp120 to CD4, and consequently HIV-1 entry. These findings show that copper-free dendrons 5 and 6 have a high potency against HIV-1 infection, confirming their non-specific ability and suggesting that these compounds deserve further study as potential candidate microbicides to prevent HIV-1 transmission. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Autoclave use in dental practice in the Republic of Ireland.

    PubMed

    Healy, C M; Kearns, H P O; Coulter, W A; Stevenson, M; Burke, F J T

    2004-08-01

    To assess by postal questionnaire, cross-infection control methods, especially sterilisation procedures, of 700 general dental practitioners in the Republic of Ireland, and to biologically monitor steam pressure sterilisers or autoclaves in their practices. Methods of instrument cleaning and sterilisation, autoclave efficacy. A response rate of 40% with all, except one practitioner, using steam sterilisation. 49% also reported the use of chemical sterilisation with a quarter of these using glutaraldehyde. However, instrument soaking time varied greatly from 2.5 minutes to 74 hours. Methods of instrument cleaning prior to autoclaving were as follows: scrubbing by hand 41.5%, ultrasonic cleaning 7.0%, combination of both 50%. 52.9% of the respondents did not autoclave their dental handpieces and only 44.7% disinfected impressions before sending them to the laboratory. The autoclaves of thirty practitioners (11.3%) did not pass the initial biological test. Following counselling about possible causes of failure, four autoclaves (1.5%) failed a repeat biological test. However, seven practitioners did not return the repeat biological test. Some aspects of recommended cross-infection control procedures are well adhered to, e.g. instrument cleaning, but further education is required in certain key areas, in particular the use of chemical sterilisation, dental handpiece autoclaving and impression disinfection. There is also a need to increase awareness of the importance of routine autoclave servicing and calibration, along with validation and monitoring.

  15. Focal contacts as mechanosensors: externally applied local mechanical force induces growth of focal contacts by an mDia1-dependent and ROCK-independent mechanism.

    PubMed

    Riveline, D; Zamir, E; Balaban, N Q; Schwarz, U S; Ishizaki, T; Narumiya, S; Kam, Z; Geiger, B; Bershadsky, A D

    2001-06-11

    The transition of cell-matrix adhesions from the initial punctate focal complexes into the mature elongated form, known as focal contacts, requires GTPase Rho activity. In particular, activation of myosin II-driven contractility by a Rho target known as Rho-associated kinase (ROCK) was shown to be essential for focal contact formation. To dissect the mechanism of Rho-dependent induction of focal contacts and to elucidate the role of cell contractility, we applied mechanical force to vinculin-containing dot-like adhesions at the cell edge using a micropipette. Local centripetal pulling led to local assembly and elongation of these structures and to their development into streak-like focal contacts, as revealed by the dynamics of green fluorescent protein-tagged vinculin or paxillin and interference reflection microscopy. Inhibition of Rho activity by C3 transferase suppressed this force-induced focal contact formation. However, constitutively active mutants of another Rho target, the formin homology protein mDia1 (Watanabe, N., T. Kato, A. Fujita, T. Ishizaki, and S. Narumiya. 1999. Nat. Cell Biol. 1:136-143), were sufficient to restore force-induced focal contact formation in C3 transferase-treated cells. Force-induced formation of the focal contacts still occurred in cells subjected to myosin II and ROCK inhibition. Thus, as long as mDia1 is active, external tension force bypasses the requirement for ROCK-mediated myosin II contractility in the induction of focal contacts. Our experiments show that integrin-containing focal complexes behave as individual mechanosensors exhibiting directional assembly in response to local force.

  16. Dental Workforce Availability and Dental Services Utilization in Appalachia: A Geospatial Analysis

    PubMed Central

    Feng, Xue; Sambamoorthi, Usha; Wiener, R. Constance

    2016-01-01

    Objectives There is considerable variation in dental services utilization across Appalachian counties, and a plausible explanation is that individuals in some geographical areas do not utilize dental care due to dental workforce shortage. We conducted an ecological study on dental workforce availability and dental services utilization in Appalachia. Methods We derived county-level (n = 364) data on demographic, socio-economic characteristics and dental services utilization in Appalachia from the 2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) using person-level data. We obtained county-level dental workforce availability and physician-to-population ratio estimates from Area Health Resource File, and linked them to the county-level BRFSS data. The dependent variable was the proportion using dental services within the last year in each county (ranging from 16.6% to 91.0%). We described the association between dental workforce availability and dental services utilization using ordinary least squares regression and spatial regression techniques. Spatial analyses consisted of bivariate Local Indicators of Spatial Association (LISA) and geographically weighted regression (GWR). Results Bivariate LISA showed that counties in the central and southern Appalachian regions had significant (p < .05) low-low spatial clusters (low dental workforce availability, low percent dental services utilization). GWR revealed considerable local variations in the association between dental utilization and dental workforce availability. In the multivariate GWR models, 8.5% (t-statistics >1.96) and 13.45% (t-statistics >1.96) of counties showed positive and statistically significant relationships between the dental services utilization and workforce availability of dentists and dental hygienists, respectively. Conclusions Dental workforce availability was associated with dental services utilization in the Appalachian region; however, this association was not statistically significant

  17. Dental fear and satisfaction with dental services in Switzerland.

    PubMed

    Armfield, Jason M; Enkling, Norbert; Wolf, Christian A; Ramseier, Christoph A

    2014-01-01

    Dental satisfaction is associated with continuity of dental care, compliance with dentist advice, and positive health outcomes. It is expected that people with higher dental fear might have less dental satisfaction because of more negative dental experiences. The objective of this study was to examine satisfaction and reasons for satisfaction with dental practitioners in Switzerland and variations by dental fear. A national sample of 1,129 Swiss residents aged 15-74 (mean = 43.2 years) completed a personal interview at their home with questions assessing dental fear, dental service use, general satisfaction with their dentist, and reasons for satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Overall, 47.9 percent of participants responded that they were satisfied with their dentist and 47.6 percent that they were very satisfied. Satisfaction differed significantly by gender, language spoken, region of residence, and educational attainment. Greater dental fear was significantly associated with greater dissatisfaction with the dentist. The percentage of people who were very satisfied with the dentist ranged from 56.0 percent among people with no fear to 30.5 percent for participants with "quite a lot" of fear but was higher (44.4 percent) for people who stated that they were "very much" afraid of the dentist. The most common reasons attributed for satisfaction with dentists were interpersonal characteristics of the dentist and staff. People with "quite a lot" of fear were found to endorse these sentiments least. Although higher dental fear was associated with more dissatisfaction with the dentist, the level of satisfaction among fearful individuals in Switzerland is still high. © 2012 American Association of Public Health Dentistry.

  18. Common oral complications of head and neck cancer radiation therapy: mucositis, infections, saliva change, fibrosis, sensory dysfunctions, dental caries, periodontal disease, and osteoradionecrosis.

    PubMed

    Sroussi, Herve Y; Epstein, Joel B; Bensadoun, Rene-Jean; Saunders, Deborah P; Lalla, Rajesh V; Migliorati, Cesar A; Heaivilin, Natalie; Zumsteg, Zachary S

    2017-12-01

    Patients undergoing radiation therapy for the head and neck are susceptible to a significant and often abrupt deterioration in their oral health. The oral morbidities of radiation therapy include but are not limited to an increased susceptibility to dental caries and periodontal disease. They also include profound and often permanent functional and sensory changes involving the oral soft tissue. These changes range from oral mucositis experienced during and soon after treatment, mucosal opportunistic infections, neurosensory disorders, and tissue fibrosis. Many of the oral soft tissue changes following radiation therapy are difficult challenges to the patients and their caregivers and require life-long strategies to alleviate their deleterious effect on basic life functions and on the quality of life. We discuss the presentation, prognosis, and management strategies of the dental structure and oral soft tissue morbidities resulting from the administration of therapeutic radiation in head and neck patient. A case for a collaborative and integrated multidisciplinary approach to the management of these patients is made, with specific recommendation to include knowledgeable and experienced oral health care professionals in the treatment team. © 2017 The Authors. Cancer Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  19. Dental anxiety and regularity of dental attendance in younger adults.

    PubMed

    Quteish Taani, D S M

    2002-06-01

    Dental anxiety constitutes a major problem for patients and dental care providers alike. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between dental anxiety and regularity of dental attendance among young adults. A random sample of 15 course directors (1:50) was asked to participate in the study. Of these, only 10 course-directors agreed to handout the 500 questionnaires. All undergraduate students who participated in this study were asked to complete a questionnaire modified from Dental Fear Survey (DFS) questionnaire and 368 (73.6%) filled forms were returned for statistical analysis. The results showed that only 20.9% were regular dental attendee while the majority (79.1%) were irregular attendee. The reasons given for irregular attendance were 'lack of time' (36%), 'treatment not needed' (34.1%), 'fear from dentist' (13.3%) and 'cost' (16.6%). The sight and sensation of the injection and sight, sound, and sensation of the drill were the most common fear-eliciting stimuli. Increased heart rate was the commonest reported physiological response. Females had higher mean ratings, therefore tended to be more anxious than males. Dental anxiety represented by the mean responses to the items, was found to be higher in irregular dental attendee than regular attendee. In conclusion, this suggests that dental anxiety may affect the seeking of dental care, therefore to be taken into account when training dental care providers.

  20. Electrodiagnostic features of acute paralytic poliomyelitis associated with West Nile virus infection.

    PubMed

    Al-Shekhlee, Amer; Katirji, Bashar

    2004-03-01

    West Nile virus (WNV) infection is a potentially fatal disease, with meningoencephalitis being its most common neurological manifestation. Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) has also been described, but acute paralytic poliomyelitis has only recently been recognized. We report the clinical and electrodiagnostic findings of five patients with WNV infection, who presented with acute paralytic poliomyelitis. Three patients manifested focal asymmetrical weakness, and two had rapid ascending quadriplegia mimicking GBS. Electrodiagnostic studies during the acute illness showed normal sensory nerve action potentials, compound motor action potentials of normal or reduced amplitude, and no slowing of nerve conduction velocities. Depending on the timing of the examination, fibrillation potentials were widespread, including in those with focal weakness. Cervical magnetic resonance imaging in one patient showed abnormal T2-weighted signals in the spinal cord gray matter. On follow-up, signs of clinical improvement were seen in one patient, whereas two remained quadriplegic and ventilator-dependent 5 months after the onset. This report highlights the value of the electrodiagnostic studies in the diagnosis and prognosis of focal or generalized weakness due to acute paralytic poliomyelitis associated with WNV infection.

  1. Current biomedical waste management practices and cross-infection control procedures of dentists in India.

    PubMed

    Singh, Balendra Pratap; Khan, Suleman A; Agrawal, Neeraj; Siddharth, Ramashanker; Kumar, Lakshya

    2012-06-01

    To investigate the knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of dentists working in dental clinics and dental hospitals regarding biomedical waste management and cross-infection control. A national survey was conducted. Self-administered questionnaires were sent to 800 dentists across India. A total of 494 dentists responded, giving a response rate of 61.8%. Of these, 228 of 323 (70.6%) general dentists reported using boiling water as a sterilising medium and 339 (68.6%) dentists reported disposing of hazardous waste such as syringes, blades and ampoules in dustbins and emptying these into municipal corporation bins. Dentists should undergo continuing education programmes on biomedical waste management and infection control guidelines. Greater cooperation between dental clinics and hospitals and pollution control boards is needed to ensure the proper handling and disposal of biomedical waste. © 2012 FDI World Dental Federation.

  2. Dental OCT

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Colston, Bill W.; Sathyam, Ujwal S.; Dasilva, Luiz B.; Everett, Matthew J.; Stroeve, Pieter; Otis, L. L.

    1998-09-01

    We present here the first in vivo optical coherence tomography (OCT) images of human dental tissue. A novel dental optical coherence tomography system has been developed. This system incorporates the interferometer sample arm and transverse scanning optics into a handpiece that can be used intraorally to image human dental tissues. The average imaging depth of this system varied from 3 mm in hard tissues to 1.5 mm in soft tissues. We discuss the application of this imaging system for dentistry and illustrate the potential of our dental OCT system for diagnosis of periodontal disease, detection of caries, and evaluation of dental restorations.

  3. Health care-associated transmission of hepatitis B & C viruses in dental care (dentistry).

    PubMed

    Younai, Fariba S

    2010-02-01

    Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection rates are declining, but infection with this virus or hepatitis C virus (HCV) remains a risk for dental health care personnel (DHCP). This article describes the epidemiology of HBV and HCV and their particular risks to DHCP. Hepatitis B vaccination is discussed, as is postexposure management recommendations for both HBV and HCV. (c) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Focal myositis: A review.

    PubMed

    Devic, P; Gallay, L; Streichenberger, N; Petiot, P

    2016-11-01

    Amongst the heterogeneous group of inflammatory myopathies, focal myositis stands as a rare and benign dysimmune disease. Although it can be associated with root and/or nerve lesions, traumatic muscle lesions and autoimmune diseases, its triggering factors remain poorly understood. Defined as an isolated inflammatory pseudotumour usually restricted to one skeletal muscle, clinical presentation of focal myositis is that of a rapidly growing solitary mass within a single muscle, usually in the lower limbs. Electromyography shows spontaneous activity associated with a myopathic pattern. MRI reveals a contrast enhanced enlarged muscle appearing hyper-intense on FAT-SAT T2 weighted images. Adjacent structures are spared and there are no calcifications. Serum creatine kinase (CK) levels are usually moderately augmented and biological markers of systemic inflammation are absent in most cases. Pathological histological features include marked variation in fibre size, inflammatory infiltrates mostly composed of T CD4+ lymphocytes and macrophages, degenerating/regenerating fibres and interstitial fibrosis. Differential diagnoses are numerous and include myositis of other origin with focal onset. Steroid treatment should be reserved for patients who present with major pain, nerve lesions, associated autoimmune disease, or elevated C reactive protein or CK. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Expanded function allied dental personnel and dental practice productivity and efficiency.

    PubMed

    Beazoglou, Tryfon J; Chen, Lei; Lazar, Vickie F; Brown, L Jackson; Ray, Subhash C; Heffley, Dennis R; Berg, Rob; Bailit, Howard L

    2012-08-01

    This study examined the impact of expanded function allied dental personnel on the productivity and efficiency of general dental practices. Detailed practice financial and clinical data were obtained from a convenience sample of 154 general dental practices in Colorado. In this state, expanded function dental assistants can provide a wide range of reversible dental services/procedures, and dental hygienists can give local anesthesia. The survey identified practices that currently use expanded function allied dental personnel and the specific services/procedures delegated. Practice productivity was measured using patient visits, gross billings, and net income. Practice efficiency was assessed using a multivariate linear program, Data Envelopment Analysis. Sixty-four percent of the practices were found to use expanded function allied dental personnel, and on average they delegated 31.4 percent of delegatable services/procedures. Practices that used expanded function allied dental personnel treated more patients and had higher gross billings and net incomes than those practices that did not; the more services they delegated, the higher was the practice's productivity and efficiency. The effective use of expanded function allied dental personnel has the potential to substantially expand the capacity of general dental practices to treat more patients and to generate higher incomes for dental practices.

  6. About Dental Amalgam Fillings

    MedlinePlus

    ... and Medical Procedures Dental Devices Dental Amalgam About Dental Amalgam Fillings Share Tweet Linkedin Pin it More ... should I have my fillings removed? What is dental amalgam? Dental amalgam is a dental filling material ...

  7. Spasmodic torticollis: the dental connection.

    PubMed

    Sims, Anthony B; Stack, Brendan C; Demerjian, G Gary

    2012-07-01

    Spasmodic torticollis or cervical dystonia (CD) is the most common form of focal dystonia and is characterized by sustained abnormal muscle contractions in the head and neck area resulting in abnormal positioning or posturing of the head. The dystonic muscle spasms associated with spasmodic torticollis may affect any combination of neck muscles. Three cases are reported of spasmodic torticollis that were treated by a dental appliance with individual varying occlusal heights to open the maxillomandibular vertical dimension. Upon increasing the vertical dimension of occlusion, there was a slowing and/or discontinuance of the symptoms of cervical dystonia. The proposed hypothesis for this reversal is that there may be neuritis of the auriculotemporal branch of the trigeminal nerve, which has direct input into the reticular formation (RF), and it may activate the cells of the pontine region of the RF known for the control and deviation of head posture. There is growing clinical evidence that temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dysfunction may be a factor in this neurological and painful disorder when it coexists.

  8. Solid-state curved focal plane arrays

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Jones, Todd (Inventor); Nikzad, Shouleh (Inventor); Hoenk, Michael (Inventor)

    2010-01-01

    The present invention relates to curved focal plane arrays. More specifically, the present invention relates to a system and method for making solid-state curved focal plane arrays from standard and high-purity devices that may be matched to a given optical system. There are two ways to make a curved focal plane arrays starting with the fully fabricated device. One way, is to thin the device and conform it to a curvature. A second way, is to back-illuminate a thick device without making a thinned membrane. The thick device is a special class of devices; for example devices fabricated with high purity silicon. One surface of the device (the non VLSI fabricated surface, also referred to as the back surface) can be polished to form a curved surface.

  9. Self-Reported Dental Fear among Dental Students and Their Patients

    PubMed Central

    Serra-Negra, Junia; Paiva, Saul M.; Oliveira, Mauricio; Ferreira, Efigenia; Freire-Maia, Fernanda; Pordeus, Isabela

    2011-01-01

    The aim of the present study was to compare self-reported dental fear among dental students and patients at a School of Dentistry in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Eighty students ranging in age from 20 to 29 years and 80 patients ranging in age from 18 to 65 years participated in the study. A self-administered pre-tested questionnaire consisting of 13 items was used for data acquisition. The city of Belo Horizonte Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) was employed for socioeconomic classification. The chi-square test and binary and multinomial logistic regression were employed in the statistical analysis, with the significance level set at 0.05. The majority of dental students (76.5%) sought the dentist for the first time for a routine exam, while patients (77.3%) mostly sought a dentist for the treatment of dental pain. Dental fear was more prevalent among the patients (72.5%) than the students (27.5%). A total of 47.1% of the students and 52.9% of the patients reported having had negative dental experiences in childhood. The logistic model revealed an association between dental fear and a pain-related experience (OR: 1.8; 95%CI: 1.3–2.6). Patients were more prone to dental fear (OR: 2.2; 95%CI: 1.0–5.0). Although at different percentages, both students and patients experienced dental fear. Current patient with previous experience of dental pain had more dental fear. PMID:22470277

  10. Oral infections and orofacial pain in Alzheimer's disease: a case-control study.

    PubMed

    de Souza Rolim, Thaís; Fabri, Gisele Maria Campos; Nitrini, Ricardo; Anghinah, Renato; Teixeira, Manoel Jacobsen; de Siqueira, José Tadeu T; Cestari, José Augusto Ferrari; de Siqueira, Silvia Regina Dowgan T

    2014-01-01

    Dental infections are frequent and have recently been implicated as a possible risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Despite a lack of studies investigating orofacial pain in this patient group, dental conditions are known to be a potential cause of pain and to affect quality of life and disease progression. To evaluate oral status, mandibular function and orofacial pain in patients with mild AD versus healthy subjects matched for age and gender. Twenty-nine patients and 30 control subjects were evaluated. The protocol comprised a clinical questionnaire and dental exam, research diagnostic criteria for temporomandibular disorders, the McGill Pain Questionnaire, the decayed, missing, and filled teeth index, and included a full periodontal evaluation. AD signs and symptoms as well as associated factors were evaluated by a trained neurologist. A higher prevalence of orofacial pain (20.7%, p < 0.001), articular abnormalities in temporomandibular joints (p < 0.05), and periodontal infections (p = 0.002) was observed in the study group compared to the control group. Orofacial pain and periodontal infections were more frequent in patients with mild AD than in healthy subjects. Orofacial pain screening and dental and oral exams should be routinely performed in AD patients in order to identify pathological conditions that need treatment thus improving quality of life compromised due to dementia.

  11. The association of C-reactive protein with subclinical cardiovascular disease in HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected women.

    PubMed

    Moran, Caitlin A; Sheth, Anandi N; Mehta, C Christina; Hanna, David B; Gustafson, Deborah R; Plankey, Michael W; Mack, Wendy J; Tien, Phyllis C; French, Audrey L; Golub, Elizabeth T; Quyyumi, Arshed; Kaplan, Robert C; Ofotokun, Ighovwerha

    2018-05-15

    HIV is a cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factor. However, CVD risk is often underestimated in HIV-infected women. C-reactive protein (CRP) may improve CVD prediction in this population. We examined the association of baseline plasma CRP with subclinical CVD in women with and without HIV. Retrospective cohort study. A total of 572 HIV-infected and 211 HIV-uninfected women enrolled in the Women's Interagency HIV Study underwent serial high-resolution B-mode carotid artery ultrasonography between 2004 and 2013 to assess carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) and focal carotid artery plaques. We used multivariable linear and logistic regression models to assess the association of baseline high (≥3 mg/l) high-sensitivity (hs) CRP with baseline CIMT and focal plaques, and used multivariable linear and Poisson regression models for the associations of high hsCRP with CIMT change and focal plaque progression. We stratified our analyses by HIV status. Median (interquartile range) hsCRP was 2.2 mg/l (0.8-5.3) in HIV-infected, and 3.2 mg/l (0.9-7.7) in HIV-uninfected, women (P = 0.005). There was no statistically significant association of hsCRP with baseline CIMT [adjusted mean difference -3.5 μm (95% confidence interval:-19.0 to 12.1)] or focal plaques [adjusted odds ratio: 1.31 (0.67-2.67)], and no statistically significant association of hsCRP with CIMT change [adjusted mean difference 11.4 μm (-2.3 to 25.1)]. However, hsCRP at least 3 mg/l was positively associated with focal plaque progression in HIV-uninfected [adjusted rate ratio: 5.97 (1.46-24.43)], but not in HIV-infected [adjusted rate ratio: 0.81 (0.47-1.42)] women (P = 0.042 for interaction). In our cohort of women with similar CVD risk factors, higher baseline hsCRP is positively associated with carotid plaque progression in HIV-uninfected, but not HIV-infected, women, suggesting that subclinical CVD pathogenesis may be different HIV-infected women.

  12. Seven tesla MRI improves detection of focal cortical dysplasia in patients with refractory focal epilepsy.

    PubMed

    Veersema, Tim J; Ferrier, Cyrille H; van Eijsden, Pieter; Gosselaar, Peter H; Aronica, Eleonora; Visser, Fredy; Zwanenburg, Jaco M; de Kort, Gerard A P; Hendrikse, Jeroen; Luijten, Peter R; Braun, Kees P J

    2017-06-01

    The aim of this study is to determine whether the use of 7 tesla (T) MRI in clinical practice leads to higher detection rates of focal cortical dysplasias in possible candidates for epilepsy surgery. In our center patients are referred for 7 T MRI if lesional focal epilepsy is suspected, but no abnormalities are detected at one or more previous, sufficient-quality lower-field MRI scans, acquired with a dedicated epilepsy protocol, or when concealed pathology is suspected in combination with MR-visible mesiotemporal sclerosis-dual pathology. We assessed 40 epilepsy patients who underwent 7 T MRI for presurgical evaluation and whose scans (both 7 T and lower field) were discussed during multidisciplinary epilepsy surgery meetings that included a dedicated epilepsy neuroradiologist. We compared the conclusions of the multidisciplinary visual assessments of 7 T and lower-field MRI scans. In our series of 40 patients, multidisciplinary evaluation of 7 T MRI identified additional lesions not seen on lower-field MRI in 9 patients (23%). These findings were guiding in surgical planning. So far, 6 patients underwent surgery, with histological confirmation of focal cortical dysplasia or mild malformation of cortical development. Seven T MRI improves detection of subtle focal cortical dysplasia and mild malformations of cortical development in patients with intractable epilepsy and may therefore contribute to identification of surgical candidates and complete resection of the epileptogenic lesion, and thus to postoperative seizure freedom.

  13. Postoperative dental morbidity in children following dental treatment under general anesthesia.

    PubMed

    Hu, Yu-Hsuan; Tsai, Aileen; Ou-Yang, Li-Wei; Chuang, Li-Chuan; Chang, Pei-Ching

    2018-05-10

    General anesthesia has been widely used in pediatric dentistry in recent years. However, there remain concerns about potential postoperative dental morbidity. The goal of this study was to identify the frequency of postoperative dental morbidity and factors associated with such morbidity in children. From March 2012 to February 2013, physically and mentally healthy children receiving dental treatment under general anesthesia at the Department of Pediatric Dentistry of the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Taiwan were recruited. This was a prospective and observational study with different time evaluations based on structured questionnaires and interviews. Information on the patient demographics, anesthesia and dental treatment performed, and postoperative dental morbidity was collected and analyzed. Correlations between the study variables and postoperative morbidity were analyzed based on the Pearson's chi-square test. Correlations between the study variables and the scale of postoperative dental pain were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test. Fifty-six pediatric patients participated in this study, with an average age of 3.34 ± 1.66 years (ranging from 1 to 8 years). Eighty-two percent of study participants reported postoperative dental pain, and 23% experienced postoperative dental bleeding. Both dental pain and bleeding subsided 3 days after the surgery. Dental pain was significantly associated with the total number of teeth treated, while dental bleeding, with the presence of teeth extracted. Patients' gender, age, preoperative dental pain, ASA classification, anesthesia time, and duration of the operation were not associated with postoperative dental morbidity. Dental pain was a more common postoperative dental morbidity than bleeding. The periods when parents reported more pain in their children were the day of the operation (immediately after the procedure) followed by 1 day and 3 days after the treatment.

  14. Dental anxiety among Israeli dental students: a 4-year longitudinal study.

    PubMed

    Peretz, B; Mann, J

    2000-08-01

    The aims of the present study were (a) to evaluate students' estimation of their parents' dental anxiety; (b) to measure students' dental anxiety and to study their ranking of the most fear provoking stimuli in the dental situation during their pre-clinical and clinical years; (c) to investigate gender differences among students with regard to dental anxiety. 30 3rd-year students (15 male and 15 female) who completed a 4-section questionnaire which requested sociodemographic information, evaluation of parents' dental anxiety, dental anxiety scale (DAS) and dental fear scale (DFS), completed the DAS and DFS in their 5th and 6th years. Both male and female students estimated their mothers' dental anxiety as significantly higher than their fathers'. Female students ranked their parents higher than males. DAS scores were significantly higher among female students than among males in the 3rd year. However, DAS scores were reduced from the 3rd to the 6th year among the total class and significantly among females, while males' levels of anxiety remained within close range throughout the years. The dental anxiety scores of all students who experienced a dental procedure in the past were higher than the scores of the students who did not. The most fearful stimulus was 'feeling the needle'. Our findings may suggest that the change in the reported dental anxiety of the students during the years of dental studies in the present study may be explained by the increased professional education and clinical experience that the students acquire throughout their studies in the dental school. Being exposed to basic trivial dental procedures (such as local anaesthetic injection) may help students either to be habituated or to use rational coping strategies when dealing with personal dental experience.

  15. Experiences of Dental Care and Dental Anxiety in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder

    PubMed Central

    Dahllöf, Göran; Bejerot, Susanne

    2014-01-01

    Dental anxiety is associated with previous distressing dental experiences, such as lack of understanding of the dentist intentions, perceptions of uncontrollability and experiences of pain during dental treatment. People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are impaired in building flexible predictions and expectations, which is very much needed during a dental visit. The aims of the study were to investigate if people with ASD have more negative dental experiences and a higher level of dental anxiety compared to a matched control group. Forty-seven adults with ASD and of normal intellectual performance, and 69 age- and sex-matched typically developing controls completed questionnaires on previous dental experiences and dental anxiety, the Dental Anxiety Scale, and the Dental Beliefs Survey. The ASD group experienced pain during dental treatments more often than the controls and 22% had repeatedly experienced being forced to dental treatment they were not prepared for, compared to 3% of the controls. A higher level of dental anxiety was reported by the ASD group. Dental treatment and methods for supporting the communication with patients with ASD need to be developed, in order to reduce the negative dental experiences and dental anxiety in people with ASD. PMID:25530879

  16. Effectiveness of an educational feedback intervention on drug prescribing in dental practice.

    PubMed

    Rauniar, G P; Das, B P; Manandhar, T R; Bhattacharya, S K

    2012-01-01

    Irrational use of drugs as well as inappropriate and over drug prescribing leads to unnecessary expenditures and emergence of resistant bacterial strains. Feedback intervention on drug prescribing habits and face to face educational intervention of prescription audit would be effective in rationalizing prescribing practices. To measure the impact of educational feedback intervention on the prescribing behavior of dental surgeons. Prospective audit of twelve hundred outpatients prescriptions in dental OPD at BPKIHS of those dental surgeon who attended the educational intervention session was collected randomly by trained persons on customized data collection sheet before and after educational intervention. A total 1200 prescription were collected, 300 before and 300 after intervention period at the internal of one month, three months and six months. Majority of the prescriptions (39.33%) contained four drugs but after intervention, prescriptions contained mostly one drug, 73% in first month, 78.67% in third month and 65.34% in six month. Mean number of drugs per prescription after intervention were decreased. There was increased number of generic names of drugs after intervention. Amoxicillin, Metronidazole, Chlorhexidine, Povidone iodine gargle, Nimesulide, Ibuprofen, Ibuprofen + paracetamol, and Paracetamol were most commonly prescribed by dental prescribers before and after intervention. Selection of antimicrobial was done on empirical basis which was correct because Amoxicillin concentration reaches effectively in gingival crevicular fluid and Metronidazole covered effectively against anaerobic bacteria were found in orodental infection. The uses of topical anti-infective preparation as irrigants of choice that can kill majority of micro-organisms found is root canal and dental tubules and minimize systemic use of antimicrobials. Nimesulide prescribing needs to be rationalized. Feedback educational intervention of prescription audit is effective to improve their

  17. 75 FR 16511 - Pentron Clinical Technologies, a Wholly-Owned Subsidiary of Kerr Dental/Sybron Dental...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-04-01

    ... produce dental materials such as dental prosthetics, dental composites, dental impressions, dental... materials such as dental prosthetics, dental composites, dental impressions, dental adhesives, and other...

  18. Undergraduate dental English education in Japanese dental schools.

    PubMed

    Rodis, Omar M M; Matsumura, Seishi; Kariya, Naoyuki; Nishimura, Michiko; Yoshida, Toshiko

    2013-05-01

    Dental schools in Japan are among many worldwide whose medium of instruction is not in English. With advances in science, technology, and communication, the demand for the globalization of professions increases. At present, dental schools in Asia, the Middle East, and Europe have started revising their dental curricula to either include English courses for dentistry or offer a full English dental curriculum. In Japan, dental English courses started to be introduced into curricula in the early 1990s. However, a survey conducted in 1999 found that English courses were not offered in Japan's twenty-nine dental schools and there was no consensus as to what such courses should include or when and how they should be taught. Ten years after that survey, the survey results reported in this article found that the problems reported in the 1999 survey still exist. Additionally, there are still differences among schools offering English courses in terms of the timing and contents of the courses. Since teachers and school officials will have an important role in curriculum development, this article recommends that a fact-finding meeting with educators, school, and education officials be initiated to discuss, develop, and implement a core curriculum for these dental English courses.

  19. Medicaid dental coverage alone may not lower rates of dental emergency department visits.

    PubMed

    Fingar, Kathryn R; Smith, Mark W; Davies, Sheryl; McDonald, Kathryn M; Stocks, Carol; Raven, Maria C

    2015-08-01

    Medicaid was expanded to millions of individuals under the Affordable Care Act, but many states do not provide dental coverage for adults under their Medicaid programs. In the absence of dental coverage, patients may resort to costly emergency department (ED) visits for dental conditions. Medicaid coverage of dental benefits could help ease the burden on the ED, but ED use for dental conditions might remain a problem in areas with a scarcity of dentists. We examined county-level rates of ED visits for nontraumatic dental conditions in twenty-nine states in 2010 in relation to dental provider density and Medicaid coverage of nonemergency dental services. Higher density of dental providers was associated with lower rates of dental ED visits by patients with Medicaid in rural counties but not in urban counties, where most dental ED visits occurred. County-level Medicaid-funded dental ED visit rates were lower in states where Medicaid covered nonemergency dental services than in other states, although this difference was not significant after other factors were adjusted for. Providing dental coverage alone might not reduce Medicaid-funded dental ED visits if patients do not have access to dental providers. Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

  20. Dental nurses as trainers and assessors: vocational dental trainer attitudes.

    PubMed

    McKie, A E; Crowe, A; McCombes, W; Freeman, R

    2010-11-01

    To explore the attitudes of vocational dental trainers (VDTs) working in general dental practice to the role of dental nurses as trainers and assessors of trainee dental nurses (tDNs), vocational dental practitioners (VDPs) and vocational dental hygienist/therapists (VDHTs). This research was conducted within the context of the development of a training and assessment qualification for dental nurses. A survey was sent to all 148 VDTs in Scotland. The survey assessed VDT attitudes as to the appropriateness of dental nurses to train and assess tDNs, VDPs, VDHTs with regard to their clinical, communication-based and administrative duties. The three sets of attitudes for tDNS, VDPS and VDHTs were assessed on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The data were subjected to one way and repeated measures of ANOVA. A total of 126 VDTs responded giving an 85% response rate. For clinical, communication-based and administrative activities, VDTs had significantly greater mean scores for the appropriateness of DNs to train [F(1,57) = 45.69, P < 0.001] and assess [F(1,57) = 76.94, P < 0.001] tDNs compared with VDPs and VDHTs. Vocational dental trainers felt it was more appropriate for DNs to train and assess tDNs' clinical, communication-based and administrative activities compared with VDPs and VDHTs. Over 80% of dental trainers, however, indicated there would be benefit to their practice in having a dental nurse educated in the principles and application of training and assessment. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

  1. Clinical effectiveness of International Team for Oral Implantology dental implant treatment in Taiwan: a seven-year longitudinal study.

    PubMed

    Tseng, Chuen-Chyi; Pang, Iok-Chao; Wen, Miin-Jye; Huang, Kuo-Ching; Chang, Jui-Chung

    2009-02-01

    International Team for Oral Implantology (ITI) dental implant has been clinically tested for the most parts of the world, especially in Europe and America, and has not been conducted on Asian population. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the cumulative survival and success rates over 7 years of ITI dental implants. The ITI dental implant system has been used in the Dental Department of Chi Mei Medical Center since August of 1997. At the end of 2005, 717 solid-screw implants had been placed and loaded at least 6 months in 316 patients. The patient population included 145 males and 171 females, with a mean age of 43.18 +/- 11.60 years. The follow-up interval was from 6 months after the prosthesis was completed to 7 years. The success criteria of dental implant survival was based on Buser et al, Clin Oral Implants Res. 1990;1:33-40. Most implants (486, 67.8%) were placed in the mandible and 231 (32.2%) were placed in the maxilla. Two implants were removed before prostheses fabrication because of postsurgical infections. One implant was removed due to a periapical infection of an adjacent natural tooth. The life table analysis of survival rate and success rate were 99.58% and 96.13%, respectively. This 7-year clinical effectiveness study demonstrated this dental implant system gave a clinical reliable result in a Taiwanese population.

  2. Smoking increases salivary arginase activity in patients with dental implants.

    PubMed

    Queiroz, D A; Cortelli, J R; Holzhausen, M; Rodrigues, E; Aquino, D R; Saad, W A

    2009-09-01

    It is believed that an increased arginase activity may lead to less nitric oxide production, which consequently increases the susceptibility to bacterial infection. Considering the hypothesis that smoking may alter the arginase activity and that smoking is considered a risk factor to dental implant survival, the present study aimed at evaluating the effect of smoking on the salivary arginase activity of patients with dental implants. Salivary samples of 41 subjects were collected: ten non-smoking and with no dental implants (group A), ten non-smoking subjects with dental implants (group B), ten smoking subjects with implants (group C), and 11 smoking subjects with no dental implants (group D). The levels of salivary arginase activity were determined by the measurement of L-ornithine and expressed as mIU/mg of protein. A significant increase in the salivary arginase activity was verified in groups C (64.26 +/- 16.95) and D (49.55 +/- 10.01) compared to groups A (10.04 +/- 1.95, p = 0.00001 and p = 0.0110, groups C and D, respectively) and B (11.77 +/- 1.45, p = 0.00001 and p = 0.0147, groups C and D, respectively). No significant difference was found between groups C and D (p = 0.32). Within the limits of the present study, it can be concluded that salivary arginase activity is increased in smoking subjects with dental implants in contrast to non-smoking subjects with dental implants, therefore suggesting a possible mechanism by which cigarette smoking may lead to implant failure. The analysis of salivary arginase activity may represent an important tool to prevent implant failure in the near future.

  3. EspO1-2 Regulates EspM2-Mediated RhoA Activity to Stabilize Formation of Focal Adhesions in Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli-Infected Host Cells

    PubMed Central

    Iyoda, Sunao; Izumiya, Hidemasa; Watanabe, Haruo; Ohnishi, Makoto; Terajima, Jun

    2013-01-01

    Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) Sakai strain encodes two homologous type III effectors, EspO1-1 and EspO1-2. These EspO1s have amino acid sequence homology with Shigella OspE, which targets integrin-linked kinase to stabilize formation of focal adhesions (FAs). Like OspE, EspO1-1 was localized to FAs in EHEC-infected cells, but EspO1-2 was localized in the cytoplasm. An EHEC ΔespO1-1ΔespO1-2 double mutant induced cell rounding and FA loss in most of infected cells, but neither the ΔespO1-1 nor ΔespO1-2 single mutant did. These results suggested that EspO1-2 functioned in the cytoplasm by a different mechanism from EspO1-1 and OspE. Since several type III effectors modulate Rho GTPase, which contributes to FA formation, we investigated whether EspO1-2 modulates the function of these type III effectors. We identified a direct interaction between EspO1-2 and EspM2, which acts as a RhoA guanine nucleotide exchange factor. Upon ectopic co-expression, EspO1-2 co-localized with EspM2 in the cytoplasm and suppressed EspM2-mediated stress fiber formation. Consistent with these findings, an ΔespO1-1ΔespO1-2ΔespM2 triple mutant did not induce cell rounding in epithelial cells. These results indicated that EspO1-2 interacted with EspM2 to regulate EspM2-mediated RhoA activity and stabilize FA formation during EHEC infection. PMID:23409096

  4. Microbiological examination of infected dental root canals.

    PubMed

    Gomes, B P F A; Pinheiro, E T; Gadê-Neto, C R; Sousa, E L R; Ferraz, C C R; Zaia, A A; Teixeira, F B; Souza-Filho, F J

    2004-04-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate the root canal microbiota of primary and secondary root-infected canals and the association of constituent species with specific endodontic signs and symptoms. Microbial samples were taken from 60 root canals, 41 with necrotic pulp tissues (primary infection) and 19 with failed endodontic treatment (secondary infection). Strict anaerobic techniques were used for serial dilution, plating, incubation and identification. A total of 224 cultivable isolates were recovered belonging to 56 different bacterial species. Individual root canals yielded a maximum of 10 bacterial species. Of the bacterial isolates, 70% were either strict anaerobes or microphilic. The anaerobes most frequently isolated were: Peptostreptococcus micros (35%), Fusobacterium necrophorum (23.3%), Fusobacterium nucleatum (11.7%), Prevotella intermedia/nigrescens (16.7%), Porphyromonas gingivalis (6.7%) and Porphyromonas endodontalis (5%). The root canal microflora of untreated teeth with apical periodontitis was found to be mixed, comprising gram-negative and gram-positive and mostly anaerobic microorganisms and usually containing more than 3 species per canal. On the other hand, facultative anaerobic and gram-positive bacteria predominated in canals with failed endodontic treatment, which harbored 1-2 species per canal. Suggested relationships were found between anaerobes, especially gram-negatives, and the presence or history of pain, tenderness to percussion and swelling (P<0.05). In particular, associations were found between: a) pain (n=29) and P. micros (P<0.01), P. intermedia/nigrescens and Eubacterium spp. (both P<0.05); b) history of pain (n=31) and P. micros (P<0.01) Porphyromonas and Fusobacterium spp. (P<0.05); c) tenderness to percussion (n=29) and Porphyromonas spp. (P<0.01), Peptostreptococcus and Fusobacterium spp. (P<0.001); d) swelling (n=20) and Peptostreptococcus spp. (P<0.01), Porphyromonas and Enterococcus spp. (P<0.05); e) wet canals (n

  5. Quality assessment of dental health services provided at the Faculty of Dentistry, King Abdulaziz University.

    PubMed

    Hassan, Ali H; Amer, Hala A; Maghrabi, Abdulhamaid A

    2005-01-01

    The objectives of this research were to assess the quality of dental services delivered in King Abdulaziz University and highlight the necessary recommendations that would improve it. The methods used were live photographs illustrating the structure of dental services of the faculty presented in the clinic buildings, waiting places, equipments, instruments and supplies, as well as the comfort and privacy. Review of official records of the faculty for the number, qualifications and training of the dental staff and auxiliary personnel, as well as the process of care (starting from patient registration until completion of treatment). Records also demonstrated the access and utilization of services delivered in the various departments, the quality of these services and of infection control measures and procedures. The results revealed the high quality of services delivered through evaluating the structure and process of care in the university dental clinics. Dental services of King Abdulaziz University conform to high quality standards, with implementation of some changes for improvement and development.

  6. HIV/AIDS-related attitudes and oral impacts on daily performances: a cross-sectional study of Sudanese adult dental patients

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background Few studies have investigated the relationships between HIV-related knowledge, fear of contagion in dental environments and Oral Impacts on Daily Performance (OIDP) among dental patients. Our objectives were to investigate the associations between HIV-related knowledge and fear of contagion in dental environments and OIDP among dental patients, and to evaluate whether those associations were modified by the frequency of dental service attendance. Methods A total of 1262 patients (mean age 30.7 years, 56.5% females) were recruited from the Khartoum Dental Teaching Hospital and the University of Science and Technology during March–July 2008. The participants underwent a full-mouth oral clinical examination and completed an interview in a face-to-face setting. Results Of the study participants, 41.4% had visited a dentist at least twice during the last 2 years, 96.2% had caries experience (DT > 0) and 79.1% reported oral impacts (OIDP > 0). The most frequently reported oral impacts were problems eating, sleeping and cleaning teeth. In total, 26.3% of the participants had HIV transmission knowledge, 75.6% knew people with HIV/AIDS and 58.7% perceived a high risk of cross-infection in dental environments. After adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, frequency of dental service attendance and caries experience, patients who had high HIV-related information exposure, a positive attitude toward people with HIV/AIDS and a high perceived risk of cross-infection were more likely to report oral impacts, whereas patients who knew people with HIV/AIDS were less likely to report oral impacts. The association between OIDP and HIV transmission knowledge was modified by frequency of dental service attendance. Conclusions Dental patients who were informed about HIV and had a high HIV/AIDS risk perception were more likely to report impaired oral health-related quality of life than their less informed counterparts and those who perceived a low risk of

  7. Burnout, depression and suicidal ideation in dental and dental hygiene students.

    PubMed

    Deeb, George R; Braun, Sarah; Carrico, Caroline; Kinser, Patricia; Laskin, Daniel; Golob Deeb, Janina

    2018-02-01

    The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between burnout, depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation in dental and dental hygiene students and to evaluate the influence of gender, programme type and year of study. Third- and fourth-year dental (DS) and first- and second-year hygiene students (DHS) completed the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and an abbreviated Maslach Burnout Inventory online as measures of depressive symptoms/suicidality and burnout, respectively. The statistical analyses included summary statistics and tests for intergroup comparisons (chi-square) to evaluate the influence of gender, programme type (DHS or DS) and year of study. Correlations between depression, suicidality and burnout were also conducted. A total of 32 dental hygiene and 119 dental students participated. 40% of the dental and 38% of the hygiene students met criteria for burnout. No differences were found between years or between programmes. Nine per cent of both dental and hygiene students were above the cut-off for moderate depressive symptoms, but there were no statistical differences between the third- and fourth-year dental and the first- and second-year hygiene students. Six per cent of the dental and 9% of the dental hygiene students were above the cut-off for clinically significant suicidal ideation, but there were no statistical differences between dental and hygiene students. There were no differences noted in the dental students based on gender for any of the measures. Depression was significantly associated with all three subscales of burnout. Suicidal ideation was only significantly related to the lack of personal accomplishment subscale of burnout. These findings suggest the need for introducing preventive measures for such affective states in dental and dental hygiene training programmes. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  8. Microbial profiling of dental plaque from mechanically ventilated patients

    PubMed Central

    Twigg, Joshua A.; Lewis, Michael A. O.; Wise, Matt P.; Marchesi, Julian R.; Smith, Ann; Wilson, Melanie J.; Williams, David W.

    2016-01-01

    Micro-organisms isolated from the oral cavity may translocate to the lower airways during mechanical ventilation (MV) leading to ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). Changes within the dental plaque microbiome during MV have been documented previously, primarily using culture-based techniques. The aim of this study was to use community profiling by high throughput sequencing to comprehensively analyse suggested microbial changes within dental plaque during MV. Bacterial 16S rDNA gene sequences were obtained from 38 samples of dental plaque sampled from 13 mechanically ventilated patients and sequenced using the Illumina platform. Sequences were processed using Mothur, applying a 97 % gene similarity cut-off for bacterial species level identifications. A significant ‘microbial shift’ occurred in the microbial community of dental plaque during MV for nine out of 13 patients. Following extubation, or removal of the endotracheal tube that facilitates ventilation, sampling revealed a decrease in the relative abundance of potential respiratory pathogens and a compositional change towards a more predominantly (in terms of abundance) oral microbiota including Prevotella spp., and streptococci. The results highlight the need to better understand microbial shifts in the oral microbiome in the development of strategies to reduce VAP, and may have implications for the development of other forms of pneumonia such as community-acquired infection. PMID:26690690

  9. Microbial profiling of dental plaque from mechanically ventilated patients.

    PubMed

    Sands, Kirsty M; Twigg, Joshua A; Lewis, Michael A O; Wise, Matt P; Marchesi, Julian R; Smith, Ann; Wilson, Melanie J; Williams, David W

    2016-02-01

    Micro-organisms isolated from the oral cavity may translocate to the lower airways during mechanical ventilation (MV) leading to ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). Changes within the dental plaque microbiome during MV have been documented previously, primarily using culture-based techniques. The aim of this study was to use community profiling by high throughput sequencing to comprehensively analyse suggested microbial changes within dental plaque during MV. Bacterial 16S rDNA gene sequences were obtained from 38 samples of dental plaque sampled from 13 mechanically ventilated patients and sequenced using the Illumina platform. Sequences were processed using Mothur, applying a 97% gene similarity cut-off for bacterial species level identifications. A significant 'microbial shift' occurred in the microbial community of dental plaque during MV for nine out of 13 patients. Following extubation, or removal of the endotracheal tube that facilitates ventilation, sampling revealed a decrease in the relative abundance of potential respiratory pathogens and a compositional change towards a more predominantly (in terms of abundance) oral microbiota including Prevotella spp., and streptococci. The results highlight the need to better understand microbial shifts in the oral microbiome in the development of strategies to reduce VAP, and may have implications for the development of other forms of pneumonia such as community-acquired infection.

  10. Diabetes enhances dental caries and apical periodontitis in caries-susceptible WBN/KobSlc rats.

    PubMed

    Kodama, Yasushi; Matsuura, Masahiro; Sano, Tomoya; Nakahara, Yutaka; Ozaki, Kiyokazu; Narama, Isao; Matsuura, Tetsuro

    2011-02-01

    Many epidemiologic studies have suggested that diabetes may be an important risk factor for periodontal disease. To determine whether diabetes induces or enhances periodontal disease or dental caries, dental tissue from diabetic male and nondiabetic female WBN/KobSlc rats and male and female age-matched nondiabetic F344 rats was analyzed morphologically and morphometrically for these 2 types of lesions. Soft X-ray examination revealed that the incidence and severity of both molar caries and alveolar bone resorption were much higher in male WBN/KobSlc rats with chronic diabetes than in nondiabetic female rats of the same strain. Histopathologic examination showed that dental caries progressed from acute to subacute inflammation due to bacterial infections and necrosis in the pulp when the caries penetrated the dentin. In the most advanced stage of dental caries, inflammatory changes caused root abscess and subsequent apical periodontitis, with the formation of granulation tissue around the dental root. Inflammatory changes resulted in resorption of alveolar bone and correlated well with the severity of molar caries. Our results suggest that diabetic conditions enhance dental caries in WBN/KobSlc rats and that periodontal lesions may result from the apical periodontitis that is secondary to dental caries.

  11. Pattern of Utilisation of Dental Health Care Among HIV-positive Adult Nigerians.

    PubMed

    Adedigba, Michael A; Adekanmbi, Victor T; Asa, Sola; Fakande, Ibiyemi

    2016-01-01

    To determine the pattern of dental care utilisation of people living with HIV (PLHIV). A cross-sectional questionnaire survey of 239 PLHIV patients in three care centres was done. Information on sociodemographics, dental visit, risk groups, living arrangement, medical insurance and need of dental care was recorded. The EC Clearinghouse and WHO clinical staging was used to determine the stage of HIV/AIDS infection following routine oral examinations under natural daylight. Multivariate logistic regression models were created after adjusting for all the covariates that were statistically significant at univariate/bivariate levels. The majority of subjects were younger than 50 years, about 93% had not seen a dentist before being diagnosed HIV positive and 92% reported no dental visit after contracting HIV. Among nonusers of dental care, 14.3% reported that they wanted care but were afraid to seek it. Other reasons included poor awareness, lack of money and stigmatisation. Multivariate analysis showed that lack of dental care was associated with employment status, living arrangements, educational status, income per annum and presenting with oral symptoms. The area under the receiver operating curve was 84% for multivariate logistic regression model 1, 70% for model 2, 67% for model 3 and 71% for model 4, which means that the predictive power of the models were good. Contrary to our expectations, dental utilisation among PLHIV was generally poor among this group of patients. There is serious and immediate need to improve the awareness of PLHIVs in African settings and barriers to dental care utilisation should also be removed or reduced.

  12. PRENATAL DENTAL CARE: EVALUATION OF PROFESSIONAL KNOWLEDGE OF OBSTETRICIANS AND DENTISTS IN THE CITIES OF LONDRINA/PR AND BAURU/SP, BRAZIL, 2004

    PubMed Central

    Zanata, Régia Luzia; Fernandes, Karen Barros Parron; Navarro, Patrícia Silva Lopes

    2008-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to assess the current knowledge and recommendations of obstetricians and dentists as to the dental care to pregnant patients in the cities of Londrina/PR and Bauru/SP, Brazil. Questionnaires were distributed to professionals of both cities, arguing on the following issues: oral health during pregnancy; contact between prenatal care and dental care providers; prenatal fluoride supplementation; selection of therapeutic agents for local anesthesia, pain control and treatment of infection; and dental procedures that can be performed during each trimester. Data were analyzed by frequency of responses and statistical analyses were carried out using X2 (type of workplace/service) and t test (time since graduation), significant if p<0.05. Seventy-nine obstetricians and 37 dentists responded the questionnaires. Most physicians referred the patient to dental care only when a source of dental problem was mentioned, limiting the adoption of a preventive approach. Forty-three percent of dentists and 34% of obstetricians did not know the potential contribution of periodontal infection as a risk factor for preterm low birth-weight babies. There was divergence from scientific literature as to the recommendation of local anesthetics (dentists and obstetricians), prenatal fluoride supplementation (obstetricians) and dental radiographs (dentists). The findings of this survey with dentists and obstetricians showed that dental management during pregnancy still presents some deviations from scientific literature recommendations, indicating the need to update these health care professionals in order to establish guidelines for prenatal dental care. PMID:19089217

  13. Bacteria and archaea paleomicrobiology of the dental calculus: a review.

    PubMed

    Huynh, H T T; Verneau, J; Levasseur, A; Drancourt, M; Aboudharam, G

    2016-06-01

    Dental calculus, a material observed in the majority of adults worldwide, emerged as a source for correlating paleomicrobiology with human health and diet. This mini review of 48 articles on the paleomicrobiology of dental calculus over 7550 years discloses a secular core microbiota comprising nine bacterial phyla - Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, TM7, Synergistetes, Chloroflexi, Fusobacteria, Spirochetes - and one archaeal phylum Euryarchaeota; and some accessory microbiota that appear and disappear according to time frame. The diet residues and oral microbes, including bacteria, archaea, viruses and fungi, consisting of harmless organisms and pathogens associated with local and systemic infections have been found trapped in ancient dental calculus by morphological approaches, immunolabeling techniques, isotope analyses, fluorescent in situ hybridization, DNA-based approaches, and protein-based approaches. These observations led to correlation of paleomicrobiology, particularly Streptococcus mutans and archaea, with past human health and diet. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  14. A residual granuloma in association with a dental implant.

    PubMed

    McCracken, Michael S; Chavali, Ramakiran V; Al-Naief, Nasser Said; Eleazer, Paul D

    2012-04-01

    At times, dental implants are placed into sites with a history of periapical pathology. Sometimes the infection is active, and other times the tooth may have been extracted years before implant placement. In either case, the possibility exists for long-term residual cysts or infections that can negatively impact the prognosis of the implant. In this case report, an implant is placed into a healed mandibular ridge several months after extraction of the tooth. A radiolucency was noted on routine radiographic examination 2 years later. Surgical inspection and histology revealed a periapical granuloma with acute and chronic inflammatory cells. After surgical curettage of the site, the patient healed without complication. Implants may develop apical pathology as a result of a preexisting long-term residual infection.

  15. Design of dental surgeries in relation to instrument decontamination.

    PubMed

    Smith, A J; Lockhart, D E A; McDonald, E; Creanor, S; Hurrell, D; Bagg, J

    2010-12-01

    Recent guidelines advise that the decontamination of dental instruments should be undertaken outwith the treatment area. The aim of this study was to determine the physical area of rooms in dental surgeries that decontaminate instruments within and outwith the treatment area respectively, and other factors relating to practice layout and ventilation. Data were collected by interview and observation of dental healthcare workers in dental practice in Scotland, UK. Room layouts were recorded and measured at floor, benchtop and above benchtop heights. Thirteen surgeries with instrument decontamination processes occurring in the treatment area and seven surgeries with instrument decontamination outwith the treatment area were selected at random for detailed analysis of room dimensions. Of the 179 dental surgeries surveyed, 55% were located in converted residential premises and most practitioners (91%) did not share premises with other healthcare providers. The median number of rooms in the practices was 8 (range: 2-21) and the median number of surgeries present was 3 (range: 1-6). Regardless of whether instrument decontamination facilities were housed within the treatment area or not, the average treatment area room size for both was 15.8m(2) (range: 7.3-23.9) (P=0.862), with 20% of the room area available as work surfaces. The median size of the seven instrument decontamination rooms (local decontamination units) was 7.6m(2) (range: 2.9-16.0), with, on average, 63% of the room used for work surfaces. This survey suggests that the historical location of dental surgeries in converted residential properties places many restrictions on appropriate design for healthcare premises. Copyright © 2010 The Hospital Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. The Prevalence of Dental Anxiety in Patients of a University Dental Clinic

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Woodmansey, Karl F.

    2005-01-01

    Dental anxiety remains a pervasive barrier to dental treatment for many individuals, including college-age patients. In this article, the author reviews dental anxiety and examines the usefulness of assessment instruments for identifying dental anxiety. Using 2 unique assessment instruments, he examines the prevalence of dental anxiety in his…

  17. Dental students' part-time jobs in dental practices in the Netherlands.

    PubMed

    Poorterman, J H G; Dikkes, B T; Brand, H S

    2010-08-01

    In the Netherlands, the Individual Health Care Professions Act (IHCP Act) allows dental students, amongst other non-qualified individuals, to work under certain conditions in a dental practice. The aim of the study was to determine how many dental students have part-time employment in dental practice and which professional tasks they carry out. We also asked the dental students their opinion about the IHCP Act. All the enrolled dental students at the Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA) in the Netherlands received a questionnaire by e-mail. Within 1 month, two reminders were sent. The response was 44% (427 students). Of the responding students, 71% had paid employment in addition to their study. Twenty-five per cent of all students worked in a dental practice, usually 8 h a week. Study year and age were positively related to working part-time in dental practice. Activities frequently performed were providing chair side assistance, giving oral hygiene instruction, fluoride applications, scaling and root planning. The self-reported knowledge about the IHCP Act was positively related to study year and working in a dental practice. Hardly any information about the requirements of the IHCP Act with regard to delegation of tasks was provided by the employer. Many Dutch dental students work in a dental practice, taking over a variety of tasks. Although the self-reported knowledge about the IHCP Act was relatively high, many dental students expressed the need for more detailed information about the legal aspects of their tasks.

  18. Towards dualband megapixel QWIP focal plane arrays

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gunapala, S. D.; Bandara, S. V.; Liu, J. K.; Mumolo, J. M.; Hill, C. J.; Rafol, S. B.; Salazar, D.; Woolaway, J.; LeVan, P. D.; Tidrow, M. Z.

    2007-04-01

    Mid-wavelength infrared (MWIR) and long-wavelength infrared (LWIR) 1024 × 1024 pixel quantum well infrared photodetector (QWIP) focal planes have been demonstrated with excellent imaging performance. The MWIR QWIP detector array has demonstrated a noise equivalent differential temperature (NEΔT) of 17 mK at a 95 K operating temperature with f/2.5 optics at 300 K background and the LWIR detector array has demonstrated a NEΔT of 13 mK at a 70 K operating temperature with the same optical and background conditions as the MWIR detector array after the subtraction of system noise. Both MWIR and LWIR focal planes have shown background limited performance (BLIP) at 90 K and 70 K operating temperatures respectively, with similar optical and background conditions. In addition, we have demonstrated MWIR and LWIR pixel co-registered simultaneously readable dualband QWIP focal plane arrays. In this paper, we will discuss the performance in terms of quantum efficiency, NEΔT, uniformity, operability, and modulation transfer functions of the 1024 × 1024 pixel arrays and the progress of dualband QWIP focal plane array development work.

  19. Chemical–genetic attenuation of focal neocortical seizures

    PubMed Central

    Kätzel, Dennis; Nicholson, Elizabeth; Schorge, Stephanie; Walker, Matthew C.; Kullmann, Dimitri M.

    2014-01-01

    Focal epilepsy is commonly pharmacoresistant, and resective surgery is often contraindicated by proximity to eloquent cortex. Many patients have no effective treatment options. Gene therapy allows cell-type specific inhibition of neuronal excitability, but on-demand seizure suppression has only been achieved with optogenetics, which requires invasive light delivery. Here we test a combined chemical–genetic approach to achieve localized suppression of neuronal excitability in a seizure focus, using viral expression of the modified muscarinic receptor hM4Di. hM4Di has no effect in the absence of its selective, normally inactive and orally bioavailable agonist clozapine-N-oxide (CNO). Systemic administration of CNO suppresses focal seizures evoked by two different chemoconvulsants, pilocarpine and picrotoxin. CNO also has a robust anti-seizure effect in a chronic model of focal neocortical epilepsy. Chemical–genetic seizure attenuation holds promise as a novel approach to treat intractable focal epilepsy while minimizing disruption of normal circuit function in untransduced brain regions or in the absence of the specific ligand. PMID:24866701

  20. Osteomyelitis in a Paleozoic reptile: ancient evidence for bacterial infection and its evolutionary significance

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Reisz, Robert R.; Scott, Diane M.; Pynn, Bruce R.; Modesto, Sean P.

    2011-06-01

    We report on dental and mandibular pathology in Labidosaurus hamatus, a 275 million-year-old terrestrial reptile from North America and associate it with bacterial infection in an organism that is characterized by reduced tooth replacement. Analysis of the surface and internal mandibular structure using mechanical and CT-scanning techniques permits the reconstruction of events that led to the pathology and the possible death of the individual. The infection probably occurred as a result of prolonged exposure of the dental pulp cavity to oral bacteria, and this exposure was caused by injury to the tooth in an animal that is characterized by reduced tooth replacement cycles. In these early reptiles, the reduction in tooth replacement is an evolutionary innovation associated with strong implantation and increased oral processing. The dental abscess observed in L. hamatus, the oldest known infection in a terrestrial vertebrate, provides clear evidence of the ancient association between terrestrial vertebrates and their oral bacteria.

  1. Dental Fear and Avoidance in Treatment Seekers at a Large, Urban Dental Clinic.

    PubMed

    Heyman, Richard E; Slep, Amy M Smith; White-Ajmani, Mandi; Bulling, Lisanne; Zickgraf, Hana F; Franklin, Martin E; Wolff, Mark S

    2016-01-01

    The prevalence and correlates of dental fear have been studied in representative population studies, but not in patients presenting for dental treatment. We hypothesized that dental fear among patients presenting at a large, urban college of dentistry would be similar to that of the population (e.g. 11% high dental fear, 17% to 35% moderate or higher fear) and that fear would be associated with avoidance of routine dental care, increased use of urgent dental care and poor oral health. Participants were 1070 consecutive patients at a large, urban dental care center. All patients completed a clinical interview, including demographics, medical history, dental history and presenting concerns, and behavioral health history. Patients were also asked to rate their dental anxiety/fear on a 1 (none) to 10 (high) scale. Over 20% of patients reported elevated anxiety/fear, of which 12.30% reported moderate and 8.75% high fear. Severity of dental anxiety/fear was strongly related to the likelihood of avoiding dental services in the past and related to myriad presenting problems. As hypothesized, the prevalence of moderate or higher fear in dental patients was considerable and closely matched that found in general population surveys. Thus, the 'dental home' is an ideal location to treat clinically significant dental anxiety/fear.

  2. Dental anxiety in patients seeking care at the University Dental Hospital in Sri Lanka.

    PubMed

    Ekanayake, L; Dharmawardena, D

    2003-06-01

    The purpose of the study was to determine the prevalence and factors affecting dental anxiety in patients seeking dental care. A cross sectional study. 503 first visit patients attending the University Dental Hospital in Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. Corah's dental anxiety scale was used to assess the dental anxiety in these patients. The prevalence of dental anxiety was 32% (DAS score > or = 12) while 12% were considered to be extremely anxious (DAS score > or = 15). Females were found to be more dentally anxious than males. Level of education was associated with dental anxiety. Problem oriented attenders had a significantly higher mean DAS score than regular attenders. Those who had an extraction at the last dental visit were significantly more dentally anxious than those who had a restoration/scaling. Negative dental experience was not associated with dental anxiety. The logistic regression model revealed that gender, level of education and 'fear' which was cited as the reason for the delay in seeking care for the presenting complaint were significant predictors of dental anxiety. However, only 4% of the variation in dental anxiety could be explained by these independent variables. Socio-demographic factors and variables related to past dental experiences had a limited influence in explaining dental anxiety in this sample of dental patients.

  3. Dental anomalies and dental age assessment in treated children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

    PubMed

    Khojastepour, L; Zareifar, S; Ebrahimi, M

    2014-01-01

    This cross sectional study was performed to evaluate dental ages and incidence of dental anomalies in children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). A total of 25 ALL patient who passed at least 2 years of chemotherapy and 25 healthy sex and age matched children were evaluated. Dental age as well as dental anomalies in shape, size, number, and structure was recorded based on their panoramic radiographies which were taken for dental purposes. The number of dental anomalies significantly increased in ALL treated children. Seven ALL cases (28%) in compression to only one (4%) in control group had at least one dental anomaly. However, there was neither statistically significant differences between the mean of dental (p=0.32) and chronologic age (p=0.12) in both groups, nor between dental age of cases and control group (p=0.62).The age at the onset of treatment as well as treatment durations has not affected dental age and the incidence of dental anomalies significantly (p<0.05). Chemotherapy in children results in emergence of dental anomaly. Dental age, maturity, and development process however seems to be independent from chemotherapy.

  4. Exploring Dental Providers’ Workflow in an Electronic Dental Record Environment

    PubMed Central

    Schwei, Kelsey M; Cooper, Ryan; Mahnke, Andrea N.; Ye, Zhan

    2016-01-01

    Summary Background A workflow is defined as a predefined set of work steps and partial ordering of these steps in any environment to achieve the expected outcome. Few studies have investigated the workflow of providers in a dental office. It is important to understand the interaction of dental providers with the existing technologies at point of care to assess breakdown in the workflow which could contribute to better technology designs. Objective The study objective was to assess electronic dental record (EDR) workflows using time and motion methodology in order to identify breakdowns and opportunities for process improvement. Methods A time and motion methodology was used to study the human-computer interaction and workflow of dental providers with an EDR in four dental centers at a large healthcare organization. A data collection tool was developed to capture the workflow of dental providers and staff while they interacted with an EDR during initial, planned, and emergency patient visits, and at the front desk. Qualitative and quantitative analysis was conducted on the observational data. Results Breakdowns in workflow were identified while posting charges, viewing radiographs, e-prescribing, and interacting with patient scheduler. EDR interaction time was significantly different between dentists and dental assistants (6:20 min vs. 10:57 min, p = 0.013) and between dentists and dental hygienists (6:20 min vs. 9:36 min, p = 0.003). Conclusions On average, a dentist spent far less time than dental assistants and dental hygienists in data recording within the EDR. PMID:27437058

  5. Chemoprophylaxis of infective endocarditis.

    PubMed

    Finch, R

    1990-01-01

    Infective endocarditis is a serious disease with a continuing mortality of approximately 20%. Risk factors include a variety of congenital and acquired heart diseases. Infection follows an episode of bacteraemia which is most commonly due to oral bacteria, notably streptococci. Less commonly bacteraemia may arise from surgical procedures or diseases of the gastrointestinal and genitourinary tracts or from sepsis at other body sites, including intravenous drug abuse. Several societies and associations have published recommendations for the prevention of bacteraemia in those at risk from endocarditis through the use of perioperative antibiotic chemoprophylaxis. The recommendations are targetted at patients with defined cardiovascular lesions undergoing dental and other procedures known to predictably produce bacteraemia. The major recommendations for standard risk patients undergoing dental procedures without general anaesthesia is high-dose oral penicillin or amoxycillin. Alternative agents include erythromycin and clindamycin. For those requiring general anaesthesia, parenteral regimens are generally recommended although the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy permits an oral amoxycillin regimen 4 hours preoperatively. For specified gastrointestinal and genitourinary procedures a 2-drug regimen of ampicillin/amoxycillin (or vancomycin for penicillin-allergic patients) plus an aminoglycoside is generally recommended. The emphasis has been to simplify the earlier regimens without compromising the antimicrobial protection with a view to encouraging maximum compliance. The latter continues to be a problem where drug recommendations are either complex or include multiple drug or dosage recommendations. The emphasis on maintaining good dental health is endorsed by all authorities.

  6. Association of gingivitis with dental calculus thickness or dental calculus coverage and subgingival bacteria in feline leukemia virus- and feline immunodeficiency virus-negative cats.

    PubMed

    Thengchaisri, Naris; Steiner, Jörg M; Suchodolski, Jan S; Sattasathuchana, Panpicha

    2017-01-01

    Periodontal disease is the most common oral disease in cats. The objectives of this study were to determine the relationships between gingivitis and dental calculus thickness (DCT), or dental calculus coverage (DCC); determine the association of gingivitis scores and types of oral bacteria; and to evaluate bacterial co-infection in cats with periodontal disease. Twelve cats that were not infected with feline leukemia or feline immunodeficiency viruses were enrolled in the study. Gingivitis, DCT, and DCC were scored and recorded. A Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare scores among canine, 2nd premolar, 3rd premolar, 4th premolar, and 1st molar teeth. The relationship between gingivitis and DCT or DCC scores was determined using the Spearman rank sum test (ρ). Subgingival bacteria were cultured and the association between bacterial species and gingivitis score was evaluated using a Fisher's exact test. The average gingivitis, DCT, and DCC scores for the caudal maxillary teeth were higher for the caudal mandibular teeth and more severe for the 3rd premolar, 4th premolar, and 1st molar teeth than for the canine teeth. A strong relationship between average DCT or DCC score and average gingivitis score was found (ρ = 0.96 and 1, respectively). Aerobic and anaerobic bacterial infections were identified in a large number of cats with periodontal disease (71.1% and 28.9%, respectively). In conclusion, severe gingivitis scores were associated with anaerobic bacterial infection. The caudal teeth are affected with more severe gingivitis, DCT, and DCC than the other teeth. Antibiotic prophylaxis should be prescribed in cats with periodontal disease.

  7. Perceptions of Dental Hygiene Master's Degree Learners About Dental Hygiene Doctoral Education.

    PubMed

    Tumath, Ursula G M; Walsh, Margaret

    2015-08-01

    To determine perceptions about dental hygiene doctoral education among dental hygiene master's degree program enrollees. In this cross-sectional national study, all dental hygiene master degree program directors were sent an email requesting they forward an attached consent form and online-survey-link to their graduate learners. The 29-item online survey assessed their perceptions about need for, importance of and interest in applying to proposed dental hygiene doctoral degree programs. A second-request was sent 1 month later to capture non-responders. Frequencies and cross-tabulations of responses were analyzed using the online software program, Qualtrics.™ Of the 255 graduate learners enrolled in 2014 reported by dental hygiene program directors, 159 completed the survey for a 62% response rate. The majority of respondents (77%) indicated that doctoral education in dental hygiene is needed for the advancement of the dental hygiene discipline and such programs are important to the dental hygiene profession (89%). Although most respondents supported both the PhD in dental hygiene and the Doctor of Dental Hygiene Practice (DDHP) degrees, more were interested in applying to a DDHP program (62%) than to a dental hygiene PhD program (38%). In addition, 43% expressed interest in enrolling in a doctoral degree program in the next 1 to 5 years and most preferred a hybrid online/onsite program format. The most frequently reported reasons for pursing a doctoral degree were: to become a better teacher, to expand clinical practice opportunities, to become a better researcher and to increase salary. Most dental hygiene master degree learners in this study believed doctoral dental hygiene education is needed and important to the dental hygiene discipline and profession, and were interested in applying to such programs. Future research is needed in this area. Copyright © 2015 The American Dental Hygienists’ Association.

  8. [Investigation of dental manpower in non-public dental institutions in Liaoning province].

    PubMed

    Liu, Lu; Zhang, Ying; Cheng, Rui-bo; Xu, Yan-mei; Lu, Zhen-fu

    2013-10-01

    To investigate the non-public oral medical institutions in Liaoning province in 2011, and to analyze the status of dental manpower in non-public dental institutions in Liaoning province. A mass survey on dental manpower was made in non-public dental institutions in Liaoning province in 2011 by means of questionnaire investigation, which included the institution type, dental devices, and the number, structure, composition, distribution of dental manpower in non-public dental institutions in Liaoning province. Data was entered with EpiData 3.0 and analyzed with SPSS 13.0 software package. There were 1649 non-public dental institutions with 3132 dentists, 1265 nurses, 540 technicians and 3490 dental chairs in Liaoning province. 85.69% of the dental manpower were young and middle-aged. 33.17% of the dentists had primary professional titles, 42.53% of them had college degree and 87.96% of the dentists was general dentistry. In the dental auxiliaries, the primary professional title accounted for the majority. 95.97% of the nurses majored in general dentistry and 60.40% of the nurses' educational background were below junior college degree. 72.59% of the technicians majored in prosthetic dentistry and 67.78% of their educational background were below junior college degree. The ratio of the dentists to nurses to technicians was 6:2:1. The ratio of the nurses to dental chairs was 1:2.76. The distribution and composition of dental manpower are not reasonable in non-public dental institutions in Liaoning province. We should strengthen effective utilization of oral health resources and the oral health service ability of non -public dental institutions in Liaoning province. Supported by Key Science and Technology Projects of Liaoning Province (2012225015).

  9. Focal Adhesion Induction at the Tip of a Functionalized Nanoelectrode

    PubMed Central

    Fuentes, Daniela E.; Bae, Chilman; Butler, Peter J.

    2012-01-01

    Cells dynamically interact with their physical micro-environment through the assembly of nascent focal contacts and focal adhesions. The dynamics and mechanics of these contact points are controlled by transmembrane integrins and an array of intracellular adaptor proteins. In order to study the mechanics and dynamics of focal adhesion assembly, we have developed a technique for the timed induction of a nascent focal adhesion. Bovine aortic endothelial cells were approached at the apical surface by a nanoelectrode whose position was controlled with a resolution of 10s of nanometers using changes in electrode current to monitor distance from the cell surface. Since this probe was functionalized with fibronectin, a focal contact formed at the contact location. Nascent focal adhesion assembly was confirmed using time-lapse confocal fluorescent images of red fluorescent protein (RFP) – tagged talin, an adapter protein that binds to activated integrins. Binding to the cell was verified by noting a lack of change of electrode current upon retraction of the electrode. This study demonstrates that functionalized nanoelectrodes can enable precisely-timed induction and 3-D mechanical manipulation of focal adhesions and the assay of the detailed molecular kinetics of their assembly. PMID:22247742

  10. The semiology of febrile seizures: Focal features are frequent.

    PubMed

    Takasu, Michihiko; Kubota, Tetsuo; Tsuji, Takeshi; Kurahashi, Hirokazu; Numoto, Shingo; Watanabe, Kazuyoshi; Okumura, Akihisa

    2017-08-01

    To clarify the semiology of febrile seizures (FS) and to determine the frequency of FS with symptoms suggestive of focal onset. FS symptoms in children were reported within 24h of seizure onset by the parents using a structured questionnaire consisting principally of closed-ended questions. We focused on events at seizure commencement, including changes in behavior and facial expression, and ocular and oral symptoms. We also investigated the autonomic and motor symptoms developing during seizures. The presence or absence of focal and limbic features was determined for each patient. The associations of certain focal and limbic features with patient characteristics were assessed. Information was obtained on FS in 106 children. Various events were recorded at seizure commencement. Behavioral changes were observed in 35 children, changes in facial expression in 53, ocular symptoms in 78, and oral symptoms in 90. In terms of events during seizures, autonomic symptoms were recognized in 78, and convulsive motor symptoms were recognized in 68 children. Focal features were evident in 81 children; 38 children had two or more such features. Limbic features were observed in 44 children, 9 of whom had two or more such features. There was no significant relationship between any patient characteristic and the numbers of focal or limbic features. The semiology of FS varied widely among children, and symptoms suggestive of focal onset were frequent. FS of focal onset may be more common than is generally thought. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. [A study of the pathogenesis of tonsillar focal infection--transplantation of human tonsillar lymphocytes and human skin into SCID mice].

    PubMed

    Yamamoto, Y; Kuki, K; Hayashi, Y; Yamanaka, N

    2000-07-01

    Pustulosis palmaris et plantaris (PPP) has been considered as one of the typical tonsillar focal infections, based on the marked clinical improvement of the skin lesions after tonsillectomy. In early-stage of PPP, it has been reported that lymphocytes, predominantly CD4-positive cells, infiltrate the palmar and plantar skin. However, the origin and mechanism of infiltration by these lymphocytes is not clear and there are very few reports on whether tonsillar cells react directly with the skin, possibly due to the difficulty of establishing adequate animal models. In this study, we established an experimental animal model of mice with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) and observed the reactions of the tonsillar lymphocytes (TL) or peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) of patients with PPP to their own plantar skin by transplanting the lymphocytes and skin of the patient into the mice. The results revealed that TL infiltrated the skin to a significantly greater extent than PBL. Most of these lymphocytes were T lymphocytes, and no B lymphocytes were detected in the transplanted skin. Strong expression of LFA-1 and ICAM-1 was observed in the skin after the TL transplantation. These results suggest that TL have a strong affinity for the skin in PPP, and that the adhesion molecules may play an important role in the infiltration by lymphocytes of the skin.

  12. Dental caries experience and use of dental services among Brazilian prisoners.

    PubMed

    Cavalcanti, Alessandro Leite; Rodrigues, Iris Sant Anna Araujo; de Melo Silveira, Ingrid Thays; de Oliveira, Thaliny Batista Sarmento; de Almeida Pinto, Magaly Suenya; Xavier, Alidianne Fabia Cabral; de Castro, Ricardo Dias; Padilha, Wilton Wilney Nascimento

    2014-11-25

    This ross-sectional study involving 127 male prisoners evaluates the use of dental services and dental caries among Brazilian inmates. Data were collected by interview and clinical examination. Sociodemographic and sentencing information as well as use of dental services, self-reported dental morbidity, self-perception, and oral health impacts were investigated. The mean DMFT index value was 19.72. Of the components, the decayed component showed the highest mean value (11.06 ± 5.37). Statistically significant association was found between DMFTs with values from 22 to 32 and oral health satisfaction (p = 0.002), difficulty speaking (p = 0.024), shame of talking (p = 0.004) and smiling (p < 0.001). Regarding the use of dental services, 80% had their last dental appointment less than one year ago, with most visits occurring in prison (80%), with restorative treatment (32%), followed by dental pain (26.4%), being the main reasons for such appointments. Most prisoners used dental services provided by the prison. Although restorative treatment has been the main reason for the use of dental services, "decayed" and "missing" components contributed to the high mean DMFT index.

  13. Dental Caries Experience and Use of Dental Services among Brazilian Prisoners

    PubMed Central

    Leite Cavalcanti, Alessandro; Araujo Rodrigues, Iris Sant´Anna; de Melo Silveira, Ingrid Thays; Sarmento de Oliveira, Thaliny Batista; de Almeida Pinto, Magaly Suenya; Cabral Xavier, Alidianne Fabia; Dias de Castro, Ricardo; Nascimento Padilha, Wilton Wilney

    2014-01-01

    This ross-sectional study involving 127 male prisoners evaluates the use of dental services and dental caries among Brazilian inmates. Data were collected by interview and clinical examination. Sociodemographic and sentencing information as well as use of dental services, self-reported dental morbidity, self-perception, and oral health impacts were investigated. The mean DMFT index value was 19.72. Of the components, the decayed component showed the highest mean value (11.06 ± 5.37). Statistically significant association was found between DMFTs with values from 22 to 32 and oral health satisfaction (p = 0.002), difficulty speaking (p = 0.024), shame of talking (p = 0.004) and smiling (p < 0.001). Regarding the use of dental services, 80% had their last dental appointment less than one year ago, with most visits occurring in prison (80%), with restorative treatment (32%), followed by dental pain (26.4%), being the main reasons for such appointments. Most prisoners used dental services provided by the prison. Although restorative treatment has been the main reason for the use of dental services, “decayed” and “missing” components contributed to the high mean DMFT index. PMID:25429680

  14. Pediatric dental chair vs. traditional dental chair: a pediatric dentist's poll.

    PubMed

    Barjatya, Khushboo; Vatsal, Ankur; Kambalimath, Halaswamy V; Kulkarni, Vinay Kumar; Reddy, Naveen Banda

    2015-01-01

    Proper positioning of the child patient, can not only have positive ramifications for the operator's posture, comfort, and career longevity - it can also lead to better treatment and increased productivity. The aim of the survey questionnaire was to assess the utilization, need, and attitude concerning dental chairs among pediatric dentist while working on and managing the child patient. The questions were structured using adobe forms central online software, regarding the user-friendliness of pediatric dental chair vs. traditional adult dental chair available in the market. Our result shows that out of 337 respondents, 79% worked on pediatric dental chair, whereas 21% had no experience of it. Of these 79% pediatric dentist, 48% preferred pediatric dental chair. But pediatric dental problem still has certain disadvantages like higher cost, leg space problem, lower availability, etc. During the research it was found that ergonomics and usability issues were the main problems. Thus, pediatric dental chair is not so popular in the current scenario. This study allowed for general ideas for the improvement of dental chairs and thus improved dental chair would fill the gap in the current scenario.

  15. Flemish general dental practitioners' knowledge of dental radiology

    PubMed Central

    Aps, J K M

    2010-01-01

    The aim of this study was to assess general dental practitioners' knowledge of dental radiography and radiation protection in order to alert the Belgian authorities and dental professional societies. Prior to attending a postgraduate course on intraoral radiology, general dental practitioners in Flanders, Belgium, were asked to fill in a questionnaire regarding the radiological equipment and the techniques they used for intraoral radiography. The availability and type of dental panoramic equipment were also assessed. A total of 374 questionnaires were available for this study. 15% of the attendants used radiographic equipment that was more than 27 years old and 43% reported equipment that operated with a clockwork timer. 32% and 75% respectively had no idea what the kV or mA settings were on their intraoral equipment. 5% were unaware which cone geometry or geometric technique (paralleling or bisecting angle technique) they were using. 81% claimed to be using a short cone technique. 47% did not know what collimation meant, whereas 40% stated that they were using circular collimation. 38% used digital intraoral image detectors (63% were photostimulable storage phosphorplate (PSPP)), but 16% were not sure about the type of sensor they were using (PSPP or solid-state sensors). 61% also had dental panoramic equipment available, 25% of which was digital (10% charge coupled device (CCD) and 15% PSPP). These results clearly indicate the need for continued education on this subject. The latter is an important signal to Belgian authorities and dental professional societies. PMID:20100924

  16. The flexible engagement of monitoring processes in non-focal and focal prospective memory tasks with salient cues.

    PubMed

    Hefer, Carmen; Cohen, Anna-Lisa; Jaudas, Alexander; Dreisbach, Gesine

    2017-09-01

    Prospective memory (PM) refers to the ability to remember to perform a delayed intention. Here, we aimed to investigate the ability to suspend such an intention and thus to confirm previous findings (Cohen, Gordon, Jaudas, Hefer, & Dreisbach, 2016) demonstrating the ability to flexibly engage in monitoring processes. In the current study, we presented a perceptually salient PM cue (bold and red) to rule out that previous findings were limited to non-salient and, thus, easy to ignore PM cues. Moreover, we used both a non-focal (Experiment 1) and a focal PM (Experiment 2) cue. In both Experiments, three groups of participants performed an Eriksen flanker task as an ongoing task with an embedded PM task (they had to remember to press the F1 key if a pre-specified cue appeared). Participants were assigned to either a control condition (performed solely the flanker task), a standard PM condition (performed the flanker task along with the PM task), or a PM delayed condition (performed the flanker task but were instructed to postpone their PM task intention). The results of Experiment 1 with the non-focal PM cue closely replicated those of Cohen et al. (2016) and confirmed that participants were able to successfully postpone the PM cue intention without additional costs even when the PM cue was a perceptually salient one. However, when the PM cue was focal (Experiment 2), it was much more difficult for participants to ignore it as evidenced by commission errors and slower latencies on PM cue trials. In sum, results showed that the focality of the PM cue plays a more crucial role in the flexibility of the monitoring process whereas the saliency of the PM cue does not. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Curriculum content and assessment of pre-clinical dental skills: A survey of undergraduate dental education in Europe.

    PubMed

    Field, J; Stone, S; Orsini, C; Hussain, A; Vital, S; Crothers, A; Walmsley, D

    2018-05-01

    Since 1981, the qualifications for various healthcare professionals across the European Union have enjoyed mutual recognition in accordance with the EU Directive 81/1057/EEC. Whilst the directive includes dental practitioners, it is recognised that significant variation exists in curriculum structure, content and scope of practice across institutions. This article aimed to explore pan-European practice in relation to curriculum content, teaching and learning strategies and assessment of pre-clinical dental skills. A request to complete an online questionnaire, in English, was sent electronically to skills leads at all Association of Dental Education in Europe member schools. The questionnaire collected information in relation to institution and country, regulatory requirements to demonstrate safety, details of specific pre-clinical skills courses, learning materials and teaching staff. Forty-eight institutions, from 25 European countries responded. Seven countries (n=7, 28%) reported no requirement to demonstrate student operative safety prior to patient treatment. Several core and operative clinical skills are common to the majority of institutions. The most commonly taught core skills related directly to the clinical environment such as cross-infection control and hand washing. The least common were skills that indirectly related to patient care, such as communication skills and working as a team. There are clear differences within European pre-clinical dental education, and greater efforts are needed to demonstrate that all European students are fit to practice before they start treating patients. Learning outcomes, teaching activities and assessment activities of pre-clinical skills should be shared collaboratively to further standardise curricula. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  18. Evaluation of the effectiveness of peracetic acid in the sterilization of dental equipment.

    PubMed

    Ceretta, R; Paula, M M S; Angioletto, Ev; Méier, M M; Mitellstädt, F G; Pich, C T; Junior, S A; Angioletto, E

    2008-01-01

    To evaluate the effectiveness of peracetic acid in the microbiological sterilisation of dental materials. Peracetic acid solution was evaluated at concentrations of 800, 1500 and 2500 ppm. At these concentrations, it was determined whether peracetic acid caused corrosion to dental instruments and induced cellular mutagenicity and cytotoxicity. In addition, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC), agar diffusion and diffusion by well method, were also verified. The corrosion rate, calculated from potentiodynamic assays was 10(-6) cm/year, indicating that the product does not damage equipment. The sterilisation capacity of peracetic acid at 2500 ppm was the best. The comet assay indicated genotoxic activity at 2500 ppm. This study demonstrated the effectiveness of peracetic acid for sterilizing dental equipment, providing another alternative for the prevention of infections in clinics.

  19. Combined scanning transmission electron microscopy tilt- and focal series.

    PubMed

    Dahmen, Tim; Baudoin, Jean-Pierre; Lupini, Andrew R; Kübel, Christian; Slusallek, Philipp; de Jonge, Niels

    2014-04-01

    In this study, a combined tilt- and focal series is proposed as a new recording scheme for high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) tomography. Three-dimensional (3D) data were acquired by mechanically tilting the specimen, and recording a through-focal series at each tilt direction. The sample was a whole-mount macrophage cell with embedded gold nanoparticles. The tilt-focal algebraic reconstruction technique (TF-ART) is introduced as a new algorithm to reconstruct tomograms from such combined tilt- and focal series. The feasibility of TF-ART was demonstrated by 3D reconstruction of the experimental 3D data. The results were compared with a conventional STEM tilt series of a similar sample. The combined tilt- and focal series led to smaller "missing wedge" artifacts, and a higher axial resolution than obtained for the STEM tilt series, thus improving on one of the main issues of tilt series-based electron tomography.

  20. Recent trends in dental visits and private dental insurance, 1989 and 1999.

    PubMed

    Wall, Thomas P; Brown, L Jackson

    2003-05-01

    This article describes recent trends in dental visits and private dental insurance in the United States. This study is based on the analyses of data regarding dental visits and private dental insurance among the population 2 years of age or older from the 1989 and 1999 National Health Interview Surveys. Overall, the percentage of the population with a dental visit rose from 57.2 percent in 1989 to 64.1 percent in 1999, while the percentage with private dental insurance fell from 40.5 percent to 35.2 percent. Although a higher percentage of people with private dental insurance reported having a dental visit than did those without private dental insurance in both years, the increase from 1989 to 1999 in the percentage of those with a visit was larger among the uninsured. If this trend persists, a smaller portion of practicing dentist's clientele will be insured. This may affect demand for services, as well as front office operations.

  1. Cervical and facial infections - a real life threat

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rosu, S.; Fratila, M.

    2014-03-01

    Cervicofacial infections of dental origin are a difficult and complex issue of oral and maxillofacial surgery. Recognizing in due time the situations which are likely to develop a life-threatening condition and medical surgical prompt interventions significantly reduce the rate of the complications. Between January 2009 and March 2013, at the Clinic of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery of the University of Medicine and Pharmacy "Victor Babes" Timisoara, 17 patients with severe cervicofacial infections were admitted in the emergency department as they needed a complex medical surgical treatment in accordance with protocol established together with the intensive-care department. Assessing the situations, we noticed a difficult, prolonged time of the recovery process which needed a hospitalization period of around 20 days. It recorded two deceased because of cervical necrotizing fasciitis and oral floor phlegmon, the most severe forms of the cervicofacial infections. The severity of the condition of the patients with cervicofacial infections must be figured and as quickly as possible an energetic therapeutic attitude must be adopted. The experience shows a frequent resistance to antibiotics like ampicillin, penicillin and oxacillin. The patients must be guided in due time to a clinic which has an intensive care department, where the surgical treatment must be administrated together with an intensive treatment for supporting the general condition. The reduction of the vital risk of the cervicofacial infections of dental origin will be done through an attentive assessment of the general and local condition (status) of the outpatients, before the dental extraction. The absence of a treatment adapted to the situation and to the clinic development, meaningfully increases the rate of the complications and the length of the hospitalization, the lethal evolution being not excluded.

  2. Dental Implant Systems

    PubMed Central

    Oshida, Yoshiki; Tuna, Elif B.; Aktören, Oya; Gençay, Koray

    2010-01-01

    Among various dental materials and their successful applications, a dental implant is a good example of the integrated system of science and technology involved in multiple disciplines including surface chemistry and physics, biomechanics, from macro-scale to nano-scale manufacturing technologies and surface engineering. As many other dental materials and devices, there are crucial requirements taken upon on dental implants systems, since surface of dental implants is directly in contact with vital hard/soft tissue and is subjected to chemical as well as mechanical bio-environments. Such requirements should, at least, include biological compatibility, mechanical compatibility, and morphological compatibility to surrounding vital tissues. In this review, based on carefully selected about 500 published articles, these requirements plus MRI compatibility are firstly reviewed, followed by surface texturing methods in details. Normally dental implants are placed to lost tooth/teeth location(s) in adult patients whose skeleton and bony growth have already completed. However, there are some controversial issues for placing dental implants in growing patients. This point has been, in most of dental articles, overlooked. This review, therefore, throws a deliberate sight on this point. Concluding this review, we are proposing a novel implant system that integrates materials science and up-dated surface technology to improve dental implant systems exhibiting bio- and mechano-functionalities. PMID:20480036

  3. The FiCTION dental trial protocol – filling children’s teeth: indicated or not?

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background There is a lack of evidence for effective management of dental caries (decay) in children’s primary (baby) teeth and an apparent failure of conventional dental restorations (fillings) to prevent dental pain and infection for UK children in Primary Care. UK dental schools’ teaching has been based on British Society of Paediatric Dentistry guidance which recommends that caries in primary teeth should be removed and a restoration placed. However, the evidence base for this is limited in volume and quality, and comes from studies conducted in either secondary care or specialist practices. Restorations provided in specialist environments can be effective but the generalisability of this evidence to Primary Care has been questioned. The FiCTION trial addresses the Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme’s commissioning brief and research question “What is the clinical and cost effectiveness of restoration caries in primary teeth, compared to no treatment?” It compares conventional restorations with an intermediate treatment strategy based on the biological (sealing-in) management of caries and with no restorations. Methods/Design This is a Primary Care-based multi-centre, three-arm, parallel group, patient-randomised controlled trial. Practitioners are recruiting 1461 children, (3–7 years) with at least one primary molar tooth where caries extends into dentine. Children are randomized and treated according to one of three treatment approaches; conventional caries management with best practice prevention, biological management of caries with best practice prevention or best practice prevention alone. Baseline measures and outcome data (at review/treatment during three year follow-up) are assessed through direct reporting, clinical examination including blinded radiograph assessment, and child/parent questionnaires. The primary outcome measure is the incidence of either pain or infection related to dental caries. Secondary outcomes are

  4. Medicaid Adult Dental Benefits Increase Use Of Dental Care, But Impact Of Expansion On Dental Services Use Was Mixed.

    PubMed

    Singhal, Astha; Damiano, Peter; Sabik, Lindsay

    2017-04-01

    Dental coverage for adult enrollees is an optional benefit under Medicaid. Thirty-one states and the District of Columbia have expanded eligibility for Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Millions of low-income adults have gained health care coverage and, in states offering dental benefits, oral health coverage as well. Using data for 2010 and 2014 from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, we examined the impact of Medicaid adult dental coverage and eligibility expansions on low-income adults' use of dental care. We found that low-income adults in states that provided dental benefits beyond emergency-only coverage were more likely to have had a dental visit in the past year, compared to low-income adults in states without such benefits. Among states that provided dental benefits and expanded their Medicaid program, regression-based estimates suggest that childless adults had a significant increase (1.8 percentage points) in the likelihood of having had a dental visit, while parents had a significant decline (8.1 percentage points). One possible explanation for the disparity is that after expansion, newly enrolled childless adults might have exhausted the limited dental provider capacity that was available to parents before expansion. Additional policy-level efforts may be needed to expand the dental care delivery system's capacity. Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

  5. Focal necrotizing pneumonia is a distinct entity from lung abscess.

    PubMed

    Seo, Hyewon; Cha, Seung-Ick; Shin, Kyung-Min; Lim, Jaekwang; Yoo, Seung-Soo; Lee, Jaehee; Lee, Shin-Yup; Kim, Chang-Ho; Park, Jae-Yong

    2013-10-01

    'Focal necrotizing pneumonia' was defined as a localized type of necrotizing pneumonia characterized by a single or few cavities of low density without rim enhancement on computed tomography (CT) scan. The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical features and course of patients with focal necrotizing pneumonia, thereby elucidating its clinical relevance. The present study was conducted retrospectively in patients who had been interpreted as having lung abscess or necrotizing pneumonia on CT scan. Clinical and radiological characteristics were compared between the focal necrotizing pneumonia and lung abscess groups. Overall, 68 patients with focal necrotizing pneumonia (n = 35) or lung abscess (n = 33) were included in the present study. The frequency of risk factors for aspiration was significantly lower in the focal necrotizing group, compared with the lung abscess group (14.3% vs 45.5%, P = 0.005). Compared with lung abscess, focal necrotizing pneumonia was observed more commonly in non-gravity-dependent segments (66% vs 36%, P < 0.001). In addition, a trend towards more common isolation of aerobes as potential pathogens was observed in the focal necrotizing pneumonia group, compared with the lung abscess group (31% vs 12%, P = 0.08). However, in terms of treatment outcomes, a similar high rate of success was observed in both groups: 97%, respectively. Compared to lung abscess, focal necrotizing pneumonia occurs more commonly in non-gravity-dependent segments with lower incidence of risk factors for aspiration. Similar to lung abscess, the rate of success for treatment of focal necrotizing pneumonia was high. © 2013 The Authors. Respirology © 2013 Asian Pacific Society of Respirology.

  6. American Dental Association

    MedlinePlus

    ... Seal of Acceptance Health Policy Institute ADA Scientific Research Dental Practice Parameters Dental Standards ... Publications ADA News JADA (The Journal of the American Dental Association) ADA Catalog ADA ...

  7. Dental education in Colombia

    PubMed Central

    Jaramillo, Jorge A.; Pulido, Jairo H. Ternera; Núñez, Jaime A. Castro; Bird, William F.; Komabayashi, Takashi

    2014-01-01

    This article describes Colombia's development of formal dentistry, its dental school system, curriculum, and dental licensure, and current issues in oral health care. In 1969, there were only 4 dental schools in Colombia; at this writing there are 21. Five dental schools are public and the other 16 are private. Nearly all classes are conducted in Spanish. Undergraduate pre-dental coursework is not a prerequisite for dental school in Colombia. To obtain licensure, Colombian dental students must complete 5 years of study in dental school, earn a diploma, and work for the government for 1 year. There are approximately 41,400 dentists in Colombia, and the number is increasing quickly. However, the unemployment rate among dentists is very high, even though graduation from dental school is extremely difficult. Although the 1,100:1 ratio of citizens to dentists is considered satisfactory, access to dental care is limited due to the high rate of poverty. PMID:20339245

  8. Predictors of dental avoidance among Australian adults with different levels of dental anxiety.

    PubMed

    Armfield, Jason M; Ketting, Manon

    2015-09-01

    It has been proposed that avoidance of dental visits might be the main determinant of poor oral health outcomes in people with high dental anxiety (HDA). This study aimed to determine the predictors of dental avoidance among people with HDA and also whether these predictors differed from those found in people with lower dental anxiety (LDA). Study participants (n = 596; response rate = 41.1%) comprised a random cross-sectional sample of the Australian adult population who completed a mailed self-complete questionnaire containing items relating to the use and accessibility of dental services, trust in dental professionals, dental anxiety, dental experiences, self-perceived oral health, vulnerability-related perceptions of visiting the dentist, and psychological health. Multiple imputation was used to replace missing values and statistically significant variables in bivariate analyses were entered into a multivariable logistic generalized linear model. More than two-thirds of participants with HDA were currently avoiding or delaying a dental visit. Among people with HDA, dental avoidance was independently and significantly predicted by difficulty paying a $300 dental bill, having no or only little trust in the last-visited dentist, perceived treatment need and dental anxiety. Among people with LDA, only perceived treatment need and dental anxiety predicted avoidance. In addition to their high anxiety, a number of additional barriers to dental visiting were found for people with HDA. These barriers, especially cost and communication issues with dentists, need to be addressed to assist people with HDA obtain necessary, regular dental care. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  9. Dental implant tourism.

    PubMed

    Barrowman, R A; Grubor, D; Chandu, A

    2010-12-01

    Access and affordability of dental care can be problematic for some in the Australian community. Therefore, dental tourism is increasingly becoming more attractive to some patients due to decreased expense, increased convenience and immediacy of treatment. However, there are significant issues for both clinician and patient in regards to dental tourism. Lack of accountability and regulation are the main issues and this is particularly evident when complications occur. This paper presents five cases where complications have arisen in the setting of dental tourism. © 2010 Australian Dental Association.

  10. Diabetic Macular Edema: What is Focal and What is Diffuse?

    PubMed Central

    Browning, David J.; Altaweel, Michael M.; Bressler, Neil M.; Bressler, Susan B.; Scott, Ingrid U.

    2009-01-01

    Purpose To review the available information on classification of diabetic macular edema (DME) as focal or diffuse. Design Interpretive essay. Methods Literature review and interpretation. Results The terms focal and diffuse diabetic macular edema are frequently used without clear definitions. Published definitions often use different examination modalities and are often inconsistent. Evaluating published information on prevalence of focal and diffuse DME, response of focal and diffuse DME to treatments, and importance of focal and diffuse DME in assessing prognosis is hindered because the terms are inconsistently employed. A newer vocabulary may be more constructive, one that describes discrete components of the concepts such as extent and location of macular thickening, involvement of the center of the macula, quantity and pattern of lipid exudates, source of fluorescein leakage, and regional variation in macular thickening, and that distinguishes these terms from the use of the term focal when describing one type of photocoagulation technique. Developing methods for assessing component variables that can be used in clinical practice and establishing reproducibility of the methods will be important tasks. Conclusion Little evidence exists that characteristics of DME described by the terms focal and diffuse help to explain variation in visual acuity or response to treatment. It is unresolved whether a concept of focal and diffuse DME will prove clinically useful despite frequent usage of the terms when describing management of DME. Further studies to address the issues are needed. PMID:18774122

  11. Satisfaction with Dental Appearance and Attitude toward improving Dental Esthetics among Patients attending a Dental Teaching Center.

    PubMed

    Maghaireh, Ghada A; Alzraikat, Hanan; Taha, Nessrin A

    2016-01-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the factors influencing the satisfaction of dental appearance and attitude toward treatments to improve dental esthetics among patients attending a dental teaching center. A questionnaire was used to collect data of four background variables among 450 patients attended a dental teaching center in the city of Irbid in Jordan. The questionnaire enclosed self-reported questions about the appearance of anterior teeth, received esthetic treatment and desired treatment for improving esthetics. Descriptive, multiple logistic regression and Chi-square tests were used for data analysis (p ≤ 0.05). The 450 participants consisted of (66.2%) male and (33.8%) female. Of these, 69.3% were satisfied with their dental appearance and 58.0% with the color of their teeth. Esthetic restorations were the most received treatment (39.8%) and whitening of teeth was the most desired treatment (55.3%). The patients' satisfaction with dental appearance was influenced by teeth color, crowding and receiving whitening (p < 0.05. r = 0.561, r(2) = 0.315). The most desired esthetic treatments influenced by the satisfaction with dental appearance were esthetic restorations and orthodontics (p < 0.05. r = 0.223, r(2) = 0.05). Significantly more female reported having esthetic restorations and orthodontics (p = 0.008, 0.000) and desired to have orthodontic, crowns or veneers and esthetic restorations (p = 0.000, 0.015, 0.028). Satisfaction with dental appearance was affected by teeth color, feeling teeth are crowded, desire for esthetic restorations and orthodontic treatment. A high percentage of patients were not satisfied with the color of their teeth. Recognizing the factors that affect patients' satisfaction with their present dental appearance and attitude toward treatments to improve dental esthetic can guide clinicians to strategies to improve esthetics.

  12. Dental needs and socioeconomic status associated with utilization of dental services in the presence of dental pain: a case-control study in children.

    PubMed

    Villalobos-Rodelo, Juan José; Medina-Solís, Carlo Eduardo; Maupomé, Gerardo; Lamadrid-Figueroa, Hector; Casanova-Rosado, Alejandro José; Casanova-Rosado, Juan Fernando; Márquez-Corona, María de Lourdes

    2010-01-01

    To identify the effect of unmet dental treatment needs and socioeconomic and sociodemographic variables on the patterns of dental visits in the presence of dental pain in 6- to 12-year-old Mexican schoolchildren. A case-control study included 379 patients that had a dental visit because of dental pain in the 12 months preceding this study and 1,137 controls. Mothers and/or guardians supplied sociodemographic, socioeconomic, and oral health-related information through a questionnaire. The profiles of unmet dental needs and of oral hygiene were ascertained by means of a standardized dental examination administered to participating children. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated with logistic regression. Higher unmet dental needs and lack of health insurance were associated with the experience of dental visits because of dental pain in the preceding 12 months. Boys who attended public schools had a 70% (95% CI = 1.29 to 2.23) higher probability of having had a dental visit in which dental pain was one of the main reasons for attendance, compared to boys attending private schools. The effect for girls was only 28% (95% CI = 1.10 to 1.50) higher for girls attending a public school, compared to girls attending private schools. Older children had a higher occurrence of dental visits because of dental pain than younger children. While higher unmet dental needs and lack of health insurance were strong predictors of having had dental visits because of dental pain in the preceding 12 months, some socioeconomic variables and sociodemographic variables modified these relationships.

  13. The Focal Surface of the JEM-EUSO Instrument

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kawasaki, Y.; EUSO Team, ASI, RIKEN; Casolino, M.

    The Extreme Universe Space Observatory on JEM/EF (JEM-EUSO) is a space mission to study extremely high-energy cosmic rays. The JEM-EUSO instrument is a wide-angle refractive telescope in the near-ultraviolet wavelength region which will be mounted to the International Space Station. Its goal is to measure time-resolved fluorescence images of extensive air showers in the atmosphere. In this paper we describe in detail the main features and technological aspects of the focal surface of the instrument. The JEM-EUSO focal surface is a spherically curved surface, with an area of about 4.5m{sup 2}. The focal surface detector is made of more thanmore » 5,000 multi-anode photomultipliers (MAPMTs). Current baseline is Hamamatsu R11265-03-M64. The approach to the focal surface detector is highly modular. Photo-Detector-Modules (PDM) are the basic units that drive the mechanical structure and data acquisition. Each PDM consists of 9 Elementary Cells (ECs). The EC, which is the basic unit of the MAPMT support structure and of the front-end electronics, contains 4 units of MAPMTs. In total, about 1,200 ECs or about 150 PDMs are arranged on the whole of the focal surface of JEM-EUSO.« less

  14. Implementation of focal zooming on the Nike KrF laser

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kehne, D. M.; Karasik, M.; Aglitsky, Y.; Smyth, Z.; Terrell, S.; Weaver, J. L.; Chan, Y.; Lehmberg, R. H.; Obenschain, S. P.

    2013-01-01

    In direct drive inertial confinement laser fusion, a pellet containing D-T fuel is imploded by ablation arising from absorption of laser energy at its outer surface. For optimal coupling, the focal spot of the laser would continuously decrease to match the reduction in the pellet's diameter, thereby minimizing wasted energy. A krypton-fluoride laser (λ = 248 nm) that incorporates beam smoothing by induced spatial incoherence has the ability to produce a high quality focal profile whose diameter varies with time, a property known as focal zooming. A two-stage focal zoom has been demonstrated on the Nike laser at the Naval Research Laboratory. In the experiment, a 4.4 ns laser pulse was created in which the on-target focal spot diameter was 1.3 mm (full width at half maximum) for the first 2.4 ns and 0.28 mm for the final 2 ns. These two diameters appear in time-integrated focal plane equivalent images taken at several locations in the amplification chain. Eight of the zoomed output beams were overlapped on a 60 μm thick planar polystyrene target. Time resolved images of self-emission from the rear of the target show the separate shocks launched by the two corresponding laser focal diameters.

  15. New advances in focal therapy for early stage prostate cancer.

    PubMed

    Tay, Kae Jack; Schulman, Ariel A; Sze, Christina; Tsivian, Efrat; Polascik, Thomas J

    2017-08-01

    Prostate focal therapy offers men the opportunity to achieve oncological control while preserving sexual and urinary function. The prerequisites for successful focal therapy are to accurately identify, localize and completely ablate the clinically significant cancer(s) within the prostate. We aim to evaluate the evidence for current and upcoming technologies that could shape the future of prostate cancer focal therapy in the next five years. Areas covered: Current literature on advances in patient selection using imaging, biopsy and biomarkers, ablation techniques and adjuvant treatments for focal therapy are summarized. A literature search of major databases was performed using the search terms 'focal therapy', 'focal ablation', 'partial ablation', 'targeted ablation', 'image guided therapy' and 'prostate cancer'. Expert commentary: Advanced radiological tools such as multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI), multiparametric ultrasound (mpUS), prostate-specific-membrane-antigen positron emission tomography (PSMA-PET) represent a revolution in the ability to understand cancer function and biology. Advances in ablative technologies now provide a menu of modalities that can be rationalized based on lesion location, size and perhaps in the near future, pre-determined resistance to therapy. However, these need to be carefully studied to establish their safety and efficacy parameters. Adjuvant strategies to enhance focal ablation are under development.

  16. Implementation of focal zooming on the Nike KrF laser.

    PubMed

    Kehne, D M; Karasik, M; Aglitsky, Y; Smyth, Z; Terrell, S; Weaver, J L; Chan, Y; Lehmberg, R H; Obenschain, S P

    2013-01-01

    In direct drive inertial confinement laser fusion, a pellet containing D-T fuel is imploded by ablation arising from absorption of laser energy at its outer surface. For optimal coupling, the focal spot of the laser would continuously decrease to match the reduction in the pellet's diameter, thereby minimizing wasted energy. A krypton-fluoride laser (λ = 248 nm) that incorporates beam smoothing by induced spatial incoherence has the ability to produce a high quality focal profile whose diameter varies with time, a property known as focal zooming. A two-stage focal zoom has been demonstrated on the Nike laser at the Naval Research Laboratory. In the experiment, a 4.4 ns laser pulse was created in which the on-target focal spot diameter was 1.3 mm (full width at half maximum) for the first 2.4 ns and 0.28 mm for the final 2 ns. These two diameters appear in time-integrated focal plane equivalent images taken at several locations in the amplification chain. Eight of the zoomed output beams were overlapped on a 60 μm thick planar polystyrene target. Time resolved images of self-emission from the rear of the target show the separate shocks launched by the two corresponding laser focal diameters.

  17. Biofilm on dental implants: a review of the literature.

    PubMed

    Subramani, Karthikeyan; Jung, Ronald E; Molenberg, Aart; Hammerle, Christoph H F

    2009-01-01

    The aim of this article was to review the current literature with regard to biofilm formation on dental implants and the influence of surface characteristics (chemistry, surface free energy, and roughness) of dental implant and abutment materials and their design features on biofilm formation and its sequelae. An electronic MEDLINE literature search was conducted of studies published between 1966 and June 2007. The following search terms were used: biofilm and dental implants, biofilm formation/plaque bacterial adhesion and implants, plaque/biofilm and surface characteristics/roughness/surface free energy of titanium dental implants, implant-abutment interface and plaque/biofilm, biofilm and supragingival/subgingival plaque microbiology, biofilm/plaque and implant infection, antibacterial/bacteriostatic titanium, titanium nanocoating/nanopatterning, antimicrobial drug/titanium implant. Both in vitro and in vivo studies were included in this review. Fifty-three articles were identified in this review process. The articles were categorized with respect to their context on biofilm formation on teeth and dental implant surfaces and with regard to the influence of surface characteristics of implant biomaterials (especially titanium) and design features of implant and abutment components on biofilm formation. The current state of literature is more descriptive, rather than providing strong data that could be analyzed through meta-analysis. Basic research articles on surface modification of titanium were also included in the review to analyze the applications of such studies on the fabrication of implant surfaces that could possibly decrease early bacterial colonization and biofilm formation. Increase in surface roughness and surface free energy facilitates biofilm formation on dental implant and abutment surfaces, although this conclusion is derived from largely descriptive literature. Surface chemistry and the design features of the implant-abutment configuration also

  18. Dental hygiene students' part-time jobs in dental practices in the Netherlands.

    PubMed

    Poorterman, J H G; Dikkes, B T; Brand, H S

    2010-05-01

    Many students have paid employment while studying. In the Netherlands, the Individual Health Care Professions Act (IHCP Act) allows dental hygiene students to work under certain conditions in a dental practice. The aim of the study was to determine how many dental hygiene students have part-time job employment in dental practice and which professional tasks they carry out. We also asked the dental hygiene students their opinion of the IHCP Act. All the enrolled dental hygiene students (n = 341) at a School of Health in the Netherlands received a questionnaire by email. The response was 52% (176 students). Of the responding students, 75% had paid employment in addition to their study. A proportion of the students (35%) worked in a dental practice. The median number of hours worked per week was eight. Study year, age and prior education were positively related to working part-time in dental practice. Activities frequently performed were giving oral hygiene instruction, fluoride applications, scaling and root planning, providing chair side assistance and giving local anaesthesia. Although the self-reported knowledge about the IHCP Act was high, almost half of the students expressed the need for more detailed legal information. Many dental hygiene students work in a dental practice, taking over a number of tasks usually performed by the dentist. More information in the dental hygiene curriculum about the requirements of the IHCP Act seems desirable.

  19. Characterization of focal muscle compression under impact loading

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Butler, B. J.; Sory, D. R.; Nguyen, T.-T. N.; Proud, W. G.; Williams, A.; Brown, K. A.

    2017-01-01

    In modern wars over 70% of combat wounds are to the extremities. These injuries are characterized by disruption and contamination of the limb soft tissue envelope. The extent of this tissue trauma and contamination determine the outcome of the extremity injury. In military injury, common post-traumatic complications at amputation sites include heterotopic ossification (formation of bone in soft tissue), and severe soft tissue and bone infections. We are currently developing a model of soft tissue injury that recreates pathologies observed in combat injuries. Here we present characterization of a controlled focal compression of the rabbit flexor carpi ulnaris (FCU) muscle group. The FCU was previously identified as a suitable site for studying impact injury because its muscle belly can easily be mobilized from the underlying bone without disturbing anatomical alignment in the limb. We show how macroscopic changes in tissue organization, as visualized using optical microscopy, can be correlated with data from temporally resolved traces of loading conditions.

  20. Relationships between dental personnel and non-dental primary health care providers in rural and remote Queensland, Australia: dental perspectives.

    PubMed

    Stuart, Jackie; Hoang, Ha; Crocombe, Len; Barnett, Tony

    2017-06-19

    Collaboration between dental practitioners and non-dental primary care providers has the potential to improve oral health care for people in rural and remote communities, where access to oral health services is limited. However, there is limited research on collaboration between these professional disciplines. The purpose of this paper was to explore the relationships between dental practitioners and non-dental primary care providers from rural and remote areas of Queensland and to identify strategies that could improve collaboration between these disciplines from the perspective of dental participants. Semi-structured interviews were conducted between 2013 and 2015 with visiting, local and regional dental practitioners (n = 12) who had provided dental services to patients from eight rural and remote Queensland communities that did not have a resident dentist. Participants were purposely recruited through a snow ball sampling technique. Interview data were analysed using thematic analysis with the assistance of QSR Nvivo v.10. Four major themes emerged from the data: (1) Communication between dental practitioners and rural primary care providers; (2) Relationships between dental and primary care providers; (3) Maintenance of professional dualism; (4) Strategies to improve interprofessional relationships (with subthemes: face to face meetings; utilisation of technology; oral health training for primary care providers; and having a community based oral health contact person). Participants observed that there was a lack of communication between the dental providers who saw patients from these rural communities and the primary care providers who worked in each community. This was attributed to poor communication, the high turnover of staff and the siloed behaviours of some practitioners. Visiting dental practitioners were likely to have stronger professional relationships with hospital nursing, administrative and allied health care staff who were often long term

  1. On dental caries and dental erosion in Swedish young adults.

    PubMed

    Isaksson, Helén

    2013-01-01

    All children in Sweden are entitled to regular, free dental care up to 20 years of age. While dental caries generally continues to decline, still there is a pronounced skewness in caries prevalence. Furthermore, the reported increase in dental erosion in young adults is cause for concern. The aim was to study the prevalence of dental caries and dental erosion in a cohort of Swedish 20 year-olds, with special reference to the influence of previous caries experience and lifestyle as well as parental, socioeconomic and psychosocial factors. The study was prospective, longitudinal and cross-sectional in design and based on registration of caries lesions, dental erosion, body adiposity status, saliva sampling, interviews, and questionnaires at 20 years of age. Data were available for the same cohort at 1, 3, 6 and 15 years of age. 499 subjects (74 percent of the original cohort) were included. Five individuals were subsequently excluded, leaving a final sample of 494. 74 percent of the subjects had initial and/or manifest caries lesions and/or restorations. The mean number of DimFS was 5.8 and the mean number of DmFS on occlusal surfaces of molars was 1.1. There was a strong relationship between caries activity at 3 and 6 years of age and approximal caries prevalence in premolars and molars at 20 years of age. Overweight/obese individuals had significantly higher caries prevalence than normal weight individuals. Parental, socioeconomic and psychosocial factors during infancy were related to approximal caries at age 20. Dental erosion was found in 75 percent of the individuals: 18 percent of these had extensive erosion. There was a significant association between caries and dental erosion. A relationship was found between dental erosion and lifestyle factors and overweight/obesity. There is a strong relationship between caries prevalence at age 20 and caries experience in early childhood. Young adults show a high prevalence of dental erosion, but the severity is

  2. Infraocclusion: Dental development and associated dental variations in singletons and twins.

    PubMed

    Odeh, Ruba; Townsend, Grant; Mihailidis, Suzanna; Lähdesmäki, Raija; Hughes, Toby; Brook, Alan

    2015-09-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of selected dental variations in association with infraocclusion, as well as determining the effects of infraocclusion on dental development and tooth size, in singletons and twins. Two samples were analysed. The first sample comprised 1454 panoramic radiographs of singleton boys and girls aged 8-11 years. The second sample comprised dental models of 202 pairs of monozygotic and dizygotic twins aged 8-11 years. Adobe Photoshop CS5 was used to construct reference lines and measure the extent of infraocclusion (in mm) of primary molars on the panoramic radiographs and on 2D images obtained from the dental models. The panoramic radiographs were examined for the presence of selected dental variations and to assess dental development following the Demirjian and Willems systems. The twins' dental models were measured to assess mesiodistal crown widths. In the singleton sample there was a significant association of canines in an altered position during eruption and the lateral incisor complex (agenesis and/or small tooth size) with infraocclusion (P<0.001), but there was no significant association between infraocclusion and agenesis of premolars. Dental age assessment revealed that dental development was delayed in individuals with infraocclusion compared to controls. The primary mandibular canines were significantly smaller in size in the infraoccluded group (P<0.05). The presence of other dental variations in association with infraocclusion, as well as delayed dental development and reduced tooth size, suggests the presence of a pleiotropic effect. The underlying aetiological factors may be genetic and/or epigenetic. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. 78 FR 2647 - Dental Devices; Reclassification of Blade-Form Endosseous Dental Implant

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-01-14

    .... FDA-2012-N-0677] Dental Devices; Reclassification of Blade-Form Endosseous Dental Implant AGENCY: Food...) is proposing to reclassify the blade- form endosseous dental implant, a preamendments class III... proposing to revise the classification of blade-form endosseous dental implants. DATES: Submit either...

  4. DESI focal plate mechanical integration and cooling

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lambert, A. R.; Besuner, R. W.; Claybaugh, T. M.; Silber, J. H.

    2016-08-01

    The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) is under construction to measure the expansion history of the Universe using the Baryon Acoustic Oscillation technique[1]. The spectra of 40 million galaxies over 14000 sq. deg will be measured during the life of the experiment. A new prime focus corrector for the KPNO Mayall telescope will deliver light to 5000 fiber optic positioners. The fibers in turn feed ten broad-band spectrographs. This paper describes the mechanical integration of the DESI focal plate and the thermal system design. The DESI focal plate is comprised of ten identical petal assemblies. Each petal contains 500 robotic fiber positioners. Each petal is a complete, self-contained unit, independent from the others, with integrated power supply, controllers, fiber routing, and cooling services. The major advantages of this scheme are: (1) supports installation and removal of complete petal assemblies in-situ, without disturbing the others, (2) component production, assembly stations, and test procedures are repeated and parallelizable, (3) a complete, full-scale prototype can be built and tested at an early date, (4) each production petal can be surveyed and tested as a complete unit, prior to integration, from the fiber tip at the focal surface to the fiber slit at the spectrograph. The ten petal assemblies will be installed in a single integration ring, which is mounted to the DESI corrector. The aluminum integration ring attaches to the steel corrector barrel via a flexured steel adapter, isolating the focal plate from differential thermal expansions. The plate scale will be kept stable by conductive cooling of the petal assembly. The guider and wavefront sensors (one per petal) will be convectively cooled by forced flow of air. Heat will be removed from the system at ten liquid-cooled cold plates, one per petal, operating at ambient temperature. The entire focal plate structure is enclosed in an insulating shroud, which serves as a thermal barrier

  5. The Focal Surface of the JEM-EUSO Telescope

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kawasaki, Yoshiya

    2007-01-01

    Extreme Universe Space Observatory onboard JEM/EP (JEM-EUSO) is a space mission to study extremely high-energy cosmic rays. The JEM-EUSO instrument is a wide-angle refractive telescope in near-ultraviolet wavelength region to observe time-resolved atmospheric fluorescence images of the extensive air showers from the International Space Station. The focal surface is a spherical curved surface, and its area amounts to about 4.5 square m. The focal surface detector is covered with about 6,000 multi-anode photomultipliers (MAPMTs). The focal surface detector consists of Photo-Detector-Modules, each of which consists of 9 Elementary Cells (ECs). The EC contains 4 units of the MAPMTs. Therefore, about 1,500 ECs or about 160 PDMS are arranged on the whole of the focal surface of JEM- EUSO. The EC is a basic unit of the front-end electronics. The PDM is a, basic unit of the data acquisition system

  6. Impact of dental anxiety and fear on dental care use in Brazilian women.

    PubMed

    Goettems, Marília Leão; Schuch, Helena Silveira; Demarco, Flávio Fernando; Ardenghi, Thiago Machado; Torriani, Dione Dias

    2014-01-01

    This study investigated the relationship between dental anxiety and fear, demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, and dental attendance patterns in a sample of women in Brazil. A cross-sectional study of women in healthcare centers was conducted during an immunization campaign in the city of Pelotas in southern Brazil. Interviews were conducted to assess dental anxiety and fear, education level, family income, marital status, and the use of dental services. Data were analyzed by Poisson regression models, with estimation of the prevalence ratio and the rate ratio (RR). A total of 608 women aged 16-50 years (mean age 29.3 ± 7.2 years) were included in the study. Dental anxiety and fear scores (according to Corah's Dental Anxiety Scale) ranged from 4 to 20. Of the 608 participants, 59.5 percent displayed low dental fear, 18.1 percent had moderate dental fear, and 22.4 percent displayed high dental fear. A total of 60.2 percent of the women exhibited irregular dental attendance patterns, characterized by never visiting a dentist, or only visiting when experiencing pain. After adjustments, the presence of at least moderate dental anxiety and fear was associated with low education levels (RR 1.43; 95 percent CI 1.11-1.84), low family income (RR 1.33; 95 percent CI 1.06-1.68), and irregular dental attendance patterns (RR 1.83; 95 percent CI 1.41-2.37). In this sample of Brazilian women, dental anxiety and fear were strongly associated with socioeconomic characteristics and dental attendance patterns. © 2014 American Association of Public Health Dentistry.

  7. Creation of a scholars program in dental leadership (SPDL) for dental and dental hygiene students.

    PubMed

    Taichman, Russell S; Green, Thomas G; Polverini, Peter J

    2009-10-01

    There is a great need for leaders in the dental profession. As technological advances make our world smaller and our lives faster and more complex, we as a profession face challenges and opportunities that are evolving. Many of the changes in the scope and mode of practice will require new and different approaches. Meeting these challenges will require changes in how we as dental professionals do business; interact with our patients, other stakeholders, and health care providers; and educate our future colleagues. The purposeful incorporation of leadership education into dental and dental hygiene curricula represents an important departure from existing paradigms-but will help prepare our students to address these challenges. This article provides an overview of the development of a Scholars Program in Dental Leadership (SPDL) at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry. Our aim for the program is to create a learning environment that fosters leadership development, so that students are prepared and motivated to assume leadership positions in the profession and their communities.

  8. Variable focal length deformable mirror

    DOEpatents

    Headley, Daniel [Albuquerque, NM; Ramsey, Marc [Albuquerque, NM; Schwarz, Jens [Albuquerque, NM

    2007-06-12

    A variable focal length deformable mirror has an inner ring and an outer ring that simply support and push axially on opposite sides of a mirror plate. The resulting variable clamping force deforms the mirror plate to provide a parabolic mirror shape. The rings are parallel planar sections of a single paraboloid and can provide an on-axis focus, if the rings are circular, or an off-axis focus, if the rings are elliptical. The focal length of the deformable mirror can be varied by changing the variable clamping force. The deformable mirror can generally be used in any application requiring the focusing or defocusing of light, including with both coherent and incoherent light sources.

  9. Association Between Dentist-Dental Hygienist Communication and Dental Treatment Outcomes.

    PubMed

    Hamasaki, Tomoko; Kato, Hiroaki; Kumagai, Takashi; Hagihara, Akihito

    2017-03-01

    Communication between physician and patient is critical in all fields of medicine, and various types of communication exist in healthcare settings. Cooperation among healthcare professionals is thought to be essential in providing high-quality services. Dental hygienists are key team members in the provision of dental care, and are known to play an important role in the health of their patients. This study aimed to determine the effect of communication between dentists and hygienists on patient satisfaction. Study subjects were dentists, patients, and dental hygienists, and we examined how dentist-dental hygienist communication affected patient outcome indices. A significant difference was observed only for satisfaction in terms of meeting expectations (p = 0.035). Results for patient satisfaction indicated significant differences in explanatory behavior in dentist-dental hygienist evaluations (p = 0.001). The results showed improved health and reduced fear, indicating significant differences for the dentist-dental hygienist evaluations in explanation behavior (p = 0.016). Our evaluation of the effects of dentist-dental hygienist communication on patient outcomes indicated a significant correlation, suggesting that inter-professional communication in the field of dentistry affects patient satisfaction.

  10. Dental hygienists in Korea.

    PubMed

    Kim, S-H

    2003-05-01

    The purpose of this paper is to give basic information about the status of dental hygienists in Korea. This paper examines the changing process of the dental hygiene education system in Korea, from its start in 1965 until the present, 2003, the composition of dental personnel in Korea, the specialised areas and roles of dental hygienists after they receive their licenses, employment of dental hygienists, dental hygiene-related organisations, and the status and direction of dental hygienists in Korea. This paper shows the organisational, educational, governmental and individual efforts to increase the level of professionalism, education and quality of care delivered to Korean citizens nationwide.

  11. Prevalence of Dental Fear and Anxiety amongst Patients in Selected Dental Clinics in Ghana

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ofori, Marian A.; Adu-Ababio, F.; Nyako, E. A.; Ndanu, Tom A.

    2009-01-01

    Objective: To find out the prevalence of dental anxiety and fear amongst patients in various selected dental clinics in Accra, Ghana. Study design: Dental patients (n = 279) who had either been exposed to dental treatments or had no prior dental exposure, attending four selected dental clinics in Accra were randomly sampled. They were interviewed…

  12. Contemporary dental practice in the UK: demographic data and practising arrangements.

    PubMed

    Burke, F J T; Wilson, N H F; Christensen, G J; Cheung, S W; Brunton, P A

    2005-01-08

    To investigate, by questionnaire, various aspects of primary dental care provision in the North West of England and Scotland. A questionnaire containing 79 questions was sent to 1,000 practitioners, selected at random, in the North West of England and Scotland. Non-responders were sent another questionnaire after a period of 4 weeks had elapsed. Overall a response rate of 70% was achieved. The majority of practitioners were practice principals (65%), working in a group NHS practice (80%) located in a city or town centre (49%). On average 10-20 patients were treated each session with fewer patients treated per session under private arrangements. Many practitioners were found to lack hygienist support (44%) and to employ unqualified dental nurses (82%). Younger practitioners were more likely than senior colleagues to have access to up-to-date computers whilst 37% and 74% of respondents never used CAL programmes or magnification respectively. Contemporary cross-infection control standards were used by the majority of practitioners, although 3% of practitioners reported only autoclaving their handpiece once a day. The majority of practitioners, involved in this study, worked under National Health Service (NHS) regulations as principals in a group practice where the workload was greater than the private/independent sector. Contemporary cross-infection procedures were used routinely. In contrast computer-aided learning programmes and magnification were not used routinely. The practitioners in this study employed significant numbers of unqualified dental nurses.

  13. Dental laboratory communication regarding removable dental prosthesis design in the UAE.

    PubMed

    Haj-Ali, Reem; Al Quran, Firas; Adel, Omar

    2012-07-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine the methods dental practitioners in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) use to communicate cast removable dental prosthesis (RDP) design to dental laboratories; identify common practices taken by dentists/dental technicians prior to fabrication of RDP framework; and seek out dental technicians' attitudes toward their role in RDP design decisions. All dental laboratories (n = 28) listed in a local telephone directory were invited to complete a questionnaire through a face-to-face interview. They were also requested to examine RDP cases fabricated in the past 2 months and identify steps taken by dentists/dental technicians prior to fabrication of the framework. Descriptive statistics were used to report frequencies and percentages. Twenty-one (75%) dental laboratories agreed to participate, out of which 19 had the facilities to fabricate chrome-cobalt RDPs. Cast RDPs comprised approximately 4.04% (±2.67) of services provided. A reported 84.2% of dentists frequently communicate through generic lab script, with 89.5% rarely/never giving details regarding RDP design. While 52.6% of labs agree/strongly agree that it is the dentist's responsibility to decide the final RDP design, 94.7% agree/strongly agree that dentists should depend on dental technicians for design-making decisions. A total of 19 RDP cases were reviewed. All 19 were surveyed and designed by dental technicians but received dentist approval of design prior to fabrication. Thirteen (68.4%) had rest-seat preparations done by dentists after approval, and new impressions sent to the lab. No other tooth modifications were noted. The responsibility of RDP design appeared to be largely delegated to dental technicians. Importance of tooth modifications seemed to be undervalued and not completed prior to framework fabrication. © 2012 by the American College of Prosthodontists.

  14. In vivo near-IR imaging of approximal dental decay at 1,310 nm.

    PubMed

    Staninec, Michal; Lee, Chulsung; Darling, Cynthia L; Fried, Daniel

    2010-04-01

    The high transparency of dental enamel in the near-IR (NIR) light at 1,310-nm can be exploited for imaging dental caries without the use of ionizing radiation (X-rays). We present the results of the first in vivo imaging study in which NIR images were acquired of approximal contact surfaces. NIR imaging hand-pieces were developed and attached to a compact InGaAs focal plane array and subsequently used to acquire in vivo NIR images of 33 caries lesions on 18 test subjects. The carious lesions were discernible on bitewing radiographs, but were not visible upon clinical examination. NIR images were acquired in vivo from three directions and the majority of lesions examined were too small to require restoration, based on accepted bitewing radiograph criteria. All but one of the 33 lesions examined were successfully imaged from at least one direction. This first in vivo study of imaging at the 1,310-nm wavelength region shows that NIR imaging has great potential as a screening tool for the detection of approximal lesions without the use of ionizing radiation. (c) 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  15. Referring periodontal patients: clinical decision making by dental and dental hygiene students.

    PubMed

    Williams, Karen B; Burgardt, Grayson J; Rapley, John W; Bray, Kimberly K; Cobb, Charles M

    2014-03-01

    Referral of periodontal patients requires development of a complex set of decision making skills. This study was conducted to determine criteria used by dental and dental hygiene students regarding the referral of periodontal patients for specialty care. Using mixed methods, a thirteen-item survey was developed to elicit the students' perceptions of their knowledge, confidence regarding managing patients, and clinical reasoning related to periodontal patients. The instrument was administered during the summer prior to (T1) and at the end of the students' final year (T2) of training. Seventy-nine dental students (81 percent of total class) and thirty dental hygiene students (83 percent of total class) completed T1. At T2, forty-two dental (44 percent of total class) and twenty-six dental hygiene students (87 percent of total class) completed the questionnaire. While 90 percent of dental and 96 percent of dental hygiene respondents reported a willingness to refer patients with active disease to specialists, only 40 percent of dental and 36 percent of dental hygiene respondents reported confidence in diagnosing, treating, and appropriately referring such patients. The students' ability to recognize critical disease and risk factors influencing referral was good; however, clinical application of that knowledge indicated a gap between knowledge and applied reasoning. The students' attitudes about the importance of periodontal disease and their perceived competence to identify critical disease risk factors were not significantly related (p>0.05) to correct clinical decisions in the case scenarios. The study concludes that dental and dental hygiene curricula should emphasize both the acquisition and application of knowledge regarding criteria for referral of periodontal patients.

  16. Focal cemento-osseous dysplasia: review and a case report.

    PubMed

    Salem, Y M Y; Osman, Y I; Norval, E J G

    2010-10-01

    Focal cemento-osseous dysplasia is a benign fibro-osseous condition that can be seen in dentate and edentulous patients. It is an asymptomatic lesion and needs no treatment; however follow-up is essential due to the possibility that focal cemento-osseous dysplasia can progress to a condition called florid osseous dysplasia that involves multiple sites. A case report is presented here, along with a review of the differential diagnoses considered in order to reach a final diagnosis of focal cemento-osseous dysplasia.

  17. Factors for Increasing Adoption of E-Courses Among Dental and Dental Hygiene Faculty Members

    PubMed Central

    DeBate, Rita D.; Cragun, Deborah; Severson, Herbert H.; Shaw, Tracy; Christiansen, Steve; Koerber, Anne; Tomar, Scott; Brown, Kelli McCormack; Tedesco, Lisa A.; Hendricson, William

    2011-01-01

    The incorporation of web-based learning into the dental curriculum has been consistently recommended in the literature on reform in dental education. There has been growing support for web-based learning in dental and dental hygiene education as demonstrated by deans’ identifying this as a planned curricular innovation. The purpose of our study was to explore characteristics of e-courses that may serve to increase adoption among dental and dental hygiene faculty members. Eight ninety-minute focus groups (three dental; five dental hygiene) were conducted with dental (n=27) and dental hygiene (n=23) faculty members from six academic institutions. The resulting data were analyzed to identify two overarching themes and associated subthemes with regard to benefits and barriers influencing adoption of e-courses. A working conceptual framework, based on the Diffusion of Innovations, was developed from these themes to understand the characteristics that may influence the rate of adoption of e-courses among dental and dental hygiene faculty members. Analysis of the data revealed four main adoption barriers: 1) low perceived relative advantage to faculty members; 2) low compatibility with current curriculum; 3) high perceived time commitment; and 4) complexity of e-course development. This exploratory assessment identifies leverage points for facilitating the adoption and sustainability of e-courses in dental and dental hygiene education. PMID:21546592

  18. Organisational aspects of dental practices: do dental students think like patients or like general dental practitioners?

    PubMed

    Sonneveld, R E; Brands, W G; Bronkhorst, E M; Welie, J V M; Truin, G J

    2013-02-01

    In view of transparency in health care, the widespread desire for more patient-centred care, and in an attempt to facilitate educational programmes that effectively respond to these changes, two research questions are formulated: (i) How do dental students rate the importance of various organisational aspects of dental practices compared with dental patients and general dental practitioners (GDPs), and what prescripts, defined as specific operational responsibilities of GDPs in these matters, do dental students propose? and (ii) In doing so, do students resemble patients or GDPs? In two survey studies, dental students (n = 198), patients (n = 3127) and GDPs (n = 303) were asked to rate by questionnaire the importance of 41 organisational aspects of a general dental practice and proposed specific operational responsibilities ('prescripts'). Seven of 41 aspects were rated as important by the majority of the students. Although in a different rank order, three aspects were predominantly selected by all three groups: continuing education, accessibility by telephone and Dutch-speaking GDP. For most aspects, significant differences were found between the prescripts proposed by students and those proposed by patients, and few differences were found between students and GDPs. The findings do not permit the general conclusion that the views of dental students resemble those of patients or GPDs. Looking at the overall rank order, the three respondent groups showed a great resemblance although significant differences were found for specific aspects. With regard to the proposed prescripts, students showed realistic views and the majority wants to participate in continuing education and work with protocols and guidelines. In this, they tend to resemble GDPs more than they resemble patients. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

  19. U.S. Dental School Deans’ Perceptions of the Rising Cost of Dental Education and Borrowing Pressures on Dental Students: Report of Survey Results.

    PubMed

    McAllister, Dora Elías; Garrison, Gwen E; Feldman, Cecile A; Anderson, Eugene L; Cook, Bryan J; Valachovic, Richard W

    2015-06-01

    This report presents findings from a survey of U.S. dental school deans designed to capture their perceptions regarding the rising cost of dental education and its impact on borrowing by dental students to finance their education. The survey included questions about factors influencing the cost of dental education, concerns about dental student borrowing, and financial awareness resources for students. The survey was distributed to the deans of all 63 U.S. dental schools in January 2013; 42 deans responded, for a 67% response rate. The results indicate that, according to the responding deans, new clinical technologies, technology costs, and central university taxes are the main factors that contribute to the increasing cost of dental education. Coupled with reduced state appropriations at public dental schools and declines in private giving at all dental schools, dental school deans face a perplexing set of financial management challenges. Tuition and fees are a primary source of revenue for all dental schools; however, many deans do not have total control over the cost of attending their schools since tuition and fees are often tied to mandates and policies from the parent university and the state legislature. The findings of this study indicate that U.S. dental school deans are aware of and concerned about the impact of increases in tuition and fees on dental student debt and that they are using a variety of strategies to address the growth in dental student borrowing.

  20. Barriers and Drawbacks of the Assessment of Dental Fear, Dental Anxiety and Dental Phobia in Children: A Critical Literature Review.

    PubMed

    Asl, Aminabadi Naser; Shokravi, Marzieh; Jamali, Zahra; Shirazi, Sajjad

    Dental anxiety, fear and phobia have different etiology, response patterns, time courses, and intensities that justify a clear distinction between these constructs. Differentiation of dental anxiety, fear or phobia in practice is a critical prerequisite for developing and implementing effective treatment for children. The aim of this study was to investigate whether current researches in the pediatric dentistry appropriately discriminate the central construct of dental anxiety, fear and phobia. We also highlighted the specific methodological issues in the assessment of these issues in pediatric dentistry. A systematic search was conducted in Pubmed/medline and Scopus for articles which assessed dental anxiety, fear or phobia in children. 104 research papers were included in the review that had made a distinction between dental anxiety, fear and phobia and had not used them interchangeably. Only five studies used different clinical measures or cut-offs to discriminate between dental anxiety, fear and phobia. The dental literature appears unable to capture and also measure the multi-sided construct of dental anxiety, fear and phobia and, therefore, there was a tendency to use them interchangeably.

  1. Knowledge and attitude of dental trauma among dental students in Saudi Arabia

    PubMed Central

    Al-Shamiri, Hashem Motahir; Alaizari, Nader Ahmed; Al-Maweri, Sadeq Ali; Tarakji, Bassel

    2015-01-01

    Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the level of knowledge and attitude of Saudi dental students in the management of dental trauma in children. Materials and Methods: A self-administered questionnaire comprising 17 close-ended questions was used in this survey. The questions were divided into three parts including: Personal and professional profile; knowledge assessment; attitude toward dental trauma. Data of 307 respondents were analyzed using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Studies) version 22.0 (IBM Corporation, Chicago, IL, USA). Results: The response rate was 76.8%. Around 40.3% of students reported attending additional courses about dental trauma with a significant difference between males (57.2%) and females (19.4%). The vast majority of students (95.7%) stressed the importance of dental trauma education. While 77% could correctly identify the media of transportation of an avulsed tooth, only 26.9% of the students knew the proper method of transportation. Regarding the knowledge of immediate replantation, only 67.5% of students responded correctly. Conclusion: The present study demonstrates an insufficient knowledge concerning dental trauma management among dental students in Saudi Arabia. This highlights the need to improve the knowledge of dental students regarding dental trauma and its management using a variety of educational methods such as problem-based learning and powering the curriculum concerning those topics of dental trauma. PMID:26929690

  2. [Collapsing variant of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis by parvovirus B19: case report].

    PubMed

    Freitas, Geraldo Rubens Ramos de; Praxedes, Marcel Rodrigues Gurgel; Malheiros, Denise; Testagrossa, Leonardo; Dias, Cristiane Bitencourt; Woronik, Viktoria

    2015-01-01

    To describe the clinical and laboratory profile of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) of the collapsing subtype in association with infection by parvovirus B19 (PVB19). Female patient, 37 years old, mulatto, developed pharyngalgia and fever with partial improvement after penicillin. After one week we observed reduced urinary output and lower limb edema. Smoker, family and personal history negative for hypertension, diabetes or kidney disease. Patient presented with olyguria, hypertension and edema, also hypochromic microcytic hypoproliferative anemia, nephritic range proteinuria, microscopic hematuria and renal dysfunction. All rheumatologic investigation, HIV and hepatitis serology were negative. Unremarkable renal ultrasound. PCR positive for PVB19 in bone marrow aspirate and blood and renal biopsy conclusive of collapsing FSGS subtype. Spontaneous remission occurred within two weeks of the profile. The blood PVB19 PCR was repeated within a month and resulted negative. This finding demonstrated PVB19 acute infection or viral reactivation in association with collapsing FSGS. There is demonstrated the temporal association of PVB19 viremia and collapsing FSGS, due primary infection or viral reactivation. The association of collapsing FSGS and PVB19 is described in the literature, demonstrating virus presence in kidney tissue, but the real relationship of virus in the pathogenesis of this glomerulopathy remains unclear.

  3. Parasitic infections in HIV infected individuals: Diagnostic & therapeutic challenges

    PubMed Central

    Nissapatorn, Veeranoot; Sawangjaroen, Nongyao

    2011-01-01

    After 30 years of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic, parasites have been one of the most common opportunistic infections (OIs) and one of the most frequent causes of morbidity and mortality associated with HIV-infected patients. Due to severe immunosuppression, enteric parasitic pathogens in general are emerging and are OIs capable of causing diarrhoeal disease associated with HIV. Of these, Cryptosporidium parvum and Isospora belli are the two most common intestinal protozoan parasites and pose a public health problem in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients. These are the only two enteric protozoan parasites that remain in the case definition of AIDS till today. Leismaniasis, strongyloidiasis and toxoplasmosis are the three main opportunistic causes of systemic involvements reported in HIV-infected patients. Of these, toxoplasmosis is the most important parasitic infection associated with the central nervous system. Due to its complexity in nature, toxoplasmosis is the only parasitic disease capable of not only causing focal but also disseminated forms and it has been included in AIDS-defining illnesses (ADI) ever since. With the introduction of highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART), cryptosporidiosis, leishmaniasis, schistosomiasis, strongyloidiasis, and toxoplasmosis are among parasitic diseases reported in association with immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS). This review addresses various aspects of parasitic infections in term of clinical, diagnostic and therapeutic challenges associated with HIV-infection. PMID:22310820

  4. Bulimia and Anorexia Nervosa in Dental and Dental Hygiene Curricula.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gross, Karen B. W.; And Others

    1990-01-01

    Dentists and dental hygienists are in a unique position to identify an eating disorder patient from observed oral manifestations and to refer the patient for psychological therapy. The inclusion of information on general and oral complications of bulimia and anorexia nervosa in dental and dental hygiene curriculum was examined. (MLW)

  5. Collaboration between dental faculties and National Dental Associations (NDAs) within the World Dental Federation-European Regional Organization zone: an NDAs perspective.

    PubMed

    Yamalik, Nermin; Mersel, Alex; Cavalle, Edoardo; Margvelashvili, Vladimer

    2011-12-01

    Although improvements in certain oral health measures have been achieved, many global oral health matters and challenges exist. Collaborations and partnerships among various institutions are crucial in solving such problems. The main aim of the present study was to analyse the nature and extent of the partnership between dental faculties and National Dental Associations (NDAs). A questionnaire was developed, focusing on the relationship between NDAs and dental faculties within the World Dental Federation-European Regional Organization (FDI-ERO) zone with regard to major professional activities, such as dental education (both undergraduate and continuing education), workforce issues, improvement of national oral health, and science and knowledge transfer. The questionnaire was sent to all member NDAs within the ERO zone. The response rate was 21/41 (53.65%). The major activities in which NDAs were found to be involved were improvement of national oral health (100%), followed by continuing education activities (90%), whereas the activity which received least involvement was the development of an undergraduate dental curriculum (52%). The NDAs perceived their relationship with dental faculties to be quite satisfactory in the fields of continuing education, science and knowledge transfer, and the implementation of new technologies into daily dental practice. However, it was suggested that their relationship needed significant improvement with regard to the development of an undergraduate dental education curriculum, dental workforce issues and negotiations with the authorities regarding professional matters/issues. As the two important elements of organised dentistry, NDAs and dental faculties have a significant role to play in the improvement of oral health and in finding solutions to global oral health challenges; therefore, their collaboration and partnership are crucial for this purpose. On the basis of the perceptions of NDAs regarding their relationship with

  6. Factors associated with comprehensive dental care following an initial emergency dental visit.

    PubMed

    Johnson, Jeffrey T; Turner, Erwin G; Novak, Karen F; Kaplan, Alan L

    2005-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to characterize the patient population utilization of a dental home as grouped by: (1) age; (2) sex; and (3) payment method. A retrospective chart review of 1,020 patients, who initially presented for an emergency visit, was performed. From the original data pool, 2 groups were delineated: (1) those patients who returned for comprehensive dental care; and (2) those who did not return for comprehensive dental care. Patients with private dental insurance or Medicaid dental benefits were statistically more likely to return for comprehensive oral health care than those with no form of dental insurance. Younger patients (< or =3 years of age) were least likely to return for comprehensive dental care. Socioeconomic factors play a crucial role in care-seeking behaviors. These obstacles are often a barrier to preventive and comprehensive oral health care.

  7. A Mid-Level Dental Provider in Oregon: Dental hygienists' perceptions.

    PubMed

    Coplen, Amy E; Bell, Kathryn; Aamodt, Gail L; Ironside, Lynn

    2017-10-01

    Purpose: Many states are exploring alternative provider models and examining the role of the dental hygienist to address access to care challenges as the United States continues to face increasing demands for oral healthcare services. The purpose of this study was to assess dental hygienists' opinions in the state of Oregon regarding the current limitations of dental hygienists' scope of practice, perceived need for a mid-level provider in Oregon, and personal interest in becoming a mid-level provider. Methods: In December 2013 a survey was mailed to a sample of 1,231 dental hygienists registered in Oregon representing 30% of the licentiates. All licentiates holding expanded practice permits (EPP) were included in the sample (n=351). The following categories were included in the 32-question survey: scope of practice, mid-level provider, current practice, and demographics. Results: A total of 440 surveys were returned for a response rate of 36%. Of the EPP holders, 51% responded to the survey. Over half of respondents (59%) believe that a mid-level provider is needed in the state. Respondents holding membership in the American Dental Hygienists' Association, as well as EPP holders, were significantly more likely to respond that a mid-level dental provider was needed in the state (p<0.0001). Ninety-one percent (n=400) of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that if a mid-level provider was introduced in Oregon, the new provider should be a registered dental hygienist model. Forty-three percent (n=186) of respondents were interested in becoming mid-level providers and 47% (n=203) of respondents believed that the minimum education for a mid-level provider should be a bachelor's degree. The majority, 74% (n=137), of those interested in becoming a mid-level provider indicated a preference in completing their education through online teaching combined with a clinical internship. Conclusion: There is strong support from dental hygienists in Oregon that a need exists for a

  8. General dental practitioner's views on dental general anaesthesia services.

    PubMed

    Threlfall, A G; King, D; Milsom, K M; Blinkhom, A S; Tickle, M

    2007-06-01

    Policy has recently changed on provision of dental general anaesthetic services in England. The aim of this study was to investigate general dental practitioners' views about dental general anaesthetics, the reduction in its availability and the impact on care of children with toothache. Qualitative study using semi-structured interviews and clinical case scenarios. General dental practitioners providing NHS services in the North West of England. 93 general dental practitioners were interviewed and 91 answered a clinical case scenario about the care they would provide for a 7-year-old child with multiple decayed teeth presenting with toothache. Scenario responses showed variation; 8% would immediately refer for general anaesthesia, 25% would initially prescribe antibiotics, but the majority would attempt to either restore or extract the tooth causing pain. Interview responses also demonstrated variation in care, however most dentists agree general anaesthesia has a role for nervous children but only refer as a last resort. The responses indicated an increase in inequalities, and that access to services did not match population needs, leaving some children waiting in pain. Most general dental practitioners support moving dental general anaesthesia into hospitals but some believe that it has widened health inequalities and there is also a problem associated with variation in treatment provision. Additional general anaesthetic services in some areas with high levels of tooth decay are needed and evidence based guidelines about caring for children with toothache are required.

  9. Infrared fiber optic focal plane dispersers

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Goebel, J. H.

    1981-01-01

    Far infrared transmissive fiber optics as a component in the design of integrated far infrared focal plane array utilization is discussed. A tightly packed bundle of fibers is placed at the focal plane, where an array of infrared detectors would normally reside, and then fanned out in two or three dimensions to individual detectors. Subsequently, the detectors are multiplexed by cryogenic electronics for relay of the data. A second possible application is frequency up-conversion (v sub 1 + v sub 2 = v sub 3), which takes advantage of the nonlinear optical index of refraction of certain infrared transmissive materials in fiber form. Again, a fiber bundle is utilized as above, but now a laser of frequency v sub 1 is mixed with the incoming radiation of frequency v sub 1 within the nonlinear fiber material. The sum, v sub 2 is then detected by near infrared or visible detectors which are more sensitive than those available at v sub 2. Due to the geometrical size limitations of detectors such as photomultipliers, the focal plane dispersal technique is advantageous for imaging up-conversion.

  10. Disparities in unmet dental need and dental care received by pregnant women in Maryland.

    PubMed

    Singhal, Astha; Chattopadhyay, Amit; Garcia, A Isabel; Adams, Amy B; Cheng, Diana

    2014-09-01

    To examine prenatal dental care needs, utilization and oral health counseling among Maryland women who delivered a live infant during 2001-2003 and identify the factors associated with having a dental visit and having an unmet dental need during pregnancy. Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System is an ongoing population based surveillance system that collects information of women's attitudes and experiences before, during, and shortly after pregnancy. Logistic regression was used to model dental visits and unmet dental need using predictor variables for Maryland 2001-2003 births. Less than half of all women reported having a dental visit and receiving oral health advice during pregnancy. Twenty-five percent of women reported a need for dental care, of which 33 % did not receive dental care despite their perceived need. Multivariate modeling revealed that racial minorities, women who were not married and those with annual income <$40,000 were least likely to have a dental visit. Women who were not married, had low annual income, were older than 40 years of age, had an unintended pregnancy and received prenatal care later than desired were most likely to have an unmet dental need during pregnancy. Despite reported needs and existing recommendations to include oral health as a component of prenatal care, less than half of pregnant women have a dental visit during their pregnancy. One-third of women with a dental problem did not have a dental visit highlighting the unmet need for dental care during pregnancy.

  11. Child dental anxiety, parental rearing style and dental history reported by parents.

    PubMed

    Krikken, J B; Vanwijk, A J; Tencate, J M; Veerkamp, J S

    2013-12-01

    To examine the relationship between self-reported parental rearing style, parent's assessment of their child's dental anxiety and the dental history of children. Parents of primary school children were asked to complete questionnaires about their parenting style, using four different questionnaires. Parents also completed the Child Fear Survey Schedule Dental Subscale (CFSS-DS) on behalf of their child and a questionnaire about the dental history of their child. 454 interview forms were available for analysis. Minor associations were found between dental anxiety and parenting style. Anxious parents were more permissive and less restrictive in their parenting style. Parents of children who did not visit their dentist for regular check-ups reported more laxness and less restrictiveness. Children who had a cavity at the time of investigation, children who had suffered from toothache in the past and children who did not have a nice and friendly dentist reported more dental anxiety. No clear associations between parenting style and dental anxiety were found. Known causes of dental anxiety were confirmed.

  12. Federal role in dental public health: dental care for special populations.

    PubMed

    Reifel, Nancy

    2005-07-01

    California is home to more than 70 dental clinics operated or funded by the U.S. government. They operate on annual appropriations from Congress to serve a specific population and regulations that specify the type of dental services provided are usually promulgated at the national level. Dental clinics have the challenge of creating a program that delivers high-quality care within these financial and programmatic constraints. In California, U.S. government appropriations are the main source of funding dental clinics of immigration services, the Veterans Administration, the Bureau of Prisons, the Coast Guard, and American Indian clinics. The evolution and current practices of these five dental public health programs are described.

  13. [Men who have sex with men and human immunodeficiency virus testing in dental practice].

    PubMed

    Elizondo, Jesús Eduardo; Treviño, Ana Cecilia; Violant, Deborah; Rivas-Estilla, Ana María; Álvarez, Mario Moisés

    To explore the attitudes of men who have sex with men (MSM) towards the implementation of rapid HIV-1/2 testing in the dental practice, and to evaluate MSM's perceptions of stigma and discrimination related to sexual orientation by dental care professionals. Cross-sectional study using a self-administered, anonymous, structured analytical questionnaire answered by 185 MSM in Mexico. The survey included sociodemographic variables, MSM's perceptions towards public and private dental providers, and dental services, as well as their perception towards rapid HIV-1/2 testing in the dental practice. In addition, the perception of stigma and discrimination associated with their sexual orientation was explored by designing a psychometric Likert-type scale. The statistical analysis included factor analysis and non-hierarchical cluster analysis. 86.5% of the respondents expressed their willingness to take a rapid HIV-1/2 screening test during their dental visit. Nevertheless, 91.9% of them considered it important that dental professionals must be well-trained before administering any rapid HIV-1/2 tests. Factor analysis revealed two factors: experiences of sexual orientation stigma and discrimination in dental settings, and feelings of concern about the attitude of the dentist and dental staff towards their sexual orientation. Based on these factors and cluster analysis, three user profiles were identified: users who have not experienced stigma and discrimination (90.3%); users who have not experienced stigma and discrimination, but feel a slight concern (8.1%), and users who have experienced some form of discrimination and feel concern (1.6%). The dental practice may represent a potential location for rapid HIV-1/2 testing contributing to early HIV infection diagnosis. Copyright © 2017 SESPAS. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  14. INCIDENCE OF HELICOBACTER PYLORI IN DENTAL PLAQUE OF SAUDI GASTRITIS PATIENTS

    PubMed Central

    Al-Refai, Abdel-Nasser M.; Fathalla, Sami E.; Nagamani, Rambhala; Al-Momen, Sami

    2002-01-01

    Background: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) was identified in dental plaque, raising the possibility of future gastritis and peptic ulceration. Objective: This trial was to study the association between presence of H. pylori in dental plaque and in the stomachs of patients with gastritis; the effect of oral hygiene and periodontal condition on the stomach. Patients and Methods: Seventy-five Saudi adult dyspeptic patients, together with 60 healthy persons as control. Two samples of dental plaque were taken from gingival crevice of deepest pocket. One sample was kept in Christensen's urea agar and incubated for H. pylori detection by rapid urease test. The second sample was kept in 5% sheep blood agar, chocolate agar and a selective medium to culture the H. pylori. Gastric urease test was done for the same patients. Results: (1) Plaque urease test results showed 89% positive patients. (2) Dental plaque Index:- Mild dental plaque accumulation in 24%, moderate in 41%, while severe accumulation was in 35% of the patients. (3) Gingival Index: Showed mild, moderate and severe gingivitis in 17%, 48% and 35% of patients, respectively. (4) Community periodontal index of treatment needs (CPITN): Showed gingivitis, mild periodontitis and moderate periodontitis in 50%, 23% and 27% of patients, respectively. (5)Gastric urease results: 87% of patients were positive. (6)All cultured samples results were negative Conclusion: The ability to detect H. pylori in dental plaque samples offers a potential for a noninvasive test for gastric infection and would lend support for oral spread of H. pylori as the princi-pal mode of transmission. However, the presence of H. pylori in dental plaque and in the stomach (in gastritis patients) could permit not only a target for therapeutic procedures but also a monitor-ing tool for the efficacy of therapy. PMID:23008669

  15. A Comparison of In-service Teaching Methods on Clinical Aspesis for Dental Personnel.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fotos, Pete G.; And Others

    1990-01-01

    Results of a study with dental assistants and hygienists, clinic clerks, supply and sterilization personnel, receptionists, and housekeeping and secretarial staff (n=80) suggest that inservice training programs on infection control and clinical asepsis procedures may be better accomplished by practical demonstration than by lecture or seminar.…

  16. Adult Dental Trauma: What Should the Dental Practitioner Know?

    PubMed

    Chauhan, Ravi; Rasaratnam, Lakshmi; Alani, Aws; Djemal, Serpil

    2016-05-01

    The management of adult dental trauma can be a daunting challenge for practitioners at any level. Like medical emergencies, initial management can have a large influence on prognosis. It is important that practitioners understand the basic principles of managing the acute presentations of dental trauma. This article aims to illustrate a step-by-step approach in order to improve the management within general dental practice for better outcomes for patients.

  17. Psychophysiological reactivity of currently dental phobic-, remitted dental phobic- and never-dental phobic individuals during exposure to dental-related and other affect-inducing materials.

    PubMed

    Wannemueller, André; Adolph, Dirk; Joehren, Hans-Peter; Blackwell, Simon E; Margraf, Jürgen

    2017-03-01

    Psychophysiological responses indicating the preparation of defensive behaviour, such as heart rate (HR)-increase and startle-response (SR) potentiation, have often been reported amongst individuals suffering from phobic disorders when exposed to phobia-related information. Although exposure is widely considered the 'gold standard' for treatment of Specific Phobia, it is unclear to what extent psychophysiological defensive response patterns change following treatment, and whether any changes are maintained. We assessed the acoustic SR- and HR-response to neutral, positive, negative and phobia-related pictures and sounds in 41 individuals currently suffering from dental phobia, 22 formerly dental phobic individuals who had remitted following an exposure-based treatment eight months prior to assessment, and 29 control individuals with no history of dental phobia. We observed SR-potentiation to dental-related stimuli in controls combined with HR-deceleration. In contrast, amongst phobic individuals SR-potentiation was accompanied by HR-acceleration to dental pictures. Successfully treated individuals showed inhibited startle reactivity in combination with HR-deceleration to dental related materials of both modalities. Our findings suggest inappropriate fight-flight preparation amongst individuals with dental phobia, reflecting overactivation of the defensive system. However, successful treatment results in inhibited physiological defence preparation, with remitted individuals displaying a response pattern that differed from that of phobic individuals and controls. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Gender differences in first-year dental students' motivation to attend dental school.

    PubMed

    Scarbecz, Mark; Ross, Judith A

    2002-08-01

    Women's role in the field of dentistry has historically been limited to the dental auxiliary fields, rather than that of D.D.S. or D.M.D. Today, women are nearly 38 percent of U.S. dental school students and 14 percent of active practitioners. The slow(er) influx of women into dentistry has been little studied by dental educators. During the 2000-01 academic year, we conducted a survey of first-year dental students at a sample of publicly funded U.S. dental schools. The purpose of the survey was to assess gender differences in motives for pursuing a dental career. The data show that male dental students rate self-employment and business-related motives as more important, while female dental students rate people-oriented motives more highly. Factor analysis revealed four distinct clusters of motives for pursuing a dental career: a financial motive, a business-oriented motive, a people-oriented or caring motive, and a flexibility motive. Women scored significantly higher than men on the caring factor, whereas the reverse was true on the business factor. Male and female students rated financial and flexibility motives equally. The implications of the results for attracting students to the profession of dentistry are discussed.

  19. Middle East respiratory syndrome in children. Dental considerations.

    PubMed

    Al-Sehaibany, Fares S

    2017-04-01

    As of January 2016, 1,633 laboratory-confirmed cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection and 587 MERS-related deaths have been reported by the World Health Organization globally. Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus  may occur sporadically in communities or may be transmitted within families or hospitals. The number of confirmed MERS-CoV cases among healthcare workers has been increasing. Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus may also spread through aerosols generated during various dental treatments, resulting in transmission between patients and dentists. As MERS-CoV cases have also been reported among children, pediatric dentists are at risk of MERS-CoV infection. This review discusses MERS-CoV infection in children and healthcare workers, especially pediatric dentists, and considerations pertaining to pediatric dentistry. Although no cases of MERS-CoV transmission between a patient and a dentist have yet been reported, the risk of MERS-CoV transmission from an infected patient may be high due to the unique work environment of dentists (aerosol generation).

  20. Outcome of epilepsy surgery in focal cortical dysplasia

    PubMed Central

    Kral, T; Clusmann, H; Blumcke, I; Fimmers, R; Ostertun, B; Kurthen, M; Schramm, J

    2003-01-01

    Objective: To describe the outcome of surgery in patients with drug resistant epilepsy and a histopathological diagnosis of focal cortical dysplasia. Methods and subjects: Analysis of histories and presurgical and follow up data was carried out in 53 patients with a histological diagnosis of focal cortical dysplasia. Their mean age was 24.0 years (range 5 to 46), and they included 14 children and adolescents. Mean age at seizure onset was 12.4 years (0.4 to 36) and mean seizure duration was 11.6 years (1 to 45). Results: The presurgical detection rate of focal cortical dysplasia with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was 96%. There were 24 temporal and 29 extratemporal resections; additional multiple subpial transections were done in 12 cases to prevent spread of seizure discharges. There was a 6% rate of complications with permanent neurological deficit, but no deaths. All resected specimens were classified by neuropathological criteria as focal cortical dysplasia. Balloon cells were seen in most cases of extratemporal focal cortical dysplasia. After a mean follow up of 50 months, 38 patients (72%) were seizure-free, two (4%) had less than two seizures a year, nine (17%) had a reduction of seizure frequency of more than 75%, and four (8%) had no improvement. Seizure outcome was similar after temporal and extratemporal surgery. The patients in need of multilobar surgery had the poorest outcome. Conclusions: Circumscribed lesionectomy of focal dysplastic lesions provides seizure relief in patients with chronic drug resistant temporal and extratemporal epilepsy. There was a trend for the best seizure outcome to be in patients with early presurgical evaluation and early surgery, and in whom lesions were identified on the preoperative MRI studies. PMID:12531945

  1. Focal therapy in prostate cancer: the current situation

    PubMed Central

    Jácome-Pita, FX; Sánchez-Salas, R; Barret, E; Amaruch, N; Gonzalez-Enguita, C; Cathelineau, X

    2014-01-01

    Prostate cancer is one of the most significant pathologies in the field of urology. The adoption of screening strategies and improvements in biopsies have resulted in an increase in early-stage tumour detection. Radical global therapies provide very good oncological results in localised prostate cancer. However, excess treatment in low- and, in some cases, intermediate-risk groups affects the quality of life of these patients. In the case of localised prostate cancer, focal therapies offer a minimally invasive option with good results with respect to established treatments. Although this is currently not a standard treatment, it represents the therapeutic approach with the greatest potential. This literature review has the following objectives: to define selection criteria for patients who are candidates for focal therapy, to assess the current situation and results of the different therapeutic options, and to define procedures in cases of recurrence and for follow-ups. We concluded that focal therapy is a viable therapeutic alternative for localised prostate cancer, specifically cryosurgery and high-intensity targeted ultrasound, which have acceptable oncologic results and a lower comorbidity compared with global treatments. Studies with a high level of scientific evidence are still needed to validate these results. Acquisition of evidence A search was carried out on the Medline (PubMed), EMBASE, Web of Science and Cochrane databases of all papers published before 31 July 2013. We included clinical studies and literature reviews that evaluated primary focal therapy for prostate cancer confirmed by biopsy and excluded focal rescue therapy studies. The keywords used were focal therapy and prostate cancer. Initially, we found 42 articles; 15 studies were excluded because they did not meet the minimum criteria for inclusion. A total of 1350 cases were treated throughout 27 studies. PMID:24944577

  2. Dental solid waste characterization and management in Iran: a case study of Sistan and Baluchestan Province.

    PubMed

    Bazrafshan, Edris; Mohammadi, Leili; Mostafapour, Ferdos Kord; Moghaddam, Alireza Ansari

    2014-02-01

    The management of dental solid waste continues to be a major challenge, particularly in most healthcare facilities of the developing world. In Iran, few studies on management of dental solid waste and its composition are available. An effort has been made through this study to evaluate the hazardous and infectious status of dental solid waste, keeping in mind its possible role in cross-infection chain. For this study, 123 private dental centres and 36 public dental centres were selected and the composition and generation rate of dental solid waste produced were measured. Dental solid waste was classified to four main categories: (i) domestic-type; (ii) potentially infectious; (iii) chemical and pharmaceutical; and (iv) toxic, which constituted 11.7, 80.3, 6.3, and 1.7%, respectively, of the total. Also, the results indicated that the dental solid waste per patient per day generation rate for total, domestic-type, potentially infectious, chemical and pharmaceutical, and toxic wastes were 169.9, 8.6, 153.3, 11.2, and 3.3 g/patient/d, respectively. Furthermore, the per day generation rates for total, domestic-type, potentially infectious, chemical and pharmaceutical, and toxic wastes were 194.5, 22.6, 156.1, 12.3, and 3.4 kg/d, respectively. According to findings of this study, for best management of dental waste it is suggested that source reduction, separation, reuse, and recycling programmes be implemented and each section of dental waste be collected and disposed of separately and in accordance with related criteria.

  3. Fabrication of three-focal diffractive lenses by two-photon polymerization technique

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Osipov, Vladimir; Doskolovich, Leonid L.; Bezus, Evgeni A.; Cheng, Wei; Gaidukeviciute, Arune; Chichkov, Boris

    2012-06-01

    Fabrication of submicron-height relief of three-focal diffractive lenses using two-photon polymerization is studied. Optical properties of the designed lenses are investigated theoretically and experimentally. The proposed design of the combined diffractive-refractive lenses is promising for the realization of three-focal optical ophthalmological implants with predetermined light intensity distribution between the foci. The realized three-focal optical element has a diameter size of 2.7 mm with the focal distances in the range of 27-34 mm.

  4. [Computed tomographic semiotics of respiratory tuberculosis in HIV-infected patients].

    PubMed

    Gavrilov, P V; Lazareva, A S; Malashenkov, E A

    2013-01-01

    to study the computed tomographic (CT) semiotics of respiratory tuberculosis in HIV-infected patients in relation to the degree of immunosuppression. The study enrolled 74 patients with verified respiratory tuberculosis in the presence of HIV infection. According to the degree of immunosuppression and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention classification (Atlanta, USA, 1993), the patients were divided into 3 groups: (1) CD4 > or = 500 cells/microl (n = 10); 2) CD4 200-499 cells/microl (n = 28); (3) CD4 <200 cells/microl (n = 36). With spiral CT, focal changes with a predominance of clear-cut foci are visualized at a high frequency in the patients with pulmonary tuberculosis in the presence of HIV infection. In progressive immunosuppression, the CT pattern displays atypical syndromes (frosted glass-type foci, interstitial infiltration, and thin-walled cavities) with the lower rate of alveolar infiltration with confluent foci, as well as lung tissue decay. Enlarged intrathoracic lymph nodes are characteristic of 70.0% of the patients with HIV infection and tuberculosis regardless of the level of CD4 cells. As immunosuppression progresses, the CT pattern of respiratory tuberculosis in the presence of HIV infection shows as atypical syndromes (unclearly defined frosted glass-type focal changes, interstitial infiltrations, and thin-walled cavernous masses). A marked polymorphism in changes and a high rate of lymph node involvement are characteristic.

  5. Dental insurance and dental service use by U.S. women of childbearing age.

    PubMed

    Kaylor, Mary Beth; Polivka, Barbara J; Chaudry, Rosemary; Salsberry, Pamela; Wee, Alvin G

    2011-01-01

    Oral health has a significant effect on health, and for women, poor oral health can lead to poor birth outcomes and can affect their child's health. Nursing interventions to improve the oral health of at-risk women have the potential to increase maternal and child systemic and oral health. The identification of women at a high risk for poor oral health is a necessary to develop and evaluate these interventions. This study examined the factors related to dental insurance and dental service use for women of childbearing age in the United States. A secondary analysis of the 2003-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey was completed to examine the predisposing, enabling, and need variables associated with dental insurance status and dental service use in a representative random sample of 1,071 women. The results showed that over 40% of women had no dental insurance. Women with less education, lower income, and dental need were significantly less likely to have dental insurance. Dental utilization by the uninsured was low and a racial/ethnic disparity was noted. A lack of dental insurance and dental service utilization is a significant concern. Nurses working with low-income women should educate the population about oral health and advocate for policies to increase dental insurance coverage. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  6. Testing of focal plane arrays at the AEDC

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nicholson, Randy A.; Mead, Kimberly D.; Smith, Robert W.

    1992-07-01

    A facility was developed at the Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) to provide complete radiometric characterization of focal plane arrays (FPAs). The highly versatile facility provides the capability to test single detectors, detector arrays, and hybrid FPAs. The primary component of the AEDC test facility is the Focal Plane Characterization Chamber (FPCC). The FPCC provides a cryogenic, low-background environment for the test focal plane. Focal plane testing in the FPCC includes flood source testing, during which the array is uniformly irradiated with IR radiation, and spot source testing, during which the target radiation is focused onto a single pixel or group of pixels. During flood source testing, performance parameters such as power consumption, responsivity, noise equivalent input, dynamic range, radiometric stability, recovery time, and array uniformity can be assessed. Crosstalk is evaluated during spot source testing. Spectral response testing is performed in a spectral response test station using a three-grating monochromator. Because the chamber can accommodate several types of testing in a single test installation, a high throughput rate and good economy of operation are possible.

  7. Dental esthetic satisfaction, received and desired dental treatments for improvement of esthetics.

    PubMed

    Akarslan, Zühre Zafersoy; Sadik, Burak; Erten, Hüya; Karabulut, Erdem

    2009-01-01

    The purposes of this research were to investigate factors influencing patients' satisfaction with their present dental esthetic, received previous dental treatments on anterior teeth and basic treatments that they wanted to undergo to improve their dental appearance. A total of 1014 patients who attended a dental school in a major city in Turkey participated in the study. The participants were surveyed with a questionnaire containing questions about gender, age, education level, self-reported tooth appearance, received previous dental treatments on anterior teeth and desired basic esthetic dental treatments. Statistical analysis of the verifying data was made with descriptive statistics, chi2 test and multiple logistic regression analyses. According to the analyses of the verifying data, 55.1% of the patients were dissatisfied with the color of their teeth, 42.7% with dental appearance, 29.9% with crowding of anterior teeth, 23.3% were hiding teeth while smiling, 16.1% had non-esthetic restorations and 11.9% thought that their anterior teeth were protruding. Esthetic restoration was found to be the most-performed treatment recently (29.0%) and whitening of teeth was the most-desired dental treatment (49.0%). Gender, age and education level had an effect on satisfaction and received previous and desired dental treatments for improvement of esthetics. Many of the Turkish patients surveyed in the study were dissatisfied and desired the improvement of dental esthetics. Therefore, dentists should consider this as an important dimension in their practice.

  8. Positive focal shift of gallium nitride high contrast grating focusing reflectors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    He, Shumin; Wang, Zhenhai; Liu, Qifa

    2016-09-01

    We design a type of metasurfaces capable of serving as a visible-light focusing reflector based on gallium nitride (GaN) high contrast gratings (HCGs). The wavefront of the reflected light is precisely manipulated by spatial variation of the grating periods along the subwavelength ridge array to achieve light focusing. Different from conventional negative focal shift effect, a positive focal shift is observed in such focusing reflectors. Detailed investigations of the influence of device size on the focusing performance, especially the focal length, are preformed via a finite element method . The results show that all performance parameters are greatly affected by the reflector size. A more concentrated focal point, or a better focusing capability, can be achieved by larger size. With increasing reflector size, the achieved focal length decreases and gradually approaches to the design, thus the corresponding positive focal shift decreases. Our results are helpful for understanding the visible-light control of the planar HCG-based focusing reflectors.

  9. Proposal for internet-based Digital Dental Chart for personal dental identification in forensics.

    PubMed

    Hanaoka, Yoichi; Ueno, Asao; Tsuzuki, Tamiyuki; Kajiwara, Masahiro; Minaguchi, Kiyoshi; Sato, Yoshinobu

    2007-05-03

    A dental chart is very useful as a standard source of evidence in the personal identification of bodies. However, the kind of dental chart available will often vary as a number of types of odontogram have been developed where the visual representation of dental conditions has relied on hand-drawn representation. We propose the Digital Dental Chart (DDC) as a new style of dental chart, especially for open investigations aimed at establishing the identity of unknown bodies. Each DDC is constructed using actual oral digital images and dental data, and is easy to upload onto an Internet website. The DDC is a more useful forensic resource than the standard types of dental chart in current use as it has several advantages, among which are its ability to carry a large volume of information and reproduce dental conditions clearly and in detail on a cost-effective basis.

  10. Microbial contamination of dental unit waterlines and effect on quality of indoor air.

    PubMed

    Kadaifciler, Duygu Göksay; Cotuk, Aysin

    2014-06-01

    The microbiological quality in dental unit waterlines (DUWLs) is considered to be important because patients and dental staff with suppressed immune systems are regularly exposed to water and aerosols generated from dental units (DUs). Opportunistic pathogens like Pseudomonas, Legionella, Candida, and Aspergillus can be present in DUWLs, while during consultations, bioaerosols can be dispersed in the air, thus resulting in effects on microbiological quality of indoor air. This present study represents microbiological air and water quality in dental offices (DOs) and also concerns the relationship between the quality of DO air and dental unit water. This study aimed to assess both the microbial quality of dental unit water and the indoor air in 20 DOs and to survey the effect on the quality of the indoor air with the existing microorganisms in dental unit water. Fourteen out of 20 (70 %) DUWLs were found to be contaminated with a high number of aerobic mesophilic heterotrophic bacteria. In terms of bacterial air contamination levels, in 90 % of DOs, a medium level (<500 colony-forming units (CFU)/m(3)) of contamination was determined, while in terms of microfungal air contamination, in all DOs, a low level (<100 CFU/m(3)) of contamination was determined. Potential infection or allergen agents, such as Pseudomonas, Micrococcus, Staphylococcus, Alternaria, Cladosporium, Penicillium, Aspergillus, and Paecilomyces were isolated from water and air samples. This study's determination of contamination sources and evaluation of microbial load in DOs could contribute to the development of quality control methods in the future.

  11. DENTAL SCHOOL PLANNING.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    GALAGAN, DONALD J.

    THIS DISCUSSION PRESENTS A COMPLETE PICTURE OF THE CURRENT STATE OF DENTAL EDUCATION WITH SUGGESTIONS FOR MEETING THE DEMANDS FOR DENTAL STAFF AND FACILITIES. THE AREAS INVESTIGATED ARE (1) OBJECTIVES IN DENTAL EDUCATION--COURSES, TEACHING MODES, INNOVATIONS IN CURRICULUM, COORDINATION OF BASIC AND CLINICAL INSTRUCTION, (2) FACILITY…

  12. Examination of social networking professionalism among dental and dental hygiene students.

    PubMed

    Henry, Rachel K; Molnar, Amy L

    2013-11-01

    Becoming a dental professional requires one to apply ethical decision making skills and demonstrate high standards of professionalism in practice, including the way professionals present themselves to the public. With social media as an evergrowing part of personal and professional communications, this study aimed to determine the accessibility, amount, and type of unprofessional content on Facebook profiles of dental hygiene and dental students in a college of dentistry. The authors evaluated the online profiles of all 499 dental and dental hygiene students at The Ohio State University using objective measures that included existence of a profile, current privacy settings, and access to personally identifiable information. A sample of profiles were evaluated for unprofessional content including photos, comments, and wall posts. The majority of these students were found to use Facebook, with 61 percent having Facebook profiles. Dental hygiene students were more likely to have a Facebook profile than were dental students: 72.6 percent and 59.1 percent, respectively (p=0.027). The majority of the students' profiles had some form of privacy setting enabled, with only 4 percent being entirely open to the public. Fewer than 2 percent of the students allowed non-friends access to personal information. Based on in-depth analysis of the profiles, fourteen (5.8 percent) instances of unprofessionalism were recorded; the most common unprofessional content involved substance abuse. This study found that these dental and dental hygiene students frequently possessed an identifiable Facebook account and nearly half had some kind of personal information on their profile that could potentially be shared with the public. In some instances, the students gave patients, faculty, and potential employers access to content that is not reflective of a dental professional. Academic institutions should consider implementing policies that bring awareness to and address the use of social media

  13. Prophylactic antibiotic therapy prior to dental treatment for patients with end-stage renal disease.

    PubMed

    Werner, C W; Saad, T F

    1999-01-01

    In the United States, there is a large and growing population of patients undergoing dialysis because of end-stage renal disease (ESRD). These patients present special management considerations for dentists, including antibiotic prophylaxis for the prevention of bacterial endocarditis (BE). ESRD patients, particularly those with an arteriovenous shunt for hemodialysis access, are predisposed to valvular endocarditis. Thus, BE prevention is the primary goal of antibiotic prophylaxis prior to dental or other invasive procedures in these patients. Bacteremia may predispose to infection of synthetic vascular access grafts, although this form of endovascular infection in ESRD patients has not been as well-characterized as BE. Antibiotic prophylaxis may be of some benefit for prevention of synthetic graft infections as well as BE. Poor dentist and physician compliance with BE prophylaxis regimens, as well as errors in dosing, timing, or duration of prophylaxis, have been reported. These problems are of particular concern in the treatment of chronically ill patients. In this article, we review the rationale for prophylactic antibiotic therapy prior to dental procedures in ESRD patients with vascular access. We also elaborate on the current American Heart Association guidelines for BE prophylaxis, and address special considerations for ESRD patients.

  14. Rhesus Macaques Infected with Macrophage-Tropic Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIVmacR71/17E) Exhibit Extensive Focal Segmental and Global Glomerulosclerosis

    PubMed Central

    Stephens, Edward B.; Tian, Chunqiao; Li, Zhuang; Narayan, Opendra; Gattone, Vincent H.

    1998-01-01

    We previously showed that inoculation of rhesus macaques with molecularly cloned lymphocytetropic simian immunodeficiency virus (SIVmac239) results in SIV-associated nephropathy (SIVAN) and that the glomerulosclerotic lesions were associated with the selection of macrophagetropic (M-tropic) variants (V. H. Gattone et al., AIDS Res. Hum. Retroviruses 14:1163–1180, 1998). In the present study, seven rhesus macaques were inoculated with M-tropic SIVmacR71/17E, and the renal pathology was examined at necropsy. All SIVmacR71/17E-infected macaques developed AIDS, and most developed other systemic complications, including SIV-induced encephalitis and lentivirus interstitial pneumonia. There was no correlation between the length of infection (42 to 97 days), circulating CD4+ T-cell counts, and renal disease. Of the seven macaques inoculated with SIVmacR71/17E, five developed significant mesangial hyperplasia and expansion of matrix and four were clearly azotemic (serum urea nitrogen concentration of 40 to 112 mg/dl). These same five macaques developed focal segmental to global glomerulosclerotic lesions. Increased numbers of glomerular CD68+ cells (monocytes/macrophages) were found in glomeruli but not the tubulointerstitium of the macaques inoculated with SIVmacR71/17E. All macaques had glomerular deposits of immunoglobulin G (IgG), IgM, and tubuloreticular inclusions, and six of seven had IgA deposition. However, there was no correlation between the presence of circulating anti-SIVmac antibodies, immunoglobulin deposition, and glomerular disease. Tubulointerstitial infiltrates were mild, with little or no correlation to azotemia, while microcystic tubules were evident in those with glomerulosclerosis or azotemia. The four most severely affected macaques were positive for diffuse glomerular immunostaining for viral core p27 antigen, and there was intense staining in the glomeruli of the two macaques with the most severe glomerulosclerosis. Viral sequences were isolated

  15. Dental cavities

    MedlinePlus

    ... this page: //medlineplus.gov/ency/article/001055.htm Dental cavities To use the sharing features on this page, please enable JavaScript. Dental cavities are holes (or structural damage) in the ...

  16. Current trends in use of intracanal medications in dental care facilities: questionnaire-based survey on training dental hygienists at educational institutions.

    PubMed

    Furusawa, Masahiro; Yoshida, Takashi; Hosokawa, Souhei; Ariizumi, Yuugo

    2013-01-01

    The success of root canal therapy is dependent not only on removal of infected pulp (pulpectomy) followed by root canal enlargement, but also on the pharmacological effects of intracanal medications. Various intracanal medications are used. Formaldehyde preparations such as formocresol were common in the past, but these are no longer used in Europe or the US due to the biological toxicity of formaldehyde. In this study, a questionnaire was used to determine current trends in the use of intracanal medications at dental care facilities where dental hygiene students undergo practical training. The questionnaire comprised questions regarding the types of frequently used intracanal medications and their methods of application at dental care facilities in Saitama and Shizuoka prefectures. The results indicated that calcium hydroxide preparations were more commonly used in Europe or the US. However, these results also revealed that formaldehyde preparations were frequently used, which slightly differs from the scenario in Europe and the US. This study revealed that multiple intracanal medications were used for root canal therapy. Furthermore, it was also observed that cotton plugs were generally used as applicator tips for intracanal medications, whereas the use of absorbent paper points was relatively uncommon. The results suggest that the cost of absorbent paper points needs to be reduced.

  17. The Future of Dental Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Simonsen, Richard J.

    1994-01-01

    The author, a representative of the American Dental Trade Association, identifies major challenges facing dental education in the areas of predoctoral dental education, postdoctoral dental education, and continuing dental education. Ten recommendations address preclinical and clinical courses, licensing examinations, mandatory continuing…

  18. Death related to dental treatment: a systematic review.

    PubMed

    Reuter, Nathan G; Westgate, Philip M; Ingram, Mark; Miller, Craig S

    2017-02-01

    The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with death in relation to dental care. A systematic review was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. PubMed, Dental and Oral Sciences Source, Web of Science, and the Cochrane database were searched, and the references of all retrieved articles were analyzed. Studies were included if death had occurred within 90 days of the dental appointment, and if the patient's age, procedure, and information regarding cause or time of death were provided. Factors associated with death were assessed by multivariate analyses and logistic regression. Fifty-six publications, including retrospective studies and case reports/series that reported 148 fatalities, were analyzed. On average, 2.6 deaths were reported per year. The leading cause of deaths was anesthesia/sedation/medication-related complications (n = 70). Other causes were cardiovascular events (n = 31), infection (n = 19), airway-respiratory complications (n = 18), bleeding (n = 5), and others (n = 5). Age (P < .0001), disease severity (P < .02), disease stability (P < .006), dental provider characteristics (P < .05), level of consciousness/sedation (P < .02), and drug effects (P < .03) had significant associations with death. Reports of death were rare; however, specific risk factors associated with dentistry were identified. A better understanding of these factors is important for the development of guidelines that help prevent fatalities in dentistry. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. History of dental hygiene research.

    PubMed

    Bowen, Denise M

    2013-01-01

    Dental hygiene is defined as the science and practice of the recognition, treatment and prevention of oral diseases. The history of dental hygiene research is considered in the context of the development of the discipline and an emerging infrastructure. Research-related events supporting the growth and maturation of the profession are considered from the early years to the most recent. The benefits of preventive oral health services provided by dental hygienists have been supported by research, and the practice of dental hygiene has expanded as a result of research findings since its inception 100 years ago. Dental hygienists' engagement in research, however, did not begin until the 1960s as research associates or administrators, primarily with dental researchers as primary investigators. The Journal of Dental Hygiene (JDH) has provided information for dental hygiene practice since 1927, and has been the primary venue for dissemination of dental hygiene research since 1945. Graduate education in dental hygiene at the master's degree level and the work of early dental hygiene researchers led to the first conference on dental hygiene research in 1982. Over 30 years later, dental hygiene has established a meta-paradigm and defined conceptual models, built an initial infrastructure to support research endeavors and contributed much to the development of dental hygiene as a unique discipline. A doctoral degree in the discipline, continued theory-based research, initiatives to foster collaborations between dental hygiene and other researchers and enhanced capabilities to attract funding to support large scale studies are goals that must be attained through the efforts of future researchers to address the needs for additional development in the discipline of dental hygiene. Dental hygiene research supports the growing discipline and its value to society.

  20. A targeted resequencing gene panel for focal epilepsy.

    PubMed

    Hildebrand, Michael S; Myers, Candace T; Carvill, Gemma L; Regan, Brigid M; Damiano, John A; Mullen, Saul A; Newton, Mark R; Nair, Umesh; Gazina, Elena V; Milligan, Carol J; Reid, Christopher A; Petrou, Steven; Scheffer, Ingrid E; Berkovic, Samuel F; Mefford, Heather C

    2016-04-26

    We report development of a targeted resequencing gene panel for focal epilepsy, the most prevalent phenotypic group of the epilepsies. The targeted resequencing gene panel was designed using molecular inversion probe (MIP) capture technology and sequenced using massively parallel Illumina sequencing. We demonstrated proof of principle that mutations can be detected in 4 previously genotyped focal epilepsy cases. We searched for both germline and somatic mutations in 251 patients with unsolved sporadic or familial focal epilepsy and identified 11 novel or very rare missense variants in 5 different genes: CHRNA4, GRIN2B, KCNT1, PCDH19, and SCN1A. Of these, 2 were predicted to be pathogenic or likely pathogenic, explaining ∼0.8% of the cohort, and 8 were of uncertain significance based on available data. We have developed and validated a targeted resequencing panel for focal epilepsies, the most important clinical class of epilepsies, accounting for about 60% of all cases. Our application of MIP technology is an innovative approach that will be advantageous in the clinical setting because it is highly sensitive, efficient, and cost-effective for screening large patient cohorts. Our findings indicate that mutations in known genes likely explain only a small proportion of focal epilepsy cases. This is not surprising given the established clinical and genetic heterogeneity of these disorders and underscores the importance of further gene discovery studies in this complex syndrome. © 2016 American Academy of Neurology.

  1. Dental Laboratory Technology.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Department of the Air Force, Washington, DC.

    The Air Force dental laboratory technology manual is designed as a basic training text as well as a reference source for dental laboratory technicians, a specialty occupation concerned with the design, fabrication, and repair of dental prostheses. Numerous instructive diagrams and photographs are included throughout the manual. The comprehensive…

  2. The detection of blood on dental surgery surfaces and equipment following dental hygiene treatment.

    PubMed

    McColl, E; Bagg, J; Winning, S

    1994-01-22

    The Kastle-Meyer technique, a forensic test for blood, has been employed to assess the frequency and potential routes of contamination by blood between patients, staff and equipment during routine dental hygiene treatment. Fifty treatment sessions were studied and units were cleaned between patients according to the current hospital protocol. The surfaces most frequently contaminated after treatment were the 3-in-1 syringe buttons (40%), protective bibs (22%), tap handles (20%), light handles (18%) and operating cart handles (16%). Following cleaning of the units, the surfaces remaining contaminated were the 3-in-1 syringes (10%), tap handles (4%) and cart handles (2%). Modifications to the cross-infection control protocol have been made to eliminate these sources of contamination.

  3. Patterns of dental services and factors that influence dental services among 64-65-year-old regular users of dental care in Denmark.

    PubMed

    Christensen, Lisa B; Rosing, Kasper; Lempert, Susanne M; Hede, Børge

    2016-03-01

    To describe the pattern of dental services provided to 64-65-year-old Danes who are regular users of dental care over a 5-year period, to analyse whether this pattern is associated with socio-demographic and/or socioeconomic factors, and if different uses of dental services are related to dental status and caries experience. Finally, to discuss the future planning of dental services aimed at the increasing population of elderly citizens. [Correction made on 21 March 2014, after first online publication: The sentence 'Data on elderly's dental service are scarce, although increased use is seen and more teeth are present in this age group.' was removed.] A cross-sectional study of all aged 64-65 (n = 37 234) who received a dental examination in 2009 was conducted. Clinical data comprised dental services received under the National Health Insurance reimbursement scheme, dental status and DMFT. Geographical, socio-demographic and socioeconomic data derived from public registers. Almost all received restorations, while periodontal treatment was received by <50% during 5 years. Heavy use of dental services was dominated by periodontal services. Periodontal services were most prevalent in the capital and the most affluent areas. Relatively more extractions were related to low income and persons in least affluent areas. Total number of services was highest among women, persons with ≥20 teeth, persons living in the capital, and where the ratio user per dentist was low. For future planning of dental care for elderly, dental status, geographical and social area-based factors and to some degree gender, income, and education must be taken into consideration as all these factors seem to influence the future demand for dental services. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S and The Gerodontology Association. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  4. SWOT Analysis of Dental Health Workforce in India: A Dental alarm.

    PubMed

    Halappa, Mythri; B H, Naveen; Kumar, Santhosh; H, Sreenivasa

    2014-11-01

    India faces an acute shortage of health personnel. Together with inequalities in distribution of health workers, dental health workers also become a part contributing to it impeding the progress towards achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. To assess dental health-workforce distribution, identify inequalities in dental health-workers provision and report the impact of this mal distribution in India. Situational analysis done by using the primary data from the records of Dental Council of India. In India, 0.088% of dental health worker per 1000 population exists. Inequalities in the distribution of dentists exist in India. Certain states are experiencing an acute shortage of dental health personnel whereas certain cities are over fledged with dentists like Karnataka, Maharastra, Tamilnadu being states with high concentration & Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Uttaranchal being the least. Although the production of health workers has expanded greatly in recent years by increase in number of dental colleges the problems of imbalances in their distribution persist. In the race of increasing dentist population ratio in total, inequitable distribution of appropriately trained, motivated and supported dentists gives a mere feel of saturation in jobs making youngsters to not to choose dentistry as a career giving an alarm.

  5. Dental caries, its surface susceptibility and dental fluorosis in South India.

    PubMed

    Acharya, Shashidhar

    2005-12-01

    To correlate water fluoride levels with dental caries and dental fluorosis in areas with different levels of fluoride in the drinking water and to establish the surface susceptibility of dental caries in an endemic fluoride area. 544 schoolchildren 12 to 15 years of age from the Davangere region of India were examined. The DMFS index was used to measure dental caries, which was further differentiated into smooth surface and pit and fissure lesions. Dean's index was used to diagnose dental fluorosis. Five villages with fluoride levels ranging from 0.43 ppm to 3.41 ppm were studied. There was a highly significant negative correlation (r = -0.16) between water fluoride levels and dental caries. Dental fluorosis increased from 16% at 0.43 ppm to 100% at 3.41 ppm. Pit and fissure lesions made up the vast majority of the lesions in all the villages and showed a decreasing trend with increasing fluoride levels, however no such trend was seen for smooth surface lesions. Water fluoride was an important factor responsible for the low caries prevalence. The prevalence of fluorosis and low caries even in low fluoride areas may point to a halo effect.

  6. Dental therapists: a global perspective.

    PubMed

    Nash, David A; Friedman, Jay W; Kardos, Thomas B; Kardos, Rosemary L; Schwarz, Eli; Satur, Julie; Berg, Darren G; Nasruddin, Jaafar; Mumghamba, Elifuraha G; Davenport, Elizabeth S; Nagel, Ron

    2008-04-01

    In 1921, New Zealand began training school dental nurses, subsequently deploying them throughout the country in school-based clinics providing basic dental care for children. The concept of training dental nurses, later to be designated dental therapists, was adopted by other countries as a means of improving access to care, particularly for children. This paper profiles six countries that utilise dental therapists, with a description of the training that therapists receive in these countries, and the context in which they practice. Based on available demographic information, it also updates the number of dental therapists practising globally, as well as the countries in which they practice. In several countries, dental therapy is now being integrated with dental hygiene in training and practice to create a new type of professional complementary to a dentist. Increasingly, dental therapists are permitted to treat adults as well as children. The paper also describes the status of a current initiative to introduce dental therapy to the United States. It concludes by suggesting that dental therapists can become valued members of the dental team throughout the world, helping to improve access to care and reducing existing disparities in oral health.

  7. The utilization of dental hygiene students in school-based dental sealant programs.

    PubMed

    Miller, Faith Y

    2005-01-01

    Early detection of childhood caries is important to childrens' overall health. Untreated childhood caries can lead to pain, as in abscesses from prolonged neglect; altered dietary intake; and delays in the development of the permanent teeth if the primary teeth are prematurely lost. In the summer of 2000, funds were provided to various oral health care provider organizations by the Illinois Department of Public Health, Division of Oral Health, to purchase portable equipment to deliver preventive services (i.e., exams, sealants, and oral hygiene education) to second-grade and sixth-grade children who qualified for Medicaid and/or free and reduced-cost lunch programs. The Dental Sealant Grant Program at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale was a unique program that utilized dental hygiene students as the primary human resource. Within the state, the Dental Sealant Grant Program was, at the time of this report, the only grantee sponsored by a stand-alone dental hygiene program (not affiliated with a dental school). Other positive aspects of the dental hygiene-sponsored sealant program were that the supervising dentist was the primary Medicaid provider and a member of the dental hygiene faculty; dental hygiene faculty participated actively as site coordinators and clinicians; and dental hygiene students were given the opportunity to volunteer for the program as a service-learning option.

  8. A comparative needs assessment of the dental health of adults attending dental access centres and general dental practices in Halton & St Helens and Warrington PCTs 2007.

    PubMed

    Milsom, K M; Jones, C; Kearney-Mitchell, P; Tickle, M

    2009-03-14

    Dental access centres (DACs) were introduced in England at the turn of the twenty-first century in response to a growing problem of access to NHS dental services. DACs were expected to offer NHS dental care primarily to those patients that were unwilling or unable to attend 'high street' dental practice. At the same time, the new NHS primary care dental contract in England, introduced in April 2006, has been associated in some areas with access difficulties, with routine dental patients having difficulty accessing NHS dental care. In light of these changes, have DACs become an alternative provider of NHS dental services to patients seeking routine dental care? In summer 2007, a cross sectional dental epidemiological study was undertaken in Halton & St Helens PCT and Warrington PCT to compare the dental health and attitudes to dental visiting of adult patients attending DACs and neighbouring 'high street' dental practices. The results of the study showed that DAC patients: were younger and from a more disadvantaged background than patients attending 'high street' practices; had worse oral health than 'high street' dental patients; experienced more frequent episodes of dental pain than 'high street' dental patients and were more likely to be dentally anxious; had different attitudes to dental health than their 'high street' counterparts. The study suggests that the DACs in Halton, St Helens and Warrington are offering treatment to a different population of patients to that seen in neighbouring 'high street' practices and therefore the DACs are fulfilling the function expected of them locally.

  9. [Infections of the oral mucosa II. Bacterial, mycotic and viral infections].

    PubMed

    Reichart, P A

    1999-11-01

    Non-specific infections of the oral mucosa are rare; however, they may present during HIV infection in the form of gingivo-periodontal lesions. In some of these Candida albicans may play a role in the pathogenesis. Sexually transmitted bacterial infections such as gonorrhoea and syphilis are frequently associated with HIV infection. Since penicillin resistance is frequent in gonorrhoea, the cephalosporines are mainly used for treatment. Syphilis increases the risk for transmission of HIV. Lues maligna with oral manifestations has been described. For this, penicillin G is the therapy of choice. Tuberculosis, characterized by multitherapy resistance, is associated with HIV infections world-wide; oral manifestations are rare. Oral candidiasis during HIV infection is often characterized by therapy resistance against fluconazole and a shift in species, with Candida glabrata and Candida krusei as the emerging species. The azoles are still the mainstay of therapy, particularly fluconazole. Herpes simplex (HSV) infections run an atypical course during HIV disease; resistance against acyclovir is a clinical problem. The association of HSV infection with erythema exudativum multiforme has been clearly shown. Oral hairy leukoplakia caused by Epstein Barr virus is a characteristic infection during immunosuppression. Cytomegalovirus infection is also observed in immunodeficient patients. Cases of ganciclovir resistance have been described. Human herpes virus 8 (HHV 8) is associated with Kaposi's sarcoma. Therapeutic trials have focussed on the inhibition of HHV 8 replication. Over 100 different genotypes of human papillomaviruses are known; some can cause infections of the oral mucosa. Characteristic lesions caused by different HPV genotypes are verruca vulgaris, condyloma acuminatum and focal epithelial hyperplasia.

  10. Dual ECM Biomimetic Scaffolds for Dental Pulp Regenerative Applications

    PubMed Central

    Huang, Chun-Chieh; Narayanan, Raghuvaran; Warshawsky, Noah; Ravindran, Sriram

    2018-01-01

    Dental pulp is a highly vascularized and innervated tissue that provides sensitivity and vitality to the tooth. Chronic caries results in an infected pulp tissue prone to necrosis. Existing clinical treatments replace the living pulp tissue with a non-responsive resin filling resulting in loss of tooth vitality. Tissue engineering approaches to dental pulp tissue regeneration have been investigated to preserve tooth vitality and function. However, a critical criterion is the choice of growth factors that may promote mesenchymal stem cell differentiation and more importantly, vascularization. But, the problems associated with growth factor dosage, delivery, safety, immunological and ectopic complications affect their translatory potential severely. The purpose of this study is to develop, characterize and evaluate a biomimetic native extracellular matrix (ECM) derived dual ECM scaffold that consists of a pulp-specific ECM to promote MSC attachment, proliferation and differentiation and an endothelial ECM to promote migration of host endothelial cells and eventual vascularization in vivo. Our results show that the dual ECM scaffolds possess similar properties as a pulp-ECM scaffold to promote MSC attachment and odontogenic differentiation in vitro. Additionally, when implanted subcutaneously in a tooth root slice model in vivo, the dual ECM scaffolds promoted robust odontogenic differentiation of both dental pulp and bone marrow derived MSCs and also extensive vascularization when compared to respective controls. These scaffolds are mass producible for clinical use and hence have the potential to replace root canal therapy as a treatment for chronic dental caries. PMID:29887803

  11. Smartphones and dental trauma: the current availability of apps for managing traumatic dental injuries.

    PubMed

    Djemal, Serpil; Singh, Parmjit

    2016-02-01

    There is a general consensus regarding the lack of awareness regarding the emergency management of traumatic dental injuries amongst laypersons and dental professionals. This article aims to provide an overview of the apps available for traumatic dental injuries using smartphones. These apps may serve as a gateway for raising awareness of traumatic dental injuries. Three smartphone devices were used to access their respective app stores (Nokia Lumia 635 with Windows Phone OS 8.1; iPhone 5 with iOS 8.1; Samsung Galaxy Ace II with Android OS v2.3.6 Gingerbread). Nine phrases were searched: broken tooth/teeth; chipped tooth/teeth; dental emergency; dental injury; dental trauma; fractured tooth/teeth; knocked-out tooth/teeth; tooth/teeth injury; and tooth/teeth trauma. Seven apps for the Android and one app for the Apple operating system were relevant. The only Apple iOS app retrieved (Dental Trauma) was also found for the Android OS (Dental Trauma First Aid) and had the endorsement of the International Association of Dental Traumatology. AcciDent was the only app dedicated to traumatic dental injuries targeted solely towards dental professionals. Five other apps (Chipped Tooth Solution, Dental Crown Repair, Fixing Cracked Tooth, Repairing the Front Tooth and Solution to Broken Tooth) appeared to come from the same source (KBES). No traumatic dental injury apps were found for the Windows Phone OS. There are apps available for both patients and dentists that range in quality and on the whole lack real-life photographs. Future apps should continue to provide good quality, evidence-based and validated material. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  12. Entrepreneurship in continuing dental education: a dental school perspective.

    PubMed

    Liberto, Vincent N

    2005-01-01

    The definition of continuing dental education is presented, along with its benefits to the profession. The preeminence of dental schools in providing lifelong learning opportunities and freedom from commercial involvement that existed even twenty years ago has changed. Less than a quarter of CE takes place in school, and the focus there is increasingly on material with deep scientific background and hands-on learning. The newest innovations and those with the greatest commercial potential are taught elsewhere. Proposed changes in the ADA CERP standards would take on a "purist" approach that could place dental schools at a severe disadvantage while allowing "for profit" institutes to flourish and thus further undermine the role dental schools can play in providing quality professional development experiences.

  13. Effects of iodine in microbial control of dental treatment water.

    PubMed

    Puttaiah, Raghunath; Seibert, Jeff; Spears, Robert

    2011-05-01

    cartridges were also effective in controlling contamination in the dental treatment water. Dental unit water systems that are in use get contaminated with microbes and biofilms in weeks of being put into use. These biofilms contaminate the treatment water thereby putting patients and staff at risk of infection by predominantly gram-negative microbes. Biofilms in the water systems must be cleaned periodically with a strong decontaminant and the dental treatment source water needs to be modified with a low-grade antimicrobial that can preserve the water quality yet safe to humans. In this translational research study, we evaluate the effects of elemental iodine dissolved in water flowing through an iodine containing cartridge in controlling biofilm and dental treatment water contamination using a dental unit water system simulator, prior to clinical utilization.

  14. Perception of Nepalese dental hygiene and dentistry students towards the dental hygienists profession.

    PubMed

    Knevel, Rjm; Gussy, M G; Farmer, J; Karimi, L

    2017-08-01

    This study investigates student and stakeholder perceptions of the role of the dental hygienist in Nepal. The impact of these perceptions on the professionalization of dental hygienists is described whilst exploring the consequences for oral health workforce planning. Dentistry and dental hygiene students from one dental college in Nepal were asked to complete an anonymous questionnaire; 171 students returned the questionnaire containing a mix of forced response and open-ended items. Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS ® 22. These data were complemented with qualitative information from survey open questions and from semi-structured interviews with key informants from several relevant organizations. Qualitative data were manually analysed and coded. Data were triangulated to contextualize quantitative data. A high level of positive regard for the role of the dental hygienist in Nepal was evident amongst dentistry and dental hygiene students in this college. Both groups believe that the dental hygienist can play a major role in raising oral health awareness in Nepal. The scope of practice of the dental hygienist was unclear with issues surrounding the scope of practice and reports of illegal practice by dental hygienists. Significant differences (P < 0.001) were noted between dental hygiene and dentistry students in relation to their opinion regarding independent practice and the need of supervision by a dentist. Supervision of the dental hygienist by dentists and issues surrounding the scope of practice are polarizing the relationship between dentists, dental hygienists and the relevant professional organizations. This could hinder cooperation between these oral health professionals and might lead to underutilization of the dental hygienist. To improve the understanding about the roles of each oral health professional, establishing functional relationships and intraprofessional education involving dentistry and dental hygiene students needs to be introduced

  15. In vitro near-infrared imaging of occlusal dental caries using germanium enhanced CMOS camera.

    PubMed

    Lee, Chulsung; Darling, Cynthia L; Fried, Daniel

    2010-03-01

    The high transparency of dental enamel in the near-infrared (NIR) at 1310-nm can be exploited for imaging dental caries without the use of ionizing radiation. The objective of this study was to determine whether the lesion contrast derived from NIR transillumination can be used to estimate lesion severity. Another aim was to compare the performance of a new Ge enhanced complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) based NIR imaging camera with the InGaAs focal plane array (FPA). Extracted human teeth (n=52) with natural occlusal caries were imaged with both cameras at 1310-nm and the image contrast between sound and carious regions was calculated. After NIR imaging, teeth were sectioned and examined using more established methods, namely polarized light microscopy (PLM) and transverse microradiography (TMR) to calculate lesion severity. Lesions were then classified into 4 categories according to the lesion severity. Lesion contrast increased significantly with lesion severity for both cameras (p<0.05). The Ge enhanced CMOS camera equipped with the larger array and smaller pixels yielded higher contrast values compared with the smaller InGaAs FPA (p<0.01). Results demonstrate that NIR lesion contrast can be used to estimate lesion severity.

  16. Dental sealants

    MedlinePlus

    ... this page: //medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000779.htm Dental sealants To use the sharing features on this ... case a sealant needs to be replaced. How Dental Sealants are Applied Your dentist applies sealants on ...

  17. [Clinical assessment of occult infections in children].

    PubMed

    Sporisević, L; Bajraktarević, A; Begić, Z

    2000-01-01

    Children's occult infections are characterised presenting pathogenic bacteries in blood of children in age 3 to 36 months, but they are good general aspect and orderly immunologic status and they don't have signs of focal infection. Manifestation of occult infections determined: age of child, increasing bodies temperature, testsphysical observance and clinical-biochemistry tests. Prevalence of manifestation occult infections is 3-8%, but they manifest ni a form occult bacteremia, occult pneumonia nad occult urinary infection. Methodic, systematic admission and adequate clinical-biochemical monitoring, we minimise sequeles of occult infections. Risk of serious sequeles at occult infections is importantly decreasing by epidemiological changes that it rises by using vaccination against Haemophilus influenzae and Streptococcus pneumoniae is leading ethiological source. Many contraversal opinions are presented in glance of therapeutic strategy at children's occult infection. Future of solutions at many hesitations ni context diagnosis and therapy of occult infections is established in using recent detectional tests /pneumococcus PCR, plasmas tumor reaction, interleukin lâ/ and preventive intervetions activities /conjugated pneumococcus vaccination/.

  18. [Familial focal and segmentary hyalinosis].

    PubMed

    Sánchez de la Nieta, M D; Arias, L F; Alcázar, R; de la Torre, M; González, L; Rivera, F; Blanco, J; Ferreras, I

    2003-01-01

    Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis represents a finding in several renal disorders, characterized by proteinuria and sometimes by arterial hypertension and progressive decline in renal function. There are primary (idiopathic and familial) and secundary forms. In the last 20 years several familial cases has been reported, with a great genetic heterogeneity (dominant and recessive forms) and with multiple associations with particular MHC class-I and class-II gene loci, being Al, DR3 o DR7 the most frequently reported. We described three members of same family with focal segmental hyalinosis that shared the HLA haplotype A31 B61 DR13. This association has not been described previously. We highlight that genetic and acquired factors (obesity, hypertension...) could have importance in the development of progressive renal failure in these patients.

  19. Attitudes among dentists and dental hygienists towards extended scope and independent practice of dental hygienists.

    PubMed

    Reinders, Jan J; Krijnen, Wim P; Onclin, Pieter; van der Schans, Cees P; Stegenga, Boudewijn

    2017-02-01

    Attitudes of dentists and dental hygienists towards extended scope and independent dental hygiene practice are described in several studies, but the results are heterogenous. The purpose of this systematic review was to compare the attitudes of dentists and dental hygienists towards extended scope and independent dental hygiene practice. PubMed, AMED and CINAHL were screened by two independent assessors to identify relevant studies. Only quantitative studies that reported the percentages of dentists' and dental hygienists' attitude towards extended scope and independent dental hygiene practice were included. The random-effects model was used to synthesise possible heterogenous influences. Meta proportions with regard to a positive attitude towards extended scope of practice are 0.54 for dentists and 0.81 for dental hygienists. Meta proportions of a positive attitude towards independent practice are 0.14 for dentists and 0.59 for dental hygienists. A meta analysis with regard to negative attitudes could only be performed on extended scope of practice and did not reveal a difference between the two professions. We obtained homogeneous outcomes of the studies included regarding negative attitudes of dentists . A minority of dentists hold negative attitudes towards extended scope of dental hygiene practice. Study outcomes regarding negative attitudes of dental hygienists were heterogeneous. Positive attitudes are present among a majority of dentists and dental hygienists with regard to extended scope of dental hygiene practice, while for independent dental hygiene practice this holds for a minority of dentists and a majority of dental hygienists. © 2016 FDI World Dental Federation.

  20. In vivo epidermal migration requires focal adhesion targeting of ACF7

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Yue, Jiping; Zhang, Yao; Liang, Wenguang G.

    Turnover of focal adhesions allows cell retraction, which is essential for cell migration. The mammalian spectraplakin protein, ACF7 (Actin-Crosslinking Factor 7), promotes focal adhesion dynamics by targeting of microtubule plus ends towards focal adhesions. However, it remains unclear how the activity of ACF7 is regulated spatiotemporally to achieve focal adhesion-specific guidance of microtubule. To explore the potential mechanisms, we resolve the crystal structure of ACF7's NT (amino-terminal) domain, which mediates F-actin interactions. Structural analysis leads to identification of a key tyrosine residue at the calponin homology (CH) domain of ACF7, whose phosphorylation by Src/FAK (focal adhesion kinase) complex is essentialmore » for F-actin binding of ACF7. Using skin epidermis as a model system, we further demonstrate that the phosphorylation of ACF7 plays an indispensable role in focal adhesion dynamics and epidermal migration in vitro and in vivo. Altogether, our findings provide critical insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying coordinated cytoskeletal dynamics during cell movement.« less

  1. In vivo epidermal migration requires focal adhesion targeting of ACF7

    DOE PAGES

    Yue, Jiping; Zhang, Yao; Liang, Wenguang G.; ...

    2016-05-24

    Turnover of focal adhesions allows cell retraction, which is essential for cell migration. The mammalian spectraplakin protein, ACF7 (Actin-Crosslinking Factor 7), promotes focal adhesion dynamics by targeting of microtubule plus ends towards focal adhesions. However, it remains unclear how the activity of ACF7 is regulated spatiotemporally to achieve focal adhesion-specific guidance of microtubule. To explore the potential mechanisms, we resolve the crystal structure of ACF7's NT (amino-terminal) domain, which mediates F-actin interactions. Structural analysis leads to identification of a key tyrosine residue at the calponin homology (CH) domain of ACF7, whose phosphorylation by Src/FAK (focal adhesion kinase) complex is essentialmore » for F-actin binding of ACF7. Using skin epidermis as a model system, we further demonstrate that the phosphorylation of ACF7 plays an indispensable role in focal adhesion dynamics and epidermal migration in vitro and in vivo. Altogether, our findings provide critical insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying coordinated cytoskeletal dynamics during cell movement.« less

  2. What dental phobics say about their dental experiences.

    PubMed

    Liddell, A; Ackerman, C; Locker, D

    1990-09-01

    Previous surveys have indicated that there is a substantial proportion of dentally anxious individuals in the general population. Many of these individuals avoid contact with dentistry as much as possible, while fearful individuals who present themselves for treatment are probably too uncomfortable or too afraid to make their views known. Consequently, a study of the feelings and attitudes of a group of dental phobics was carried out as part of a larger study of the efficacy of psychological treatments for excessive dental anxiety. The subjects were recruited by means of a newspaper advertisement and asked to complete a questionnaire designed to obtain information regarding their dental experiences and attitudes. Twenty-three individuals provided enough data for analysis. They were distributed widely in terms of age, education, income levels, and general fearfulness. They reported less satisfaction with the level of understanding or acceptance found in the last dentist they had seen than with the dentist's level of technical competence and the diagnostic information they received. Dental phobics who had been to a dentist in the past year were generally more satisfied with their dentist than those who had not. It is suggested that a good dentist-patient relationship based on understanding and acceptance is an important factor in overcoming the avoidance of fearful patients.

  3. A Dental School Sponsored, Pre-Paid Dental Plan for College Students.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Friedman, Paula K,

    1992-01-01

    Boston University (Massachusetts) developed and marketed a dental care plan to three colleges and universities in the Boston area. After 5 academic years of operation, the dental program has 16 institutional affiliates, increased its patient pool by almost 1,500, generated substantial revenue, and exposed dental students to an alternative dental…

  4. Predisposing cardiac conditions, interventional procedures, and antibiotic prophylaxis among patients with infective endocarditis.

    PubMed

    Chirillo, Fabio; Faggiano, Pompilio; Cecconi, Moreno; Moreo, Antonella; Squeri, Angelo; Gaddi, Oscar; Cecchi, Enrico

    2016-09-01

    Efficacy and safety of antibiotic prophylaxis (AP) for prevention of infective endocarditis (IE) in patients with predisposing cardiac condition (PCC) undergoing invasive procedures is still debated. We sought to assess the prevalence of PCC, the type of interventional procedures preceding the onset of symptoms, and the usefulness of AP in a large cohort of consecutive patients with definite IE. We examined 677 (median age 65.34 years; male 492 [73%]) consecutive patients with IE enrolled from July 2007 through 2010 into the Italian Registry of Infective Endocarditis. Predisposing cardiac condition was present in 341 patients (50%).Thirty-two patients (4.7%) underwent dental procedures. Of 20 patients with PCC undergoing dental procedure, 13 had assumed AP. Viridans group streptococci were isolated from blood cultures in 8 of 20 patients with PCC and prior dental procedure. Nondental procedures preceded IE in 139 patients (21%). They were significantly older and had more comordibities compared with patients undergoing dental procedures. Predisposing cardiac condition was identified in 91 patients. Perioperative antimicrobial prophylaxis was administered to 67 patients. Staphylococcus aureus was the most frequent causative agent. Cardiac surgery was necessary in 85 patients (20 with prior dental and 65 with nondental procedure). Surgical mortality (12% vs 0%, P = .03) and hospital mortality (23% vs 3%, P = .001) were significantly larger among patients with nondental procedures. In a large unselected cohort of patients with IE, the incidence of preceding dental procedures was minimal. The number of cases potentially preventable by means of AP was negligible. Nondental procedures were more frequent than dental procedures and were correlated with poorer prognosis. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Oral Streptococcal Endocarditis, Oral Hygiene Habits, and Recent Dental Procedures: A Case-Control Study.

    PubMed

    Duval, Xavier; Millot, Sarah; Chirouze, Catherine; Selton-Suty, Christine; Moby, Vanessa; Tattevin, Pierre; Strady, Christophe; Euvrard, Edouard; Agrinier, Nelly; Thomas, Daniel; Hoen, Bruno; Alla, François

    2017-06-15

    We aimed to compare oral hygiene habits, orodental status, and dental procedures in patients with infective endocarditis (IE) according to whether the IE-causing microorganism originated in the oral cavity. We conducted an assessor-blinded case-control study in 6 French tertiary-care hospitals. Oral hygiene habits were recorded using a self-administered questionnaire. Orodental status was analyzed by trained dental practitioners blinded to the microorganism, using standardized clinical examination and dental panoramic tomography. History of dental procedures was obtained through patient and dentist interviews. Microorganisms were categorized as oral streptococci or nonoral pathogens using an expert-validated list kept confidential during the course of the study. Cases and controls had definite IE caused either by oral streptococci or nonoral pathogens, respectively. Participants were enrolled between May 2008 and January 2013. Cases (n = 73) were more likely than controls (n = 192) to be aged <65 years (odds ratio [OR], 2.85; 95% CI, 1.41-5.76), to be female (OR, 2.62; 95% CI, 1.20-5.74), to have native valve disease (OR, 2.44; 95% CI, 1.16-5.13), to use toothpicks, dental water jet, interdental brush, and/or dental floss (OR, 3.48; 95% CI, 1.30-9.32), and to have had dental procedures during the prior 3 months (OR, 3.31; 95% CI, 1.18-9.29), whereas they were less likely to brush teeth after meals. The presence of gingival inflammation, calculus, and infectious dental diseases did not significantly differ between groups. Patients with IE caused by oral streptococci differ from patients with IE caused by nonoral pathogens regarding background characteristics, oral hygiene habits, and recent dental procedures, but not current orodental status. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

  6. Dental auxiliaries for dental care traditionally provided by dentists.

    PubMed

    Dyer, Tom A; Brocklehurst, Paul; Glenny, Anne-Marie; Davies, Linda; Tickle, Martin; Issac, Ansy; Robinson, Peter G

    2014-08-20

    Poor or inequitable access to oral health care is commonly reported in high-, middle- and low-income countries. Although the severity of these problems varies, a lack of supply of dentists and their uneven distribution are important factors. Delegating care to dental auxiliaries could ease this problem, extend services to where they are unavailable and liberate time for dentists to do more complex work. Before such an approach can be advocated, it is important to know the relative effectiveness of dental auxiliaries and dentists. To assess the effectiveness, costs and cost effectiveness of dental auxiliaries in providing care traditionally provided by dentists. We searched the following electronic databases from their inception dates up to November 2013: the Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care (EPOC) Group's Specialised Register; Cochrane Oral Health Group's Specialised Register; the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (Issue 11, 2013); MEDLINE; EMBASE; CINAHL; Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews; Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effectiveness; five other databases and two trial registries. We also undertook a grey literature search and searched the reference list of included studies and contacted authors of relevant papers. We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs), non-randomised controlled clinical trials (NRCTs), interrupted time series (ITSs) and controlled before and after studies (CBAs) evaluating the effectiveness of dental auxiliaries compared with dentists in undertaking clinical tasks traditionally performed by a dentist. Three review authors independently applied eligibility criteria, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of each included study and two review authors assessed the quality of the evidence from the included studies, according to The Cochrane Collaboration's procedures. Since meta-analysis was not possible, we gave a narrative description of the results. We identified five studies (one cluster

  7. Managing focal fields of vector beams with multiple polarization singularities.

    PubMed

    Han, Lei; Liu, Sheng; Li, Peng; Zhang, Yi; Cheng, Huachao; Gan, Xuetao; Zhao, Jianlin

    2016-11-10

    We explore the tight focusing behavior of vector beams with multiple polarization singularities, and analyze the influences of the number, position, and topological charge of the singularities on the focal fields. It is found that the ellipticity of the local polarization states at the focal plane could be determined by the spatial distribution of the polarization singularities of the vector beam. When the spatial location and topological charge of singularities have even-fold rotation symmetry, the transverse fields at the focal plane are locally linearly polarized. Otherwise, the polarization state becomes a locally hybrid one. By appropriately arranging the distribution of the polarization singularities in the vector beam, the polarization distributions of the focal fields could be altered while the intensity maintains unchanged.

  8. Analysis of Rapid Multi-Focal Zone ARFI Imaging

    PubMed Central

    Rosenzweig, Stephen; Palmeri, Mark; Nightingale, Kathryn

    2015-01-01

    Acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) imaging has shown promise for visualizing structure and pathology within multiple organs; however, because the contrast depends on the push beam excitation width, image quality suffers outside of the region of excitation. Multi-focal zone ARFI imaging has previously been used to extend the region of excitation (ROE), but the increased acquisition duration and acoustic exposure have limited its utility. Supersonic shear wave imaging has previously demonstrated that through technological improvements in ultrasound scanners and power supplies, it is possible to rapidly push at multiple locations prior to tracking displacements, facilitating extended depth of field shear wave sources. Similarly, ARFI imaging can utilize these same radiation force excitations to achieve tight pushing beams with a large depth of field. Finite element method simulations and experimental data are presented demonstrating that single- and rapid multi-focal zone ARFI have comparable image quality (less than 20% loss in contrast), but the multi-focal zone approach has an extended axial region of excitation. Additionally, as compared to single push sequences, the rapid multi-focal zone acquisitions improve the contrast to noise ratio by up to 40% in an example 4 mm diameter lesion. PMID:25643078

  9. Dental anxiety and personality: investigating the relationship between dental anxiety and self-consciousness.

    PubMed

    Economou, George C

    2003-09-01

    This study investigated whether personality plays a role in a condition called dental anxiety. Specifically, the study examined the relationship between dental anxiety (the negative response to the stress elicited from a dental interaction) and self-consciousness (the tendency to evaluate aspects of oneself that are subject to private and public display). The purpose of this study was to identify the characteristics possessed by dentally anxious individuals who face potential health risks because of their avoidance. Sixty York University undergraduate students were recruited by convenience sampling to participate. These subjects completed Corah's Dental Anxiety Scale and the Self-Consciousness Scale. The Self-Consciousness Scale consists of three subscales, including private self-consciousness, public self-consciousness, and social anxiety. Results indicated an 0.54 significant correlation between dental anxiety and self-consciousness. The public self-consciousness and social anxiety subscales correlated the most with dental anxiety. Furthermore, the data did not indicate a significant moderating relationship for gender between the two aforementioned variables. These results contribute to the establishment of personality characteristics as one of the dimensions determining dental anxiety.

  10. The professional socialization of dental hygienists: from dental auxiliary to professional colleague.

    PubMed

    Gillis, M V; Praker, M E

    1996-01-01

    Dental hygiene, as an emerging profession, has identified key attributes and attitudes of the professional socialization process that are necessary to a continued growth and ability of its members to serve the needs of the public. Restraints to the professionalization process have been identified as impeding both the growth of dental hygienists and confining the delivery of dental hygiene services to traditional and supervised settings. Research has demonstrated the educational preparation of both the baccalaureate and associate/certificate degree dental hygienist can provide the opportunity for professional socialization whereby the care provider attains those attitudes deemed necessary to practice in a professional mode. Studies have also indicated that dental hygienists favor full professional status for dental hygiene through support for self-regulation and autonomy. In the light of health care reform, full utilization of all members of the health care team will be the most prudent use of health care funds. As dental hygiene emerges as a profession, registered hygienists will need to identify and define the conceptual framework for the oral hygiene practice of the future.

  11. Inaccurate Dental Charting in an Audit of 1128 General Dental Practice Records.

    PubMed

    Brown, Nathan L; Jephcote, Victoria E L

    2017-03-01

    Fourteen dentists at different practices in the UK assessed the dental charts of 1128 patients who were new to the dentist but not new to the practice; 44% of the dental charts were found to be inaccurate. Inaccuracy of the individual practice-based charts ranged between 16% for the best performing practices to 83% for the worst: 5% of dental charts had too many teeth charted and 5% had too few teeth charted; 13% of charts had missed amalgam restorations and 18% had missed tooth-coloured restorations; 5% of charts had amalgam restorations recorded but with the surfaces incorrect (eg an MO restoration charted but a DO restoration actually present); 9% of charts had tooth-coloured restoration surfaces incorrectly recorded. For 7.5% of charts, amalgams were charted but not actually present. Other inaccuracies were also noted. The authors reinforce the requirements of the GDC, the advice of defence organizations, and the forensic importance of accurate dental charts. Clinical relevance: Dental charting forms part of the patient’s dental records, and the GDC requires dentists to maintain complete and accurate dental records.

  12. Smart focal-plane technology for micro-instruments and micro-rovers

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Fossum, Eric R.

    1993-01-01

    It is inevitable that micro-instruments and micro-rovers for space exploration will contain one or more focal-plane arrays for imaging, spectroscopy, or navigation. In this paper, we explore the state-of-the-art in focal-plane technology for visible sensors. Also discussed is present research activity in advanced focal-plane technology with particular emphasis on the development of smart sensors. The paper concludes with a discussion of possible future directions for the advancement of the technology.

  13. Focus in Grade 8: Teaching with Curriculum Focal Points

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schielack, Jane

    2010-01-01

    This book describes and illustrates learning paths for the mathematical concepts and skills of each grade 8 Focal Point as presented in Curriculum Focal Points for Prekindergarten through Grade 8 Mathematics. It includes representational supports for teaching and learning that can facilitate understanding, stimulate productive discussions about…

  14. NeuroSeek dual-color image processing infrared focal plane array

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McCarley, Paul L.; Massie, Mark A.; Baxter, Christopher R.; Huynh, Buu L.

    1998-09-01

    Several technologies have been developed in recent years to advance the state of the art of IR sensor systems including dual color affordable focal planes, on-focal plane array biologically inspired image and signal processing techniques and spectral sensing techniques. Pacific Advanced Technology (PAT) and the Air Force Research Lab Munitions Directorate have developed a system which incorporates the best of these capabilities into a single device. The 'NeuroSeek' device integrates these technologies into an IR focal plane array (FPA) which combines multicolor Midwave IR/Longwave IR radiometric response with on-focal plane 'smart' neuromorphic analog image processing. The readout and processing integrated circuit very large scale integration chip which was developed under this effort will be hybridized to a dual color detector array to produce the NeuroSeek FPA, which will have the capability to fuse multiple pixel-based sensor inputs directly on the focal plane. Great advantages are afforded by application of massively parallel processing algorithms to image data in the analog domain; the high speed and low power consumption of this device mimic operations performed in the human retina.

  15. Context cue focality influences strategic prospective memory monitoring.

    PubMed

    Hunter Ball, B; Bugg, Julie M

    2018-02-12

    Monitoring the environment for the occurrence of prospective memory (PM) targets is a resource-demanding process that produces cost (e.g., slower responding) to ongoing activities. However, research suggests that individuals are able to monitor strategically by using contextual cues to reduce monitoring in contexts in which PM targets are not expected to occur. In the current study, we investigated the processes supporting context identification (i.e., determining whether or not the context is appropriate for monitoring) by testing the context cue focality hypothesis. This hypothesis predicts that the ability to monitor strategically depends on whether the ongoing task orients attention to the contextual cues that are available to guide monitoring. In Experiment 1, participants performed an ongoing lexical decision task and were told that PM targets (TOR syllable) would only occur in word trials (focal context cue condition) or in items starting with consonants (nonfocal context cue condition). In Experiment 2, participants performed an ongoing first letter judgment (consonant/vowel) task and were told that PM targets would only occur in items starting with consonants (focal context cue condition) or in word trials (nonfocal context cue condition). Consistent with the context cue focality hypothesis, strategic monitoring was only observed during focal context cue conditions in which the type of ongoing task processing automatically oriented attention to the relevant features of the contextual cue. These findings suggest that strategic monitoring is dependent on limited-capacity processing resources and may be relatively limited when the attentional demands of context identification are sufficiently high.

  16. Emerging allied dental workforce models: considerations for academic dental institutions.

    PubMed

    McKinnon, Monette; Luke, Gina; Bresch, Jack; Moss, Myla; Valachovic, Richard W

    2007-11-01

    The U.S. surgeon general defined the national oral health care crisis in 2001 in Oral Health in America: A Report of the Surgeon General. The report concluded that the public infrastructure for oral health is not sufficient to meet the needs of disadvantaged groups and is disproportionately available depending upon certain racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic factors within the U.S. population. Now, several new workforce models are emerging that attempt to address shortcomings in the oral health care workforce. Access to oral health care is the most critical issue driving these new workforce models. Currently, three midlevel dental workforce models dominate the debate. The purpose of this report is to describe these models and their stage of development to assist the dental education community in preparing for the education of these new providers. The models are 1) the advanced dental hygiene practitioner; 2) the community dental health coordinator; and 3) the dental health aide therapist.

  17. Characterization of Focal Muscle Compression Under Impact Loading

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Butler, Ben; Sory, David; Nguyen, Thuy-Tien; Curry, Richard; Clasper, Jon; Proud, William; Williams, Alun; Brown, Kate

    2015-06-01

    The pattern of battle injuries sustained in modern wars shows that over 70% of combat wounds are to the extremities. These injuries are characterized by disruption and contamination of the limb soft tissue envelope. The extent of this tissue trauma and contamination determine the outcome in extremity injury. In military injury, common post-traumatic complications at amputation sites include heterotopic ossification (formation of bone in soft tissue), and severe soft tissue and bone infections. We are currently developing a model of soft tissue injury that recreates pathologies observed in combat injuries. Here we present characterization of a controlled focal compression of the rabbit flexor carpi ulnaris (FCU) muscle group. The FCU was previously identified as a suitable site for studying impact injury because its muscle belly can easily be mobilized from the underlying bone without disturbing anatomical alignment in the limb. We show how macroscopic changes in tissue organization, as visualized using optical microscopy, can be correlated with data from temporally resolved traces of loading conditions. Funding provided by the Royal British Legion.

  18. Isolation of Raoultella planticola from refillable antimicrobial liquid soap dispensers in a dental setting.

    PubMed

    Momeni, Stephanie S; Tomlin, Nancy; Ruby, John D

    2015-04-01

    Liquid antimicrobial soaps are commonly used in the dental health care setting for hand washing to minimize the potential spread of infectious agents to health care workers and patients. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate possible bacterial contamination of antimicrobial liquid soap dispensers located in 2 institutional comprehensive dental care clinics. Fourteen soap dispensers and 16 original stock containers were sampled. A 1-milliliter aliquot was diluted in 10 mL of phosphate buffer (Tween-80; Acros). Serial dilutions were plated in duplicate on neutralizing agar and incubated for 7 days. Molecular identification was performed using 500 base pair comparisons of 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid sequencing. Taq polymerase chain reaction was performed with sequence-specific primers for Raoultella species. Bacterial growth was observed at 18 hours for 57% (8 of 14) of soap dispenser samples. Bacterial densities ranged from 4 × 10(2) to 6 × 10(9) colony-forming units per milliliter. Original commercial containers exhibited no growth. Isolates were identified as Raoultella (Klebsiella) planticola. This is the first study to the authors' knowledge indicating recovery of R. planticola from antimicrobial liquid soap dispensers. R. planticola is a recognized environmental opportunistic pathogen that potentially poses a health concern. These findings indicate compliance problems with infection prevention recommendations and support the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommendation that dispensers should not be topped off. High bacterial loads of R. planticola are inconsistent with infection control practices and are a concern because transmission and possible infection to the health care worker or the patient may occur. Copyright © 2015 American Dental Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Attitudes and beliefs toward the use of a dental diagnostic terminology A survey of dental providers in a dental practice

    PubMed Central

    Ramoni, Rachel B.; Walji, Muhammad F.; Kim, Soyun; Tokede, Oluwabunmi; McClellan, Lyle; Simmons, Kristen; Skourtes, Eugene; Yansane, Alfa; White, Joel M.; Kalenderian, Elsbeth

    2015-01-01

    Background Attitudes and views are critical to the adoption of innovation. While there have been broadening calls for a standardized dental diagnostic terminology, little is known about the views of private practice dental team members towards the adoption of such a terminology. Methods A survey was developed using validated questions identified through literature review. Domain experts’ input allowed for further modifications. The final survey was administered electronically to 814 team members at a multi-office practice based in the Pacific Northwest. Results Response proportion was 92%. The survey had excellent reliability (Cronbach alpha coefficient = 0.87). Results suggested that participants showed, in general, positive attitudes and beliefs towards using a standardized diagnostic terminology in their practices. Additional written comments by participants highlighted the potential for improved communication with use of the terminology. Conclusions Dental providers and staff in one multi-office practice showed positive attitudes towards the use of a diagnostic terminology, specifically they believed it would improve communication between the dentist and patient as well as among providers, while expressing some concerns if using standardized dental diagnostic terms helps clinicians to deliver better dental care. Practical Implications As the dental profession is advancing towards the use of standardized diagnostic terminologies, successful implementation will require that dental team leaders prepare their dental teams by gauging their attitude toward the use of such a terminology. PMID:26025826

  20. Untreated severe dental decay: a neglected determinant of low Body Mass Index in 12-year-old Filipino children.

    PubMed

    Benzian, Habib; Monse, Bella; Heinrich-Weltzien, Roswitha; Hobdell, Martin; Mulder, Jan; van Palenstein Helderman, Wim

    2011-07-13

    Dental decay is the most common childhood disease worldwide and most of the decay remains untreated. In the Philippines caries levels are among the highest in the South East Asian region. Elementary school children suffer from high prevalence of stunting and underweight.The present study aimed to investigate the association between untreated dental decay and Body Mass Index (BMI) among 12-year-old Filipino children. Data collection was part of the National Oral Health Survey, a representative cross-sectional study of 1951 11-13-year-old school children using a modified, stratified cluster sampling design based on population classifications of the Philippine National Statistics Office. Caries was scored according to WHO criteria (1997) and odontogenic infections using the PUFA index. Anthropometric measures were performed by trained nurses. Some socio-economic determinants were included as potential confounding factors. The overall prevalence of caries (DMFT + dmft > 0) was 82.3% (95%CI; 80.6%-84.0%). The overall prevalence of odontogenic infections due to caries (PUFA + pufa > 0) was 55.7% (95% CI; 53.5%-57.9%) The BMI of 27.1% (95%CI; 25.1%-29.1%) of children was below normal, 1% (95%CI; 0.5%-1.4%) had a BMI above normal. The regression coefficient between BMI and caries was highly significant (p < 0.001). Children with odontogenic infections (PUFA + pufa > 0) as compared to those without odontogenic infections had an increased risk of a below normal BMI (OR: 1.47; 95% CI: 1.19-1.80). This is the first-ever representative survey showing a significant association between caries and BMI and particularly between odontogenic infections and below normal BMI. An expanded model of hypothesised associations is presented that includes progressed forms of dental decay as a significant, yet largely neglected determinant of poor child development.

  1. Dental and Dental Hygiene Intraprofessional Education: A Pilot Program and Assessment of Students' and Patients' Satisfaction.

    PubMed

    Jones, Vickie E; Karydis, Anastasios; Hottel, Timothy L

    2017-10-01

    Interprofessional and intraprofessional education (when students from two or more professions or within the same profession, respectively, learn about, from, and/or with each other) is crucial for effective interdisciplinary collaboration. The aims of this study were to assess the effectiveness of a clinical intraprofessional education program for dental and dental hygiene students, based on students' expectations and satisfaction with the program and patients' satisfaction with the team-based care. The pilot program was developed at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Dentistry, where dental hygiene students were paired randomly with dental students scheduled for prophylaxis, scaling and root planing, or periodontal maintenance. Surveys with questions about the students' expectations and satisfaction were distributed to 89 senior dental students and 27 senior dental hygiene students before and after team-based procedures. Another survey was distributed to 17 patients asking about their satisfaction with the team-based care. All 27 dental hygiene students (100% response rate), 51 dental students (57.3% response rate), and all 17 patients (100% response rate) participated in the surveys. The results showed that both the dental and dental hygiene students had high expectations and were overall satisfied with the intraprofessional education. The students' expectations and perceived educational gap (difference between expectations and satisfaction) differed for the dental and dental hygiene students (p<0.001). The male dental students were also more satisfied than the female dental students (p<0.01). Overall, the program met or exceeded the students' expectations, and the patients were overwhelmingly satisfied with the team-based care. These results suggest that this intraprofessional practice model provided an effective educational experience for both dental and dental hygiene students and patients. The differences between the dental hygiene

  2. A novel antimicrobial peptide against dental-caries-associated bacteria.

    PubMed

    Chen, Long; Jia, Lili; Zhang, Qiang; Zhou, Xirui; Liu, Zhuqing; Li, Bingjie; Zhu, Zhentai; Wang, Fenwei; Yu, Changyuan; Zhang, Qian; Chen, Feng; Luo, Shi-Zhong

    2017-10-01

    Dental caries, a highly prevalent oral disease, is primarily caused by pathogenic bacteria infection, and most of them are anaerobic. Herein, we investigated the activity of a designed antimicrobial peptide ZXR-2, and found it showed broad-spectrum activity against a variety of Gram-positive and Gram-negative oral bacteria, particularly the caries-related taxa Streptococcus mutans. Time-course killing assays indicated that ZXR-2 killed most bacterial cells within 5 min at 4 × MIC. The mechanism of ZXR-2 involved disruption of cell membranes, as observed by scanning electron microscopy. Moreover, ZXR-2 inhibited the formation of S. mutans biofilm, but showed limited hemolytic effect. Based on its potent antimicrobial activity, rapid killing, and inhibition of S. mutans biofilm formation, ZXR-2 represents a potential therapeutic for the prevention and treatment of dental caries. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Examining dental expenditure and dental insurance accounting for probability of incurring expenses.

    PubMed

    Teusner, Dana; Smith, Valerie; Gnanamanickam, Emmanuel; Brennan, David

    2017-04-01

    There are few studies of dental service expenditure in Australia. Although dental insurance status is strongly associated with a higher probability of dental visiting, some studies indicate that there is little variation in expenditure by insurance status among those who attend for care. Our objective was to assess the overall impact of insurance on expenditures by modelling the association between insurance and expenditure accounting for variation in the probability of incurring expenses, that is dental visiting. A sample of 3000 adults (aged 30-61 years) was randomly selected from the Australian electoral roll. Dental service expenditures were collected prospectively over 2 years by client-held log books. Questionnaires collecting participant characteristics were administered at baseline, 12 months and 24 months. Unadjusted and adjusted ratios of expenditure were estimated using marginalized two-part log-skew-normal models. Such models accommodate highly skewed data and estimate effects of covariates on the overall marginal mean while accounting for the probability of incurring expenses. Baseline response was 39%; of these, 40% (n = 438) were retained over the 2-year period. Only participants providing complete data were included in the analysis (n = 378). Of these, 68.5% were insured, and 70.9% accessed dental services of which nearly all (97.7%) incurred individual dental expenses. The mean dental service expenditure for the total sample (those who did and did not attend) for dental care was AUS$788. Model-adjusted ratios of mean expenditures were higher for the insured (1.61; 95% CI 1.18, 2.20), females (1.38; 95% CI 1.06, 1.81), major city residents (1.43; 95% CI 1.10, 1.84) and those who brushed their teeth twice or more a day (1.50; 95% CI 1.15, 1.96) than their respective counterparts. Accounting for the probability of incurring dental expenses, and other explanatory factors, insured working-aged adults had (on average) approximately 60% higher individual

  4. An audit of dental prescriptions between clinics and dental laboratories.

    PubMed

    Stewart, C A

    2011-08-12

    To discover the quality of written instructions from dentists to dental technicians and the nature of non-compliant prescriptions. An audit of laboratory prescription compliance was conducted within an NHS Trust Dental Teaching Hospital to determine the level of communication between dentists and dental technicians. One hundred and fifty prescriptions were audited from dental undergraduates and qualified dentists throughout the different departments. A total of two-thirds of prescriptions were considered non-compliant and failed to meet relevant ethical and legal guidelines. This problem was seen throughout all departments and at all professional levels. A breakdown in communication between dentists and technicians through the use of prescriptions is evident even within a close working environment.

  5. Earthquake focal mechanism forecasting in Italy for PSHA purposes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Roselli, Pamela; Marzocchi, Warner; Mariucci, Maria Teresa; Montone, Paola

    2018-01-01

    In this paper, we put forward a procedure that aims to forecast focal mechanism of future earthquakes. One of the primary uses of such forecasts is in probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA); in fact, aiming at reducing the epistemic uncertainty, most of the newer ground motion prediction equations consider, besides the seismicity rates, the forecast of the focal mechanism of the next large earthquakes as input data. The data set used to this purpose is relative to focal mechanisms taken from the latest stress map release for Italy containing 392 well-constrained solutions of events, from 1908 to 2015, with Mw ≥ 4 and depths from 0 down to 40 km. The data set considers polarity focal mechanism solutions until to 1975 (23 events), whereas for 1976-2015, it takes into account only the Centroid Moment Tensor (CMT)-like earthquake focal solutions for data homogeneity. The forecasting model is rooted in the Total Weighted Moment Tensor concept that weighs information of past focal mechanisms evenly distributed in space, according to their distance from the spatial cells and magnitude. Specifically, for each cell of a regular 0.1° × 0.1° spatial grid, the model estimates the probability to observe a normal, reverse, or strike-slip fault plane solution for the next large earthquakes, the expected moment tensor and the related maximum horizontal stress orientation. These results will be available for the new PSHA model for Italy under development. Finally, to evaluate the reliability of the forecasts, we test them with an independent data set that consists of some of the strongest earthquakes with Mw ≥ 3.9 occurred during 2016 in different Italian tectonic provinces.

  6. What is dental ecology?

    PubMed

    Cuozzo, Frank P; Sauther, Michelle L

    2012-06-01

    Teeth have long been used as indicators of primate ecology. Early work focused on the links between dental morphology, diet, and behavior, with more recent years emphasizing dental wear, microstructure, development, and biogeochemistry, to understand primate ecology. Our study of Lemur catta at the Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve, Madagascar, has revealed an unusual pattern of severe tooth wear and frequent tooth loss, primarily the result of consuming a fallback food for which these primates are not dentally adapted. Interpreting these data was only possible by combining our areas of expertise (dental anatomy [FC] and primate ecology [MS]). By integrating theoretical, methodological, and applied aspects of both areas of research, we adopted the term "dental ecology"-defined as the broad study of how teeth respond to the environment. Specifically, we view dental ecology as an interpretive framework using teeth as a vehicle for understanding an organism's ecology, which builds upon earlier work, but creates a new synthesis of anatomy and ecology that is only possible with detailed knowledge of living primates. This framework includes (1) identifying patterns of dental pathology and tooth use-wear, within the context of feeding ecology, behavior, habitat variation, and anthropogenic change, (2) assessing ways in which dental development and biogeochemical signals can reflect habitat, environmental change and/or stress, and (3) how dental microstructure and macro-morphology are adapted to, and reflect feeding ecology. Here we define dental ecology, provide a short summary of the development of this perspective, and place our new work into this context. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  7. Fear of dental pain in Italian children: child personality traits and parental dental fear.

    PubMed

    D'Alessandro, Giovanni; Alkhamis, Nadia; Mattarozzi, Katia; Mazzetti, Michela; Piana, Gabriela

    2016-06-01

    Dental anxiety could impede dental treatment in children. Evidence shows that parents' fear of dentists contributes to children's anxiety towards dentists. The aim of the present study was to determine whether and to what extent: a) parents' anxiety and depression personality traits, b) parent's dental fear, and c) child personality traits can predict children's dental anxiety in an Italian population. One hundred and four children (5-14 years old) and one of their parents participated in the study. Well-known and validated questionnaires were administered to children (MCDASf, CFSS-DS, TAD) and parents (FDPQ, STAI Y1, Y2, and BDI-II). Dental anxiety is significantly associated with the anxiety personality trait and depression of the child and with parental fear of dental pain. A hierarchical regression analysis showed that, regardless of age and gender, the best predictor of child dental anxiety is parent's fear of dental pain, rather than relatively stable temperaments of the child. In line with the literature concerning adults, these findings highlight the children dental anxiety as a complex phenomena consisting of different components, including the child's personality traits (anxiety trait and depression) and parents' dental fear. Clinical implications of this evidence are discussed. © 2015 American Association of Public Health Dentistry.

  8. Nonlinear Focal Modulation Microscopy.

    PubMed

    Zhao, Guangyuan; Zheng, Cheng; Kuang, Cuifang; Zhou, Renjie; Kabir, Mohammad M; Toussaint, Kimani C; Wang, Wensheng; Xu, Liang; Li, Haifeng; Xiu, Peng; Liu, Xu

    2018-05-11

    We demonstrate nonlinear focal modulation microscopy (NFOMM) to achieve superresolution imaging. Traditional approaches to superresolution that utilize point scanning often rely on spatially reducing the size of the emission pattern by directly narrowing (e.g., through minimizing the detection pinhole in Airyscan, Zeiss) or indirectly peeling its outer profiles [e.g., through depleting the outer emission region in stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy]. We show that an alternative conceptualization that focuses on maximizing the optical system's frequency shifting ability offers advantages in further improving resolution while reducing system complexity. In NFOMM, a spatial light modulator and a suitably intense laser illumination are used to implement nonlinear focal-field modulation to achieve a transverse spatial resolution of ∼60  nm (∼λ/10). We show that NFOMM is comparable with STED microscopy and suitable for fundamental biology studies, as evidenced in imaging nuclear pore complexes, tubulin and vimentin in Vero cells. Since NFOMM is readily implemented as an add-on module to a laser-scanning microscope, we anticipate wide utility of this new imaging technique.

  9. Nonlinear Focal Modulation Microscopy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Guangyuan; Zheng, Cheng; Kuang, Cuifang; Zhou, Renjie; Kabir, Mohammad M.; Toussaint, Kimani C.; Wang, Wensheng; Xu, Liang; Li, Haifeng; Xiu, Peng; Liu, Xu

    2018-05-01

    We demonstrate nonlinear focal modulation microscopy (NFOMM) to achieve superresolution imaging. Traditional approaches to superresolution that utilize point scanning often rely on spatially reducing the size of the emission pattern by directly narrowing (e.g., through minimizing the detection pinhole in Airyscan, Zeiss) or indirectly peeling its outer profiles [e.g., through depleting the outer emission region in stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy]. We show that an alternative conceptualization that focuses on maximizing the optical system's frequency shifting ability offers advantages in further improving resolution while reducing system complexity. In NFOMM, a spatial light modulator and a suitably intense laser illumination are used to implement nonlinear focal-field modulation to achieve a transverse spatial resolution of ˜60 nm (˜λ /10 ). We show that NFOMM is comparable with STED microscopy and suitable for fundamental biology studies, as evidenced in imaging nuclear pore complexes, tubulin and vimentin in Vero cells. Since NFOMM is readily implemented as an add-on module to a laser-scanning microscope, we anticipate wide utility of this new imaging technique.

  10. Focal hyperhidrosis: diagnosis and management

    PubMed Central

    Haider, Aamir; Solish, Nowell

    2005-01-01

    HYPERHIDROSIS, A CONDITION CHARACTERIZED by excessive sweating, can be generalized or focal. Generalized hyperhidrosis involves the entire body and is usually part of an underlying condition, most often an infectious, endocrine or neurologic disorder. Focal hyperhidrosis is idiopathic, occurring in otherwise healthy people. It affects 1 or more body areas, most often the palms, armpits, soles or face. Almost 3% of the general population, largely people aged between 25 and 64 years, experience hyperhidrosis. The condition carries a substantial psychological and social burden, since it interferes with daily activities. However, patients rarely seek a physician's help because many are unaware that they have a treatable medical disorder. Early detection and management of hyperhidrosis can significantly improve a patient's quality of life. There are various topical, systemic, surgical and nonsurgical treatments available with efficacy rates greater than 90%–95%. PMID:15632408

  11. Dental responsibility loadings and the relative value of dental services.

    PubMed

    Teusner, D N; Ju, X; Brennan, D S

    2017-09-01

    To estimate responsibility loadings for a comprehensive list of dental services, providing a standardized unit of clinical work effort. Dentists (n = 2500) randomly sampled from the Australian Dental Association membership (2011) were randomly assigned to one of 25 panels. Panels were surveyed by questionnaires eliciting responsibility loadings for eight common dental services (core items) and approximately 12 other items unique to that questionnaire. In total, loadings were elicited for 299 items listed in the Australian Dental Schedule 9th Edition. Data were weighted to reflect the age and sex distribution of the workforce. To assess reliability, regression models assessed differences in core item loadings by panel assignment. Estimated loadings were described by reporting the median and mean. Response rate was 37%. Panel composition did not vary by practitioner characteristics. Core item loadings did not vary by panel assignment. Oral surgery and endodontic service areas had the highest proportion (91%) of services with median loadings ≥1.5, followed by prosthodontics (78%), periodontics (76%), orthodontics (63%), restorative (62%) and diagnostic services (31%). Preventive services had median loadings ≤1.25. Dental responsibility loadings estimated by this study can be applied in the development of relative value scales. © 2017 Australian Dental Association.

  12. Barriers to standard precautions adherence in a dental school in Iran: a qualitative study.

    PubMed

    Hedayati, Hamidreza; Marjadi, Brahmaputra; Askarian, Mehrdad

    2014-07-01

    Setting up good infection control practices in educational institutions is crucial in shaping future health professionals. The implementation of standard precautions (SPs) in Iranian dental schools has not been explored qualitatively to identify barriers to good practice. Twelve focus group discussions and 8 semistructured interviews were conducted with students, residents, and staff members (n = 83) of the Shiraz University of Medical Sciences Dental School. The interview guide addressed performance, subjective norms, and behavioral control domains of SP-related behaviors. Thematic analysis was performed manually to identify barriers to SP practices. Proximal factors of poor SP adherence were a lack of knowledge and technical difficulties. These factors were compounded by intermediate factors in the work environment: lack of facilities, heavy workload, patient expectations, interprofessional conflicts, and lack of good role models. Two underlying distal factors were financial issues and unsupportive organizational culture. The social constructionism theory was useful in analyzing the situation and suggesting an educational approach as part of the solution. Complex and intertwined barriers of SP adherence were found in this dental school. A social construction approach may assist in addressing these problems by shifting the culture through education to construct a contextual new knowledge. Further research in medical sociology of SP practices would be useful. Copyright © 2014 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. The future dental workforce?

    PubMed

    Gallagher, J E; Wilson, N H F

    2009-02-28

    The Editor-in-Chief of the BDJ has previously raised important questions about dental workforce planning and the implications for dental graduates of recent changes and pressures. It is now time to revisit this issue. Much has changed since the last workforce review in England and Wales, and the rate of change is in all probability set to increase. First, at the time of writing this paper the momentous step of including dental care professionals (DCPs) on General Dental Council (GDC) registers in the United Kingdom has recently been completed. Second, the Scope of Practice of all dental professionals has been under consultation by the General Dental Council, and research evidence suggests that greater use should be made of skill-mix in the dental team. Third, within England, Lord Darzi has just published the 'Final Report of the NHS Next Stage Review', which emphasises 'quality care' and 'team-working' as key features of healthcare; this report was accompanied by an important document entitled 'A High Quality Workforce', in which plans for local workforce planning within the NHS are outlined, placing responsibilities at national, local and regional levels. Fourth, policy makers across the UK are wrestling with addressing oral health needs, promoting health and facilitating access to dental care, all of which have implications for the nature and shape of the dental workforce. Fifth, with the impact of globalisation and European policies we are net gainers of dentists as well as having more in training. Sixth, although there have been reviews and policy initiatives by regulatory, professional and other bodies in support of shaping the dental workforce, there has been little serious consideration of skill-mix and funding mechanisms to encourage team-working. Together, these events demand that we enter a fresh debate on the future dental workforce which should extend beyond professional and national boundaries and inform workforce planning. This debate is of great

  14. DEPDC5 takes a second hit in familial focal epilepsy.

    PubMed

    Anderson, Matthew P

    2018-04-30

    Loss-of-function mutations in a single allele of the gene encoding DEP domain-containing 5 protein (DEPDC5) are commonly linked to familial focal epilepsy with variable foci; however, a subset of patients presents with focal cortical dysplasia that is proposed to result from a second-hit somatic mutation. In this issue of the JCI, Ribierre and colleagues provide several lines of evidence to support second-hit DEPDC5 mutations in this disorder. Moreover, the authors use in vivo, in utero electroporation combined with CRISPR-Cas9 technology to generate a murine model of the disease that recapitulates human manifestations, including cortical dysplasia-like changes, focal seizures, and sudden unexpected death. This study provides important insights into familial focal epilepsy and provides a preclinical model for evaluating potential therapies.

  15. Magnetic electroanatomical mapping for ablation of focal atrial tachycardias.

    PubMed

    Marchlinski, F; Callans, D; Gottlieb, C; Rodriguez, E; Coyne, R; Kleinman, D

    1998-08-01

    Uniform success for ablation of focal atrial tachycardias has been difficult to achieve using standard catheter mapping and ablation techniques. In addition, our understanding of the complex relationship between atrial anatomy, electrophysiology, and surface ECG P wave morphology remains primitive. The magnetic electroanatomical mapping and display system (CARTO) offers an on-line display of electrical activation and/or signal amplitude related to the anatomical location of the recorded sites in the mapped chamber. A window of electrical interest is established based on signals timed from an electrical reference that usually represents a fixed electrogram recording from the coronary sinus or the atrial appendage. This window of electrical interest is established to include atrial activation prior to the onset of the P wave activity associated with the site of origin of a focal atrial tachycardia. Anatomical and electrical landmarks are defined with limited fluoroscopic imaging support and more detailed global chamber and more focal atrial mapping can be performed with minimal fluoroscopic guidance. A three-dimensional color map representing atrial activation or voltage amplitude at the magnetically defined anatomical sites is displayed with on-line data acquisition. This display can be manipulated to facilitate viewing from any angle. Altering the zoom control, triangle fill threshold, clipping plane, or color range can all enhance the display of a more focal area of interest. We documented the feasibility of using this single mapping catheter technique for localizing and ablating focal atrial tachycardias. In a consecutive series of 8 patients with 9 focal atrial tachycardias, the use of the single catheter CARTO mapping system was associated with ablation success in all but one patient who had a left atrial tachycardia localized to the medial aspect of the orifice of the left atrial appendage. Only low power energy delivery was used in this patient because of the

  16. Using Registered Dental Hygienists to Promote a School-Based Approach to Dental Public Health

    PubMed Central

    Wellever, Anthony; Kelly, Patricia

    2017-01-01

    We examine a strategy for improving oral health in the United States by focusing on low-income children in school-based settings. Vulnerable children often experience cultural, social, economic, structural, and geographic barriers when trying to access dental services in traditional dental office settings. These disparities have been discussed for more than a decade in multiple US Department of Health and Human Services publications. One solution is to revise dental practice acts to allow registered dental hygienists increased scope of services, expanded public health delivery opportunities, and decreased dentist supervision. We provide examples of how federally qualified health centers have implemented successful school-based dental models within the parameters of two state policies that allow registered dental hygienists varying levels of dentist supervision. Changes to dental practice acts at the state level allowing registered dental hygienists to practice with limited supervision in community settings, such as schools, may provide vulnerable populations greater access to screening and preventive services. We derive our recommendations from expert opinion. PMID:28661808

  17. Attitudes towards shared learning of trainee dental technicians and undergraduate dental students.

    PubMed

    Reeson, Michael G; Walker-Gleaves, Caroline; Ellis, Ian

    2015-01-01

    The challenges of health care are increasingly complex and subject to frequent change. Meeting these demands requires that health professionals work in partnership with each other and the patient. One way of contributing to this is for students to learn together. However, effective teamwork requires an education system that helps to foster understanding among all those entering the health workforce. The purpose of this study was to investigate the attitudes towards shared learning of undergraduate dental students and trainee dental technicians in a university dental school/hospital in the United Kingdom. Twenty-five trainee dental technicians and 75 undergraduate dental students took part in the study over five academic years. Data were collected using structured questionnaires. A 100% response rate was achieved from the questionnaires. The results indicated the majority of students recognized the benefits of shared learning and viewed the acquisition of teamworking skills as useful for their future working lives, beneficial to the care of their patients, and likely to enhance professional working relationships. The study also found a positive association of being valued as an individual in the dental team by all student groups. Future dental curricula should provide opportunities to develop effective communication between these two groups and encourage teamworking opportunities. These opportunities need to be systematically developed in the dental curriculum to achieve the desired goals.

  18. Prevention and treatment strategy in pregnant women with group B streptococcal infection.

    PubMed

    Tevdorashvili, G; Tevdorashvili, D; Andghuladze, M; Tevdorashvili, M

    2015-04-01

    Group B streptococcus (GBS; Streptococcus agalactiae) are encapsulated gram-positive cocci belonging to Lancefield group B, that frequently colonizes the human genital and gastrointestinal tracts. It is an important cause of illness in three categories of population: infants, pregnant women, and adults with underlying medical conditions. In pregnant women and postpartum women, GBS is a frequent cause of asymptomatic bacteriuria, urinary tract infection, upper genital tract infection (i.e. intraamniotic infection or chorioamnionitis), postpartum endometritis (8%), pneumonia (2%), puerperal sepsis (2%), and bacteremia without a focal site (31%). It also can cause focal infections such as pneumonia, meningitis, and endocarditis, albeit rarely. Invasive maternal infection with GBS is associated with pregnancy loss and preterm delivery. Prior to the widespread use of maternal intrapartum chemoprophylaxis, maternal colonization with GBS conferred an increased risk of chorioamnionitis, and early postpartum infection. The serotype distribution of invasive GBS infection in pregnant women is similar to that of early-onset neonatal disease. The most common GBS serotypes causing invasive disease in adults and neonates are Ia, Ib, III, and V. Vaccination of adolescent women is considered an ideal solution. However, recent reports (April 2015) have shown that serotype IV GBS is emerging in pregnant carriers and causing infections in neonates and adults. This emergence is of concern because GBS conjugate vaccines that are being developed to prevent invasive disease may protect only against serotypes Ia, Ib, II, III, and V, or combinations thereof. Though research for the development of such a vaccine is underway, a good candidate vaccine has yet to surface.

  19. Acceptance of oral health promotion programmes by dental hygienists and dental nurses in public dental service.

    PubMed

    Arpalahti, I; Järvinen, M; Suni, J; Pienihäkkinen, K

    2012-02-01

    The aim of this study was to analyse how dental hygienists and in-service trained dental nurses accepted new health promotion programmes, how did they experience them in practice, and how did these programmes affect their attitudes to work. The subjects were all the dental hygienists and in-service trained dental nurses (n = 28) involved in health promotion of small children. Education and written instructions on two new programmes had been given to the professionals in two areas of Vantaa and those in the third area used the routine programme. The transtheoretical model (TTM) was selected as the theoretical framework for counselling. A structured questionnaire of 31-35 items was sent to all subjects. Independent samples Mann-Whitney U and Fisher's exact tests were used as statistical methods. The response rate was 89%. All respondents felt that the work they had carried out had always been important during their working career. Twenty-one of 25 respondents reported that the instructions and education were suitable for oral health promotion. The respondents within the new programmes felt they had advanced more as health professionals (P = 0.020) and acquired more confidence from the education (P = 0.018) compared with the routine programme. The new programmes for small children were well accepted by the dental hygienists and the in-service trained dental nurses, and the majority of them gained some new practices for their work. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

  20. Cross-border dental care: 'dental tourism' and patient mobility.

    PubMed

    Turner, L

    2008-05-24

    Patient mobility is increasing. 'Dental tourism' is driven by numerous factors. These factors include the high cost of local care, delays in obtaining access to local dentists, competent care at many international clinics, inexpensive air travel, and the Internet's capacity to link 'customers' to 'sellers' of health-related services. Though dental tourism will benefit some patients, increased patient mobility comes with numerous risks. Lack of access to affordable and timely local care plays a significant role in prompting patients to cross borders and receive dental care outside their local communities.

  1. A retrospective evaluation of traumatic dental injury in children who applied to the dental hospital, Turkey.

    PubMed

    Sari, M E; Ozmen, B; Koyuturk, A E; Tokay, U; Kasap, P; Guler, D

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to analyze traumatic dental injuries in children visiting the dental hospital emergency department in Samsun of Turkey, in the period from 2007 to 2011. Data of age, gender, causes of dental trauma, injured teeth, type of dental injuries, the application period, the dental treatments, and traumatic dental injuries according to the seasons were obtained from the records at dental hospital. Of all 320 patients with traumatic dental injury, 205 were boys and 115 were girls with a boys/girls ratio 1.78:1. Traumatic dental injury was observed more frequently in the 7-12 age groups: 52.5% in girls and 67.8% in boys. Falls are the major cause of traumatic dental injury in the age group 6-12 (51.4%). Sport activities are a common cause of traumatic dental injury in the 7-12 age group (34.2%). Patients visited a dentist within approximately 2 h (57.1%). The upper anterior teeth were subjected to trauma more frequently than the lower anterior teeth. The maxillary central incisors were the most commonly affected teeth, and the mandibular canins were the least affected teeth. In primary teeth, avulsion was the most common type of dental injury (23%); on the other hand, enamel fractures were the most common type of dental injury (30.6%) observed in permanent teeth. In the primary dentition, the most commonly performed treatments were dental examination and prescribing (70%). The most common treatment choices in permanent teeth were restoration and dental examination (49.7 and 15.8%, respectively). The results of the study show that the emergency intervention to traumatized teeth is important for good prognosis of teeth and oral tissues. Therefore, the parents should be informed about dental trauma in schools, and dental hospital physicians should be subjected to postgraduate training.

  2. Crystal diffraction lens with variable focal length

    DOEpatents

    Smither, R.K.

    1991-04-02

    A method and apparatus for altering the focal length of a focusing element of one of a plurality of pre-determined focal lengths by changing heat transfer within selected portions of the element by controlled quantities is disclosed. Control over heat transfer is accomplished by manipulating one or more of a number of variables, including: the amount of heat or cold applied to surfaces; type of fluids pumped through channels for heating and cooling; temperatures, directions of flow and rates of flow of fluids; and placement of channels. 19 figures.

  3. Rasmussen's encephalitis presenting as focal cortical dysplasia

    PubMed Central

    O'Rourke, D.J.; Bergin, A.; Rotenberg, A.; Peters, J.; Gorman, M.; Poduri, A.; Cryan, J.; Lidov, H.; Madsen, J.; Harini, C.

    2014-01-01

    Rasmussen's encephalitis is a rare syndrome characterized by intractable seizures, often associated with epilepsia partialis continua and symptoms of progressive hemispheric dysfunction. Seizures are usually the hallmark of presentation, but antiepileptic drug treatment fails in most patients and is ineffective against epilepsia partialis continua, which often requires surgical intervention. Co-occurrence of focal cortical dysplasia has only rarely been described and may have implications regarding pathophysiology and management. We describe a rare case of dual pathology of Rasmussen's encephalitis presenting as a focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) and discuss the literature on this topic. PMID:25667877

  4. Disparity in perception of the working condition of dental hygienists between dentists and dental hygiene students in Japan.

    PubMed

    Muroga, R; Tsuruta, J; Morio, I

    2015-08-01

    In Japan, there continues to be a shortage of active dental hygienists. The scope of dental hygienists' practice is also considered to be unclear. One of the reasons for this is that dental hygienists find the working conditions during dental hygiene education different from those in reality. The purpose of this study was to clarify the actual working condition of dental hygienists in dental clinics, as well as evaluate the awareness of dental hygiene students and dentists regarding the working condition of dental hygienists. Questionnaires were sent by post to 481 dentists and were distributed to 89 dental hygiene students. The awareness about the working condition of dental hygienists was compared between dentists and dental hygiene students. Two hundred twenty-two dentists and 89 dental hygiene students responded to questionnaires. Dental hygiene students considered the team of 'dental hygienist, dental technician and clerk' to be more effective in providing dental care than dentists (P < 0.001). Among the dentists, 37.1% did not find any clear distinction between hygienists and assistants in their clinics. However, 97.4% of dental hygiene students answered that dental team members should clearly inform patients of the distinction between hygienists and assistants. This study indicated that there was disparity between dentists' and dental hygiene students' perception of dental hygienists' working conditions, and dental team work was not always effective. For training high quality dental hygienists, all educational institutions related to dentistry must educate students regarding the more realistic dental hygienists' working condition, as well as benefits. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  5. Ablation by-products of dental materials from the Er:YAG laser and the dental handpiece

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wigdor, Harvey A.; Visuri, Steven R.; Walsh, Joseph T., Jr.

    1995-05-01

    Recently there has been much interest in lasers and their potential use to replace the dental drill. The research has been directed towards vital dental tissues. It must be understood that any laser to be used in dentistry which will replace the dental drill must also ablate and remove existing dental materials. Some concern exists about the ablation products when the Er:YAG laser is used to ablate dental materials. It is incumbent on the professionals using these lasers to understand the materials being produced by these lasers and protect themselves and their patients from possible toxic products. It is the intent of this paper to evaluate the products produced by the ablation of both dental amalgam and composite dental restorative materials and compare them with those produced by the traditional dental handpiece (drill).

  6. In vitro near-infrared imaging of occlusal dental caries using a germanium-enhanced CMOS camera

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lee, Chulsung; Darling, Cynthia L.; Fried, Daniel

    2010-02-01

    The high transparency of dental enamel in the near-infrared (NIR) at 1310-nm can be exploited for imaging dental caries without the use of ionizing radiation. The objective of this study was to determine whether the lesion contrast derived from NIR transillumination can be used to estimate lesion severity. Another aim was to compare the performance of a new Ge enhanced complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) based NIR imaging camera with the InGaAs focal plane array (FPA). Extracted human teeth (n=52) with natural occlusal caries were imaged with both cameras at 1310-nm and the image contrast between sound and carious regions was calculated. After NIR imaging, teeth were sectioned and examined using more established methods, namely polarized light microscopy (PLM) and transverse microradiography (TMR) to calculate lesion severity. Lesions were then classified into 4 categories according to the lesion severity. Lesion contrast increased significantly with lesion severity for both cameras (p<0.05). The Ge enhanced CMOS camera equipped with the larger array and smaller pixels yielded higher contrast values compared with the smaller InGaAs FPA (p<0.01). Results demonstrate that NIR lesion contrast can be used to estimate lesion severity.

  7. Are dentists enough aware of infectious risk associated with dental unit waterlines ?

    PubMed

    Robert, Amélie; Bousseau, Anne; Costa, Damien; Barbot, Vanessa; Imbert, Christine

    2013-07-10

    Environmental conditions in DU encourage biofilm development. This biofilm may represent a risk for patients and dental staff exposed to water and aerosols generated during dental cares, particularly for immunocompromised persons. A survey was conducted on the 175 dental surgeons of the department of Vienne (France) to investigate the motivations of dental practitioners to renew their DU, their awareness levels with respect to infectious risks related to water circulating within DU, and methods used for the maintenance of DU waterlines. These dentists were only partially aware of the need for maintaining DU waterlines. For this maintaining, chemical treatments and purges of pipes were carried out by 88% and 91.5% of dentists respectively ; chemical treatments were usually on a continous mode and dentists seemed to have complete confidence in their DU supplier regarding the choice and the use of chemical treatments. Flushes were performed only once per day in most cases (63%). This survey also highlighted that dentists were not enough aware of water related infectous risk, even though 68% estimated that the development of a biofilm within DU waterlines was an actual risk. Finally, very positively, dentists strongly indicated their wish to be more informed regarding all these risks. Although these results are based on a relatively small sample, corresponding to dentists of a French department, they clearly suggest that awareness of dental surgeons is still insufficient and must be performed to permit an effective prevention of infectious risk related to DU waterlines.

  8. Facing a moral dilemma--introducing a dental care insurance within the public dental service.

    PubMed

    Hallberg, Lillemor R-M; Hakeberg, Magnus; Hallberg, Ulrika

    2012-01-01

    Through the reform entitled "Dental care insurance-dental care at a fixed price", patients are offered a dental insurance, a capitation plan, that ensures that they can visit the dentist regularly during a period of three years at a fixed price per month (Frisktandvård).This insurance may be offered to all patients. The aim of this study was to generate a theory explaining the main concern for the staff at the public dental service when they have to introduce and advocate dental care insurance to patients. Interview data from 17 persons, representing different professions within the public dental service, were collected and analyzed simultaneously in line with guidelines for grounded theory. The results indicated that dentists/dental hygienists experienced several difficult standpoints concerning the implementation of the dental insurance, somewhat of a moral dilemma. The staff generally had a "cautiously positive attitude" to the forthcoming dental care insurance, but had perceptions how and when the patients should be offered the insurance and what that may mean to the clinic.The respondents reflected about the economic aspects for the clinic and how the oral health may be affected over time for the patients.

  9. Gallbladder adenoma with focal adenocarcinoma.

    PubMed

    Ciurea, S; Matei, E; Petrisor, P; Luca, L; Boros, Mirela; Herlea, V; Popescu, I

    2008-01-01

    The majority of polypoid lesions of the gallbladder are cholesterolosis pseudopolyps. True neoplastic GB polyps are represented mainly by adenomas. The case of a 52-year old male patient with an adenomatous polyp of the GB with focal adenocarcinoma is presented.

  10. Mycological contamination in dental unit waterlines in Istanbul, Turkey

    PubMed Central

    Kadaifciler, Duygu Göksay; Ökten, Suzan; Sen, Burhan

    2013-01-01

    Studies on dental units (DUs) are conducted either for the prevention or the reduction of the density of bacterial contamination in dental unit waterlines (DUWLs). However, the existence of fungi in the these systems requires more attention. During dental treatment, direct contact with water contaminated with fungi such as Candida, Aspergillus, or inhalation of aerosols from high-speed drill may cause various respiratory infections, such as asthma, allergies, and wounds on mucose membranes, especially on immunocompromised patients and dentists. The aims of this study are to investigate the number and colonization of fungi in DUWLs in the city of Istanbul, Turkey. Water samples were collected from air-water syringes, high-speed drills, and inlet waters from 41 DUs. The aerobic mesophilic fungi count in high- speed drills was higher than inlet waters and air-water syringes. Non-sporulating fungi were found in 7 DUs. The isolated fungi were identified as Penicillium waksmanii, Cladosporium spp., Penicillium spp., Candida famata, Cryptococcus laurentii, Candida guilliermondii, Penicillium verrucosum, Aspergillus pseudoglaucus, Penicillium decumbens, and Acremonium sp. Some of these fungal genera are known as opportunistic pathogens that led to respiratory diseases such as allergic rhinits. This study shows the importance of regular control of mycological contamination on water at DUs. PMID:24516467

  11. Single nucleotide polymorphisms typing of Mycobacterium leprae reveals focal transmission of leprosy in high endemic regions of India.

    PubMed

    Lavania, M; Jadhav, R S; Turankar, R P; Chaitanya, V S; Singh, M; Sengupta, U

    2013-11-01

    Earlier studies indicate that genotyping of Mycobaterium leprae based on single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) is useful for analysis of the global spread of leprosy. In the present study, we investigated the diversity of M. leprae at eight SNP loci using 180 clinical isolates obtained from patients with leprosy residing mainly in Delhi and Purulia (West Bengal) regions. It was observed that the frequency of SNP type 1 and subtype D was most predominant in the Indian population. Further, the SNP type 2 subtype E was noted only from East Delhi region and SNP type 2 subtype G was noted only from the nearby areas of Hoogly district of West Bengal. These results indicate the occurrence of focal transmission of M. leprae infection and demonstrate that analysis by SNP typing has great potential to help researchers in understanding the transmission of M. leprae infection in the community. © 2013 The Authors Clinical Microbiology and Infection © 2013 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.

  12. Interaction between mDia1 and ROCK in Rho-induced migration and adhesion of human dental pulp cells.

    PubMed

    Cheng, L; Xu, J; Qian, Y Y; Pan, H Y; Yang, H; Shao, M Y; Cheng, R; Hu, T

    2017-01-01

    To investigate the effects of mammalian homologue of Drosophila diaphanous-1(mDia1) and Rho-associated coiled-coil-containing protein kinase (ROCK) on the migration and adhesion of dental pulp cells (DPCs). Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) was used to activate Rho signalling. mDia1 and ROCK were inhibited by short interfering RNA and the specific inhibitor, Y-27632, respectively. The migration of DPCs was assessed using the transwell migration assay and scratch test. Formation of cytoskeleton and focal adhesions(FAs) was observed by confocal laser scanning microscopy. Cell adhesion and spreading assays were performed. Phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and paxillin was detected by Western blotting, and the bands were analysed using Adobe Photoshop CS5 software. All experiments were performed at least three times, and data were analysed with one-way anova and a post hoc test. LPA-triggered activation of Rho and inhibition of ROCK significantly increased the cell migration rate. Cell migration was inhibited by silencing mDia1. mDia1 silencing and ROCK inhibition suppressed the LPA-induced formation of the cytoskeleton, FA and phosphorylation of FAK and paxillin. Inhibition of ROCK or mDia1 facilitated early cell adhesion and spreading; by contrast, the combined inhibition of ROCK and mDia1 neutralized these effects. mDia1 promoted RhoA-induced migration of DPCs, but ROCK had an opposite effect. Both mDia1 and ROCK participated in cytoskeleton formation and adhesion of DPCs. The interactions between mDia1 and ROCK might influence dental pulp repair by determining the migration and adhesion of DPCs. © 2015 International Endodontic Journal. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  13. Adult Dental Health Survey 2009: relationships between dental attendance patterns, oral health behaviour and the current barriers to dental care.

    PubMed

    Hill, K B; Chadwick, B; Freeman, R; O'Sullivan, I; Murray, J J

    2013-01-01

    The importance of understanding barriers to dental attendance of adults in the UK was acknowledged in the first Adult Dental Health Survey in 1968 and has been investigated in all subsequent ADH surveys. In 1968, approximately 40% of dentate adults said they attended for a regular check-up; by 2009 this was 61%. Attendance patterns were associated with greater frequency of toothbrushing, use of additional dental hygiene products, lower plaque and calculus levels. Just under three-fifths of adults said they had tried to make an NHS dental appointment in the previous five years. The vast majority (92%) successfully received and attended an appointment, while a further 1% received an appointment but did not attend. The remaining 7% of adults were unable to make an appointment with an NHS dentist. The majority of adults were positive about their last visit to the dentist, with 80% of adults giving no negative feedback about their last dentist visit. Cost and anxiety were important barriers to care. Twenty-six percent of adults said the type of treatment they had opted for in the past had been affected by the cost and 19% said they had delayed dental treatment for the same reason. The 2009 survey data demonstrated a relationship between dental anxiety and dental attendance. Adults with extreme dental anxiety were more likely to attend only when they had trouble with their teeth (22%) than for a regular check-up.

  14. 21 CFR 872.3100 - Dental amalgamator.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Dental amalgamator. 872.3100 Section 872.3100 Food... DEVICES DENTAL DEVICES Prosthetic Devices § 872.3100 Dental amalgamator. (a) Identification. A dental... and dental alloy particles, such as silver, tin, zinc, and copper. The mixed dental amalgam material...

  15. 21 CFR 872.3100 - Dental amalgamator.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Dental amalgamator. 872.3100 Section 872.3100 Food... DEVICES DENTAL DEVICES Prosthetic Devices § 872.3100 Dental amalgamator. (a) Identification. A dental... and dental alloy particles, such as silver, tin, zinc, and copper. The mixed dental amalgam material...

  16. 21 CFR 872.3100 - Dental amalgamator.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Dental amalgamator. 872.3100 Section 872.3100 Food... DEVICES DENTAL DEVICES Prosthetic Devices § 872.3100 Dental amalgamator. (a) Identification. A dental... and dental alloy particles, such as silver, tin, zinc, and copper. The mixed dental amalgam material...

  17. 21 CFR 872.3100 - Dental amalgamator.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Dental amalgamator. 872.3100 Section 872.3100 Food... DEVICES DENTAL DEVICES Prosthetic Devices § 872.3100 Dental amalgamator. (a) Identification. A dental... and dental alloy particles, such as silver, tin, zinc, and copper. The mixed dental amalgam material...

  18. 21 CFR 872.3100 - Dental amalgamator.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Dental amalgamator. 872.3100 Section 872.3100 Food... DEVICES DENTAL DEVICES Prosthetic Devices § 872.3100 Dental amalgamator. (a) Identification. A dental... and dental alloy particles, such as silver, tin, zinc, and copper. The mixed dental amalgam material...

  19. Salivary characteristics and dental caries: Evidence from general dental practices

    PubMed Central

    Cunha-Cruz, Joana; Scott, JoAnna; Rothen, Marilynn; Mancl, Lloyd; Lawhorn, Timothy; Brossel, Kenneth; Berg, Joel

    2013-01-01

    Background Saliva is one of the intraoral host factors that influence caries development. The authors conducted a study to investigate whether salivary characteristics are associated with recent dental caries experience. Methods Dentist-investigators and dental staff members collected data pertaining to a two-year cumulative incidence of dental caries (previous 24 months) and salivary characteristics during baseline assessment in an ongoing longitudinal study. The systematic random sample consisted of patients (n = 1,763) visiting general dental practices (n = 63) within the Northwest Practice-based REsearch Collaborative in Evidence-based DENTistry (PRECEDENT). The authors estimated adjusted rate ratios (RRs) by using generalized estimating equations log-linear regression to relate salivary characteristics to coronal carious lesions into dentin. Results Low resting pH (≤ 6.0) in the overall sample and low stimulated salivary flow rate (≤ 0.6 milliliter/minute) in older adults (≥ 65 years old) were associated with increased dental caries (RR, 1.6; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.1–2.2; RR, 2.4; 95 percent CI, 1.5–3.8, respectively). Low buffering capacity was associated with decreased dental caries in children and adolescents (RR, 0.3; 95 percent CI, 0.1–1.0; RR, 0.2; 95 percent CI, 0.1–0.7, respectively). A thick, sticky or frothy salivary consistency also was associated with decreased dental caries in adults (RR, 0.6; 95 percent CI, 0.4–1.0). Associations between other salivary characteristics and dental caries for the overall sample and within each age group were not statistically significant. Conclusions Salivary characteristics were associated weakly with previous dental caries experience, but the authors did not find consistent trends among the three age groups. Different salivary characteristics were associated with an increased caries experience in older adults and a lowered caries experience in children and adolescents and adults

  20. Primary focal hyperhidrosis: diagnosis and management. .

    PubMed

    Wang, Rena; Solish, Nowell; Murray, Christian A

    2008-12-01

    Primary focal hyperhidrosis is a common and serious medical condition that causes considerable psychosocial morbidity. Diagnostic and effective management strategies can improve patients' quality of living dramatically.