Surgical guides for esthetic crown lengthening procedures: Periodontal and prosthetic aspects.

BACKGROUND: In patients with gingival exposure on smiling due to altered passive eruption, esthetic crown lengthening is often indicated. Meticulous planning and surgical precision are key for successful outcomes. Surgical guides are helpful tools that are seldomly reported on in the literature related to esthetic crown lengthening procedures. TYPES OF STUDIES REVIEWED: The authors searched the literature for articles that described the planning, tools, and execution related to esthetic crown lengthening procedures. RESULTS: Several techniques have been reported to guide the esthetic crown lengthening procedure, ranging from direct bone level measurement to 3-dimensional printed surgical guides. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: This review serves the clinician as an aid in the decision-making process for esthetic crown lengthening procedures and available surgical guide options, including computer-based guides.

Microleakage and Bacterial Adhesion with Three Restorative Materials Used to Seal Screw-access Channels of Implant Abutments: An In vitro Study.

BACKGROUND: Proper sealing of screw-access channels against microbial microleakage is advisable for the long-term success of screw-retained implant prosthesis. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to compare the bacterial adhesion and microleakage with three restorative materials, namely, composite resin, acrylic resin and bis-acryl, that are used to cover the access channels of screw-retained implant prostheses, using polytetrafluoroethylene tape as a spacer material. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this in vitro study, 18 titanium straight abutments (Hex-lock® Zimmer) were torqued into implant analogs, which were then subdivided into three groups. The samples of each group were filled with polytetrafluoroethylene tape and sealed with the three restorative materials (Group A: composite resin; Group B: acrylic resin; Group C: bis-acryl). Measurements of surface bacterial adhesion and internal microleakage were then recorded. The results were statistically analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis and Chi-square tests. RESULTS: No significant difference was found between the investigated materials in terms of their sealing effectiveness against microbial microleakage (P = 0.06). Regarding bacterial adhesion, composite resin showed the highest number of surface adhesion, but there was no significant difference between the three materials (P = 0.081). CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that composite resin, acrylic resin and bis-acryl materials could be used alternatively in sealing the implant access channel owing to no significant differences in terms of microleakage and bacterial adhesion.

Oral hyperpigmentation associated with hydroxyurea in a patient with polycythemia vera: A case report.

Patients may report to health practitioners with unusual symptoms that necessitate a thorough examination and review of underlying medical conditions and medications for rare side effects. Hence, it is crucial to report such rare cases to raise awareness and increase the related body of knowledge. Hydroxyurea-associated oral hyperpigmentation has been reported.