Living and Coping with Olfactory and Taste Disorders: A Qualitative Study of People with Long-COVID-19.

Taste and smell disorders are common symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 acute infection. In post-COVID-19 condition, symptoms can persist leading to disruption in patients' lives, to changes in their coping skills, and to the need to develop strategies for everyday life. This study aimed to describe the perspective of a group of patients with Long-COVID-19, a condition where loss of taste and/or smell was the most predominant symptom. A qualitative descriptive study was conducted. Participants who had suffered SARS-CoV-2 infection and had Long-COVID-19 loss of taste and/or smell were recruited. Purposive sampling was applied, and participants were recruited until data redundancy was reached. In-depth interviews were used for data collection and thematic analysis was applied. Twelve COVID-19 survivors (75% women) were recruited. The mean age of the participants was 55 years, and the mean duration of post-COVID-19 symptoms was 25 months. Three themes were identified: (a) Living with taste and smell disorders, describing the disorders they experience on a daily basis, how their life has changed and the accompanying emotions, (b) Changes and challenges resulting from the loss of taste and smell, changes in habits, self-care and risk in certain jobs or daily activities, (c) Coping with taste and smell disorders, describing the daily strategies used and the health care received. In conclusion, Long-COVID-19 taste and/or smell disorders limit daily life and involve changes in habits, meal preparation, and the ability to detect potentially dangerous situations.

In-office dental bleaching in adolescents using 6% hydrogen peroxide with different application tips: randomized clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE: Despite the availability of in-office bleaching gels with a 6% concentration of hydrogen peroxide (HP), these gels have not been evaluated in younger patients. They are commercially available with a tip, associated or not with a brush, where the tip with a brush spreads the gel over the entire surface to have a smaller thickness (thin layer) since the manufacturers indicate the application of a thin layer of gel. This randomized, split-mouth, double-blind clinical trial evaluated the efficacy of in-office bleaching with 6% HP in adolescents using different application tips, as well tooth sensitivity (TS) and aesthetic self-perception. METHODOLOGY: Sixty participants were randomized for 6% HP self-mixing bleaching gel tip design: without brush and with brush. In-office bleaching was performed in 3 sessions of 50 minutes. Color change was evaluated using a digital spectrophotometer (ΔE ab , ΔE 00 , and ΔWI D ) and color guide (ΔSGU), the absolute risk and intensity of TS with a visual analogue scale and aesthetic self-perception with the oral aesthetic scale (a=0.05). RESULTS: The groups achieved similar bleaching regardless of the application tip (p>0.05). However, only for ΔWI D , a significant mean difference (MD) was observed in the third week (MD 2.3; 95% CI 1.2 to 3.3; p < 0.001) and at one month (MD 1.6; 95% CI 0.6 to 2.6; p < 0.03) favoring the tip without brush. Regarding TS, 45% in the tip-without-brush group and 33% in the tip-with-brush group reported TS (odds ratio 0.61; 95% CI 0.29 to 1.28; p<0.02), with low TS intensity (MD 0.05; 95% CI -0.06 to 0.17; p>0.36). All patients reported improved aesthetic self-perception after bleaching (MD -1.3; 95% -1.8 to -0.9; p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Regardless of the tip used bleaching with 6% HP achieved a bleaching efficacy and improved the aesthetic self-perception. However, a lower risk of TS for application using the tip with brush was observed.

In-office dental bleaching in adolescents using 6% hydrogen peroxide with different application tips: randomized clinical trial

Abstract Despite the availability of in-office bleaching gels with a 6% concentration of hydrogen peroxide (HP), these gels have not been evaluated in younger patients. They are commercially available with a tip, associated or not with a brush, where the tip with a brush spreads the gel over the entire surface to have a smaller thickness (thin layer) since the manufacturers indicate the application of a thin layer of gel. Objective This randomized, split-mouth, double-blind clinical trial evaluated the efficacy of in-office bleaching with 6% HP in adolescents using different application tips, as well tooth sensitivity (TS) and aesthetic self-perception. Methodology Sixty participants were randomized for 6% HP self-mixing bleaching gel tip design: without brush and with brush. In-office bleaching was performed in 3 sessions of 50 minutes. Color change was evaluated using a digital spectrophotometer (ΔE ab , ΔE 00 , and ΔWI D ) and color guide (ΔSGU), the absolute risk and intensity of TS with a visual analogue scale and aesthetic self-perception with the oral aesthetic scale (a=0.05). Results The groups achieved similar bleaching regardless of the application tip (p>0.05). However, only for ΔWI D , a significant mean difference (MD) was observed in the third week (MD 2.3; 95% CI 1.2 to 3.3; p < 0.001) and at one month (MD 1.6; 95% CI 0.6 to 2.6; p < 0.03) favoring the tip without brush. Regarding TS, 45% in the tip-without-brush group and 33% in the tip-with-brush group reported TS (odds ratio 0.61; 95% CI 0.29 to 1.28; p<0.02), with low TS intensity (MD 0.05; 95% CI -0.06 to 0.17; p>0.36). All patients reported improved aesthetic self-perception after bleaching (MD -1.3; 95% -1.8 to -0.9; p<0.001). Conclusions Regardless of the tip used bleaching with 6% HP achieved a bleaching efficacy and improved the aesthetic self-perception. However, a lower risk of TS for application using the tip with brush was observed.

Influence of the bracket on bonding and physical behavior of orthodontic resin cements.

The aim of the study is to determine the influence of the type of bracket, on bond strength, microhardness and conversion degree (CD) of four resin orthodontic cements. Micro-tensile bond strength (µTBS) test between the bracket base and the cement was carried out on glass-hour-shaped specimens (n=20). Vickers Hardness Number (VHN) and micro-Raman spectra were recorded in situ under the bracket base. Weibull distribution, ANOVA and non-parametric test were applied for data analysis (p<0.05). The highest values of ή as well as the ß Weibull parameter were obtained for metallic brackets with Transbond™ plastic brackets with the self-curing cement showing the worst performance. The CD was from 80% to 62.5%.

Influence of cavity type and size of composite restorations on cuspal flexure.

OBJECTIVES: The present study examines the influence of cavity type, and size of composite restorations on cuspal flexure due to polymerization shrinkage. METHODS: Thirty healthy premolars were selected and divided into two experimental groups. Group 1: Mesial, mesio-distal, and MOD cavities were successively prepared in each tooth by means of the SONICSYS approx system (KaVo) using a n 2 (small) diamond tip. Group 2: The same cavity preparation sequence was followed but a n 3 (medium) tip was used. Cavity preparations were performed and afterwards restored using the same adhesive system and resin composite. Cuspal displacement was measured 15 min after completion of each type of restoration. RESULTS: Under the experimental conditions used, polymerization shrinkage of composite restorations resulted in an inward deflection of the cusps in all the situations evaluated. The Friedman global test found significant differences according to the cavity type and size (p<0.05). The Wilcoxon test revealed that deflection was significantly affected by the amount of dental tissue lost, since practically no movement was observed in the case of mesial cavities but extensive displacements were recorded for MOD restorations (p<0.05). However, no influence of bucco-lingual width on cuspal flexure was detected by the Student s t test (p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The present study demonstrates that significantly higher cuspal deflection is observed in MOD restorations, showing that the degree of dental removal influences the cuspal flexure from polymerization shrinkage of composite restorations.

The effect of antiretroviral therapy on the prevalence of HIV-associated oral candidiasis in a Spanish cohort.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the temporal changes in the prevalence of oral candidiasis in a cohort of Spanish human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals, before and after the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of a clinical database from "Carlos Haya" Hospital, Málaga, Spain, from 1995 to 2000. The prevalence of oral candidiasis was assessed in 807 HIV/AIDS patients and the temporal progression of its major variants evaluated using a linear regression model. RESULTS: Overall oral candidiasis was prevalent in 30.0% to 48.3% of the cohort throughout and no significant variation in its incidence was noted during the study period. Prevalence of erythematous candidiasis increased from 24.5% (1995) to 45.0% (2000) and pseudomembranous candidiasis decreased from 22.4% (1995) to 5.2% (2000) (P<.05). Hyperplastic candidiasis was not detected in the cohort after the introduction of HAART therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Although oral candidiasis in HIV-infected Spanish individuals has not decreased significantly after the introduction of HAART, there appears to be a significant reduction in hyperplastic and pseudomembranous variants of the disease with a compensatory increase in erythematous candidiasis.