Association between anticonvulsant drugs and teeth-grinding in children and adolescents with cerebral palsy.

The relation between teeth-grinding and the use of drugs acting on the central nervous system of cerebral palsy (CP) patients has not yet been described. The aim of this research was to evaluate the presence or absence of teeth-grinding (sleep and/or awake periods) in normal and in CP children and adolescents, as well as the association of teeth-grinding and use of anticonvulsant drugs. The sample consisted of 207 children and adolescents, divided into three groups: G1, individuals with CP who did not take anticonvulsant drugs; G2, individuals with CP administered medications on a regular basis; and CG, normal individuals. Logistic regression analyses were performed to evaluate the association of teeth-grinding with some variables. No significant statistical differences were observed regarding the presence or absence of teeth-grinding when G1 and G2 were compared. However, compared with the CG, a statistically significant difference was determined, with the CG showing fewer children presenting teeth-grinding (P < 0·001). Among those children/adolescents prescribed drug therapy, the barbiturate group showed a greater frequency of teeth-grinding. CP children and adolescents show a greater and significant presence of grinding of the teeth compared with normal individuals. Subjects taking barbiturate drugs showed greater presence of teeth-grinding, than those who were taking medications from the other groups of anticonvulsant drugs.

Assessment scale of the oral motor performance of children and adolescents with neurological damages.

Among the conditions that classify individuals as special needs patients are those resulting from neurological sequelae, particularly cerebral palsy (CP), which is a disorder of high prevalence. Innumerable alterations can be found in individuals with CP but the inability to control striated muscles, due to damages suffered by the central nervous system, should be emphasized. Changes in tonus, speed and strength of oral muscles, reduction of mandibular mobility amplitude and difficulty to passively seal the lips are characteristics observed in such individuals. Categorization of the individual's mastication pattern is important in order to establish diagnosis and treatment protocols and prognosis. The aim of this study was to develop an Oral Motor Assessment Scale (OMAS) and evaluate its performance in terms of construct validity and reliability in a cohort of 53 children and individuals with CP. Two dentists examined the same patients on two different occasions. Good interexaminer (kappa > 0.85) and intra-examiner (kappa > 0.90) agreement was obtained for the majority of the OMAS items. This study shows that the OMAS is an accurate and valid method of assessment of oral motor skills in children and adolescents with neurological damages.

Frequency of temporomandibular disorder signs in individuals with cerebral palsy.

This study aimed to determine the frequency of temporomandibular disorder (TMD) signs in 68 individuals with cerebral palsy, aged between 3 and 23 years. TMD signs were evaluated according to the Research Diagnostic Criteria to assess temporomandibular joint sounds, lateral jaw deviation during opening and closing movements and limitation of maximum mouth opening (>40 mm). The frequency of TMD signs observed in the cerebral palsy group (46/68-67.6%) was higher than in the control group (17/68-25%). The clinical scenario of CP seems to make these individuals more prone to the development of TMD signs.

Frequency of parafunctional oral habits in patients with cerebral palsy.

Cerebral palsy (CP) is one of the most frequent conditions encountered in the daily practice of dentists who treat special-needs patients and it seems that parafunctional oral habits are often present in such individuals. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of occurrence of parafunctional habits in individuals with CP. Sixty-five patients with CP were evaluated through a questionnaire and clinical observation, regarding the following habits: pacifier-sucking, finger-sucking, biting objects, tongue interposition, and bruxism. The results showed that nine (13.8%) patients presented with pacifier-sucking, four (6.1%) showed finger-sucking, 12 (18.4%) had the habit of biting objects, 27 (41.5%) presented with tongue interposition, and 24 (36.9%) had eccentric bruxism. The significance of the presence of oral parafunctional habits in individuals with CP, revealed in this study, justifies the need to establish protocols for adequate prevention and clinical intervention in order to minimize the deleterious consequences that may result from such habits.

Floating-Harbor syndrome: case report and craniofacial phenotype characterization.

Floating-Harbor syndrome is a rare genetic disorder of unknown aetiology. It was described for the first time in 1973. The syndrome is characterized mainly by short stature, delay in speech development and characteristic facial features. This article describes a report of a case of the syndrome and emphasizes the oral aspects, including descriptions of soft tissues, teeth, occlusion, stage of dental development and findings on examination of the temporomandibular joint. The treatment provided and its outcome is also described. Hopefully this information will be compared with findings from other patients in the future to assist in clarifying the phenotype of the Floating-Harbor syndrome.

In vivo effectiveness of laser fluorescence compared to visual inspection and radiography for the detection of occlusal caries in primary teeth.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the in vivo effectiveness of laser fluorescence compared to visual inspection and radiography for the detection of occlusal caries in primary teeth. Fifty sites from 30 molars in 29 patients were selected and evaluated under standardized conditions by 2 previously trained examiners according to the 3 diagnostic methods. Histological examination served as gold standard after exfoliation or extraction. Values obtained for sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were 0.60, 0.90 and 0.73 for laser fluorescence, 0.82, 0.85 and 0.84 for visual inspection and 0.62, 0.73 and 0.67 for radiography, respectively. Considering only dentinal caries, values were 0.73, 0.95 and 0.90 for laser fluorescence, 0.61, 1.00 and 0.90 for visual inspection and 0.96, 0.81 and 0.85 for radiography, respectively. We conclude that for the detection of occlusal caries in primary molars laser fluorescence presents a similar accuracy when compared to visual inspection and radiography, although visual inspection showed better values for sensitivities for both enamel and dentin lesions.

[Effect of the storage method on microleakage of primary teeth restored with different bonding systems: in vitro study]. / Influência do modo de armazenamento na microinfiltração de dentes decíduos restaurados com diferentes sistemas adesivos: estudo in vitro.

The influence of the method of storage of teeth and the effect of two kinds of dentin-bonding agents on the microleakage at the axial and cervical walls of composite restorations, in primary second molars, were evaluated. The samples were divided in three groups: Dehydrated, Hydrated and Frozen. The Dehydrated group was kept dry, the Hydrated group was stored in physiological saline solution under refrigeration, and the Frozen group was kept in the freezer, also immersed in physiological solution. The samples received two vertical slot preparations: a mesio-occlusal and a disto-occlusal one. In the mesio-occlusal cavities, Scotchbond Multi-Use adhesive system was used, whereas in the disto-occlusal cavities Prime & Bond 2.1 system was used, and all cavities were filled with Solitaire composite resin. The groups were then thermocycled and immersed in silver nitrate solution. Microleakage was measured by means of a digitized image system and the values were submitted to statistical analysis. The results showed that the method of storage had no statistically significant influence on marginal microleakage. Microleakage at the cervical wall was significantly greater than that at the axial wall, with 99.9% of certainty. The adhesive systems did not show significant influence on microleakage, in the studied methods of storage. However, there was statistical difference in the Dehydrated group samples, with the use of Prime & Bond 2.1 adhesive, when considering the margins of the restoration (axial and cervical).

Effectiveness of reflective wedges on the polymerization of composite resins.

Polymerization of three composite resins was evaluated after they were light cured through one of four different reflective wedges. Other experimental variables were activation times and light units used. The same conditions were used for a control group, in which photoactivation was performed directly on the test specimens. Complete polymerization was never achieved when the curing light was directed through reflective wedges.