Apical plug technique in a calcified immature tooth: a case report.

Traumatic injury to an immature tooth may result in pulpal necrosis secondary to pulp canal obliteration, which makes the management of the tooth a clinical challenge for dentists. The present case report describes an innovative apical plug technique with mineral trioxide aggregate in a calcified immature tooth using an ultrasonic tip and long, thin, tapered fissure burs. The technique was proven to be successful clinically and radiographically at 2 years postobturation.

Vinegar as a disinfectant of extracted human teeth for dental educational use.

CONTEXT: Extracted human teeth are routinely used in dentistry to learn technical and preclinical skills. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has adopted guidelines for infection control of extracted teeth used for research and teaching, requiring that teeth be sterilized before use. Many of the proposed disinfection methods starting from use of formalin, sodium hypochlorite and to autoclaving have their own drawbacks and may not be practical. AIM: To assess the effectiveness of vinegar for disinfection/sterilization of extracted human teeth. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 80 extracted non-carious human teeth were kept in seven disinfectant media-10% formalin, 3% hydrogen peroxide, 5.25% sodium hypochlorite, 70% alcohol, vinegar, neem extract and normal saline. Ten samples were placed in each disinfectant individually for a period of 7 days, at room temperature. In all, 10 teeth were treated with microwave irradiation at 650 W for 3 min. Later, teeth from each group were placed individually in separate test tubes containing 10 ml of tryptic soy broth at 37°C for 48 h to observe the evidence of growth of microorganisms. Semiquantitative analysis of all the samples was done in Clade agar at 37°C for 48 h. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: The number of teeth disinfected in each group was compared using Chi square test. RESULTS: 10% formalin, 3% hydrogen peroxide and vinegar were totally effective. The result was statistically significant with a Chi square value of 61.414 and P < 0.001. CONCLUSIONS: Vinegar can be used as an effective disinfectant medium for extracted human teeth.

Comparison of the efficacy of carbamazepine, gabapentin and lamotrigine for neuropathic pain in rats.

BACKGROUND: Neuropathic pain in cancer patients remain a treatment challenge. Many of the anticancer drugs have to be abandoned because patients develop neuropathic pain. Several antiepileptic drugs like carbamazepine, phenytoin, lamotrigine, felbamate are effective in neuropathic pain and trigeminal neuralgia. However, their efficacy varies. AIM: The aim of this study is to compare the efficacy of antiepileptic drugs in neuropathic pain induced by anticancer drugs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Neuropathic pain was induced in rats by injecting 4 doses of paclitaxel. The rats were divided into four groups of six animals each. Group I was treated with oral carbamazepine (cbz) 100 mg/kg, group II received oral gabapentin (gbp) 60 mg/kg, and group III was treated with oral lamotrigine (lam) 40 mg/kg and group IV was the control group. Behavioural testing for thermal hyperalgesia and mechanical hyperalgesia was assessed from 26(th) day of paclitaxel administration to next five days by hot plate method and Randall Siletto test, respectively, in all the four groups. One way analysis of variance followed by Scheffe's post hoc test was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: In thermal hyperalgesia lam treated group was found to be significantly (P < 0.001) superior to cbz and gbp treated group. In mechanical hyperalgesia, lam group showed significant response (P < 0.05) as compared to gbp group. However, the gbp treated group showed a significant (P < 0.01) improvement after three days of treatment. CONCLUSIONS: In paclitaxel induced neuropathic pain, lamotrigine appears to be a promising drug. The difference in responses shown by different antiepileptics' depends on the etiology of the underlying mechanisms in neuropathic pain.