Eighteen-month Clinical Study of Universal Adhesives in Noncarious Cervical Lesions.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical performance of Scotchbond Universal (3M Oral Care) and Prime & Bond Elect (Dentsply Sirona) in the restoration of noncarious cervical lesions (NCCLs). METHODS AND MATERIALS: This was a randomized controlled clinical trial involving 63 subjects. Two hundred and three NCCLs were restored using Scotchbond Universal and Prime & Bond Elect using both an etch-and-rinse and a self-etch technique. Lesions were notch-shaped NCCLs, and the restorations were placed without any mechanical retention. Restorations were finished immediately after placement and scored with regard to retention, marginal discoloration, marginal adaptation, and secondary caries. Similar assessment of the restorations was performed 18 months after placement. Logistic regression was performed for each outcome separately with a compound symmetric variance-covariance structure assumed to consider a correlation of restorations within subjects. All analyses were conducted using SAS version 9.4 (SAS Inc). RESULTS: One hundred and fifty-eight teeth (77.8% of the restorations placed) in 46 subjects (73% of subjects enrolled) were available for the 18-month follow-up. A statistically significant difference was reached only for the comparison Scotchbond Universal/self-etch (SU_SE) and Prime & Bond Elect/etch-and-rinse (PBE_E&R) groups ( p=0.01), where a restoration with SU_SE was 66% less likely to maintain a score of Alpha for marginal discoloration than a restoration performed with PBE_E&R. CONCLUSIONS: Scotchbond Universal and Prime & Bond Elect presented acceptable clinical performance after 18 months of clinical service. However, Scotchbond Universal, when applied with a self-etch approach, did demonstrate a relatively high level of marginal discoloration when compared to the other groups.

Minimum intervention in restorative dentistry with V-shaped facial and palatal ceramic veneers: A clinical report.

The esthetic and functional rehabilitation of worn anterior teeth should follow the principles of minimally invasive dentistry. When dental wear occurs at both the facial and palatal surfaces, the sandwich approach of reconstructing eroded anterior teeth with palatal followed by facial veneers is a straightforward treatment that preserves sound dental structure.

Conservative treatment for amelogenesis imperfecta: a case report.

Amelogenesis imperfecta is a hereditary condition that can alter the thickness, color, and shape of tooth enamel. Recent adhesive materials and techniques have provided less invasive treatment options. This case report presents the treatment of a patient whose anterior teeth had color alterations, white spots, pits, and shape defects. Using a more conservative technique, the mandibular and maxillary anterior teeth were restored using veneer direct composite restorations. After 6 years, the restorations demonstrated no deterioration, and no pathology was seen in association with the rehabilitation.

Near-UV laser treatment of extrinsic dental enamel stains.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The selective ablation of extrinsic dental enamel stains using a 400-nm laser is evaluated at several fluences for completely removing stains with minimal damage to the underlying enamel. STUDY DESIGN/MATERIALS AND METHODS: A frequency-doubled Ti:sapphire laser (400-nm wavelength, 60-nanosecond pulse duration, 10-Hz repetition rate) was used to treat 10 extracted human teeth with extrinsic enamel staining. Each tooth was irradiated perpendicular to the surface in a back-and-forth motion over a 1-mm length using an ∼300-µm-diam 10th-order super-Gaussian beam with fluences ranging from 0.8 to 6.4 J/cm(2) . Laser triangulation determined stain depth and volume removed by measuring 3D surface images before and after irradiation. Scanning electron microscopy evaluated the surface roughness of enamel following stain removal. Fluorescence spectroscopy measured spectra of unbleached and photobleached stains in the spectral range of 600-800 nm. RESULTS: Extrinsic enamel stains are removed with laser fluences between 0.8 and 6.4 J/cm(2) . Stains removed on sound enamel leave behind a smooth enamel surface. Stain removal in areas with signs of earlier cariogenic acid attacks resulted in isolated and randomly located laser-induced, 50-µm-diam enamel pits. These pits contain 0.5-µm diam, smooth craters indicative of heat transfer from the stain to the enamel and subsequent melting and water droplet ejection. Ablation stalling of enamel stains is typically observed at low fluences (<3 J/cm(2) ) and is accompanied by a drastic reduction in porphyrin fluorescence from the Soret band. CONCLUSION: Laser ablation of extrinsic enamel stains at 400 nm is observed to be most efficient above 3 J/cm(2) with minimal damage to the underlying enamel. Unsound underlying enamel is also observed to be selectively removed after irradiation.

Multifocal odontoblastic dysplasia in a dog.

A two-year-old Boerboel dog presented for a discolored left maxillary canine tooth. Dental radiographs revealed abnormally mineralized pulp within the discolored tooth. Similar radiographic findings were also seen in both maxillary third incisor teeth and in the remaining canine teeth to varying degrees. The discolored tooth was treated by surgical extraction and histopathology revealed abnormal dentin deposition within the canal indicative of dentin dysplasia. Although not previously documented in the dog, the pulpal changes in multiple teeth of the dog reported here were similar to those described for odontoblastic dysplasia in humans. This case report includes a review of developmental abnormalities of dentin in humans and pulpal response to inflammation and injury.

Decoronation for the management of an ankylosed young permanent tooth.

Replacement resorption rate is a variable process, and is dependent on age, basal metabolic rate, extra-alveolar time, treatment prior to replantation, amount of root dentin, severity of trauma, and extent of periodontal ligament necrosis. In patients 7-16 years old a tooth is lost 3-7 years after the onset of root resorption. The complications that may develop as a consequence of ankylosis of a permanent incisor in children are due to the inevitable early loss of the traumatized tooth and local arrest of alveolar bone development. An ankylosed tooth should be removed before the changes become so pronounced that they compromise future prosthetic treatment. The treatment options may involve: interceptive regenerative treatment, early extraction of the ankylosed tooth, orthodontic space closure, intentional replantation, extraction of the ankylosed tooth followed with immediate ridge augmentation/preservation, auto-transplantation, single tooth dento-osseous osteotomy, and decoronation. The purpose of this article was to review the considerations involved in the decision-making concerning the use of the decoronation technique for the treatment of a permanent incisor diagnosed as ankylosed.

Whitening of endodontically untreated calcified anterior teeth.

Definitive treatment for whitening endodontically untreated anterior teeth with dystrophic calcification is provided by removing the coronal sclerotic dentin and utilizing internal and external bleaching as necessary.