Translating the determinant aspects on the study design in the dental implant field.

Objective: In this article, we analyzed the important categories capable of interfering with the determinants of scientific advancement in the type of study, considering seven leading journals over a 20-year. Methodology: A bibliometric review was performed at the website of well-established implant dentistry journals in five-time points defined to represent a 20-year period of observation. The measures associated with the type of study design were: the country of origin of the article, country income, continent of the corresponding author, inter-institutional collaboration, interdisciplinary collaboration, type of funding, and topic of research. Logistic regression was used in the multiple models to identify the exploratory factors associated with the type of study. Results: From a total of 1,944 articles, 50.6% comprised clinical studies. High-income countries and continents stood out for developing more clinical research than others. Since research funders request more collaborative research, overall clinical studies depended upon more inter-institutional collaboration than the others. Most clinical studies were partly supported by research institutes or universities and by industry. About the research topic, the majority of the clinical and animal studies disclosed surgical procedures. Conclusions: High-income countries and continents are more likely to develop clinical studies in the surgical procedures field. The highest collaborations in terms of the number of institutions and funding sources are more prevalent in clinical research designs. Indeed, most in vivo studies in dental implant fields are performed to evaluate new materials or even new surgical procedures.

Mapping the trends and impact of research collaboration between countries in oral implantology publications: A bibliometric analysis from 1999 to 2019.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: Scientific collaboration provides a suitable strategy for enhancing the exchange of knowledge and technological development. However, the impact of collaboration in oral implantology research between countries and how it has been influenced by the income status of the country has not been previously evaluated. PURPOSE: The purpose of this bibliometric analysis was to evaluate how collaboration between countries affected oral implant publications and whether patterns of collaboration differ depending on the country's income. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Articles were retrieved from 7 well-established journals whose scope included oral implantology at 5 time points (1999, 2004, 2009, 2014, and 2019). Data were extracted, and descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed (α=.05). RESULTS: A total of 1944 articles were included; of which, 27.5% presented collaboration between countries. In 2009, 2014, and 2019, collaboration between countries was more likely to occur than at previous time points (P≤.005). Corresponding authors with a higher h-index (P<.05) and authors from Europe and North America (P<.001) were more likely to establish international connections. The possibility of collaboration between countries was higher for animal studies (P<.001) and for articles published by Clinical Oral Implants Research (P=.026). Collaborations between high-income and upper-middle- or lower-middle-income countries were more likely to happen in 2014 and 2019 (P<.05), as well as when the number of authors was higher (P=.015), compared with collaboration between high-income countries. With regard to the continent, European articles were less likely to have collaborations with upper-middle- or lower-middle-income countries (P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: The findings revealed that some parameters related to the study, authors, countries, and journals were statistically associated with the presence of collaboration between countries. However, the bibliometric parameters showed different trends when countries of different incomes established collaboration.

Is atomic layer deposition of silver possible on N95 masks?

Due to the COVID19 outbreak, there has been increasing interest in tailoring, modifying and improving conventional personal protective equipment to increase their service life and make them more effective against viruses and bacteria. Here, atomic layer deposition (ALD) was used to functionalize the filter of N95 mask with nano-islands of silver. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and x-ray absorption fine structure were used for ALD silver characterization; microbiological assay was conducted to study the effectiveness of the deposited silver against the air-borne pathogen Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). Results showed that silver ALD successfully functionalized the N95 mask at 90 and 120 °C for two different numbers of ALD cycles (1100 and 1500 cycles). The deposited silver nano-islands were stable on the N95 filter media against washing. The leaching of silver nano-islands was studied using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry of phosphate-buffered saline solution after soaking the mask in it over predetermined times. <9% of Ag was removed after a maximum time of 4 h that was investigated. Antimicrobial tests showed that for samples functionalized with 1100 ALD cycles of Ag, 76% reduction in S. aureus colony-forming units content was observed after 24 h of biofilm development on the mask surfaces.

Association between industry support and the reporting of study outcomes in randomized clinical trials of dental implant research from the past 20 years.

BACKGROUND: Industry support is a significant funding source in implant dentistry research, not only to provide regulatory processes, but also to validate and promote products through randomized clinical trials (RCTs). However, industry funding should not affect scientific outcomes. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate whether there is an association between industry support for RCTs in implant dentistry and a greater chance of the reporting of positive outcomes, and whether there are other funding tendencies. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Randomized clinical trials from five implant dentistry journals were reviewed. Data were extracted, and descriptive and inferential statistical analyses (α = 0.05), including bivariate and multivariable logistic regression, and Spearman's correlation were performed. RESULTS: Two hundred eleven RCTs were included. Industry-funded and -unfunded studies presented similar outcomes, in terms of positive and negative results (p ≥ 0.05). North American and European countries received more industry funding, as did high-income countries, which showed well-established collaboration with each other. Clinical Oral Implants Research and Clinical Implant Dentistry and Related Research published 83.6% of industry-funded articles. Industry-funded studies from middle-income countries established more international collaborations with high-income countries than did unfunded studies. Citation numbers were similar for funded and unfunded studies. The chance of RCTs being industry-funded was higher for high-income (odds ratio [OR] = 3.00; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.99-9.32; p = 0.05) and North American articles (OR = 3.40; 95% CI, 1.37-8.42; p = 0.008) than in lower-middle-income and other continents, respectively. Higher industry funding was associated with specific topics such as "surgical procedures," "prosthodontics topics," and "implant macrodesign" (OR = 4.7; 95% CI, 1.45-15.20; p = 0.010) and with the increase in numbers of institutions (OR = 1.52; 95% CI, 1.16-2.0; p = 0.002). CONCLUSION: The available evidence suggests no association between industry funding and greater chances of the reporting of positive outcomes in implant dentistry RCTs. A strong association was identified in industry trends concerning geographic origins, higher numbers of institutions, and specific research topics.

Long-term outcomes of different loading protocols for implant-supported mandibular overdentures: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: Evidence provided by implant-supported mandibular overdenture research on different loading protocols is important. However, methodological inconsistency, as well as inadequate reporting of results, hampers a consistent decision in terms of clinical applicability. PURPOSE: The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate whether immediate or early loading protocols can achieve comparable clinical outcomes when compared with a conventional loading protocol in edentulous patients rehabilitated with mandibular overdentures. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In accordance with the Participant, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome strategy, prospective clinical studies without restrictions as to language or follow-up period were included. The Cochrane collaboration and ROBINS-I tools were used for quality assessment and risk-of-bias evaluation. The follow-up for the different outcomes ranged from 3 to 168 months, with the focus on implant success and survival rates, marginal bone loss, bleeding on probing, probing depth, plaque index, and the implant stability quotient. Statistical analyses in which standard mean differences were applied with a 95% confidence interval when continuous data were included were performed. For dichotomous data, risk difference was adopted. RESULTS: The search strategy resulted in 14 234 references. Twenty-three studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis showed statistically significant differences for plaque index at 12 months (standard mean difference=0.284 [0.022, 0.545], P=.033, I2=35%), probing depth at 36 months (standard mean difference=0.460 [0.098, 0.823], P=.013, I2=0%), and on pooled results for plaque index (standard mean difference=0.157 [0.031, 0.284], P=.015, I2=18%) in which the conventional loading protocol presented lower indices than those of immediate loading protocol or early loading protocol. Implant stability quotient presented a statistically significant difference only at 3 months (standard mean difference=0.602 [0.309, 0.895], P<.001, I2=0%) with higher values for the conventional loading protocol. For the other parameters, statistically significant differences (P>.05) were not found. CONCLUSIONS: Immediate loading protocol or early loading protocolfor mandibular overdentures has been determined to be a well-established treatment and worthy of consideration in clinical practice.