The bone lid technique in oral surgery: a case series study.

The aim of this case series study was to illustrate the bone lid technique implemented using piezoelectric surgery to access mandibular alveolar bone diseases and to assess the clinical and radiographic outcomes. The technique was used to treat 21 consecutive patients with various conditions: cysts in six cases, impacted teeth with associated cysts in nine, keratocystic odontogenic tumours in three, impacted teeth in two, and an endodontic lesion in one. The bone lid was fashioned using piezoelectric surgery and a thin osteotomy insert. After the surgical procedure, the bone lid was replaced and fixed with miniplates. On clinical and radiological follow-up at 12 months, the outcome measures were bone lid integration and alveolar bone volume recovery. Any complications were also documented. The lesion and bone lid healed completely in 19 cases; one patient experienced permanent mild paresthesia and one experienced trauma-induced bone lid necrosis. Computed tomography volumetric analyses conducted on 11 cases indicated a mean recovery of 93.8% of the volume of bone lost. Based on healthy biological reasoning, the bone lid technique with piezoelectric surgery and rigid fixation may be considered a valid alternative to ostectomy for the purposes of bone tissue healing.

Powder-based 3D printing for bone tissue engineering.

Bone tissue engineered 3-D constructs customized to patient-specific needs are emerging as attractive biomimetic scaffolds to enhance bone cell and tissue growth and differentiation. The article outlines the features of the most common additive manufacturing technologies (3D printing, stereolithography, fused deposition modeling, and selective laser sintering) used to fabricate bone tissue engineering scaffolds. It concentrates, in particular, on the current state of knowledge concerning powder-based 3D printing, including a description of the properties of powders and binder solutions, the critical phases of scaffold manufacturing, and its applications in bone tissue engineering. Clinical aspects and future applications are also discussed.

[Steinert's myotonic dystrophy: severe neonatal form with unknown family history]. / Distrofia miotonica di Steinert: grave forma neonatale con famigliarità misconosciuta.

UNLABELLED: A child with severe generalized hypotonia and respiratory insufficiency, with an unknown positive family history for Steinert's disease, is referred. We want to point out the importance of correct anamnesis and of physical examination during pregnancy to suspect and diagnose rare and incurable fetal pathologies. CASE REPORT: The child was born after caesarean section. Polyhydramnios and decreased fetal movements were noticed during pregnancy. At birth, the baby presented asphyxia (Apgar 4/6) and respiratory insufficiency: he was then intubed. He received assisted ventilation for 37 days. At the physical examination, the child appeared hypotonic, hyporeflexic, without sucking reflex, with arthrogryposis and ligament laxity. On first day, chest X-ray showed paralysis of the right hemidiaphragm. His mother presented with hypotonia of the facial muscles, lid drop, light muscular weakness, positivity to neostigmine test: we then assumed that the baby was affected by transient neonatal myasthenia gravis and neostigmine was carried on. Anyway, the general conditions of the baby didn't improve. We were able to establish diagnosis of Steinert's disease (a form of muscular dystrophy with autosomal dominant inheritance with incomplete penetrance) after some other examinations (negativity of acetylcholine receptor antibodies, elevation of creatine kinase level, myopathic pattern on electromyography). Gene DMPK alteration was documented with a molecular genetic test.

Signs and symptoms of temporomandibular joint muscle pain dysfunction syndrome: a retrospective study of one hundred patients.

A retrospective serial study was carried out on one hundred randomly selected temporomandibular joint muscle pain dysfunction syndrome (TMJMPDS) patients who had attended a private prosthodontic practice over an eight year period. The study looked at common signs, symptoms and referral patterns in this group and compared them with those quoted in a large section of the literature on the subject.