Evaluation of hypermobile teeth deviation during impression taking in a partially edentulous dental arch: An in vitro study comparing digital and conventional impression techniques.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to compare the deviation of hypermobile teeth in partially edentulous dental arches during impression taking using digital and conventional techniques. METHODS: A partially edentulous mandibular model with three target hypermobile teeth (including the left first premolar, #34; left second molar, #37; and right first premolar, #44), was used as the simulation model. After reference data were acquired using a desktop scanner, impressions of the simulation model were obtained using a digital intraoral scanner (IOS) and two conventional techniques (hydrocolloid material with a stock tray and silicone material with a custom tray as impression data (n=12/group). The three-dimensional accuracy (root mean square value) and two-dimensional accuracy (mesiodistal and buccolingual displacements) of the target teeth in each impression dataset were calculated based on the reference data. The comparison among three impression techniques was statistically performed using the Kruskal-Wallis test (α=0.05). RESULTS: For #34 and #44, the three- and two-dimensional accuracies of the impressions fabricated through data acquired through digital scanning (digital impression) were significantly superior to those of the hydrocolloid impression (P < 0.05), whereas no significant difference was found between the digital and silicone impressions. For #37, no significant difference in the accuracy of the impression data for the target teeth was observed among the three impression techniques. CONCLUSIONS: Digital impression acquiring using an IOS is recommended over using a conventional hydrocolloid impression to prevent the deviation of hypermobile teeth in partially edentulous dental arches. Hypermobile tooth deviation in digital impression data depends on the tooth location.

Degradation of polychlorinated naphthalene by mechanochemical treatment.

Polychlorinated naphthalene (PCN) is a hazardous compound that is listed as a new persistent organic pollutants candidate by the United Nations Environment Program. The production, import and use of PCNs are prohibited by the Chemical Substances Control Law in Japan. PCN was milled with calcium oxide as an additive to investigate the feasibility of its degradation by mechanochemical treatment. The milling process cleaved the C-C and C-Cl bonds by the mechanically induced solid-state reaction. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis confirmed that the PCN was decomposed after 1h milling. The yield of chloride ions reached 100% after 3h milling. This indicates that all PCN was broken down into inorganic compounds after milling, thereby maintaining the chlorine mass balance through the reaction. This experiment, for the first time, exhibited the effectiveness of mechanochemical treatment as a PCN degradation method.

Mechanochemical degradation of γ-hexachlorocyclohexane by a planetary ball mill in the presence of CaO.

Although the use of the insecticide γ-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) is now prohibited in many countries because of its hazardousness, stockpiles of γ-HCH still exist. In this study, we subjected γ-HCH to mechanochemical (MC) treatment with a planetary ball mill in the presence of CaO to investigate the feasibility of using this method for the treatment of γ-HCH stockpiles. We confirmed the degradation of γ-HCH and investigated the degradation mechanism. The major intermediates were identified to be 1,3,4,5,6-pentachlorocyclohexene (γ-PCCH) and chlorobenzenes (CBzs). Analysis of the steric structure of γ-HCH and identification of the degradation intermediates suggested that successive dehydrochlorination led to the formation of trichlorobenzenes. Products of further degradation (dichlorobenzenes, monochlorobenzene, and benzene) were also detected. Surprisingly, methane and ethane were also detected, which suggests cleavage of the C-C bonds of the cyclohexane ring and hydrogenation. All of the chlorine atoms in the γ-HCH could be transformed into inorganic chloride compounds by the MC treatment with CaO. Our results indicate that γ-HCH can be completely dechlorinated by MC treatment.

Polychlorinated dibenzothiophenes in Japanese environmental samples and their photodegradability and dioxin-like endocrine-disruption potential.

Polychlorinated dibenzothiophenes (PCDTs) in sediment, soil, and fly ash samples collected in Japan were analyzed and their dioxin-like endocrine-disruption potential and photodegradability investigated. PCDTs were detected in all three types of sample, although the concentrations were lower than those of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs). An Ah-immunoassay confirmed that 2,3,7,8-TeCDT, 1,2,3,7,8-PeCDT, 1,2,3,7,8,9-HxCDT, and 1,2,3,4,7,8,9-HpCDT had Ah receptor-binding activities, which means that these PCDTs have the potential to cause dioxin-like endocrine-disruption. Photodegradation of PCDTs by UV irradiation was accompanied by dechlorination. The photodegradation rates of 2,3,7,8-TeCDT and OCDT were lower than the rates for the corresponding PCDF isomers (2,3,7,8-TeCDF and OCDF), which indicates that PCDTs are more stable than PCDFs to photodegradation.

Elucidation of degradation mechanism of dioxins during mechanochemical treatment.

Model dioxin compounds 4-chlorobiphenyl (4CB), octa-chlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (OCDD), and octachlorodibenzofuran (OCDF) were degraded by a mechanochemical (MC) process that involved milling with calcium oxide by use of a planetary ball mill. The degradation of 4CB produced mainly chloride ions and biphenyl, with the chlorine removal efficiency reaching about 100%. Biphenyl was transformed into terphenyls, quaterphenyls, cyclohexylbenzene, and bicyclohexyl through polymerization and hydrogenation reactions. Measurements of chloride ions after MC treatment of OCDD and OCDF showed about 100% dechlorination of both compounds; tetra- to heptachlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/furans (T4-H7CDD/Fs) were detected only at trace levels, and no other chlorinated organic compounds were observed. The residue after MC treatment was gray in color, indicating the possibility of carbonization, but the presence of amorphous graphite could not be confirmed.