Cost of establishing a general dentistry department in a small or medium-sized hospital.

To contribute to future dental healthcare policies, this study compiled data on hospital expenses and follow-ups conducted after a hospital dentistry department was established. In addition, the management status and reports on the utility and challenges of establishing a dentistry department were analyzed. The dentistry department was established through fund raising and inaugurated in May 2009. The depreciation period was set at 7 years, and income and expenditure during the 7 years 8 months after opening were compiled. In total, 17.22 million yen was needed for the dentistry department. The average income from dental care was 21.59 million yen per year, and expenditure amounted to 21.54 million yen per year. The findings indicated that a general dentist able to systemically manage patients was essential in a chronic-care hospital. Moreover, the present findings indicate that if general dentistry consultations were performed without excessive investments, after adjusting for personnel expenses, such an initiative would neither yield considerable income nor produce a substantial deficit. Finally, it is imperative to develop staff who are familiar with the costs and management of hospital dentistry and to increase medical fees for consultations with elderly patients.

Preoperative assessment of treatment planning on minimization of micro-movement during healing period of immediate-loaded implants using X-ray CT data-based simulation.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate the possibility of practical preoperative design and its evaluation and to assess the effects of connected fixation on minimization of micro movement during healing period of immediately loaded implants.Mechanical simulation by loading an occlusal force (load), assumed to be that loaded under clinical conditions, was performed in a computed tomography (CT) data-based immediate-loaded implant placement simulation. Stresses on and displacements of the implants and surrounding bone tissue were analyzed mechanically using three-dimensional finite element analysis.An X-ray CT of the head was carried out, and implant placement simulation andthree-dimensional finite element analysis models were constructed from the CT data. Forces were loaded on four individual implants placed in this model or all connected implants, and a mechanical analysis was performed. A 100 N vertical force was loaded on each implant as individual loading for the control group, and a 400 N vertical force was loaded on the connected implants as connected loading for the test group. The displacement and stress distributions were assessed using the three-dimensional finite element analysis. In the test group, established on the assumption of connected fixation for provisional restoration facilitating immediate loading, the maximum stress and displacement of peri-implant bone were smaller than those in the control group undergoing individual loading.The implant displacement level was suggested to serve as a numerical prognostic index of osseointegration of immediate-loaded implants. This method was shown to be immediately applicable to implant placement simulations using CT data currently generated in clinical practice, with no modification. Such a mechanical assessment using the finite element analysis model can be performed noninvasively.