Assessment of reproducibility and influence of different dental specialties on functional implant prosthodontic score: A prospective clinical study analyzing single-unit implant crowns.

AIM: Implant therapy in partially edentulous patients has become the most adapted and predictable treatment modality. The success rate of implants has been measured in terms of esthetic, biological, and technical factors such as radiographic bone loss, prosthetic complications, and stability. Despite the existence of several indices for the esthetic assessment of implant crowns, a need for functional evaluation of the implant crown with an objective and reproducible score has arisen. The study aims to validate the reproducibility of the functional implant prosthodontic score (FIPS) and the influence exerted by different dental specialties while evaluating posterior single-unit implant crowns. STUDY SETTING AND DESIGN: This was a prospective clinical study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifteen patients with cement-retained single-implant crowns in the posterior region of the jaws were included. Eight examiners, two prosthodontists, two periodontists, two oral surgeons, and two orthodontists evaluated 15 photographs of single-unit implant crowns during the 1-year follow-up examination. The examiners assessed the photographs for FIPS, which includes five parameters for objectively evaluating the single-unit implant crowns. Assessments were performed twice at a gap of 4 weeks. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Pearson's correlation with a 95% confidence interval was calculated for the intra-examiner and the Kruskal-Wallis test for inter-examiner reproducibility. RESULTS: The mean total FIPS scores for all included examiners were 7.133 for time T1 and 7.074 for time T2, showing a strong Pearson correlation coefficient for intra-examiner reproducibility. No significant difference was analyzed among different specialties with statistically significant values of the Kruskal-Wallis test. CONCLUSION: Intra- and inter-examiner analysis showed very consistent results during the reproducibility assessment of FIPS. The results validated the use of FIPS as a long-term predictive functional evaluation tool for the single-implant crowns in posterior sites irrespective of the effect of different dental specialties. It could be used for risk estimation and prognosis for long-term survival and performance of implant crowns.

A Comprehensive Overview of Epidemiology, Pathogenesis and the Management of Herpes Labialis.

Herpes labialis remains exceedingly prevalent and is one of the most common human viral infections throughout the world. Recurrent herpes labialis evolves from the initial viral infection by herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) which subsequently presents with or without symptoms. Reactivation of this virus is triggered by psychosocial factors such as stress, febrile environment, ultraviolet light susceptibility, or specific dietary inadequacy. This virus infection is also characterized by uninterrupted transitions between chronic-latent and acute-recurrent phases, allowing the virus to opportunistically avoid immunity and warrant the transmission to other vulnerable hosts simultaneously. This review comprehensively evaluates the current evidence on epidemiology, pathogenesis, transmission modes, clinical manifestations, and current management options of herpes labialis infections.