Dental fracture and chocolate candies: case report.

A complaint by a customer to a food company claimed that the consumption of a chocolate candy fractured his anterior teeth, due to its hard consistency. Fragments of the fractured teeth and the chocolate candy that supposedly caused it were collected, examined and photographed. Fragments presented caries, large restorations, and suggested previous endodontic treatment. To evaluate causation, the food company requested a laboratory analysis, which simulated the human bite on chocolate candies of the same brand. Human teeth were assembled in a simulating device of masticatory functions of apprehension and incision. Teeth used were either sound or with non-restored endodontic accesses, to simulate previous conditions of the collected fragments. Twenty chocolate candies, cooled in a freezer to 0 °C for 2 h were used as test foods, and were positioned between the teeth of the device at the moment of the test. The set was put in a dynamometer, programmed to apply increasing forces (rate of advance of 5 mm/min), until rupture (either of the specimen or of the teeth). The applied force, in N, at the time of fracture was recorded and analyzed. The average force to fracture the test food was 233.23 N. No tooth was fractured in the experiment. Forces ranging from 191.3 to 275.2 N, applied to chocolate candies were not sufficient to neither fracture human teeth nor cause any structural damage. It was concluded that the dental fracture occurred because of previous oral health conditions of the customer.

Avaliaçäo in vitro da densidade óssea de mandíbulas edêntulas por meio do sistema de dupla emissäo de raios X (DXA) e pela digitalizaçäo de radiografias intrabucais com o filme Ultra-speed "D" / In vitro assessment of the density of edentate mandibles by means of dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and digitized intraoral Ultra-speed \"D\" film

Este estudo mediu a densidade óssea de 24 mandíbulas secas edêntulas utilizando o sistema de emissäo dupla de raios X (DXA). Esses valores (DXA) foram obtidos com o escaneamento mandibular bi- e unilateral. Para verificar se a análise manual interferia nos resultados, procuramos correlacionar os resultados obtidos com as diferentes análises. Todas as correlaçöes nos indicaram uma relaçäo direta entre as amostras, com os coeficientes variando entre 0,9621 e 0,9952. Isto mostra que a determinaçäo manual da regiäo a ser analisada näo interfere na obtençäo dos resultados. Esses valores foram comparados com a densidade óssea determinada com filmes intrabucais Ultra-speed digitalizados. Os resultados também nos mostram uma relaçäo direta entre as amostras dos filmes digitalizados e do DXA, apresentando coeficientes de correlaçäo que variaram entre 0,9125 e 0,9600, confirmando a sua representatividade. Por conseguinte, a radiografia periapical pode vir a fornecer um sinal para um eventual diagnóstico diferencial de osteoporose, devendo este ser confirmado posteriormente por meio da densitometria óssea médica