Evaluation of the accuracy of the mechanical torque wrench by the number of uses and ratchet type.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the accuracy of mechanical torque rachet types based on the number of uses. METHODS: A total of 25 ratchets, including three frictional- and two spring-type torque ratchets from every mechanical torque ratchet group, were used in our study. A digital torque measurement device was used in assessing the efficiency of mechanical torque ratchets. All ratchets were tightened according to the torque values recommended by the companies. The ratchets were tightened 500 times in total. RESULTS: Given the changes in torque delivery by the number of uses, a statistically significant torque loss was observed in the Bego ratchets (P< 0.05), and a statistically significant increase was found in the torque values of the other ratchet groups (P< 0.05). The highest increase in torque values was obtained in the MEDENTIKA ratchet group. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: This study showed that there are changes in the torque values applied based on the number of rachet uses. Thus, clinicians are advised to regularly evaluate the accuracy of the rachets.

Spectrophotometric Evaluation of Anterior Maxillary Tooth Color Distribution According to Age and Gender.

PURPOSE: To determine the effects of age and gender on the color distribution of the right maxillary central, lateral incisors, and canine teeth. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The tooth color was measured using the VITA Easyshade V spectrophotometer with a total of 202 volunteers (89 men, 113 women). The age distribution in this study was between 15 and 70 years old (average: 31). A grey background color was used to prevent background reflection while performing the color measurements. RESULTS: According to the VITAPAN Classical shade guide, the tooth color distribution of the central and lateral incisors showed a maximum of A2, with a maximum of B3 for the canine teeth. When comparing the International Commission on Illumination L* , a* , and b* values (CIELab color space coordinates) of the teeth with subject gender, statistically significant differences were not found between gender and the L* and b* values (p > 0.05); however, a statistically significant difference was observed between gender and the a* values (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: When the distribution ratio of tooth color was examined, different ratios were determined based on gender and age and between the maxillary central, lateral incisors, and canine teeth. A uniform tooth color should not be chosen for anterior restorations, and factors such as gender and age should be considered when making a color selection for patients.

Investigation of fracture prevalence of instruments used in root canal treatments at a faculty of dentistry: a prospective study.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the use of hand or rotary files by pre-graduation (fourth- and fifth-year) and postgraduate students in endodontic treatments and to determine the incidence of file fracture and the management of cases with broken instruments. Materials and Methods: A total of 2,168 teeth undergoing primary endodontic treatment were included in this study. It was determined that 79 of these teeth resulted in broken tools. In the case of broken tools, the education level of the treating clinician, the tooth that was being treated, the canal and fracture level, the curvature of the tooth and the management of the broken instrument were recorded. Periapical radiographs of the patients were used to calculate curvature following the Schneider method. Results: There was no significant difference in the incidence of broken tools according to education level (p > 0.05). The incidence of file fracture in molar teeth (73.4%) was higher than in other teeth (p < 0.05). More files were broken in the mandibular molar MB canal (20.25%) and in the apical third of the canals (72.1%). The risk of instrument fracture was high in teeth with moderate (44.3%) and severe (38%) curvature canals. The management of apically broken (80%) files mostly involved lefting (p < 0.05). Conclusions: There was no statistically significant difference between fourth-year students, fifth-year students and postgraduate students in terms of instrument fracture.

An Explainable Deep Learning Model to Prediction Dental Caries Using Panoramic Radiograph Images.

Dental caries is the most frequent dental health issue in the general population. Dental caries can result in extreme pain or infections, lowering people's quality of life. Applying machine learning models to automatically identify dental caries can lead to earlier treatment. However, physicians frequently find the model results unsatisfactory due to a lack of explainability. Our study attempts to address this issue with an explainable deep learning model for detecting dental caries. We tested three prominent pre-trained models, EfficientNet-B0, DenseNet-121, and ResNet-50, to determine which is best for the caries detection task. These models take panoramic images as the input, producing a caries-non-caries classification result and a heat map, which visualizes areas of interest on the tooth. The model performance was evaluated using whole panoramic images of 562 subjects. All three models produced remarkably similar results. However, the ResNet-50 model exhibited a slightly better performance when compared to EfficientNet-B0 and DenseNet-121. This model obtained an accuracy of 92.00%, a sensitivity of 87.33%, and an F1-score of 91.61%. Visual inspection showed us that the heat maps were also located in the areas with caries. The proposed explainable deep learning model diagnosed dental caries with high accuracy and reliability. The heat maps help to explain the classification results by indicating a region of suspected caries on the teeth. Dentists could use these heat maps to validate the classification results and reduce misclassification.

In Vivo Evaluation of the Effects of B-Doped Strontium Apatite Nanoparticles Produced by Hydrothermal Method on Bone Repair.

In the present study, the structural, morphological, and in vivo biocompatibility of un-doped and boron (B)-doped strontium apatite (SrAp) nanoparticles were investigated. Biomaterials were fabricated using the hydrothermal process. The structural and morphological characterizations of the fabricated nanoparticles were performed by XRD, FT-IR, FE-SEM, and EDX. Their biocompatibility was investigated by placing them in defects in rat tibiae in vivo. The un-doped and B-doped SrAp nanoparticles were successfully fabricated. The produced nanoparticles were in the shape of nano-rods, and the dimensions of the nano-rods decreased as the B ratio increased. It was observed that the structural and morphological properties of strontium apatite nanoparticles were affected by the contribution of B. A stoichiometric Sr/P ratio of 1.67 was reached in the 5% B-doped sample (1.68). The average crystallite sizes were 34.94 nm, 39.70 nm, 44.93 nm, and 48.23 nm in un-doped, 1% B-doped, 5% B-doped, and 10% B-doped samples, respectively. The results of the in vivo experiment revealed that the new bone formation and osteoblast density were higher in the groups with SrAp nanoparticles doped with different concentrations of B than in the control group, in which the open defects were untreated. It was observed that this biocompatibility and the new bone formation were especially elevated in the B groups, which added high levels of strontium were added. The osteoblast density was higher in the group in which the strontium element was placed in the opened bone defect compared with the control group. However, although new bone formation was slightly higher in the strontium group than in the control group, the difference was not statistically significant. Furthermore, the strontium group had the highest amount of fibrotic tissue formation. The produced nanoparticles can be used in dental and orthopedic applications as biomaterials.

Topographic relationship between maxillary sinus and roots of posterior teeth: a cone beam tomographic analysis.

PURPOSE: The objective of the research was to determine the relationship between root apices and maxillary sinus wall, and to analyze pulpoapical conditions of 2nd premolars, 1st molars, 2nd molars, 3rd molars using cone beam computerized tomography (CBCT). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was conducted on a retrospective manner of CBCT images of 1000 maxillary sinus with 500 subjects, who visited the Department of Dento-Maxillofacial Radiology. The association of each teeth with sinus floor and pulpoapical status were categorized. The association among gender, age, lateralization of sinus cavity were evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 602 second premolars, 500 first molars, 623 second molars, 347 third molars were evaluated. There were no significant differences between pulpoapical condition of teeth and gender or left and right sides (p=0.065, p=0.072). There were significant associations between pulpoapical condition of all teeth and age (p=0.023), and the relationship of each root with maxillary sinus and age (p=0.037). There was significant association between vertical position and right/left sides in second and third molars (p=0.033). CONCLUSION: Age seems to have relationship with periapical condition of teeth, and the association of root with the sinus cavity.

Surface roughness of enamel and root surface after scaling, root planning and polishing procedures: An in-vitro study.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate enamel and root surface roughness on exracted human teeth by using different tecniques (ultrasonic scaler, hand instruments, polishing paste, pumice and air powder system). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 200 samples were divided into two groups (enamel and root) randomly with 100 samples for each enamel and root groups. The groups were divided into 5 subgroups: Group I: ultrasonic scaler, group II: hand instruments, group III: polishing paste, group IV: pumice, group V: air-powder. Surface roughness (Ra) was assessed with Mitutoyo SJ-410 device. The one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test along with the Tukey test was used for statistical analysis. P values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The use of ultrasonic scalers caused the highest roughness increase on the enamel surface (0.935 â€‹± â€‹0.010), whereas the use of pumice was the least (0.896 â€‹± â€‹0.018) (p â€‹< â€‹0.05). There was a significant difference between ultrasonic scalers and all the groups (hand instruments, polishing paste, pumice and air powder system) on enamel surface (p â€‹< â€‹0.05). Maximum surface roughness increase was observed in the ultrasonic scalers on root surface. There was a significant difference between ultrasonic scalers and polishing paste, pumice and air powder on root surface, respectively (p â€‹< â€‹0.05). CONCLUSION: The use of ultrasonic scalers cause more rough enamel and root surfaces than hand instrumentation and polishing tecniques. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Uneven surfaces adversely affect the intended periodontal healing by creating a retention area of microbial dental plaque.

Is there a relation between dental anxiety, fear and general psychological status?

BACKGROUND: Dental anxiety is a widespread problem in many populations. This problem can be a barrier to dental care and may lead to poor oral health. Dental anxiety may be related to psychological status. AIMS: The aim of the present study was to assess the levels of dental anxiety, dental fear, Beck Depression, and state-trait anxiety according to age, gender and education level in patients at the periodontology clinic in the Diyarbakir Mouth and Dental Health Center. STUDY DESIGN: A total of 231 patients (115 males, 116 females) filled out dental fear scale (DFS), dental anxiety scale (DAS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), state-trait anxiety inventory-state (STAI-S), and state-trait anxiety inventory-trait (STAI-T) questionnaires, and evaluations of DFS, DAS, BDI, STAI-S, and STAI-T were conducted according to age, gender, and education level. RESULTS: The mean DFS, DAS, BDI, STAI-T, and STAI -S were 45.64, 9.15, 13.16, 38.90, and 40.18, respectively. There was a significant association among DFS, DAS, BDI, STAI-S, and STAI-T (p < 0.05). These surveys scores were significantly higher in females than males (p < 0.05). The results of this study indicated that gender age and education level have important effects on DFS, DAS, BDI, STAI-S, and STAI-T (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Dental anxiety and dental fear were found to be related to psychological status (BDI, STAI-S, and STAI-T) over time. There are some patients with unaddressed psychological distress.