[Maxillo-facial prostheses: an issue in public health]. / La prothèse maxillo-faciale: un enjeu en santé publique.

BACKGROUND: Acquired or congenital loss of structure can cause facial deformity. This can destroy identity and lead to certain forms of exclusion. Surgical and sometimes prosthetic reconstruction is required. The Maxillofacial Prosthesis (P.M.F) can be defined as the art and science of artificial reconstruction of facial bones. There is a continual increase in patient demand for this type of prosthesis with the development of new materials, methodologies and techniques. METHODS: In Toulouse, the Rangueil University Hospital houses a maxillofacial prosthesis consultation facility linked to the Odontology Service. An exhaustive descriptive study carried out retrospectively on the basis of the files of all patients examined between July 1996 and July 2002 will provide us with an understanding of patient characteristics and also enable us to quantify the level of satisfaction of requirements for rehabilitation of these losses of maxillofacial structure. RESULTS: 215 patient files were processed between July 1996 and July 2002. Separating the patients by sex shows a male prevalence of 66%. An analysis of variations between male and female patients for different aetiologies shows that tumour pathologies are more common in men and that this distinction is all the more marked as regards traumatic facial injuries and in particular suicide attempts. In total, 401 maxillofacial prostheses were carried out, including 116 facial epitheses (new prostheses or renewal of prosthesis). CONCLUSION: Loss of facial structure, whatever its aetiology constitutes a real public health issue. The maxillofacial prosthesis will allow cancer monitoring of the site while at the same time offering out patient treatment. Above and beyond its crafted or empirical aspect, it should find its place in medicine thanks to the overall scope of the rehabilitation that it can offer from both an aesthetic point of view but also a the psychological one, but above all from a functional perspective.

Oral health status of 1500 university students in Toulouse France.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to assess the oral health status among a population of students enrolled in the first year at the Paul Sabatier University in Toulouse (France), and to compare the results with those of similar investigations. METHODS: An epidemiologic survey of 1,500 students at the Centre for Preventive Medicine at Paul Sabatier University (UPS) will enable us to obtain the prevalence of certain variables such as DMFT, sugar consumption, tooth-brushing frequency, and mouthwash use, through a structured questionnaire and a standardised oral health examination. RESULTS: The Decayed, Missing and Filled Teeth (DMFT) index of these students was 4.4 (Standard Deviation = 3.72) (D = 1, M = 0.042 F = 3,454). Of the 1500 subjects, 27.6% smoke, while 43% eat sweets on a regular basis. The female students are more careful with their dental health (tooth-brushing frequency and mouthwash use are statistically significant (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Although the result of the DMFT index is lower in comparison to similar previous studies, a decrease in dental caries seems certain. The multifactorial knowledge of the caries aetiology motivates us to search for new, more sensitive indexes.

First set of gated x-ray imaging diagnostics for the Laser Megajoule facility.

The Laser Megajoule (LMJ) facility located at CEA/CESTA started to operate in the early 2014 with two quadruplets (20 kJ at 351 nm) focused on target for the first experimental campaign. We present here the first set of gated x-ray imaging (GXI) diagnostics implemented on LMJ since mid-2014. This set consists of two imaging diagnostics with spatial, temporal, and broadband spectral resolution. These diagnostics will give basic measurements, during the entire life of the facility, such as position, structure, and balance of beams, but they will also be used to characterize gas filled target implosion symmetry and timing, to study x-ray radiography and hydrodynamic instabilities. The design requires a vulnerability approach, because components will operate in a harsh environment induced by neutron fluxes, gamma rays, debris, and shrapnel. Grazing incidence x-ray microscopes are fielded as far as possible away from the target to minimize potential damage and signal noise due to these sources. These imaging diagnostics incorporate microscopes with large source-to-optic distance and large size gated microchannel plate detectors. Microscopes include optics with grazing incidence mirrors, pinholes, and refractive lenses. Spatial, temporal, and spectral performances have been measured on x-ray tubes and UV lasers at CEA-DIF and at Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt BESSY II synchrotron prior to be set on LMJ. GXI-1 and GXI-2 designs, metrology, and first experiments on LMJ are presented here.

Hydroxyl groups in bone mineral.

The question of whether the apatite crystals of bone contain hydroxyl groups was explored using magic angle spinning, proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and resolution enhanced Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The powdered bone samples were heated at 300 degrees C in air, in CO2 at 4 bar atmosphere, and at 300 degrees C in air and subsequently at 300 degrees C in CO2, to eliminate the effects of water tightly bound to the crystals and to prevent the degradation of carbonate groups and the elimination of potentially present OH groups. Results confirm earlier findings that bone apatite crystals do not contain detectable amounts of hydroxyl ions.

[Quid of betel]. / La chique de bétel.

After clarifying some necessary terminology to understand what quid of betel is, the authors, in the first part of this article, expose its location around the world. Then, they report on the three main basic components: Piper betle L. leaf, Areca catechu nut, and slaked lime. They add too some other ingredients which modify the taste of the quid to a certain extent. In the third part, the authors expose the role given to betel in the traditional medicine according to bibliographical sources available in different countries. Its appears that Areca nut is still the most commonly used. Then, they review the therapeutic qualities of the quid utilized by western medicine according to the different part of the organism, and finally they end by indicating the true importance to be given to this customary habit.

[Descriptive and technical study of dental inlays in pre-Colombian Mexico]. / Etude descriptive et approche technique des incrustations dentaires dans le Mexique Precolombien.

The authors presents, in this paper, a study on dental inlays among Mexican pre-Colombians. To begin with, from the study sources, systematization, classification and some characteristics were extracted, being the best method for later being able to study the descriptive and technical aspects of these inlays while insisting on the quality of the cement used.

[Patients, practitioners, faculty and dental esthetics: the same level of perception?]. / Patients, praticiens, enseignants et esthétique dentaire: un même niveau de perception?

The aim of this study was to evaluate the importance of the dental aesthetic for the patients, the dental surgeon and the dental teachers by the study of the consultation reason, the complaints, the post-university congress program, the practical program of the dental students and the programs of the IADR congress. It appears that in odontology, patients ask strongly for aesthetic care, in consultation and litigation. The content of congress and professional literature shows that dental surgeons answer to that request. Only the practical teaching was a bit less but it was recently modify. The research workers are also very interesting for aesthetic care.

[What is the value of integrating the idea of certainty into continuous evaluation?]. / Quel intérêt avons-nous à intégrer la notion de certitude en contrôle continu?

A student, future decision-maker, has to measure the consequences of his indecision. In this study, a model of work with doubt is tested. We observe that the indecision is correlate with knowledge. His taking into consideration from continuous assessments allows us to predict his academic standard.

Identification of victims of catastrophes: introduction to the role of forensic odontology.

There are many ways of identifying victims of catastrophes but in disasters where most soft tissue has been lost, the hard tissues of teeth can be used. This article describes the important role that forensic odontology can play in these cases. This role has not been recognised in most countries, particularly developing countries, where forensic odontology has been restricted to legal affairs.

[Alternatives to radiography for determining root canal length]. / Quelle alternative a la radiographie dans la determination de la longueur canalaire?

Location of the apical foramen using an electronic apex locator to determine working length is more accurate than using radiographs alone. The Neosono Co-pilote is not adversely affected by the presence of sodium hypochlorite and gives us acceptable results in dry canals. Hence, it is today possible to realize endodontic treatment without X ray determination.

The localised aggressive periodontitis prevalence in Morocco.

This work concerns a retrospective study of prevalence records and the clinical characteristics of localised aggressive periodontitis in the breast of consultants in the periodontitis service in Dental Medicine Faculty of Rabat (Morocco) from 1997 to 1999.

[How can we organize the fight against H.I.V.?]. / Comment s'organise la lutte contre le V.I.H.?

The aim of this article is to highlight the different ways of fighting against H.I.V. With AZT, using peptide T, the author has looked at the latest theories and research being undertaken and their respective successes. He reminds us that the AIDS vaccination is not to be found tomorrow.

[The status of carious disease in the Moroccan pediatric population (6-15 years of age)]. / La situation de la maladie carieuse dans la population infantile marocaine (6 à 15 ans).

The objective of this study is to describe the teeth decay affect of Moroccan children. The works of reference regroup a sample of 3004 children from 6 to 15 years old. The results are the next: the teeth decay concern 3 children for 5, the DMFT is 2 (bad) and 2 children for 3 have cariogenic dental plaque which means a bad bucco-dental hygiene and a great risk of decay recurrence. One child for two hasn't a toothbrush that increases the bad bucco-dental status. It appears that there is a cause-response relationship between the rate of decay the rate of cariogenic dental plaque and missing bucco-dental hygiene and also exaggerated consumption of sugar-refineries.

[Contralateral masking effects on cerebral auditory evoked potentials in man: a trial in working practice application in conservative dentistry]. / Effets du masquage controlatéral sur les potentiels évoqués auditifs cérébraux chez l'homme: essais d'application aux travaux pratiques d'odontologie conservatrice.

In hearing the masking consists to disturb the information perception which means its reception, codeage and transmission are distorted in the auditory system. The electrophysiological technique by auditory evoked potentials on brain has permitted to study the noise effects with homolateral and contralateral masking method in monaural hearing. The results show that the noise distorts the maximal amplitude of the evoked response and lengthens latency. They do to appear a better resistance of a left ear preference and a superiority of right hemisphere corresponding: they characterize by an important development of auditory evoked potentials with or without masking. As a result for men who are exposed to excessive noise like teachers and students in Odontology, we suggest an inequality protection of auditory system considering the both ear sensibility difference.

Oral health condition of French elderly and risk of dementia: a longitudinal cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: Oral condition could be associated with cognitive impairment, but this is not yet well documented. We therefore hypothesized that people with poor oral condition would be more at risk to develop dementia. The objective of this study thus was to describe the oral condition of French community-dwelling elderly persons and to assess its relationship with the occurrence of dementia. METHODS: Oral examination was conducted on a sample of individuals aged 66-80 years followed-up prospectively for screening of dementia over 15 years in Gironde, France. Univariate and multivariate analyses of the risk of dementia were performed using a Cox proportional hazard model with delayed entry. RESULTS: Data from 405 individuals were analyzed; 45.4% men; median age at baseline: 70 years [interquartile range (IQR): 68-75]. The median number of decayed, missing, and filled teeth was 18 (IQR: 13-24) and was higher in women (median: 20 versus 17, P = 0.004) and in persons with lower school level (median: 21 versus 17, P = 0.003). Among 348 persons with sextant eligible for periodontal assessment, 2/3 required periodontal care: 5.2% had bleeding observed, 44.8% calculus, 17.8% 4-5 mm pockets, and 2.9%≥ 6 mm pockets. The incidence of dementia during a median follow-up of 10 years (IQR: 6.5-13.7) was 19 per 1000 person-years. The adjusted hazard ratio for a number of missing teeth ≥ 11 (median) on the risk of dementia was 1.13 (95% confidence interval, CI = [0.60-2.12]) in people with higher education (n = 312) and 0.30 (CI = 0.11-0.79) in persons with lower school level (n = 93) (P for modification effect = 0.0002). CONCLUSIONS: Having eleven or more missing teeth seemed to be associated with a lower risk of dementia in people with lower education possibly owing to the suppression of source of chronic inflammation.