3D intraoral scanning techniques support the effects of crown morphology on dental caries.

BACKGROUND: With the development and utilization of three-dimensional (3D) intraoral scanning (IOS) technology, the morphological characteristics of teeth were quantitatively assessed. In this research, we aimed to explore the prevalence of dental caries in relation to each measurable morphological indicator of the tooth body via 3D intraoral scanning techniques. METHODS: A hospital-based single-centre study was conducted at our hospital from Dec. 2021 to Apr. 2023. A total of 53 patients were involved in the study, providing complete morphological data for 79 teeth. Each patient completed an oral hygiene routine questionnaire and underwent examination by an experienced dentist to evaluate caries conditions before undergoing 3D intraoral scanning to obtain a digital dental model. Geomagic Studio 2014 was used to extract oral morphological data from the models. The acquired data were entered, cleaned and edited using Excel 2016 and subsequently exported to SPSS version 25.0 for analysis. Chi-square analysis and logistic regression analyses were employed to test the associations. RESULTS: Among the participants, 33 (61.1%) were female, with a mean age of 26.52 ± 10.83 years. Significant associations were found between dental caries and the vertical distance between the distal tip and the gum (OR 14.02; 95% CI 1.80-109.07; P = 0.012), the distal lateral horizontal distance of occlusion (OR 0.40; 95% CI 0.18-0.90; P = 0.026), and the mesial horizontal distance of occlusion (OR 2.20; 95% CI 1.12-4.31; P = 0.021). The Hosmer-Lemeshow test indicated a P value of 0.33. CONCLUSIONS: The vertical distance between the distal tip and the gum, the distal lateral horizontal distance of the occlusion and the mesial horizontal distance of the occlusion were the influencing factors for dental caries (identified as independent risk factors). We hypothesize that these factors may be associated with the physiological curvature of teeth and the role of chewing grooves in plaque formation over time. However, further studies involving larger population samples and more detailed age stratification are still needed.

A simple route to synthesize size-controlled Ag(2)S core-shell nanocrystals, and their self-assembly.

Silver sulfide (Ag(2)S) nanocrystals were successfully synthesized by the thermal treatment of the single source precursors, silver dialkyldithiophosphates (Ag[S(2)P(OC(n)H(2n+1))(2)]), under mild reaction conditions. The size of Ag(2)S nanocrystals with regular shape can be controlled in the range of tens of nanometers by adjusting critical parameters, such as the carbon number of the substitute alkyl, the solvent and the reaction temperature. Electron diffraction and x-ray powder diffraction confirmed the orthorhombic phase of the Ag(2)S nanocrystals. The as-prepared Ag(2)S nanocrystals have an inorganic-organic core-shell structure, in which Ag(2)S nanocrystals are the inorganic core and the organic modifiers, consisting of oleylamine and dialkyldithiophosphate, are the shell. The organic modifiers were anchored to the surface of Ag(2)S nanocores by their active groups of -NH(2) and -SPS- , respectively, and their direct-alkyl chains spread to the outside. So, these as-prepared Ag(2)S nanocrystals can self-assemble to form orderly two-dimensional arrays easily, and they disperse in some non-polar solvents stably.