The Involvement of Photobiology in Contemporary Dentistry-A Narrative Review.

Light is an emerging treatment approach that is being used to treat many diseases and conditions such as pain, inflammation, and wound healing. The light used in dental therapy generally lies in visible and invisible spectral regions. Despite many positive results in the treatment of different conditions, this therapy still faces some skepticism, which has prevented its widespread adoption in clinics. The main reason for this skepticism is the lack of comprehensive information about the molecular, cellular, and tissular mechanisms of action, which underpin the positive effects of phototherapy. However, there is currently promising evidence in support of the use of light therapy across a spectrum of oral hard and soft tissues, as well as in a variety of important dental subspecialties, such as endodontics, periodontics, orthodontics, and maxillofacial surgery. The merging of diagnostic and therapeutic light procedures is also seen as a promising area for future expansion. In the next decade, several light technologies are foreseen as becoming integral parts of modern dentistry practice.

A Contemporary Review of Clinical Factors Involved in Speech-Perspectives from a Prosthodontist Point of View.

Background and Objectives: Learning to speak properly requires a fully formed brain, good eyesight, and a functioning auditory system. Defective phonation is the outcome of a failure in the development of any of the systems or components involved in speech production. Dentures with strong phonetic skills can be fabricated with the help of a dentist who has a firm grasp of speech production and phonetic characteristics. Every dentist strives to perfect their craft by perfecting the balance between the technical, cosmetic, and acoustic aspects of dentistry, or "phonetics". The ideal prosthesis for a patient is one that not only sounds good but also functions well mechanically and aesthetically. Words are spoken by using articulators that alter their size and form. Conclusions: Therefore, a prosthesis should be made in such a way that it does not interfere with the ability to communicate. As a result, a prosthodontist has to have a solid grasp of how speech is made and the numerous parts that go into it.

Predictors of Oral Health Behaviors among Dental Students.

Background and Objectives: College life is a time when students take more responsibility for health-related behaviors. Aim: To determine the oral health behaviors of dental students, to motivate their transformation into cyanogenic behaviors by applying the planned behavior model, and to determine the degree to which students can modify behavior for oral health. Material and Methods: The results of the initial and final assessment (4 months apart) of the bacterial plaque present by means of the Quigley Hein and API indexes were collected from the student files. The Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II -HPLP II and Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE) questionnaires were used to determine the variables with predictor values that influence the cognitive-perceptual factors. Results: For the "health responsibility" domain, the average total value was 2.53 ± 0.9 (SD). For the "interpersonal relationships" domain, the average value was 2.82 ± 0.79. In the case of the "nutrition" domain, the desire to change the behavior of the participants was moderate (2.53 ± 1.19). "Physical activity" represents an important field in the everyday life of young adults. The results of the study indicated a moderate desire for change (2.52 ± 0.97). In the case of "spiritual growth", in which self-esteem, the way the individual perceives the environment and the adaptation to it were evaluated, a great desire for change was observed (2.74 ± 0.82). Scale GSE questionnaire showed an α coefficient of 28.52 ± 0.82, a value that indicated a moderate to a high level of efficacy and self-confidence. Conclusions: The results of the study showed that students have a moderate tendency to change in all areas, except for interpersonal relationships, where the desire to change something is increased. The participants have a moderate to a high level of self-efficacy and self-confidence.

A Comparative Analysis of Dental Measurements in Physical and Digital Orthodontic Case Study Models.

Background and Objectives: Study models are essential tools used in the dental teaching process. The aim of the present study was to compare the values obtained by manual and digital orthodontic measurements on physical and digital case study models. Materials and Methods: The physical experimental models were obtained by traditional pouring (improved stone-type IV gypsum products) and by additive manufacturing (resins). The digital experimental models were created by scanning the physical ones, using a white light-emitting diode (LED) source and an L-shaped dental scanner­Swing DOF (DOF, Seoul, Korea). The physical study models were first measured using a digital caliper, and then, they were scanned and evaluated using the DentalCad 3.0 Galway software (exocad GmbH, Darmstadt, Germany). The Pont, Linder−Harth, and Bolton indices, which are used in orthodontics for training students, were derived using the available data. Results: When comparing the linear measurement mean ranks taken on physical study models to those of digital models, no statistically significant differences (p > 0.05) were found. A similar result was also shown when the dentoalveolar growth indicators were analyzed. Conclusions: It can be concluded that dental study models made by direct light processing (DLP) and pouring type IV class gypsum are both acceptable for orthodontic teaching purposes.

Quality of Life of Complete Denture Wearers-A Comparative Study between Conventional Dentures and Acrylic Dentures with Vitamin B12 Incorporated.

Background and objectives: This paper is a sequel to the studies that focused on the optimization of the structure of classical acrylates with vitamin B12 as a template and their impact on patients' general and local health. In this context, we aim to investigate the relationships between attitudes and behavior regarding oral health, oral health status, and quality of life related to oral health in the case of patients with conventional dentures and those with dentures improved with vitamin B12. Material and Methods: The sample size was estimated from previous studies, and 252 participants were enrolled and divided into two groups, one of which received as a treatment complete dentures with B12, and the other group was represented by complete edentulous patients treated with conventional complete dentures. The impact of oral health in general on patient satisfaction and quality of life was assessed using Oral Health Impact Profile OHIP-14 questionnaires. The descriptive statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 20.0. A value of p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Differences registered between the two groups were statistically significant in all evaluated dimensions. The largest differences were recorded for physical, psychological, and social disability as well as for the level of disability, all in favor of denture B12 wearers. Conclusions: The materials used in the treatment of complete edentation can be a future research direction that can not only improve their mechanical strength but can contribute to maintaining the superior health of the oral mucosa and can also be a way of transporting substances necessary for the normal development of the metabolism of the whole body, such as vitamin B12 in our case.

Antibacterial Properties of an Experimental Dental Resin Loaded with Gold Nanoshells for Photothermal Therapy Applications.

This study explored the chemical and antibacterial properties of a dental resin loaded with gold nanoshells (AuNPs) in conjunction with photothermal therapy (PTT) as a novel method against Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) to prevent secondary caries. First, a 20-h minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) assay was performed on solutions of AuNPs with planktonic S. mutans under an LED device and laser at 660 nm. Next, resin blends containing 0, 1 × 1010, or 2 × 1010 AuNPs/mL were fabricated, and the degree of conversion (DC) was measured using an FTIR spectroscopy. Lastly, a colony forming unit (CFU) count was performed following 24 h growth of S. mutans on 6 mm diameter resin disks with different light treatments of an LED device and a laser at 660 nm. The MIC results only showed a reduction in S. mutans at AuNP concentrations less than 3.12 µg/mL under a laser illumination level of 95.5 J/cm2 compared to the dark treatment (p < 0.010 for each). CFU and DC results showed no significant dependence on any light treatment studied. The AuNPs expressed antibacterial effects following PPT against planktonic S. mutans but not in a polymerized dental adhesive resin. Future studies should focus on different shapes, structure, and concentrations of AuNPs loaded in a resin blend.

Patients' Satisfaction Regarding Oral Healthcare Services in the North-East Region of Romania: A Preliminary Questionnaire Survey.

This research addresses a gap in the literature by conducting a comprehensive analysis of patients' level of satisfaction with dental care. METHODS: By combining quantitative and qualitative survey methods with a PSQ, this study aims to augment ongoing initiatives to enhance dental patients' experiences by painting a more comprehensive depiction of patients' level of satisfaction. RESULTS: When asked about their overall level of satisfaction 77.1% of the patients said that they received excellent services from office personnel and 72.2% said they trust their doctors. CONCLUSIONS: Assessing patient satisfaction in the realm of dental service quality is crucial for enhancing service quality and accuracy, which would benefit both patients and dentists and, ultimately, improve public health.

The Influence of Orthodontic Treatment on Periodontal Health between Challenge and Synergy: A Narrative Review.

By correctly repositioning teeth, orthodontic therapy improves both the function and appearance of an occlusion. The relationship between teeth and the tissues that surround and support them significantly influences these alterations. With ever more adults seeking orthodontic care, orthodontists are increasingly seeing patients with periodontal issues. Concerns about the patient's appearance, such as uneven gingival margins or functional issues caused by inflammatory periodontal diseases, should be accounted for when designing orthodontic treatment plans. Furthermore, orthodontics may increase the chances of saving and recovering a degraded dentition in cases of severe periodontitis. Today, general dentists, dontists, and orthodontists play integrative roles that enable them to achieve the best possible results for their patients. This review will improve the results of interdisciplinary treatments and increase cooperation between dental specialists by drawing attention to the essential connection between orthodontics and periodontics in regular clinical practice.

Long-Term Clinical Outcomes of 3D-Printed Subperiosteal Titanium Implants: A 6-Year Follow-Up.

As an alternative to regenerative therapies, numerous authors have recently proposed bringing back subperiosteal implants. The aim of the study was to present our clinical experience with a subperiosteal jaw implant that needs minimal bone preparation and enables the rapid implantation of prosthetic teeth in edentulous, atrophic alveolar bone. The research included 36 complete or partial edentulous patients (61 subperiostal implants) over a period of 6 years. To create the patient-specific subperiostal implants design, DentalCAD 3.0 Galway software (exocad GmbH, Darmstadt, Germany) was used and fabricated with a Mysint 100 (Sisma S.p.A., Piovene Rocchette, Italy) by titanium alloy powder. The results showed that only 9 of the 36 cases were successful at 6-year follow-up, while 27 cases had complications, including exposure of the metal frame (early or delayed), mobility of the device prior to the first 4-6 months, and late mobility due to recurrent infections and progressive structure exposure; 1 case failed for reasons unrelated to the device. This study indicated that the prudent application of fully customized subperiosteal jaw implants is a dependable alternative for the dental rehabilitation of atrophic edentulous cases that necessitate bone grafts for traditional fixed dental implant solutions.

Creating and Validating a Questionnaire for Assessing Dentists' Self-Perception on Oral Healthcare Management-A Pilot Study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Questionnaires designed to test knowledge and self-perception can be valuable tools for diagnosing a dentist's understanding of the management and administration of a practice. The objective of this study was to create and authenticate a questionnaire for assessing dentists' self-perception on oral healthcare management developed from discussions with experts in this field. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In order to create and verify a questionnaire survey, a cross-sectional, descriptive, and analytical study was carried out. Participants' personal information and 31 statements across four categories made up the final questionnaire form. The answers to the questionnaire were in the form of a Likert scale. After refining the initial version, a total of 36 interviews were conducted at dental offices to verify the validity. For the Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), we used the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) index, the Bartlett sphericity test, and also Cronbach alpha coefficient for the validity of the questionnaire. RESULTS: The accuracy of the instrument was measured by intrarater and interrater reliability. For the EFA, all the communalities exceeded the threshold of 0.05. With a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.898, the questionnaire has sufficient internal consistency. CONCLUSIONS: The questionnaire demonstrates robust reliability and validity, thereby affirming its suitability for its intended purpose.

An Update on the Interdisciplinary Dental Care Approach for Geriatric Diabetic Patients.

Diabetes mellitus is a prevalent health issue escalating worldwide that gives rise to numerous problems. Periodontal disorders are recognized as the sixth consequence associated with diabetes mellitus. Research shows that dental health affects overall health, and this knowledge is changing the dental field. The correct choice of glucose goal levels and the optimal selection of glucose-lowering medications are determined by a comprehensive geriatric assessment, an estimate of life expectancy, and a rationale for therapy at regular intervals in elderly diabetics. This article provides an overview of the correlation between diabetes and oral health, with a specific emphasis on xerostomia, periodontal disease, and dental caries. Thus, dentists play a significant role within the allied health profession by contributing to the provision of oral care for those diagnosed with diabetes, with a special focus on geriatric patients.

Current Progress and Challenges of Using Artificial Intelligence in Clinical Dentistry-A Narrative Review.

The concept of machines learning and acting like humans is what is meant by the phrase "artificial intelligence" (AI). Several branches of dentistry are increasingly relying on artificial intelligence (AI) tools. The literature usually focuses on AI models. These AI models have been used to detect and diagnose a wide range of conditions, including, but not limited to, dental caries, vertical root fractures, apical lesions, diseases of the salivary glands, maxillary sinusitis, maxillofacial cysts, cervical lymph node metastasis, osteoporosis, cancerous lesions, alveolar bone loss, the need for orthodontic extractions or treatments, cephalometric analysis, age and gender determination, and more. The primary contemporary applications of AI in the dental field are in undergraduate teaching and research. Before these methods can be used in everyday dentistry, however, the underlying technology and user interfaces need to be refined.

The Use of 3D Technology in the Management of Residual Asymmetry following Orthognathic Surgery: A Case Report.

The purpose of this case report was to present the aesthetic result of the reconstruction of facial residual asymmetry after orthognathic surgery using a patient-specific three-dimensional (3D) mold and a custom-made polymethyl methacrylate implant. Through computer-aided design (CAD), the healthy contralateral side of the mandible was superimposed onto the side with the defect. Exocad Gallway (exocad GmbH, Darmstadt, Germany) was used to design the patient-specific implants (PSIs) of the right mandibular angle. Next, the implant mold was created using the Meshmixer software (Version 3.5, Autodesk Inc., San Rafael, CA, USA) and fabricated using additive manufacturing. During the surgical procedure, the patient-specific implant (PSI) was cast inside the resin mold using Simplex P bone cement (Stryker, Mahwah, NJ, USA). The implant was fixed using three screws. Combining both indirect (involving the dental laboratory) and direct (with surgical intervention) approaches, this innovative hybrid method, which incorporates both computer-aided design and additive manufacturing (AM), not only enhanced facial aesthetics, functional rehabilitation, and patient quality of life but also mitigated the potential risks linked to conventional grafting methods.

The Role of Natural Compounds in Optimizing Contemporary Dental Treatment-Current Status and Future Trends.

For a long period of time, natural remedies were the only ailment available for a multitude of diseases, and they have proven effective even after the emergence of modern medicine. Due to their extremely high prevalence, oral and dental disorders and anomalies are recognized as major public health concerns. Herbal medicine is the practice of using plants with therapeutic characteristics for the purpose of disease prevention and treatment. Herbal agents have made a significant entry into oral care products in recent years, complementing traditional treatment procedures due to their intriguing physicochemical and therapeutic properties. There has been a resurgence of interest in natural products because of recent updates, technological advancements, and unmet expectations from current strategies. Approximately eighty percent of the world's population uses natural remedies, especially in poorer nations. When conventional treatments have failed, it may make sense to use natural drugs for the treatment of pathologic oral dental disorders, as they are readily available, inexpensive, and have few negative effects. The purpose of this article is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the benefits and applications of natural biomaterials in dentistry, to gather relevant information from the medical literature with an eye toward its practical applicability, and make suggestions for the directions for future study.

Are Local Drug Delivery Systems a Challenge in Clinical Periodontology?

Placing antimicrobial treatments directly in periodontal pockets is an example of the local administration of antimicrobial drugs to treat periodontitis. This method of therapy is advantageous since the drug concentration after application far surpasses the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and lasts for a number of weeks. As a result, numerous local drug delivery systems (LDDSs) utilizing various antibiotics or antiseptics have been created. There is constant effort to develop novel formulations for the localized administration of periodontitis treatments, some of which have failed to show any efficacy while others show promise. Thus, future research should focus on the way LDDSs can be personalized in order to optimize future clinical protocols in periodontal therapy.

Does the Loss of Teeth Have an Impact on Geriatric Patients' Cognitive Status?

Significant changes in the microstructure of the brain cause dementia and other mental declines associated with aging and disease. Although research has established a connection between oral health and dementia, the underlying pathologic mechanisms are still unknown. AIM: Our aim was to evaluate dentures' impact on the cognitive state of geriatric patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 108 individuals seeking treatment at the Faculty of Dental Medicine in Iasi, Romania, participated in the study, which ran from May 2022 to October 2022. Cognitive dysfunction was assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination. The acquired data were analyzed with IBM SPSS 26.0, and the p-value was set at 0.05. RESULTS: The average value of the MMSE score was 21.81 ± 3.872. Differences between groups of wearer/non-wearer subjects were statistically significant for most of the questions in the questionnaire. Linear regression analysis showed that individuals with a high MMSE score have prosthodontic treatment. A decrease in the MMSE score is associated with a decrease in masticatory efficiency (B = 1.513, p = 0.268). CONCLUSIONS: This study provides further evidence that tooth loss is associated with worse cognitive performance. It is thus conceivable that the necessary effects can be achieved by increasing the efforts dedicated to preventing tooth loss in the adult population.

The Clinical Utility of Circulating HPV DNA Biomarker in Oropharyngeal, Cervical, Anal, and Skin HPV-Related Cancers: A Review.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is recognized as being related to a wide variety of known cancers: cervical, oropharyngeal, anal, vaginal, penile, and skin. For some of these cancers, rigorous algorithms for screening, therapeutical interventions, and follow-up procedures have been established. Vaccination using the nonvalent anti-HPV vaccine, which prevents infection regarding the most frequently involved high-risk HPV types (16, 18, 31, 33, 45, 52, and 58) and low-risk HPV types (6 and 11), has also extensively prevented, controlled, and even eradicated HPV infections. Still, even with all of these multidisciplinary interventions, the burden of HPV cancers is still high worldwide. The circulating DNA of HPV-induced cancers is thought to be an adequate biomarker for optimizing the control of these virus-related cancers. We analyzed the literature published in the last 5 years regarding ctDNA and four of the above-mentioned cancers. The most frequently used assay for ctDNA detection was the droplet digital PCR assay, used for the management of therapy in the late stages of cancer. ctDNA could not be used for early detection in any of the studied cancers. The OPSCCs were the most frequent cancers analyzed via ctDNA assays. Larger, properly designed cohort studies might establish the clinical utility of this biomarker.

[Reticulate polymers used in obtaining new dental materials]. / Polimeri reticulati acrilici utilizati pentru obtinerea de noi materiale dentare.

UNLABELLED: This paper seeks the characterization of new polymers acrylic cross-linked structure, prepared in the presence of a template that creates the polymer synthesized the property of saving template form. MATERIAL AND METHOD: For carrying out synthesis of polymers reticulate-based on dimethacrylate monomer was left to the mono-, di-and trietilenglicol dimethacrylate. Cross-linked polymerization reaction was initiated with benzoyl peroxide. RESULTS: New structures are obtained witch respond to the need to diversify and improve the biomaterials used in dentistry. The materials are chemically thermally and mechanically inert. Reticulate polymers are non-biodegradable and therefore do not produce intoxication and not degrade biological fluids.