Biodentine™ as a temporary filling in deep carious lesions in permanent teeth: a prospective observational 33-month follow-up study.

PURPOSE: The study aimed to evaluate temporary fillings using Biodentine™ in asymptomatic deep carious lesions after 12, 24, and 36 months in school children from the remote village of Kerung, Nepal. METHODS: From November 2018 to November 2019, 91 temporary fillings were placed using Biodentine™ (a hydraulic calcium silicate cement) in permanent molars with deep carious lesions of schoolchildren in the remote district of Kerung, Nepal. These restorations were performed after selective caries removal in a non-dental setting with hand instruments and cotton roll isolation, as electric motors and saliva ejection systems were unavailable. In total, 78 single-surface and 13 multi-surface fillings were placed. Clinical and radiographic follow-up periods encompassed 12, 21, and 33 months, respectively. RESULTS: After 12 months, all single-surface fillings (100%) survived, whilst all multi-surface fillings were partially or entirely lost. The survival rate of single-surface restorations after 21 and 33 months was 67.6% and 50%, respectively. Radiographically, no pathology was observed. CONCLUSION: This study showed that Biodentine could be used in deep carious lesions as a temporary filling in single-surface lesions for at least up to 1 year and in a substantial number of cases for up to 21 and 33 months.

Outcomes of different radioprotective precautions in children undergoing dental radiography: a systematic review.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effectiveness of all radioprotective measures in underage patients who undergo a dental radiodiagnostic examination. METHODS: A systematic review was performed including randomised controlled trials (RCTs), or cluster trials, cohort studies, cross-sectional studies, case-control studies and comparative in vitro research. These studies examined the healthy underage human population (below 18 years) undergoing a dental radiodiagnostic examination. All radioprotective measures were included except for justification as an intervention. The primary outcomes were in vivo mortality and morbidity. Some surrogate or indirect outcomes such as in vitro effective dose and organ absorbed doses were also accepted. Secondary outcomes with regards to image quality and therapeutic value were also analysed. RESULTS: Eighteen papers were eligible for implementation. Fifteen studies underwent narrative synthesis. Regression analysis was performed on three studies. CONCLUSION: The following radioprotective measures can reduce the exposure dose. For lateral cephalometry: collimation, filtration, the fastest receptor type and circumstantial thyroid shielding. For oblique lateral radiographs: the shortest exposure time, a smaller horizontal angulation, a longer focus to skin distance. For intraoral radiography: rectangular collimation, the fastest image receptor speed and thyroid shielding when the thyroid gland is in line of or very close to the primary beam. For panoramic radiographs: collimation, the fastest receptor type and the use of automatic exposure control (AEC) or manual adjustment of intensity. For cone-beam computed tomography: collimation, the largest voxels size in relation to the treatment need, change in image settings such as ultra-low dose settings, shorter exposure time, a lower amount of projections, lower beam intensity, reduction of the potential, use of a thyroid shield except in two situations and the use of AEC. All of the changes in exposure parameters should be performed while maintaining a sufficient therapeutic value on an individual and indication-based level.

Paediatric dental emergencies: a retrospective study and a proposal for definition and guidelines including pain management.

AIM: This was primarily to perform a retrospective analysis of 1000 emergency dental visits in order to characterize the nature of the dental emergency and the treatment provided and secondly to define a guideline for dental emergency treatment in children including pain management. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective review was conducted of 1000 patients (aged 0-16 years) who visited the dental emergency service of the paediatric dental clinic at the Ghent University Hospital, Belgium over a period of 3 years. Data regarding age, gender, reason for visit, year of visit, consequent appointments and treatment provided were collected. Statistical analysis was carried out using descriptive statistics (frequency distribution) and Chi-square test, with significance level set as P < 0.05. RESULTS: The number of patients visiting with a dental emergency increased annually. Approximately half (50.2%) of all paediatric dental emergency consultations were based on pain due to caries and its consequences. More than a quartile (26.7%) of emergency patients suffered from dental trauma of either primar or permanent teeth. The majority (96.7%) of the patients reported pain, 16.3% of the patients did not necessarily need immediate attention. CONCLUSION: Dental emergencies in a university hospital based setting were predominantly related to caries and trauma. A precise definition of dental emergencies is recommended in order to prevent abuse of paediatric emergency services.

Correction to: Biodentine™ material characteristics and clinical applications: a 3 year literature review and update.

Owing to a misunderstanding on the part of the authors, the name of the last author, Prof. R. M. H. Verbeeck, was omitted from this article.

Biodentine™ material characteristics and clinical applications: a 3 year literature review and update.

INTRODUCTION: Biodentine™ has frequently been acknowledged in the literature as a promising material and serves as an important representative of tricalcium silicate based cements used in dentistry. AIM: To provide an update on the physical and biological properties of Biodentine™ and to compare these properties with those of other tricalcium silicate cements namely, different variants of mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) such as ProRoot MTA, MTA Angelus, Micro Mega MTA (MM-MTA), Retro MTA, Ortho MTA, MTA Plus, GCMTA, MTA HP and calcium enriched mixture (CEM), Endosequence and Bioaggregate™. STUDY DESIGN: A comprehensive literature search for publications from November 20, 2013 to November 20, 2016 was performed by two independent reviewers on Medline (PubMed), Embase, Web of Science, CENTRAL (Cochrane), SIGLE, SciELO, Scopus, Lilacs and clinicaltrials.gov. Electronic and hand search was carried out to identify randomised control trials (RCTs), case control studies, case series, case reports, as well as in vitro and animal studies published in the English language. CONCLUSIONS: The enhanced physical and biologic properties of Biodentine™ could be attributed to the presence of finer particle size, use of zirconium oxide as radiopacifier, purity of tricalcium silicate, absence of dicalcium silicate, and the addition of calcium chloride and hydrosoluble polymer. Furthermore, as Biodentine™ overcomes the major drawbacks of MTA it has great potential to revolutionise the different treatment modalities in paediatric dentistry and endodontics especially after traumatic injuries. Nevertheless, high quality long-term clinical studies are required to facilitate definitive conclusions.

Analgesia (mis)usage on a dental emergency service: a patient survey.

OBJECTIVES: Analgesics are one of the most frequently used medicines. Self-medication and misuse have been described in the literature. The purpose of this study was to document analgesic (mis)use in a population seeking emergency dental treatment. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Patients consulting a dental emergency service were randomly asked to complete a questionnaire on analgesic use, knowledge and information on the analgesics and on their pain history. A photobook was used as an aid to identify products used. Descriptive statistics were combined with chi-square and Mann-Whitney U testing. RESULTS: Ninety-eight patients were included. Acetaminophen (69.4%) and ibuprofen (65.3%) were the most frequently used products. Nearly half of the subjects (43.9%) combined at least two analgesics. Although 42.9% of subjects were aware of the maximum daily dose, 62.2% of the subjects exceeded this limit, specifically 76.6% of subjects using ibuprofen and 32.4% of subjects using acetaminophen overdosing. Females overdosed significantly more than males. Ingestion on medical advice did not affect the overdose rates significantly. No significant relation was found between the absence of knowledge on the maximum daily dose and actual overdosing. No higher pain reduction was found in patients overdosing analgesics. The average number of days patients experienced pain before consulting the emergency unit was 12. A significant relation was found between the lag time and overdosing. CONCLUSIONS: A large portion of the patients overdosed analgesics. Even prior medical advice did not reduce significantly overdose rates. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Dentists treating emergency cases clearly need to be aware of the high risk and high rates of overdosing analgesics in their patients.

Efficacy of three different pulpotomy agents in primary molars: a randomized control trial.

AIM: To compare the clinical and radiographic efficacy of Biodentine™ , ProRoot® White Mineral Trioxide Aggregate (WMTA) and Tempophore™ as pulpotomy medicaments in the treatment of carious primary molars. METHODOLOGY: A parallel-design, randomized controlled trial was developed. Patients above 3 years of age with carious primary teeth with vital pulps without spontaneous pain or history of swelling were included. Fifty-eight patients (82 teeth) with a mean age of 4.79 ± 1.23 years were included. The teeth were randomized, blinded and allocated to one of the three groups (Biodentine™ , ProRoot® WMTA or Tempophore™ ) for pulpotomy treatment. All teeth were followed up clinically and radiographically (after 6, 12 and 18 months) by two blinded calibrated investigators. A generalized estimating equation (GEE), Wald chi-square test and an intention-to-treat analysis (ITT) with 'last carried forward' approach were performed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences v 21.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NK, USA). RESULTS: Forty-six patients and 69 teeth were available for follow-up after 18 months. Clinical success (radiographic success in parenthesis) was 95.24% (94.4%), 100% (90.9%) and 95.65% (82.4%) in the Biodentine™ , ProRoot® WMTA and Tempophore™ groups, respectively, but the difference was not significant. Pulp canal obliteration was significantly different amongst the experimental groups as the Biodentine™ group exhibited significantly more pulp canal obliteration when compared to the ProRoot® WMTA group at 6 months (P = 0.008) and 18 months (P = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: After 18-month follow-up, there was no significant difference between Biodentine™ in comparison with ProRoot® WMTA or Tempophore™ .

Biodentine™ material characteristics and clinical applications: a review of the literature.

INTRODUCTION: Biodentine™ is a new version of calcium silicate-based inorganic cement. AIM: The aim of this review is to provide a detailed analysis of the physical and biological properties of Biodentine™ and to compare these properties with those of other tricalcium silicate cements viz. mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) and Bioaggregate™ (Bioaggregate). STUDY DESIGN: A comprehensive systematic literature search for all publications to date was performed on 20th November 2013 by two independent reviewers in Medline (PubMed), Embase, Web of Science, CENTRAL (Cochrane), SIGLE, SciELO, Scopus, Lilacs and clinicaltrials.gov using the search terms Biodentine, "tricalcium silicate", Ca3SiO5, "dentine substitute", "dentin substitute" and RD 94. In addition to the electronic search, hand searches and reference searches were performed to include articles published in journals that were not indexed in Medline. Randomised control trials (RCT), case control studies, case series, case reports, in vitro studies, animal studies and short communications in English language were considered for this review. CONCLUSIONS: Considering the superior physical and biologic properties, Biodentine™ could be an efficient alternative to MTA to be used in a variety of clinical applications. There appears to be a wide range of clinical applications where Biodentine™ could be used in the field of endodontics, dental traumatology, restorative dentistry and pediatric dentistry. Although it seems to be good clinical practice, currently there is little clinical evidence to support all potential indications.

Fracture resistance of bone samples filled with fibre-reinforced composite posts: an ex vivo model.

AIM: To evaluate the strengthening effect of two different types of fibre-reinforced composite (FRC) posts in an ex vivo experimental model. METHODOLOGY: Compact and hollow bone samples from bovine femurs were used as standardized samples. A total of 80 hollow samples were divided into two groups and filled either with a prefabricated FRC post or with individually adapted FRC posts. For each group, half of the samples were subjected to thermocycling (5-55 °C, 5000×). The remaining samples were kept for 24 h at 37 °C at 100% relative humidity. All samples were loaded diametrically until fracture. The null hypothesis tested was that the fracture resistance of standardized bone samples is not influenced by the type of FRC post, independently of the exposure to thermocycling. Results were evaluated by anova, and subsequent multiple comparisons were performed. RESULTS: The samples filled with the individually adapted FRC posts were more resistant to fracture than the prefabricated ones (P < 0.001), but this difference was not apparent in the thermocycled groups. Detachment of the posts upon fracture was highest after thermocycling for both groups, amounting to 55% and 95% for the individual adapted posts and the prefabricated posts, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Initially, the samples filled with the individually adapted FRC posts were more resistant to fracture than those filled with the prefabricated ones. However, after ageing of the samples, both types of posts had similar strengthening effects.

Low level laser therapy in oral mucositis: a pilot study.

AIM: The goal of this pilot study was to investigate the capacity of pain relief and wound healing of low level laser therapy (LLLT) in chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis (OM) in a paediatric oncology population group. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: 16 children (mean age 9.4 years) from the Gent University Hospital - Department Paediatric Oncology/haematology, suffering from chemotherapy-induced OM were selected. During clinical investigations, the OM grade was assessed using the WHO classification. All children were treated using a GaAlAs diode laser with 830 nm wavelength and a potency of 150 mW. The energy released was adapted according to the severity of the OM lesions. The same protocol was repeated every 48 hrs until healing of each lesion occurred. Subjective pain was monitored before and immediately after treatment by an appropriate pain scale and functional impairment was recorded. At each visit, related blood cell counts were recorded. RESULTS: After 12 mths, records were evaluated and information about treatment sequence, treatment sessions and frequencies related to the pain sensation and comfort were registered. Immediately after beaming the OM, pain relief was noticed. Depending on the severity of OM, on average, 2.5 treatments per lesion in a period of 1 week were sufficient to heal a mucositis lesion. CONCLUSIONS: LLLT, one of the most recent and promising treatment therapies, has been shown to reduce the severity and duration of mucositis and to relieve pain significantly. In the present study similar effects were obtained with the GaAlAs 830nm diode laser. It became clear that using the latter diode device, new guidelines could be developed as a function of the WHO-OM grades i.e. the lower the grade, the less energy needed. Immediate pain relief and improved wound healing resolved functional impairment that was obtained in all cases.

Self-mutilation behaviour in Lesch-Nyhan syndrome.

Lesch-Nyhan syndrome (LNS), first described in 1964 by Lesch and Nyhan, is a rare X-linked genetic disorder involving (near) absence of the enzyme hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase (HPRT). It occurs in 1:100,000 to 380,000 live births (1, 2). The deficiency of HPRT activity leads to an excessive uric acid production resulting in neurological, renal and musculoskeletal manifestations. Death usually occurs in the second or third decade from infection or renal failure. Clinical presentation is characterized by mental retardation, choreoathetosis, spasticity, hyperuricemia and cerebral palsy. A characteristic feature of LNS is the appearance of intractable self-injurious behaviour (SIB), usually in the form of severe lip and finger biting, gouging of eyes, face scratching and head banging requiring extreme management techniques such as the application of restraints and or extraction of teeth at an early age. In this case report a unique approach of SIB in LNS is presented.

Dentinogenesis imperfecta associated with short stature, hearing loss and mental retardation: a new syndrome with autosomal recessive inheritance?

The follow-up history and oral findings in two brothers from consanguineous parents suggest that the association of dentinogenesis imperfecta (DI), delayed tooth eruption, mild mental retardation, proportionate short stature, sensorineural hearing loss and dysmorphic facies may represent a new syndrome with autosomal recessive inheritance. Histological examination of the dentin matrix of a permanent molar from one of the siblings reveals morphological similarities with defective dentinogenesis as presenting in patients affected with Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI), a condition caused by deficiency of type I collagen. A number of radiographic and histological characteristics, however, are inconsistent with classical features of DI. These findings suggest that DI may imply greater genetical heterogeneity than currently assumed.