Three-dimensional positional changes of teeth adjacent to posterior edentulous spaces in relation to age at time of tooth loss and elapsed time.

The purpose of this study was to study the stability of teeth adjacent to posterior edentulous spaces and correlate it with patient age and time lapse since tooth loss. Dental casts, panoramic radiographs, and questionnaires of patients treated in a University setting were employed. Teeth adjacent and opposing posterior edentulous spaces were examined for the following parameters: Supraeruption, rotation, space closure, and axial inclination. One hundred twenty three patients with 229 edentulous spaces were analyzed. Statistical analysis showed that the effects of "jaw", "gender", and "age group at the time of tooth loss" were not significant for any of the variables tested. The effect of time lapse since tooth loss was significant regarding the "amount of distal tooth inclination" (P<0.001), the "amount of distal tooth rotation" (P=0.004), and "space closure" (P=0.038). Post-hoc analysis of the "amount of distal tooth inclination" revealed a marked increase in inclination 5 years after tooth loss. Within the limitations of this study, it was concluded that in the group of patients studied, minor positional changes in teeth opposing or adjacent to posterior edentulous spaces had occurred. The greatest changes in position were recorded for mandibular teeth distal to edentulous spaces.

Computer methods for automating preoperative dental implant planning: implant positioning and size assignment.

The paper presents computer-aided methods that allocate a dental implant and suggest its size, during the pre-operative planning stage, in conformance with introduced optimization criteria and established clinical requirements. Based on computed tomography data of the jaw and prosthesis anatomy, single tooth cases are planned for the best-suited implant insertion at a user-defined region. An optimum implantation axis line is produced and cylindrical implants of various candidate sizes are then automatically positioned, while their occlusal end is leveled to bone ridge, and evaluated. Radial safety margins are used for the assessment of the implant safety distance from neighboring anatomical structures and bone quantity and quality are estimated and taken into consideration. A case study demonstrates the concept and allows for its discussion.

Bonding indirect resin composites to metal: part 2. Effect of alloy surface treatment on elemental composition of alloy and bond strength.

PURPOSE: This laboratory study compared the effect of different surface treatments of a medium-gold, high-noble alloy on the shear bond strength of an indirect, highly filled resin composite to the alloy and on the elemental composition of the alloy surface. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ninety disks, cast in a medium-gold, high-noble porcelain-fused-to-metal alloy (V-Deltaloy), received three different surface treatments: sandblasting with 50-microm Al2O3 (group 1) or 250-microm Al2O3 (group 2) and chemical agents, or with 250-microm Al2O3 without chemical agents (group 3) prior to bonding of an indirect resin composite (Artglass, and chemical agents Siloc-pre and Siloc-bond). The specimens were tested in shear, half of them after 24-hour dry storage at room temperature and the rest after 10-day storage in normal saline solution at 37 degrees C and thermocycling (2,500 cycles between 5 and 55 degrees C). Morphologic and qualitative changes on the alloy surface after sandblasting with 50- or 250-microm Al2O3 were examined by SEM using EDS analysis and compared with polished specimens. Statistical analysis was performed using two-factor ANOVA. RESULTS: The mean shear bond strengths (in MPa) after dry or wet storage and thermocycling were 29 and 24 for group 1, 21 and 18 for group 2, and 17 and 12 for group 3, respectively; there was a statistically significant difference among the groups. Sandblasting of the alloy surface led to statistically significant changes in elemental composition. These changes were of greater magnitude when 50-microm Al2O3 particles were used. CONCLUSION: The particle size used for sandblasting influences the shear bond strength between a high-noble alloy and a highly filled indirect resin composite, as well as the elemental composition of the alloy surface.

Bonding indirect resin composites to metal: Part 1. Comparison of shear bond strengths between different metal-resin bonding systems and a metal-ceramic system.

PURPOSE: This laboratory study compared the shear bond strength between three indirect resin composites and a noble alloy using their respective bonding systems. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred twenty disks cast in a medium-gold, high-noble metal-ceramic alloy (V-Deltaloy) were divided equally into four groups and received different treatments for veneering: Conventional feldspathic porcelain (Omega) was applied on one set of specimens to be used as a control, and three indirect resin composites (Artglass, Sculpture, Targis) with their respective bonding systems were used for the other groups. The specimens were tested in a parallel shear test, half of them after 24-hour dry storage at room temperature and the rest after 10-day storage in normal saline solution at 37 degrees C and thermocycling. The fractured specimens were evaluated to determine the nature of the failure. RESULTS: The mean shear bond strength values (in MPa), before and after wet storage and thermocycling, were 30 and 23 for the metal-ceramic group, 29 and 23 for the Artglass group, 20 and 19 for the Sculpture group, and 17 and 14 for the Targis group, respectively. The metal-ceramic and Artglass groups exhibited significantly higher bond strengths than the other two groups. All specimens, with the exception of the Sculpture group, showed a significant decrease in bond strength after wet storage and thermocycling. CONCLUSION: No group exceeded the shear bond strength of the metal-ceramic group, but the Artglass group with its respective metal-resin bonding system exhibited similar bond strengths. The Sculpture group showed a stable bond after water storage and thermocycling.