Long-Term Chromatic Durability of White Spot Lesions through Employment of Infiltration Resin Treatment.

Background and Objectives: White spot lesions (WSLs) denote regions of subsurface demineralization on the enamel that manifest as opaque and milky-white regions. Treatment for WSLs is essential for both clinical and aesthetic reasons. Resin infiltration has been identified as the most efficacious solution for alleviating WSLs, but studies with long-term monitoring are scarce. The aim of this clinical study is to assess the color change stability of the lesion after four years of implementing the resin infiltration technique. Materials and Methods: Forty non-cavity and unrestored white spot lesions (WSLs) were treated with the resin infiltration technique. The color of the WSLs and adjacent healthy enamel (SAE) was assessed using a spectrophotometer at T0 (baseline), T1 (after treatment), T2 (1 year after) and T3 (4 years after). The Wilcoxon test was utilized to determine the significance of the variation of color (ΔE) between WSLs and SAE over the observed time periods. Results: When comparing the color difference ΔE (WSLs-SAE) at T0-T1, the Wilcoxon test demonstarated a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05). For ΔE (WSLs-SAE) at T1-T2 and T1-T3, the color variation was not statistically significant (p = 0.305 and p = 0.337). Conclusions: The study's findings indicate that the resin infiltration technique is an effective solution for resolving the appearance of WSLs, and the results have demonstrated stability for a minimum of four years.

Does Low-Taper Root Canal Shaping Decrease the Risk of Root Fracture? A Systematic Review.

Minimal root-canal preparation has been suggested to reduce the risk of root fracture, but as a result, satisfactory cleaning and shaping do not take place. Large-scale taper instrumentation can contribute to removing infected tissue; however, it may weaken the tooth structure. The aim of this systematic review is to evaluate whether root-canal shaping with low-taper instruments decreases the risk of root fracture, compared to high-conicity shaping. A search was performed on Ovid MEDLINE, PubMed, and the Web of Science. The inclusion criteria were: studies comparing the root fracture resistance of endodontically treated teeth, shaped with low- and high-conicity taper instruments, in human trials, and via in vitro study. The review includes all types of endodontically treated teeth, with various instrument tapers. The scientific search engines produced 328 results. Only 20 of the results were evaluated after screening. Based on the articles analyzed, it is not clear whether a taper difference can determine differences in root fracture resistance. No randomized controlled trial (RCTs) with long follow-ups have been published to date. It must also be taken into account that the in vitro studies do not consider the numerous differences that there are between in vitro and clinical evaluation. The review was registered on the PROSPERO website, with the protocol number CRD42020151451.

Systematic Review on White Spot Lesions Treatments.

The difference in refractive index between the healthy enamel and the demineralized area generates a lesion with a milky white opaque appearance, clearly distinguishable from the surrounding healthy enamel. The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate if the infiltration technique is the most efficient treatment to resolve a white spot lesion when compared with remineralization and microabrasion techniques. The Population/Intervention/Comparison/Outcome question investigated: "in enamel WS lesion, the infiltration treatment compared to remineralization or microabrasion treatments is more or less effective in the camouflage effect?." The research was performed on electronic databases, including Ovid MEDLINE, PubMed, and web of science. The search was conducted up to April 1, 2020. The scientific search engines produced 324 results. Only 14 were screened after screening. Based on the articles analyzed in this systematic review, the resin infiltration technique seems to be the most effective and predictable treatment for the aesthetic resolution of WSLs.

Correlation between Oral Hygiene and IL-6 in Children.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between marginal gingivitis, oral hygiene parameters, and interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels in gingival crevicular fluid of 40 children. The marginal periodontal pathology was evaluated by gingival index (GI). The status of oral hygiene was estimated by using patient hygiene performance (PHP), brushing frequency (BF), and plaque index (PI). IL-6 levels in gingival crevicular fluid were measured to evaluate the inflammation in marginal gingiva. PHP score showed a significant correlation with GI, BF, and PI. The groups based on PHP ranges were significantly related to IL-6 concentration in crevicular fluid.

Spectrophotometric Evaluation of Enamel Color Variation Using Infiltration Resin Treatment of White Spot Lesions at One Year Follow-Up.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the color changes and the stability at a 1-year follow-up of white spot lesions (WSLs) treated with an infiltrating technique by using etching and TEGDMA resin. The color of 22 white spot lesions and the sound adjacent enamel (SAE) were assessed with a spectrophotometer at T0 (baseline), T1 (after treatment), and T2 (1 year after). The color change ΔE (WSLs-SAE) at T0 vs. T1 were compared to evaluate the camouflage effect efficiency, and at T1 vs. T2 to assess the stability of outcomes. To evaluate the effect on the treatment outcome of gender, the presence or not of previous orthodontic treatment, WSLs onset more/less than 10 years, the age of the patient, and the ΔE WSL (T0 vs. T1) was analyzed. The difference between ΔE (WSLs-SAE) at T0 and T1 resulted in statistical significance (p < 0.01). No statistical difference was found between ΔE (WSLs-SAE) at T1 vs. T2. The variables considered showed no statistical differences in treatment outcomes. The results of our investigation show that the technique used is immediately effective and the camouflage effect keeps up and steady one year after treatment. Such results do not appear to be influenced by analyzed clinical variables.

Evaluation of Mechanical Properties of a Hollow Endodontic Post by Three Point Test and SEM Analysis: A Pilot Study.

The aim of this study was to investigate the mechanical properties of a fiber hollow endodontic post characterized by the presence of an empty central cylindrical channel extended along the whole length. This particular shape allows clinicians to use the post also as a cementation resin carrier. Ten hollow posts were divided in two groups: the control group (unfilled hollow posts) (Group 0) and hollow posts filled with dual resin cement (Group 1). The samples of both groups were subjected to mechanical and micromorphological analysis by performing a three-point test and SEM observations. In the three-point test, the Group 1 samples exhibited a fracture load of 57.09 ± 5.06 N, a flexural strength of 1323.53 ± 110.09 MPa, and a Young's modulus of 42.87 ± 0.86 GPa. The samples of Group 2 exhibited a fracture load of 38.17 ± 1.7 N, a flexural strength of 908.87 ± 30.98 MPa, and a Young's modulus of 40.33 ± 1.9 GPa. The difference between fracture load, flexural strength, and deflection between the two groups was statistically highly significant (p < 0.01). Further, the difference between the Young's modulus of the two groups was statistically significant (p < 0.05). The values obtained are similar to those of other posts available on the market.