Impacts of implant treatment on daily living.

PURPOSE: This study investigated the association between satisfaction with the dentition and dental prostheses and personality profiles among patients who received implant-supported prostheses. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients seeking dental implant therapy were recruited for this study. A Dental Impact on Daily Living questionnaire was used to assess dental satisfaction and the effects of implant-supported prostheses on daily living. The NEO Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) was used to assess participants' personality profiles. Participants completed the questionnaires before implant insertion and 3 months after rehabilitation with implant-supported prostheses. RESULTS: Eighty patients (42 men and 38 women, mean age 40.99 years) participated. Patients were more satisfied with their dentition after implant treatment. Neuroticism and conscientiousness had significant relationships with patient satisfaction and impact on daily living both before and after implant therapy. Openness and agreeableness had significant relationships with patient satisfaction and impact on daily living only after implant treatment. Extraversion had a significant relationship with patient satisfaction and impact on daily living only before treatment. After implant treatment, neuroticism was helpful in predicting total satisfaction, as well as satisfaction with appearance, pain, oral comfort, performance, and eating. Conscientiousness was helpful in predicting satisfaction with appearance, whereas openness was helpful in predicting satisfaction with pain. Before implant treatment, neuroticism was helpful in predicting total satisfaction as well as satisfaction with appearance, oral comfort, and performance. CONCLUSION: Implant-supported prostheses had positive impacts on participants' daily living and satisfaction with the dentition. Personality traits (such as neuroticism, openness, agreeableness, and consciousness) affect patients' daily living and satisfaction with implant-supported prostheses. Selected personality traits might predict patients' satisfaction with implant-supported prostheses prior to treatment.

Quantification of tooth wear: conventional vs new method using toolmakers microscope and a three-dimensional measuring technique.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate the reliability of a new CAD-CAM Laser scanning machine in detection of incisal tooth wear through a 6-month period and to compare the accuracy of using this new machine against measuring tooth wear using tool maker microscope and conventional tooth wear index. METHODS: Twenty participants (11 males and 9 females, mean age=22.7 years, SD=2.0) were assessed for incisal tooth wear of lower anterior teeth using Smith and Knight clinical tooth wear index (TWI) on two occasions, the study baseline and 6 months later. Stone dies for each tooth were prepared and scanned using the CAD-CAM Laser Cercon System (Cercon Smart Ceramics, DeguDent, Germany). Scanned images were printed and examined under a toolmaker microscope (Stedall-Dowding Machine Tool Company, Optique et Mecanique de Precision, Marcel Aubert SA, Switzerland) to quantify tooth wear and then the dies were directly assessed under the microscope to measure tooth wear. The Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test was used to analyse the data. RESULTS: TWI scores for incisal edges were 0, 1, and 2 and were similar at both occasions. Scores 3 and 4 were not detected. Wear values measured by directly assessing the dies under the tool maker microscope (range=517-656microm, mean=582microm, and SD=50) were significantly more than those measured from the Cercon digital machine images (range=132-193microm, mean =165microm, and SD=27) and both showed significant differences between the two occasions. CONCLUSIONS: Measuring images obtained with Cercon digital machine under tool maker microscope allowed detection of wear progression over the 6-month period. However, measuring the dies of worn dentition directly under the tool maker microscope enabled detection of wear progression more accurately. Conventional method was the least sensitive for tooth wear quantification and was unable to identify wear progression in most cases.

Impacts of missing upper anterior teeth on daily living.

BACKGROUND: Aesthetics and function of the orofacial region are very important aspects of human life which may be affected by tooth loss and impact on the quality of life. The aim of this study was to identify the effects of anterior tooth loss on patients' quality of life and satisfaction with their dentition. METHODS: Fifty partially edentulous patients with missing anterior teeth and 50 control subjects who had no missing teeth were recruited into the study. The control subjects matched the patients by age, gender, and level of education. A Dental Impact on Daily Living questionnaire was used to assess dental impacts on daily living and satisfaction with the dentition. RESULTS: Tooth loss has a definite measurable impact on patients' daily living and satisfaction with their appearance, pain levels, oral comfort, general performance, and eating capacities (p = 0.000). Age and level of education had no effect on patients' total satisfaction with their dentition and daily living. However, females were less satisfied with appearance, general performance and eating (p = 0.003, 0.005 and 0.007 respectively) than males. There were significant correlations between the number of missing anterior teeth and patients' total satisfaction (p = 0.028) and patients satisfaction with appearance, oral comfort, general performance, and eating dimensions (p = 0.001, 0.048, 0.011 and 0.009 respectively). CONCLUSION: Tooth loss has definitive impact on patients' satisfaction with their dentition regardless of personal factors such as age, gender and level of education. The higher the number of missing teeth the lower the levels of satisfaction with the dentition and daily living.

Percutaneous microdecompressive endoscopic thoracic discectomy for herniated thoracic discs.

Spinal surgeons have long sought to find a procedure of choice by which to treat thoracic disc herniations. The threat of cord injury has stimulated many attempted approaches including posterior laminectomy (abandoned currently as too likely to result in neurologic loss), costotransversectomy, trans-thoracic trans-pleural, postero-lateral, trans-pedicular and, more recently, transthoracic endoscopic. Commonly, surgery is not contemplated unless significant cord compression and neurologic deficit is present.