Use of artificial primary teeth for endodontic laboratory research: experiments related to canal length determination.

BACKGROUND: Due to the scarcity of exfoliated/extracted human primary teeth with complete roots, artificial teeth were developed as an alternative to be used for educational and laboratory research purposes. This study aimed to assess the feasibility of using artificial primary teeth for conducting laboratory research through an experiment related to canal length determination, comparing artificial teeth with natural teeth. METHODS: Thirty anterior and 21 posterior artificial teeth, and the same number of natural primary teeth were selected. After preparing the access cavity, the root canal length was determined by two examiners twice using three different methods: radiography and two electronic apex locators. Then, the actual root canal length was measured by inserting a K-file up to the apical foramen (reference standard). Accuracy was calculated using Bland-Altman analysis and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). The inter- and intra-examiner reproducibility was also calculated using the ICC. RESULTS: The methods using the electronic apex locators showed better accuracy in both artificial and natural teeth. Trends observed with artificial primary teeth were similar to those observed with natural teeth, except for the results in artificial anterior teeth. CONCLUSIONS: The model of artificial teeth might be a good alternative for educational purposes; however, improvements are necessary to employ these teeth for research purposes when considering experiments for canal length determination.

Avaliação da condição periodontal de pacientes candidatos à reabilitação com implantes dentais / Periodontal condition assessment of candidates for rehabilitation patients with dental implants

A condição periodontal é um fator importante a ser considerado no planejamento de reabilitações com implantes dentais, pois a presença de doença periodontal influencia negativamente o prognóstico desta terapia. Portanto, a proposta deste trabalho foi avaliar a condição periodontal de pacientes candida- tos à reabilitação com implantes dentais. Foram avaliados: idade, gênero, condições como fumo e diabetes, índice de placa (Ainamo; Bay, 1975), índice de sangramento (Mühlemann; Son, 1971), profundidade de sondagem (PS), nível de inserção clínica (NIC) e tipo de doença periodontal, em 100 pacientes indicados para receberem reabilitações implanto suportadas. Os pacientes periodontalmente saudáveis correspon- deram a 8% da amostra, 5% tinham gengivite e 87% periodontite crõnica, 65% dos pacientes eram do sexo feminino, 10% eram fumantes e 6% diabéticos. O índice de placa médio dos pacientes foi 23%, o de sangramento 17,2% e a profundidade de sondagem média foi 2,6 mm. Os pacientes apresentaram 17,5% dos sítios com PS > 5mm. O nível de inserção clínica médio foi de 3,1 mm, sendo que 40,35% dos sítios apresentaram NIC:2: 5 mm. Dentro dos limites deste estudo, concluímos que a maior parte da população que procura a reabilitação com implantes dentais apresenta periodontite crõnica moderada, além de ou- tros fatores que podem interferir negativamente no prognóstico dos implantes dentais.

Periodontal status is an important facto r to be considered in the planning of rehabilitation with dental implants, because the presence of periodontal disease adversely affects the prognosis of therapy. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the periodontal condition of patients who are candidates for rehabilitation with dental implants. Were evaluated: age, gender, conditions such as smoking and diabetes, plaque index (Ainamo; Bay, 1975), bleeding index (Mühlemann; Son, 1971), probing depth (PD), clinical attachment levei (CAL) and type of periodontal disease, in 100 patients indicated for receiving implant su- pported rehabilitations. Periodontally healthy patients accounted for 8% of the sample, 5% had gingivitis and 87% chronic periodontitis; 65% of the patients were women, 10% were smokers and 6% were diabe- tics. The mean plaque index of patients was 23%, bleeding index 17.2% and mean probing depth was 2.6 mm. The patients presented 17.5% of the sites with PD > 5mm. The mean clinical attachment levei was 3.1 mm, with 40.35% of the sites presenting CAL:2: 5 mm. Within the limits ofthis study, it was concluded that the majority of the population seeking rehabilitation with dental implants presents moderate chronic pe- riodontitis, in addition to other factors that could negatively interfere in the prognosis of dental implants.

Homologous prime-boost strategy in neonate mice using Neisseria lactamica.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the immune response to native outer membrane vesicles (NOMVs) of Neisseria lactamica with and without Bordetella pertussis (BP) as adjuvant in intranasal (i.n./i.m) immunization. N. lactamica NOMVs delivered intranasally (i.n) to BALB/c mice in a final volume of 5microl that was gradually introduced with a micropipette, Animals received 1, 2, 3, or 4 doses of antigens at 3, 7, 9 and 12 days after birth. On the 35th day, the animals were immunized intramuscularly (i.m.) with (NOMV) of N. lactamica. The prime-booster strategy using NOMV of N. lactamica with BP as adjuvant in the primer (i.n.) and booster (i.m.) is an effective immunization protocol for inducing humoral immune responses producing IgG antibodies of intermediate to high avidity.

Production of monoclonal antibodies against Neisseria meningitidis using popliteal lymph nodes and in vivo/in vitro immunization: prevalence study of new monoclonal antibodies in greater São Paulo, Brazil.

A rapid and efficient method for preparing monoclonal antibody (MAb) serotypes using Neisseria meningitidis outer membrane were used in BALB/c mouse footpads for the immunization. The popliteal lymph nodes were isolated 19 days later for MAb-producing hybridomas, from which the MAbs against the 37 kDa protein were screened. Variations in class 2/3 (PorB) proteins form the basis for meningococcal serotyping. This is the first report on the preparation of MAbs against N. meningitidis that is specific to PorB protein using popliteal lymph nodes. The new monoclonal antibodies were specific for PorB outer membrane protein FL24(PL)Br, a new serotype 24 class 3 antigens of non-typeable (NT:NST) serogroup B strain, and FL14(PL)Br specific for the serotype 14, and reacted with the S3446 reference strain analyzed. A total of 12% of the case isolates reacted with one or more of the monoclonal antibodies. The high-affinity MAbs produced by hybridoma methodology provide a basis for further research on the pathogenesis and early diagnosis of meningococcus.