Interplay between different manual toothbrushes and brushing loads on erosive tooth wear.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of different types of manual toothbrushes and brushing loads on the progression of erosive tooth wear (ETW) on enamel. METHODS: Bovine enamel specimens (n = 10) were submitted to a 5-day erosive-abrasive cycling model (0.3 % citric acid for 5 min, artificial saliva for 60 min, 4x/day). Toothbrushing was carried out 2x/day for 15 s, according to the toothbrushes tested (ultra-soft (a): Curaprox 5460; ultra-soft (b): Sensodyne Repair & Protect; soft (a): Colgate Slim Soft; soft (b): Oral-B Indicator Plus; medium: Johnson's Professional; hard: Tek) and brushing loads (1.5 N, 3 N). Surface loss (SL, in µm) was assessed by optical profilometry on conclusion of the cycling. Some of the toothbrush characteristics were evaluated. Data were statistically analyzed (α = 0.05). RESULTS: For the 1.5 N load, the hard brush showed the highest SL value, with statistical significance. The other toothbrushes did not differ significantly, except that ultra-soft (a) caused significantly higher SL than ultra-soft (b). For the 3 N load, hard and soft (a) exhibited the highest SL. Soft (b) and medium had the lowest SL value, with statistical significance. Only soft (a) and ultra-soft (b) showed significant difference between loads, with lower SL for the load of 1.5 N. None of the toothbrush characteristics were significantly correlated with SL. CONCLUSIONS: Although different degrees of enamel surface loss were observed with use of the different toothbrushes, no association was found between the toothbrush characteristics and SL. Depending on the toothbrush, the force of brushing was capable of modulating the ETW of enamel. Based on the brushing loads usually applied by healthy individuals, hard brushes are not recommended for use by patients with ETW. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The use of hard bristle brushes is not recommended for use by individuals who exert healthy forces when brushing their teeth. The toothbrush characteristics are of secondary importance in terms of causing enamel loss in ETW.

Evaluation of tensile strength after insertions andremovals of abutments on frictional Morse taper implants

ABSTRACT: This study aimed to evaluate possible changes in final retention after nine sequences of insertion and removal (SIR) of a frictional Morse taper implant/abutment system, evaluating the force required for dissociating this set between sequences, and verifying possible deformations in the implant heads. Ten implants, 13 mm long and 3.3 mm in diameter, were coupled to a universal mechanical testing machine. Ten anti-rotational abutments, 13 mm long and 3.5 mm in diameter, were connected to the implants parallel to the long axis, using an instrument called beat-connection, and subjected to tensile tests and SEM analysis. The results were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis test with Dunn's post-test, and the significance level was set at 5 %. There was no statistically significant difference in final retention among the nine SIRs evaluated. The force needed to uncouple the abutment from the implant increased as SIRs were performed on all ten implants, and an increase of 29.03 % was observed in the ninth SIR compared to the first SIR. After SEM analysis, no significant deformations, fractures, or cracks were observed in the implant heads.

RESUMEN: Este estudio tuvo como objetivo evaluar los posibles cambios en la retención final después de nueve secuencias de inserción y extracción (SIR) de un sistema de implante / pilar de cono de fricción Morse, evaluando la fuerza necesaria para disociar este conjunto entre secuencias y verificando posibles deformaciones en las cabezas de los implantes. Se acoplaron diez implantes, de 13 mm de largo y 3,3 mm de diámetro, a una máquina universal de ensayos mecánicos. Se conectaron a los implantes en paralelo al eje largo diez pilares antirrotacionales, de 13 mm de largo y 3,5 mm de diámetro, mediante un instrumento llamado beat-connection, y se sometieron a pruebas de tracción y análisis SEM. Los resultados se analizaron mediante la prueba de Kruskal-Wallis con la prueba posterior de Dunn, y el nivel de significancia se estableció en 5 %. No hubo diferencias estadísticamente significativas en la retención final entre los nueve SIR evaluados. La fuerza necesaria para desacoplar el pilar del implante aumentó a medida que se realizaban SIR en los diez implantes, y se observó un aumento del 29,03 % en el noveno SIR en comparación con el primer SIR. Después del análisis SEM, no se observaron deformaciones, fracturas o grietas significativas en las cabezas de los implantes.