Incisive papilla as a bio-metric guide in the arrangement of teeth

When natural teeth are lost it becomes difficult to arrange the teeth in their original position in the complete dentures. A variety of guides has been suggested for arranging teeth and are called the Bio-Metric guides. Incisive Papilla is a commonly used and a reliable landmark in the arrangement of anterior teeth. Different values are reported for the distance between it the anterior teeth. The points of measurement, its methods and accuracy would help to decide on the right value to be used

Comparison of the linear dimensional accuracy of denture bases cured the by conventional method and by the new press technique.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to investigate and compare the linear dimensional accuracy of denture bases processed with the conventional heat-polymerization technique and the Rafael and Saide (RS) tension system, taking a multidirectional approach. Materials and Methods: Twenty standard edentulous maxillary casts were randomly assigned into two groups. A uniform denture base of 1.5 mm thickness was fabricated in wax and later processed by two methods: Group I acrylic resin flasked with the conventional technique and Group II acrylic resin flasked with the RS tension system. The dimensional accuracy was assessed using traveling microscope. Results: The linear dimensional changes that occurred between the dentures produced with the new press method and the conventional method were statistically insignificant and ranged from 0.002 to 0.11. The dimensionally stable areas were the canines and the most unstable was the posterior palate. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that the maximum linear dimensional change occurs around the molars and palatal segment, with the most stable areas being the canines. There was no significant linear dimensional change of the dentures processed between the conventional and the new press technique.

A influência de aparelhos protéticos na incidência de cárie / The influence of prosthetic devices on the incidence of dental caries

Uma crença popular diz que os aparelhos protéticos estragam os dentes de suporte e, de uma forma genérica, pela dificuldade de planejamento e confecçäo dessas próteses, isso acaba sendo verdade. Um bom planejamento, por si só, näo leva uma prótese ao sucesso; quando da entrega do aparelho protético, o paciente necessita de uma orientaçäo eficiente de como cuidar desse aparelho e de seus dentes, para poder preservá-los por um longo período. O paciente, quando chega a esse estágio, tem sua condiçäo bucal e psicológica um tanto inferiorizada; assim, uma atençäo especial é necessária para retornarmos essa boca às condiçöes originais ou o mais próximo desta. A importância do conhecimento das alteraçöes do microcosmo bucal antes e após a instalaçäo de um aparelho protético e suas inter-relaçöes com o risco de cárie já devem ser do conhecimento do dentista. Com isso em mente, ele poderá informar seu paciente quanto aos cuidados mínimos necessários para uma boa higiene e preservaçäo dessa prótese