Assessment of the validity and reliability of a novel dental trauma index.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Traumatic dental injuries (TDI) are one of the most commonly encountered dental health complications. In order to standardize the evaluations and compare the findings of TDI, a carefully defined dental trauma index may serve as a good tool for the correct recording of dental trauma. A new dental trauma index, the Modified Eden & Baysal dental trauma index (MEBTI), has been introduced. It is an expanded index to record soft tissue injuries in addition to dental injuries. The aim of this study was to assess the validity and reliability of the MEBDTI. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The archival data of 20 patients with different traumatic injuries were selected. A web-based form including the radiographs and photographs of selected cases was created. Following a training session, 12 dentists with a minimum of 10 years of clinical experience were asked to score the cases using the MEBDTI on an online form. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to test the normality. The Kruskal-Wallis Test was used for intergroup comparisons. Inter-observer agreement was investigated by reliability analysis. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to evaluate the agreement among observers. The Chi-Square test of independence was used to determine if there is a significant relationship between two nominal variables (p < .05). RESULTS: The rate of correctly assessing the alveolar bone fracture was 96.9% followed by apex maturity (92.7%), root fracture (85.4%), luxation injury (76.5%), crown fracture (76.2%), and soft tissue injury (50%). Considering all parameters, the soft tissue injuries were statistically different in terms of the answers given by the 12 dentists (p < .05). CONCLUSION: The accuracy of the scores of participants was high and in accordance with each other except for the identification of soft tissue injuries. In favor of this novel index, the data on dental trauma cases could be recorded practically and reliably.

YouTube™ as an information source for regenerative endodontic treatment procedures: Quality and content analysis.

BACKGROUND: Regenerative endodontic procedures (REPs) are one of the most important developments in dental practice, and in the era of Covid 19 pandemic, audio-visual contents of YouTube™ could be an information source for dental students, practitioners and patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality, content and the demographics of YouTube™ videos about REPs. METHODS: A search on YouTube™ was performed for REPs using "endodontic regeneration", "pulp regeneration", "regenerative endodontics", "regenerative endodontic procedures", "revascularization" and "revitalization" keywords. Totally 531 videos were found and 60 videos met the inclusion criteria. Following the assessment of the demographic features of the videos and the viewing rate of the videos were calculated. The content of the videos was evaluated based on the selected headings. The quality of the videos was assessed using the video information, quality index (VIQI), Global Quality Score (GQS) and DISCERN. The statistical analysis was performed using Spearman Correlation and linear regression analysis. RESULTS: Majority of the videos about REPs were created by dental professionals (91.7%). The most commonly covered topic was "clinical application" (76.7%). Total content score showed a positive correlation with total VIQI (r = 0.795; p < 0.001) and GQS (r = 0.952; p < 0.001). There were significant relationships between total content score, duration, GQS, total VIQI score and DISCERN. CONCLUSION: The findings revealed that YouTube™ videos about REPs provide predominantly clinical information about patient chairside practice of REPs and they could be considered as a supplementary information source for dental students and practitioners.

Quality and reliability of web-based information regarding restorative treatment in pediatric patients.

PURPOSE: The aim of the present study is to assess the quality and reliability of web-based information about restorative treatment in pediatric patients on the internet using different scales. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Websites obtained by using keywords about restorative treatment in pediatric patients on Google and Yandex were included in the study. The study was conducted in English on a total of 440 websites. Websites were evaluated using the quality criteria for consumer health information (DISCERN toolkit), Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmarks, and Health on the Net Code of Conduct Certification (HONCode). RESULTS: The mean DISCERN points of the websites were moderate. Among the evaluated websites, the quality of the knowledge in 20% of the websites was low. The rate of websites with a score below 40 was 37.5%. None of them has reached an excellent score. No websites met all JAMA criteria. There was no HONCode Certificate on any website. CONCLUSION: This study showed that the quality of the web-based information about restorative treatment in pediatric patients was generally inadequate and scientifically imperfect.

Evaluation of Postoperative Pain Following Single-Visit Root Canal Treatment with Rotary and Reciprocal Ni-Ti File Systems in Children.

Background and Objectives: Postoperative pain is a common symptom of a flare-up after root canal treatments (RCTs). Insufficient instrumentation, extrusion of irrigation solutions and debris, and the existence of a periapical lesion are the factors affecting postoperative pain after root canal treatments. The aim of this study was to evaluate the postoperative pain and instrumentation time of the single-file reciprocating system and multiple-file Ni-Ti rotary system in children ages 9-12 years old. Materials and Methods: Our study was conducted on 51 permanent mandibular molars with the diagnosis of irreversible pulpitis. Patients were randomly assigned into two groups, and RCTs were completed with either the Reciproc Blue or Protaper NEXT file systems. Instrumentation time for each system was noted, and patients were given a pain scale that included a visual analog scale for 6, 24, 48, and 72 h after treatment. Postoperative pain scores and instrumentation times were analyzed statistically with a chi-square test and Student's t-test. Results: There was no statistically significant difference in postoperative pain between the Reciproc Blue and Protaper NEXT systems at all time intervals. Instrumentation time was significantly shorter in the Reciproc Blue group in comparison with the Protaper NEXT group. Conclusions: Postoperative pain findings following RCT using single-file reciprocating systems were similar to the rotary system group. However, chair time in the reciprocating system group was significantly lower. This provided a comfortable and patient-friendly treatment approach for children, and could enhance their cooperation.

Effect of Different Dentin Conditioning Agents on Growth Factor Release, Mesenchymal Stem Cell Attachment and Morphology.

INTRODUCTION: EDTA has been considered the gold standard in regenerative endodontic treatments. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of different dentin conditioning agents other than EDTA on released growth factors, mesenchymal stem cell attachment, and morphology. METHODS: Transforming growth factor beta 1, vascular endothelial growth factor, bone morphogenetic protein 2, and fibroblast growth factor 2 release from prepared dentin discs conditioned with 17% EDTA, 10% citric acid, 1% phytic acid (IP6), or 37% phosphoric acid were quantified using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay after final irrigation and after 3 days of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cell (adMSC) seeding. Forty root fragments were prepared from extracted single-rooted teeth. The morphology and attachment of adMSCs on the conditioned root fragments were observed using a scanning electron microscope. Data for growth factor quantification were analyzed using 1-way analysis. RESULTS: The highest transforming growth factor beta 1 release was observed after citric acid treatment followed by phosphoric acid; there was no significant difference between them, but compared with EDTA and 1% IP6, there were significant differences observed. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay detected a very minor exposure of vascular endothelial growth factor and fibroblast growth factor 2 after dentin conditioning, but there were no significant differences between the groups. The greatest bone morphogenetic protein 2 release was observed in the 1% IP6 group, but there were no significant differences between the groups. Three days of adMSC seeding after dentin conditioning has made a dramatic increase in all of the growth factors, and phosphoric acid appeared to be the most effective agent with significant differences compared with the remaining groups. Scanning electron microscopic observations showed that none of the conditioning solutions had an adverse effect on stem cell proliferation and attachment to root dentin. Different cell morphologies like round, oblong, flat, and well-attached cells with developed filopodia were observed in the dentin-conditioned groups. CONCLUSIONS: Phosphoric acid conditioning could be useful and may have beneficial effects in regenerative endodontic treatments.