ABSTRACT
The preparation of acrylic teeth in a simulated clinical environment (phantom head) plays an essential role in pre-clinical dental education where evaluation is performed visually by instructors. The aim of this investigation was to verify the quality criteria of a tooth preparation for a metal-ceramic crown (tooth No. 21) with the help of digital measurement. Thirty-six acrylic teeth were prepared by students and one tooth was prepared ideally by a trained dentist: These were examined and compared. Five experienced instructors independently assessed the quality criteria with the use of a criterion list. Afterwards, the teeth were scanned with the 3D-laser scanner 'es1' (Etkon Company, Munich, Germany). The calculation of the correlation coefficient demonstrated a satisfactory correlation between visual and digital rating concerning convergence angle, shoulder width and occlusal reduction. Greater differences between experimental groups were observed with regards to other criteria on the applied criterion list. A directed calibration of the evaluators and a re-evaluation of some measurements would be necessary to gain more precise results.
Subject(s)
Computer-Assisted Instruction/methods , Education, Dental/methods , Tooth Preparation, Prosthodontic/standards , Humans , Statistics as Topic , Statistics, Nonparametric , Students, DentalABSTRACT
In this study, two All-Ceramic (AC) materials--Empress 2 (EMP) (Ivoclar Vivadent AG, Schaan, Liechtenstein) and In-Ceram ALUMINA (ICA) (Vita Zahnfabrik, Bad Säckingen, Germany)--were analyzed, along with the effects of 3 luting agents-viz. Zinc Phosphate cement (ZNPO, PhospaCEM PL, Ivoclar Vivadent AG, Schaan, Liechtenstein), Glass Ionomer Cement (GIC, Ketac-Cem Radiopaque, ESPE Dental AG, Seefeld, Germany), and Compolute (COMP, ESPE Dental AG, Seefeld, Germany)--on the final color, using the CIELab system. Color differences (DeltaL, Deltaa, Deltab, and DeltaE) were calculated for samples with luting agents and for samples without luting agents with standard white and black backgrounds, with the use of a spectrophotometer, Luci 100 (Dr. Lange, Berlin, Germany). One-way ANOVA for DeltaL, Deltaa, Deltab, and DeltaE within both the AC systems, with and without luting agents, showed significant contributions of the background (p < 0.05). EMP was seen to be more translucent than ICA. Darker ceramics showed less color variation. Luting agents altered the final color of the restoration. ZNPO was least translucent, followed by GIC and COMP. Marginal increases in thicknesses of ICA samples (0.4 mm) do not show a statistically significant color difference. No method exists to predict the outcome of an AC restoration based on consideration of the luting agent and the background color.
Subject(s)
Dental Cements/chemistry , Dental Porcelain/chemistry , Prosthesis Coloring , Analysis of Variance , Color , Colorimetry/instrumentation , Glass Ionomer Cements/chemistry , Lithium Compounds/chemistry , Materials Testing , Outcome Assessment, Health Care , Resin Cements/chemistry , Spectrophotometry/instrumentation , Statistics, Nonparametric , Zinc Phosphate Cement/chemistryABSTRACT
A newly developed direct agglutination test (DAT) for visceral leishmaniasis, IFAT and ELISA were applied to sera of patients with visceral leishmaniasis, African and American trypanosomiasis, other parasitic infections and healthy controls. The sensitivities of the 3 tests were comparable (96.3% to 100%); excluding patients with African and American trypanosomiasis, the specificities of DAT and IFAT were 100% and ELISA 87.3%. When trypanosomiasis sera were included, the specificities were 72.6%, 94.3% and 79.4% in DAT, IFAT and ELISA respectively. In 273 sera from a leishmaniasis endemic area (Baringo District, Kenya), the sensitivity was 80% in DAT and IFAT and 60% in ELISA, specificities being 99.6% (DAT), 98.5% (IFAT) and 62.5% (ELISA). As the new DAT is economical and easy to perform, it is recommended for sero-epidemiological field work on visceral leishmaniasis.
