ABSTRACT
The accuracy and sensitivity of radiographic assessments of reactive processes in dental tissues were evaluated by comparison of radiographs and histologic sections. Experimental lesions inflicted on the roots of 10 monkey incisors had been observed by means of serially obtained radiographs over a period of 315 to 370 days. The material was used for evaluation of radiographic assessment of ankylosis. For comparative purposes, assessment of the experimental lesion penetrating to the pulp and periapical radiolucency was added. True and falsely positive or negative recordings formed the basis for calculation of the accuracy and sensitivity of the radiographic assessment. The sensitivity, or the observers' ability to detect the actual changes, was high for pulp penetration, intermediate for inflammation, and low for ankylosis.
Subject(s)
Ankylosis/diagnostic imaging , Tooth Diseases/diagnostic imaging , Animals , Ankylosis/pathology , Dental Cementum/diagnostic imaging , Dental Cementum/pathology , Dental Pulp Necrosis/diagnostic imaging , Dental Pulp Necrosis/pathology , Dentin/diagnostic imaging , Dentin/pathology , Evaluation Studies as Topic , Incisor , Macaca fascicularis , Observer Variation , Periapical Periodontitis/diagnostic imaging , Periapical Periodontitis/pathology , Radiography , Reproducibility of Results , Sensitivity and Specificity , Tooth Diseases/pathology , Tooth Root/diagnostic imaging , Tooth Root/pathologyABSTRACT
The risk for dental hygienists to contract HIV and hepatitis B infection at work was studied in an international cohort of 167 dental hygienists from 13 countries. A significant proportion of the hygienists had taken care of HIV-positive patients or patients known to be at risk for contracting HIV infection. None of the hygienists had antibodies to HIV. Five hygienists who came from or worked in high-endemic areas for hepatitis B infection had antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen, consistent with previous infection with hepatitis B virus. The study is in agreement with previous reports on blood-borne infections among health care workers, concluding that the risk for dental hygienists of contracting HIV and hepatitis B infection is minimal.
Subject(s)
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/transmission , Dental Hygienists , Hepatitis B/transmission , Occupational Diseases/transmission , Cohort Studies , Female , Humans , Male , Risk FactorsSubject(s)
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/complications , Dental Care for Disabled , Periapical Granuloma/immunology , Root Canal Therapy , AIDS-Related Complex/complications , AIDS-Related Complex/immunology , Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/immunology , Adult , Humans , Male , Periapical Granuloma/complicationsABSTRACT
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a new disease which has recently alerted the medical world. AIDS may also concern dental practitioners and oral surgeons who may be the first to suspect impairment of immunity in patients presenting opportunistic oral infections. Extraordinary resistance to treatment of dental infections, such as encountered in a 27-year-old man developing AIDS, could also be a sign of immunodepression. Epidemiological features of AIDS indicate transmissibility, and interim recommendations for prevention of spread correspond to the measures appropriate for hepatitis B.
