Giomers in dentistry - at the boundary between dental composites and glass-ionomers.

INTRODUCTION: From the variety of direct restorative dental materials, composite resins are considered as having the most esthetic and functional properties. The conservative preparation, esthetic results, good mechanical qualities and surface finishing properties of dental composites, combined with the protective properties of fluoride from glass-ionomers, led to a new generation of dental materials: the giomers. OBJECTIVE: The purpose is to review the available literature about the giomers, regarding the chemical composition, handling properties and esthetics, adhesion and microleakage, fluoride releasing and protection offered, clinical indications. METHOD: The search was carried out using ScienceDirect and PubMed databases with the following keywords: giomer, esthetic properties giomers and fluoride releasing giomers. A total of 232 articles were initially selected, with the following inclusion criteria: full text articles, written in English, with topics on the properties and the clinical implications of giomers. Papers presented as abstract were not included. In the next step, review articles, duplicates, and articles in other languages were removed; as a result, a total of 44 sources published between 2004 and 2017 were selected. RESULTS: The selected articles referred to the following aspects about the giomers: chemical composition (8 articles), adhesion and microleakage (10 articles), fluoride releasing and pulp protection (15 articles), clinical indications (6 articles), effects of additional treatments and dietary habits (11 articles).

Oral health related quality of life and self-esteem in a general population.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The interest in the research of both Oral Health Related Quality Of Life and dental aesthetics has increased in the recent years. The aim of the current study consists in the evaluation of the perception of oral-health, dental aesthetics and self-esteem in a general population. METHODS: A group of students of the Faculty of Dental Medicine, Cluj-Napoca, were trained in the field of questionnaire interviewing. The students were asked to apply the following questionnaires to a number of maximum five close persons: the OHIP-14Aesthetic questionnaire, the Rosenberg self-esteem scale and a questionnaire evaluating demographic data. Each interviewed subject provided informed consent. The sample included 97 subjects with an age range of 18-75 years. For each of the three applied questionnaires overall scores were computed and used for the calculation of Pearson correlations and inferential statistical procedures: the t-test. RESULTS: Related to the complete sample (N=97), the highest OHIP-14Aesthetic scores were obtained for the functional limitation (mean score of 2.22), physical pain (mean score of 2.72) and psychological discomfort (mean score of 1.37) subscales. The highest Rosenberg self-esteem scale scores were obtained for the following questions: "I think I am no good at all" (mean score of 3.50), "feel useless at times" (mean score of 3.53), "inclined to feel that I am a failure" (mean score 3.77), "positive attitude toward myself" (mean score of 3.50). Statistically significant correlations were registered between the overall Rosenberg self-esteem scale score and the scores of the following OHIP-14Aesthetic subscales: psychological discomfort (r = -0.201, p = 0.49), physical disability (r = -0.219, p = 0.031), psychological disability (r = -0.218, p = 0.032), social disability (r = -0.203, p = 0.046). The t-test revealed statistically significant gender differences, in regard to the OHIP-14Aesthetic overall score t(95) = -2.820, p = 0.006. CONCLUSIONS: The current study indicates the existence of statistically significant gender differences in the perception of oral health and a series of dental aesthetics elements in a general population. Moreover, statistically significant correlations were obtained between the perception of oral health and the perception of self-esteem.

Shade-Matching Performance Using a New Light-Correcting Device.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the shade-matching performance of dental students when using a new light-correcting device with polarization filter. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 21 observers assessed the shade of the upper frontal teeth in one patient under three lighting conditions: daylight (A), daylight and a light-correcting device (Smile Lite, Switzerland) (B), daylight and a light-correcting device with a polarization filter attached (C) by using two shade guides: VITA Classical and 3D Master. Matching scores were calculated as a sum of the color differences between the reference shades and the selected shades (ΔEab *). Data were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) test (α = 0.05). RESULTS: A significant difference was found between the shade-matching scores under the three lighting conditions (p < 0.001). However, pairwise comparisons showed that between A (ΔEab *A = 1,873.6) and C (ΔEab *C = 2,019.1), there was no significant difference (p > 0.05). The best matching scores were calculated for B (ΔEab *B = 1,652.5). Significant differences were found in respect to the observer's gender (p < 0.05) and color competency (p < 0.05), as well as with the shade guide used (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Dental students' shade-matching ability was better when the light-correcting device was used, but the addition of the filter to it did not prove beneficial. The shade guides used, the observer's gender, and color competency influenced the shade matching. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The light-correcting device influenced the shade-matching performance; however, the attached polarization filter did not improve the results of the shade matching.

Romanian version of the oral health impact profile-49 questionnaire: validation and preliminary assessment of the psychometrical properties.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Oral Health Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) represents a multidimensional structure, being measured by complex instruments, such as the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP). The aim of this present study is to develop and test the psychometric properties of an initial Romanian (OHIP-49Ro) version. METHODS: The original OHIP-49 version was translated using a forward-backward technique into the Romanian OHIP-49Ro, which was applied in an interview form to 150 patients of the Second Medical Clinique of Internal Medicine, Cluj-Napoca. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was applied, in order to evaluate the factor structure and construct validity of the OHIP-49Ro. RESULTS: The correlations between the OHIP-49Ro subscales were all positive and statistically significant. Cronbach's Alpha coefficients values are above 0.7 for all subscales, providing support for the internal consistency of OHIP-49Ro scale scores. Regarding the CFA, for the seven factor model, the Bentler scaled chi-square (S-Bχ(2)) indicated a value of 2193.74 (df=1091; p=0.001), the CFI a value of 0.740, the TLI a value of 0.72 and RMSEA the value of 0.82. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest a high internal consistency of the OHIP-49Ro instrument. Due to the correlations between several sets of factors, and the multiple-factorial load for several items, the OHIP-49Ro's factorial structure requires further research on different samples and in different cultural and educational contexts.