Mandibular Regional Odontodysplasia in a Toddler.

Regional odontodysplasia (ROD) is a rare developmental anomaly with distinctive clinical, radiographical and histological findings, affecting both primary and permanent dentitions. The teeth with ROD have an atypical morphology and are usually discolored, with either delayed eruption or complete failure to erupt. Radiographically, the affected teeth have a "ghostly" appearance, with marked radiolucency and decreased radiodensity, showing a thin outline of enamel and dentin, which appear hypomineralized histologically, with poorly structured dentinal tubules and enamel prisms. Calcifications are frequently found in the pulp chambers of the affected teeth. This case report discusses a three-year-old girl who presented with ROD in her mandible as well as the clinical and radiographical features, and treatment of the condition.

Effectiveness of interprofessional oral health program for pediatric nurse practitioner students at Northeastern University, United States.

BACKGROUND: Interprofessional education (IPE) is an important part of the landscape of modern education. However, there is a significant deficiency of studies that evaluate IPE in dentistry. The aim of this article is to evaluate the effects of an oral health educational program on the dental knowledge, awareness, attitude, confidence, and behavior of pediatric nurse practitioner (PNP) students and to emphasize the importance of IPE for PNP. METHODS: First-year pediatric nurse practitioners from Northeastern University participated in an IPE oral health education seminal and practical session as a pilot study. Several tests were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the educational program. The post-test assessed the knowledge, awareness, attitude, confidence, and behavior of the students immediately after attending the lecture; again immediately after hands on experience; and finally at a follow-up approximately a month after attending the training module. The training module consists of prevention and anticipatory guidance; caries process and management; trauma and dental emergencies. Differences in score items were evaluated between 4 time points. Friedman's, Wilcoxon signed-rank and McNemar's tests were used to analyze the results. RESULTS: Knowledge score was determined based on the number of correct responses to seven questions, while awareness score was based on the median of eight questions. Fifteen confidence, attitude, and behavior questions were used. The total sample size was 16 students with a mean age 33.31 ± 7.52. The majority were females (87.5%). Significant improvement was seen in all subjects' overall knowledge of oral health topics. The confidence, attitude, and behavior scores were differed by time of test (P < 0.01). It was the highest after post-test and the lowest in pre-test. CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that introducing an Interprofessional education program for pediatric nurse practitioner students can provide them with adequate knowledge, awareness, confidence, and attitude regarding oral health issues. It also can help them in changing behavior, prevention and ongoing dental surveillance.

Effects of an in-office bleaching system (ZOOM) on pulp chamber temperature in vitro.

AIM: Several new techniques and materials for in-office bleaching have been introduced recently. The aim of this in vitro study was to measure the temperature increase in the pulp chamber of extracted teeth produced by the Zoom! in-office bleaching system and to investigate the influence of this light in conjunction with the bleaching gel on pulp temperature rise. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Ten extracted, caries-free, unrestored human maxillary central incisor teeth were used for the study. The root of each tooth was cut approximately 2-3 mm apical to the cementoenamel junction (CEJ), and the apical orifice of the root canal was enlarged. The remaining pulp tissue was removed and the empty pulp chamber was filled with a heat sink compound. A thin K-type thermocouple was inserted into the pulp chamber through the cut root area. The root surfaces of the teeth were partially submerged in a water bath during the testing procedure at 37 degrees C. A whitening gel containing 25% hydrogen peroxide was applied to the buccal surfaces of all ten teeth and exposed to a Zoom! activation light for twenty minutes for three times; this was designated as Group I. The same teeth were then exposed with the Zoom! light for the same time period without the application of the bleaching gel and designated as Group II. The intrapulpal temperature pre-treatment (baseline) and the temperature increase during treatment was measured for both treatment groups. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant difference between the two groups (p=0.003). Application of the Zoom! light in conjuction with the application of bleaching gel produced a greater temperature rise than did the light alone. The mean temperature rise for Group I (light and bleaching gel) was 1.11 degrees C (0.18 degrees C) and 1.01 degrees C (0.12 degrees C) for Group II (light alone) at the end of a five-minute exposure. CONCLUSION: The Zoom! light either used with or without bleaching gel showed no significant increase in the intrapulpal temperature of teeth when used for the recommended exposure time.