The Prevalence of Dental Anxiety Associated with Pain among Chinese Adult Patients in Guangzhou.

Background: Anxious people appear to exaggerate the severity of aversive experiences such as anxiety and pain. Anxiety towards dental procedures is a common difficulty that may be experienced by dental patients all over the world. The goal of the study is to find out the prevalence of dental anxiety and its associated factors in Chinese adult patients. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 183 dental adult patients whose age ranged from 18 to 70 years. Demographic details, first and most recent dental visits with experience, the MDAS, and the Visual Analogue Scale for Anxiety (VAS-A) were obtained. Data were analyzed by frequency analysis, chi-square test, and Spearman correlation test. Results: Most of the respondents were female (68.9%) and 30-45 years age group. The mean total score for dental anxiety on the MDAS was 13.63 (3.1). 80.3% of participants suffered from moderate or high dental anxiety. Age must show a strong association with dental anxiety among the participants (p=0.011). The first dental visit experience, the frequency of the dental visit, most recent dental experience, length of time since the most recent dental visit, and postponement of the dental visit are strongly associated with the MDAS score (p=0.001). Conclusions: The MDAS score exhibits that Chinese adult patients have significant dental anxiety and phobia. Identifying patients with dental anxiety as soon as possible is essential to providing better dental care.

Analgesic and Antibiotic Prescription Pattern among Dentists in Guangzhou: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Aim: To assess the rational use of drugs and the pattern of prescribing of analgesics and antibiotics for dental management and the information given by dentists in Guangzhou to their patients about the use of these drugs. Methods: A questionnaire was distributed to 225 dentists working in Guangzhou. The questionnaires consisted of open-ended questions and were given to dentists about analgesic and antibiotic use in dentistry. The questionnaires were analyzed, and absolute frequencies were expressed in the answers to each question. The cases, the analgesics, and the antibiotics recommended by the dentists for each case were determined by the frequency analysis method of descriptive statistics. Results: Responses to the questionnaire were received from 164 (72.9%) dentists. Paracetamol and diclofenac were the most widely prescribed analgesics. It is also estimated that selective COX-2 inhibitors or opioid analgesics have not been administered by dentists. The antibiotics primarily used for treatment were amoxicillin and metronidazole, and amoxicillin was used for prophylaxis. While more than 80% of dentists indicated that they provided their patients with information on the use of antibiotics, the quality of the information was limited. Patients were primarily instructed by dentists to observe the dosage and dose intervals of the prescription drugs. Conclusions: The results of the present study demonstrated that dentists most commonly prescribe paracetamol and diclofenac as analgesics, amoxicillin, and metronidazole for the therapy of periodontal, endodontic, and surgical procedures. The results also showed that dentists informed their patients inadequately about analgesic and antibiotic use.

Periostin is essential for periodontal ligament remodeling during orthodontic treatment.

Orthodontic tooth movement is a process stimulated and maintained by external tensile stress; periodontal ligament remodeling serves an important role during this process. However, the function and underlying mechanism of periostin (PN) during orthodontic periodontal ligament remodeling remain unclear. The present study established in vitro and in vivo models of orthodontic treatment to investigate the expression levels of PN under conditions of external tensile stress load. These results indicated that tensile stress load increased the expression levels of PN in mouse peridontal ligaments and human periodontal ligament cells (hPDLCs), during orthodontic tooth movement. Furthermore, the present study demonstrated that the expression levels of PN were regulated by transforming grown factor ß, and that PN promotes type I collagen and α­smooth muscle actin expression levels in hPDLCs. Therefore, PN may be essential for periodontal ligament remodeling during orthodontic treatment, and therefore may represent a potential therapeutic target.

Influence of masticatory fatigue on the fracture resistance of the pulpless teeth restored with quartz-fiber post-core and crown.

To investigate whether masticatory fatigue affects the fracture resistance and pattern of lower premolars restored with quartz-fiber post-core and full crown, 44 single rooted lower premolars recently extracted from orthodontic patients were divided into two groups of 22 each. The crowns of all teeth were removed and endodontically treated and then restored with quartz-fiber post-core and full crown. Twenty-two teeth in one group were selected randomly and circularly loaded at 45° to the long axis of the teeth of 127.4 N at a 6 Hz frequency, and the other group was not delivered to cyclic loading and considered as control. Subsequently, all teeth in two groups were continually loaded to fail at 45° to the long axis of the teeth at a crosshead speed of 1 mm⋅min(-1). The mean destructive force values were (733.88±254.99) and (869.14±280.26) N for the experimental and the control group, respectively, and no statistically significant differences were found between two groups (P>0.05). Bevel fracture and horizontal fracture in the neck of root were the major fracture mode of the specimens. Under the circumstances of this study, it seems that cyclic loading does not affect the fracture strength and pattern of the quartz-fiber post-core-crown complex.