Applicability of the London Atlas method in the East China population.

BACKGROUND: Dental age estimation is important for developmental assessment and individual identification. The London Atlas, a recently proposed method for dental age estimation, has been reported to perform satisfactorily in various populations. OBJECTIVE: In this study, we assessed the reproducibility, repeatability and applicability of the London Atlas method in the East China population and compared it with the Demirjian method. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We assessed panoramic radiographs of 835 pediatric patients ages 6.0-19.9 years using the London Atlas and the Demirjian method. We employed the intraclass correlation coefficient and Bland-Altman analysis to evaluate reproducibility and repeatability, respectively. We assessed the agreement between dental age and chronological age and calculated 95% and 80% prediction intervals for each dental age stage. Sensitivity, specificity and predictive values were calculated to assess the performance of both methods for identifying threshold ages. RESULTS: The London Atlas has better reproducibility and repeatability (intraclass correlation coefficients: 0.98 and 0.99; 95% limits of agreement: - 1.34 to 1.56 and - 1.22 to 0.88, respectively). Dental age estimated using the London Atlas was closer to chronological age in both genders (median absolute error = 0.58). The 95% prediction intervals for chronological age were wide (0.99 to 9.89 years). CONCLUSION: The London Atlas has excellent reproducibility and repeatability. Thus, it might offer an alternative method for developmental assessment. We observed considerable variation in dental development in the East China population, which needs further research.

Psychological Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Emergency Dental Care Providers on the Front Lines in China.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease that emerged at the end of 2019. On 30 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) classified it as a pandemic. To examine the psychological effects on dental care providers in China in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak and factors closely associated with those effects, we conducted a cross-sectional study online with 4 widely used self-administered questionnaires: the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, the General Anxiety Disorder-7, the Perceived Stress Scale-10, and the Acute Stress Disorder Scale. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to evaluate the variables that potentially affected the mental health of emergency dental care providers. As a result, 969 out of 1035 questionnaires were included in the analysis, with 642 respondents reporting more than 1 symptom (66.3%). The symptom of perceived stress was reported by the largest proportion of the respondents (66.2%, n = 641), and anxiety the least (7.1%, n = 69). After adjustment for confounders, it was found that dental practitioners with preexisting physical health conditions were at higher risk of depression (odds ratio [OR], 1.972; 95% CI, 1.128-3.448; P = .017), and perceived stress (odds ratio, 2.397 95% CI, 1.283-4.478; P = .006). Additionally, feelings of fear, helplessness, or terror resulting from the possibility of contracting COVID-19 were significantly associated with the prevalence of all the 4 psychological symptoms observed (P < .05). In the present study, we found that dental care providers suffered psychological depression, stress, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during COVID-19, which indicates the importance of psychological support at times of major epidemic outbreaks. Chinese Clinical Trial Registry number: ChiCTR2000031538.

[Effect of continuous oral health education on elderly patients with chronic periodontitis treated with dual-wavelength laser].

PURPOSE：To explore the clinical effect of continuous oral health education on elderly patients with chronic periodontitis treated with dual wavelength lasers. METHODS: The clinical data of 150 elderly patients with chronic periodontitis treated with dual-wavelength laser in Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital between March 2016 and March 2018 were analyzed and divided into 2 groups according to the different intervention plans applied. Seventy-five cases receiving routine oral hygiene education were taken as the control group, and the other 75 patients receiving continuous oral health education were set as the experimental group. Oral behavior, gingival index and dental plaque index in the two groups were analyzed and compared using SPSS 21.0 software package. RESULTS: The proportions of patients with correct brushing, taking regular oral examination and maintenance, and keeping good oral habits in the experimental were 97.33%, 93.33% and 92.00%, respectively, which were significantly higher than those in the control group (P<0.05). The gingival index and dental plaque index 3 and 6 months after intervention were (1.24±0.14) and (1.08±0.10), (1.50±0.10) and (1.69±0.26), respectively in the experimental group, which were significantly lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: For elderly patients with chronic periodontitis treated with dual-wavelength laser therapy, application of continuous oral health education can improve their oral behavior and periodontal status, therefore is worthwhile to be popularized in clinical application.

[The effects of psychological nursing on anxiety of patients in the procedure of impacted teeth extraction].

PURPOSE: To investigate the effects of psychological nursing on anxiety of patients during extraction of impacted teeth. METHODS: Seventy patients who required impacted tooth extraction were randomly divided into intervention group (n=35) and control group (n=35). In the intervention group, psychological nursing was performed by special nurses before, during and after the surgical procedure; In the control group, patients were informed the general knowledge of the routine treatment and care. Anxiety was evaluate with anxiety scale at the end of surgical procedure. The data was analyzed with SPSS 13.0 software package for X2 test. RESULTS: The number of patients with anxiety in the intervention group was significantly reduced compared with the control. The difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Psychological nursing assists to relieve anxiety of patients during impacted teeth removal.

Effects of deferoxamine on the repair ability of dental pulp cells in vitro.

INTRODUCTION: In previous studies, we found that hypoxia promoted the mineralization of dental pulp cells (DPCs). However, the clinical application of hypoxia as a therapy is questionable or unfeasible. Deferoxamine (DFO), a medication for iron overload, has also been shown to induce hypoxia. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of DFO on the repair ability of DPCs. METHODS: DPCs were obtained by using a tissue explant technique in vitro and were treated with different concentrations of DFO or hypoxia culture for 2 days. The viability, proliferation, migration, and odontogenic differentiation of DPCs were assayed and analyzed. The expression of hypoxia-inducible factor 1-alpha (HIF-1α) was assessed through Western blotting. RESULTS: Ten micromolars of DFO enhanced the expression of HIF-1α similarly to hypoxia and did not affect the viability of DPCs for 2 days. Furthermore, the proliferation, migration, and odontogenic differentiation of DPCs were promoted by DFO. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that DFO might improve the repair ability of DPCs by HIF-1α.