Effect of enveloping and disinfection methods on artefact formation on enveloped PSP plate images.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the artefacts caused by different disinfection and protection methods that can be used for infection control of photostimulable phosphor (PSP) plates. METHODS: The plates that were enveloped with single or double envelopes were sprayed with an alcohol-containing solution or wiped with an alcohol-containing tissue. Four PSP groups with two plates in each group were formed (A = wiping single envelope, B = wiping double envelopes, C = spraying onto single envelope, and D = spraying onto double envelopes). Any artefacts (1 = no artefact, 2 = presence of artefact less than 0.5 cm wide, and 3 = presence of artefact larger than 0.5 cm wide) on the 12 acquired images were evaluated. RESULTS: Artefacts (score-3) occurred on the images of Group C-2 PSP plate after the 3rd exposure. According to the Kruskal-Wallis test the difference between the artefact score of the four methods was found significant. Post-hoc comparisons showed the Group C artefact scores were higher than the others and the difference was significant. The total time of enveloping and disinfection processes for groups was; A = 6.30 min, B = 7.58 min, C = 5.48 min, and D = 7.14 min. CONCLUSIONS: Regardless of the number of envelopes, wiping with a tissue was less likely to cause artefacts, while spraying was reliable only when double envelopes were used. However, using a tissue and double envelopes, which are less risky in terms of artefact, causes time loss, difficulty in manipulation, environmental pollution and high cost.

Idiopathic coronal resorption in impacted permanent teeth and its relationship with age: radiologic study.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between idiopathic coronal resorption and age in adult patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 3405 digital panoramic radiographs present in the archive of the radiology department belonging to 1584 males and 1821 females aged 25 and over were assessed by two oral and maxillofacial radiologists. The patients' age, gender, number of impacted teeth, number and position of teeth with idiopathic coronal resorption and the extent of coronal resorption were recorded on standard forms. RESULTS: A thousand and nine impacted teeth were observed in 622 patients (304 males and 318 females) with a mean age of 36,92 (±10,85). Idiopathic coronal resorption was present in 26 of the 622 patients with a frequency of 4.2%. One patient had two teeth with idiopathic coronal resorption; resulting in as 27 teeth and a frequency of 2.7% according to tooth number. There were 13 (50%) females and 13 (50%) males having idiopathic coronal resorption. There was no significant difference between genders. The presence of idiopathic coronal resorption increased with advanced age (v: 0,193, p<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between the extent of the coronal resorption and age. CONCLUSION: The presence of idiopathic coronal resorption increases with advancing age. Idiopathic coronal resorption is detected incidentally during radiographic examination. Thus, dentists should consider this situation and should perform periodically radiographic examination of impacted teeth.

Reproducibility and agreement of clinical diagnosis of occlusal caries using unaided visual examination and operating microscope.

AIM: To assess the reproducibility of clinical diagnosis of occlusal caries using unaided visual examination and examination with an operating microscope (16 x magnification) and to determine the agreement between these 2 methods. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Three experienced dentists used unaided visual examination and an operating microscope to grade, according to a standard caries rating scale, a total of 299 occlusal surfaces in 112 subjects (mean age 28.3 years, standard deviation 0.5 years), during several examination sessions. Intraobserver and interobserver reproducibility was calculated, and agreement in diagnosis of the same teeth by different methods was also determined. RESULTS: The level of intraobserver agreement for the 2 modes of clinical diagnosis was substantial, as indicated by kappa values; however, there was substantial interobserver variability with both techniques. Agreement in clinical diagnosis between the 2 techniques was 62.5% for observer 1 (kappa = 0.483), 65.4% for observer 2 (kappa = 0.531) and 63.5% for observer 3 (kappa = 0.508) (p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Intraobserver agreement with the operating microscope and with unaided visual examination was roughly the same, but interobserver agreement was low with both techniques. For some surfaces, the diagnosis made by a particular observer with unaided visual examination differed from that made with microscopic examination. The diagnoses differed most frequently for surfaces that were scored as sound with unaided visual examination.

Dietary habits and oral health related behaviors in relation to DMFT indexesof a group of young adult patients attending a dental school

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to investigate the dietary habits and oral health related behaviors inrelation to the dental health status in terms of decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT index) of a group of youngadults attending to a dental school located in a major city in Turkey.Study Design: A total of 416 young adults (247 females and 169 males) with an age range of 18-25 (Mean 23.2 sd 0.97)attending the Oral Diagnosis department participated in the study. The patients completed a questionnaire includingquestions about demographic factors, dietary habits and oral health related behaviors. Subsequently, the DMFT indexand plaque index was calculated. Descriptive statistics, Mann Whitney U/ Kruskal Wallis Variance analysis, Chi-square/Fisher’s Exact tests and multiple linear regression analysis were used for statistical analysis of the data when applicable.Results: According to the results of the study, approximately 70% of the patients had regular main meals and a veryhigh snacking rate (76.9%) was present. Although not at a high rate, most of the patients brushed their teeth regularlytwice a day (44.2%) and approximately half used other hygiene aids in addition to brushing (43.8%). The median ofthe DMFT index was 5 and a majority of the patients had moderate plaque accumulation which could be seen withthe naked eye (45.0%). Dental plaque had the most significant effect on the DMFT index.Conclusion: In conclusion, advice, including importance of regularity of main meals, decrease in snacking frequency,regular brushing twice a day and the use of other oral hygiene aids for the elimination of dental plaque would behelpful to enhance the dietary habits and oral health related behaviors of young adult Turkish patients (AU)