What's the Price of a Helicopter?

A while back during the height of the cosmetic dentistry craze, the North Central Dental Society invited a renowned cosmetic dentist from Arizona to present a continuing education program.

Patients' preferences for selective versus complete excavation: A mixed-methods study.

OBJECTIVES: Despite increasing evidence supporting selective caries tissue removal, the technique is not adopted by most dentists, one possible reason being that patients might reject it. We aimed to assess patients' preferences for selective versus complete excavation, and to identify predictors of this preference. METHODS: A sequential mixed-methods approach was taken. First, semi-structured focus group discussions on two convenience samples were performed. Verbatim transcripts were evaluated using content-analysis to inform quantitative study design. The subsequent survey employed convenience, snow-ball and deviant-case sampling, yielding 150 respondents. The relevance of treatment attributes (risks of nerve damage, root-canal treatment, recurrent caries, restorative complications, treatment costs, aesthetic consequences) on patients' treatment preferences was measured using case-vignettes. Dental experience and anxiety as well as patients' personality and socio-demographic details were recorded. Association of predictor variables (age, gender, education, partnership status, personality items, dental experience, anxiety) with treatment preference was assessed using regression analysis. RESULTS: Focus group participants perceived complete excavation as reliable, but feared endodontic treatment. The vast majority of survey respondents (82.7%) preferred complete over selective excavation. The preference for selective excavation was significantly increased in patients with an emotionally stable personality (p<0.001), university entrance degree (p<0.001), none or little dental anxiety (p=0.044), few dentist changes in the past (p=0.025), and who accepted that sealed lesions could progress (p<0.002). CONCLUSION: Treatment attributes, socio-demographic characteristics, personality and dental experiences shape patients' preference towards caries excavation. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Clinical decision-making regarding carious tissue removal might be affected by dentists on both an informative and an empathic level.

Dióxido de circonio en odontología: un camino hacia la búsqueda del material ideal / No disponible

El dióxido de circonio, también conocido como, zirconio o badeleyitaes un material cerámico blanco cristalino de los más estudiados. Requiere la agregación de estabilizadores, teniendo el óxido de y trioamplia aplicación en odontología. En sus inicios, su uso estuvo enfocado como: material refractario, cerámica de vidrio, o como componente de partes desarrollada por la industria aeroespacial. Actualmente, su uso en medicina está muy difundido. El titanio y las aleaciones metálicas usadas en odontología restauradora e implantológica pueden tener un efecto negativo sobre el metabolismo celular, pudiendo causar daños. Este hecho, al parecerse convierte en el principal motivo para ir en busca de materiales libres de metal, incluso para su aplicación en implantes dentales. Dentro de las principales propiedades positivas tenemos: biocompatibilidad, biofuncionalidad, estética, adecuada conducta mecánica, resistencia a la temperatura, reducida tendencia corrosiva, baja solubilidad; incrementando nuestras posibilidades de obtener la satisfacción del paciente desde todo punto de vista (AU)

Zirconium dioxide, sometimes known as zirconia or baddeleyite, is a white crystalline oxide of zirconium is one of the most studied ceramic materials. Several different oxides are added to zirconia to stabilize, but in dentistry the yttrium oxide is the main element. Initially it’s use was focused as a refractory material, ceramic glazes and in the aerospace industry, nowadays find application in the medicine. The titanium and metal alloys used in restorative and implant dental can have a negative influence on cell metabolism and hence can cause some damage. This appear to be the main reason for the search of new metal-free materials, including dental implants. The positive materials properties of dioxide zirconium include: biocompatibility, biofunctionality, aesthetic, adequate mechanical behaviour, good temperature resistance, reduced tendency towards corrosion, low solubility, increased our chances to obtain patient’s satisfaction from all standpoint (AU)

A larger sense of purpose: dentistry and society.

Dentistry is undergoing a subtle shift away from being a profession to becoming a business. The two cultures of professionalism and business are contrasted. Among the forces driving this change are the emphasis on esthetics in dentistry and the increasing inability of a large class of patients to access dentistry on a business basis. The shift toward dentistry as a business entails the unhealthy transition toward regarding patients as means to satisfy the dentist's ends rather than patients' health being an end in itself. Dentists run the risk of "objectivifying" rather than "humanizing" patients. This trend must be overcome with a larger sense of purpose; placing dentist's self-interests within the larger context of enlightened self-interest.

[Aestetic dental treatment in present socio-economic conditions and its influence on the oral hygiene and self--esteem of patients based on the survey and clinical research]. / Stomatologiczne leczenie estetyczne w obecnych warunkach socjoekonomicznych oraz jego wplyw na higiene i samoocene u leczonych pacjentów na podstawie badan ankietowych i klinicznych.

INTRODUCTION: The 20th century was an era of development in modern dentistry, a time of research on materials and techniques, which led to the establishment of a new field - aesthetic dentistry. The aim of this research was to gain knowledge on the relation between aesthetic dental treatment, oral cavity hygiene and patients' self-esteem in present socio-economic conditions. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The research was based on the examination of 50 patients (32 women and 18 men) aged 18-63 with aesthetic dental problems. The research was carried out in three stages: Stage 1. Survey research and clinical examination before treatment. Stage 2. Treatment of patients according to individual schemes in compliance with the concept of aesthetic dental treatment. Stage 3. Survey research and clinical examination carried out 6-12 months after the end of treatment. RESULTS: The results of the survey research indicated that the examined individuals were mostly university or high school graduates with a permanent source of income. They, however, claimed that their financial ability influenced the frequency of their visits to the dentist. Most patients described the state of their teeth as satisfactory or even bad. All patients recognized the need for an improvement of the state of their teeth. They expected the treatment to improve the appearance of their teeth and smile as well as their self-esteem. The results of the final survey indicated that the applied treatment completely or partially fulfilled the expectations of patients in all cases. The results of the clinical examination indicated improper hygienic habits and bad state of teeth (high PUW) as well as insufficient state of oral hygiene (high values of Plaque Index - PI1 and Gingival Index - GI1) in the examined group. Most patients had more than four treatment needs and required a complex treatment, which was applied in compliance with the concept of aesthetic dental treatment. Cloinical checkups indicated the elimination of improper hygienic habits and a considerable improvement of the oral hygiene in the examined group (low values of PI2 and GI2). CONCLUSIONS: The applied dental treatment vitally influenced on patients' self-esteem. The result of the treatment was evaluated as good or very good by most patients. The evaluation done by the dentist was close to the results of patients' self-evaluation.

Increasing your practice with cosmetic dentistry.

Incorporate these guidelines into your practice, and utilize patient financing to maximize your treatment acceptance, and the cosmetic aspect of your practice will likely boom. No matter how much you want to do something, or how great your ideas are, if you aren't able to execute the project, nothing will happen. Plan. Prepare. Present. Persevere.

[Research methods in dentistry 10. Assessment of orthodontic treatment need]. / Onderzoeksmethoden in de tandheelkunde 10. Het bepalen van de orthodontische behandelingsbehoefte.

Approximately one third of the Dutch population has an objective need for orthodontic treatment. Yet, patients mostly seek treatment because of aesthetic reasons. Recent social developments and the increased attention for aesthetics ask for ways to objectively measure treatment need. This is not only important because of the risks of orthodontic treatment, but also because of financial reasons. In this article indices to verify treatment need, i.e. the Index for Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN), de Dental Aesthetic Index (DAI) en de Index of Complexity, Outcome and Need (ICON), are discussed. All three indices seem to lead to a reduction of treatment need, especially in borderline cases. They can serve as 'neutral' instruments to discuss treatment need with patients and as instruments to allocate financial resources for orthodontic care.

The Center for Human Appearance: a multi-specialty concept.

At the time of its founding in 1988, The Edwin and Fannie Gray Hall Center for Human Appearance at the University of Pennsylvania was the first such center in a major academic setting dedicated to the multispecialty serious study of problems of appearance. The concept was for five key specialties, originally, and now six, with primary interests in appearance, to meet regularly to present ideas and problems, and to approach the study and treatment of appearance in a comprehensive, scholarly, and multidisciplinary manner. The group has been cohesive, which has depended on frequent and regular personal interactions, as well as an adequate and supportive financial structure. With these factors in place, and a dedication to making it work, there have been publications, new ideas, and teamwork that has made it possible for competing specialties to effectively function together.