A study to assess the awareness of periodontitis and its relationship with systemic health among undergraduate medical students.

Introduction The association between periodontitis and certain systemic diseases is well established; however, there is a distinct lack of research available on its awareness among medical students in the United Kingdom.Aims To determine the awareness of fourth-year undergraduate medical students concerning periodontitis including its risk factors, relationship with systemic health and students' attitudes towards oral diseases and further education.Methods We delivered an online survey via a weekly email news bulletin to 299 fourth-year medical students and received 101 completed responses.Results Medical students were largely aware of the most common features of periodontitis and recognised that systemic diseases may affect the periodontium. There was less awareness of the associations between certain systemic diseases and periodontitis and there appeared to be confusion with tooth decay. Perceived knowledge was generally reported to be poor and most students believed that further teaching would improve their medical practice.Conclusions Increased teaching on periodontitis within the medical curriculum would benefit students. This may be achieved using an integrated teaching approach. Future doctors should graduate with an adequate education on the interdisciplinary links and should be capable of signposting or referring patients early to the appropriate services where indicated to improve patient care.

Dissolution of human enamel in still flavoured water drinks in vitro

AIM: This study aimed to investigate the erosive potential of these drinks using human enamel in vitro. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A range of bottled, still flavoured water drinks available in the UK were investigated and their erosive potential was compared by measuring pH and titratable acidity. Six beverages were chosen for the main study and also both a negative (distilled water) and positive control (orange juice). Human enamel specimens were prepared, sectioned and varnished leaving an exposure window visible to have contact with test solutions. Each specimen was randomly allocated in groups of six. Each group was exposed to 20 ml of one of the eight test solutions for 10, 30, 60 and 90 min. Quantitative light-induced fluorescence was used to ensure the teeth selected were free of artefacts and diseased areas. Erosion was measured using non-contact optical profilometry. RESULTS: Enamel loss occurred with all test drinks and the positive control (p<0.05) and in most cases the still water drinks were just as erosive as the positive control. Only vitamin water at 30 min was not significantly different from the negative control (p= 0.86), All drinks tested resulted in significant enamel loss (p<0.01). These results may indicate that consumers should think of still water beverages as potentially acidic drinks rather than just flavoured healthy water alternatives. CONCLUSION: This study indicates the need for preventive advice to be given by dentists about such beverages and therefore ultimately to make patients and consumers more aware of hidden erosive risks.

Assessing the association between oral hygiene and preterm birth by quantitative light-induced fluorescence.

The aim of this study was to investigate the purported link between oral hygiene and preterm birth by using image analysis tools to quantify dental plaque biofilm. Volunteers (n = 91) attending an antenatal clinic were identified as those considered to be "at high risk" of preterm delivery (i.e., a previous history of idiopathic preterm delivery, case group) or those who were not considered to be at risk (control group). The women had images of their anterior teeth captured using quantitative light-induced fluorescence (QLF). These images were analysed to calculate the amount of red fluorescent plaque (ΔR%) and percentage of plaque coverage. QLF showed little difference in ΔR% between the two groups, 65.00% case versus 68.70% control, whereas there was 19.29% difference with regard to the mean plaque coverage, 25.50% case versus 20.58% control. A logistic regression model showed a significant association between plaque coverage and case/control status (P = 0.031), controlling for other potential predictor variables, namely, smoking status, maternal age, and body mass index (BMI).

Factors affecting demineralization during orthodontic treatment: a post-hoc analysis of RCT recruits.

INTRODUCTION: Our aim was to determine predictors for the presence and degree of demineralization during orthodontic treatment. This study was a post-hoc analysis of recruits for a randomized controlled trial. Two hundred thirty patients were included in this study and assessed for demineralization at debond by using quantitative light-induced fluorescence to determine their eligibility for a randomized controlled trial assessing the effectiveness of various toothpastes at reducing demineralization during retention. METHODS: Data about patients' demographics, treatments, oral hygiene, and pretreatment status of the first permanent molars were extracted from case notes. Data on the presence and severity of white spot lesions (WSLs) were obtained from the trial's data base. Univariate analyses and multiple regression were undertaken to assess for associations between the factors and the presence and severity of WSLs. RESULTS: Sixty-five patients (28.3%) had no WSLs, and 165 (71.7%) had 1 to 12. The mean number of WSLs per patient with demineralization was 2.9 (95% CI, 2.5 and 3.3). Patients with WSLs were significantly (P = 0.002) younger and more likely to have diseased first molars (P = 0.04). Participants with inadequate pretreatment oral hygiene developed more WSLs (P = 0.03). Boys (P = 0.001) and participants with diseased first molars (P = 0.06) had significantly greater demineralization. CONCLUSIONS: Sex, pretreatment age, oral hygiene, and clinical status of the first molars can be used as predictors for the development and severity of WSLs during orthodontic treatment.

An audit of shade reproduction of fixed metal ceramic prostheses.

This investigation aimed to evaluate the colour difference between metal ceramic restorations and their corresponding shades and any reasons for a colour mismatch in the dental laboratory. The colour of 50 consecutive metal ceramic restorations produced in a laboratory was measured using a spectrophotometer and compared to the shade tabs. Colour reproduction was optimal at porcelain thicknesses between 1.4-1.6 mm, varied between technicians within the same laboratory and was better for shades in the 2M group. Most crowns were above the threshold for a clinically acceptable shade match and almost all crowns were lighter than the corresponding shade tab.

Assessing caries removal by undergraduate dental students using quantitative light-induced fluorescence.

The purpose of this study was to compare detection of enamel and dentinal caries by dental students' and faculty members' visual inspection and by quantitative light-induced fluorescence (QLF). The overall aim was to determine whether QLF is an appropriate technique for use in clinical skills laboratories as a teaching aid for dental undergraduates to detect and assess the removal of enamel and dentinal caries. Sixty students who had no clinical experience with dental caries were asked to select . suitably decayed teeth and mount them in plaster. After recording baseline QLF images, students removed caries according to instructions given by the clinical tutor. On completion of the exercise, the teeth were visually determined to be caries-free by the student, then confirmed by the clinical tutor. A fluorescein in alcohol solution was injected into the cavity for two minutes, rinsed, and dried before QLF images were captured. The images were visually analyzed by two examiners for the presence or absence of caries. From seventy-four images recorded, seventeen were excluded due to exposure of the pulp chamber. The remaining fifty-seven teeth, which by clinical visual examination were judged to be caries-free, were examined using QLF. Fifty-three percent were found to be caries-free, while 47 percent were carious. In this sample of fifty-seven teeth judged to be caries-free by both dental students and faculty members, QLF thus detected caries in almost half of these teeth. These findings suggest that QLF is a useful, noninvasive, nondestructive technique for the detection of caries and can serve as an adjunct to chair-side diagnosis and management of dental caries, which is typically accomplished by visual inspection. QLF may be useful and appropriate as an objective clinical teaching aid for the assessment of dental caries.

The acrylic tooth-denture base bond: effect of mechanical preparation and surface treatment.

The bond strength of acrylic teeth to denture base resins was tested using a widely-accepted technique. The pre-treatments included abrading and grooving the teeth, the application of monomer and the application of a proprietary bonding agent. Each of the 360 specimens was tensile-tested until fracture, using a universal testing machine. When bonded to heat-cured resin, the grooved teeth had the highest mean bond strength while the grooved monomer-treated group had the lowest. When bonded to cold cure resin, the unabraded monomer-treated teeth had the highest mean bond strength and the unabraded group the lowest.

Assessing the efficacy of denture cleaners with quantitative light-induced fluorescence (QLF).

The aim of this study was to evaluate Quantitative Light Induced Fluorescence (QLF) analysis as a means of determining the ability of denture cleaners to remove stain from denture teeth. This study investigated the appearance of acrylic resin denture teeth subjected to QLF conditions in vitro. It aimed to determine if QLF was an appropriate method for detecting stain and its removal on acrylic resin denture teeth in vitro and also to develop a quantitative and reproducible method for assessing the efficacy of denture cleaners using QLF. This study showed that not all acrylic resin denture teeth fluoresced under QLF examination. QLF demonstrated the ability to detect and quantify longitudinal changes in stain removal by the various denture cleaners used in the study.