Cone beam CT evaluation of maxillary sinus septa prevalence, height, location and morphology in children and an adult population.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence, height, location and morphology of maxillary sinus septa in dentate, partially dentate and edentulous adults as well as in mixed dentition children using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) for maxillary sinus surgical interventions. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Five hundred and fifty-four sides in the CBCT scans of 272 patients (30 children and 242 adults) were retrospectively analyzed. The prevalence, location and morphology were assessed in axial, sagittal, cross-sectional and panoramic 3-dimensional images. The height of septa was measured with the angle between the direction of the septum and median palatine suture. The differences among age, localization and measurements were statistically analyzed. RESULTS: The prevalence of maxillary sinus segments with septa was 58%. There were a total of 13 (3.2%) septa of completely edentulous (CE), 198 (53.9%) septa of edentate and 14 (3.8%) septa of the mixed dentition maxillary segments. The location of septa observed in all study groups demonstrated a greater prevalence (69.1%) in the middle region than in the anterior and posterior regions. No statistically significant differences were observed with regard to gender or age, for septum height (p > 0.05). However, maxillary sinus septa are higher in partially edentulous patients than edentate and CE ones (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Septa of various heights and courses developed in all parts of the maxillary sinus, therefore to prevent possible complications during sinus surgery, extensive evaluation with an appropriate radiographic technique was indispensable.

Clinical evaluation of Er,Cr:YSGG and GaAlAs laser therapy for treating dentine hypersensitivity: A randomized controlled clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE: The advent of dental lasers has raised another possible treatment option for dentine hypersensitivity (DH) and has become a research interest in the last decades. The aim of this randomized, controlled, double-blind, split mouth, clinical study was to evaluate and compare the desensitizing effects of erbium, chromium-doped:yttrium, scandium, gallium and garnet (Er,Cr:YSGG) to galium-aluminium-arsenide (GaAlAs) laser on DH. METHODS: Fifty-one patients participated in this study for a total of 174 teeth. DH was assessed for all groups with a visual analog scale. For each patient, the teeth were randomized to three groups. In the diode laser group, sensitive teeth were irradiated with the GaAlAs laser at 8.5J/cm(2) energy density. In the Er,Cr:YSGG laser group, sensitive teeth were irradiated with Er,Cr:YSGG laser in the hard tissue mode using a none-contact probe at an energy level of 0.25W and repetition rate of 20Hz, 0% water and 10% air. In the control group no treatment was performed. Treatment time was 60s for GaAlAs laser and 30s for Er,Cr:YSGG laser. RESULTS: When compared with the control group and baseline data, in both laser groups, laser irradiation provided a desensitizing effect immediately after treatment and this effect was maintained throughout the study (p<0.05). No significant differences between Er,Cr:YSGG and GaAlAs laser groups were found at any follow-up examination (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: Based on these findings, it may be concluded that both Er,Cr:YSGG and GaAlAs lasers were effective in the treatment of DH following a single application.

Low-level laser therapy in the treatment of mucous membrane pemphigoid: a promising procedure.

BACKGROUND: Mucous membrane pemphigoid is a heterogeneous group of autoimmune, subepithelial, blistering diseases. A combination of topical and systemic steroid treatment is often used when managing patients with mucous membrane pemphigoid. The use of systemic steroids presents an increased risk of adverse side effects. Consequently, effective alternative modalities of therapy should be considered, such as the application of low-level laser therapy (LLLT). METHODS: A patient presented with mucous membrane pemphigoid and was successfully treated with the application of local corticosteroids and LLLT using an 810-nm diode laser. The lesions were treated by LLLT over a period of 7 days using a continuous waveform for 40 seconds and an energy density of 5 J/cm(2). RESULTS: After treatment, a significant improvement in tissue color and consistency was observed. The patient was followed every month for a period of 12 months, and the lesions healed uneventfully. CONCLUSION: The results reported in this case show that the healing of mucous membrane pemphigoid was achieved when LLLT was used as an adjunct to the application of a local corticosteroid.

Treatment of amalgam tattoo with an Er,Cr:YSGG laser.

Amalgam tattoos are common, asymptomatic, pigmented oral lesions that clinically exist as isolated, blue, gray, or black macules on the gingival, buccal, and alveolar mucosae, the palate, and/or the tongue. In this case report, the successful use of an erbium, chromium-doped:yttrium, scandium, gallium, and garnet laser for the removal of an amalgam tattoo is explained. A 46-year-old man is presented with a half decade history of an amalgam tattoo on his left maxillary premolar-molar gingiva. Depigmentation procedure was performed under topical anesthesia with the use of an erbium, chromium-doped:yttrium, scandium, gallium, and garnet laser at 2 W in the soft tissue pulsed mode for 10 min. The pigmented tissue was completely removed. The de-epithelialization area healed completely on the 10th day after treatment. The period of healing was uneventful. The amalgam tattoo was completely removed with erbium, chromium-doped:yttrium, scandium, gallium, and garnet laser, and the treated area healed without any adverse effect.