Evaluation of ergonomic dental stools through clinical simulation.

Work-related musculoskeletal pain occurs commonly within the dental community. Three stool designs were utilized in this study: a standard dental stool, a stool with dual arm supports, and a stool with dual arm supports and chest support. Electromyographic data from four muscle groups were collected on 13 clinicians during a simulated crown preparation procedure. Clinical simulation suggests that a potential musculoskeletal benefit to the clinician exists through utilization of dental stool designs which incorporate static arm supports.

Fabricating a gold occlusal platform on a removable partial denture to help prevent extrusion of mandibular incisors.

A clinical procedure is presented in which a maxillary removable partial denture (RPD) replacing anterior teeth was fabricated with a cast gold anterior occlusal platform. This treatment is indicated to correct abrasion caused by extruded mandibular anterior teeth on the maxillary RPD. The advantages compared with prosthetic teeth supported by an acrylic resin base or metal-backed facings are discussed. This technique allows for development of optimal esthetics, strength, and durability, while preventing further extrusion and excessive wear of the teeth occluding against prosthesis.

Guided tissue healing for single-tooth implants.

The emergence profile of a single-tooth implant abutment has a significant effect on the esthetics of the final restoration. Most healing abutments are cylindrical, unlike the nonround contours of the natural teeth being replaced. The resulting peri-implant sulcus is round rather than having the correct anatomic cross-sectional shape. This disparity may compromise the ideal emergence profile of the final restoration. This article presents a technique in which a custom abutment and provisional crown or the definitive restoration can be placed at second-stage surgery to guide tissue healing to optimum form and esthetics.

Tobacco and dental implants.

Dental implants are the ideal standard of care for many oral health care providers. Tobacco use is an impediment to the success of this sophisticated procedure. Dentists who are trained to help their patients stop using tobacco are in position to improve their success rates with dental implants. A suggested protocol for tobacco cessation in the implant practice, if utilized, could raise the standard of health care in the dental office.

Fabricating a gold occlusal platform on a removable partial denture to help prevent extrusion of mandibular incisors.

A clinical procedure is presented in which a maxillary removable partial denture replacing anterior teeth was fabricated with a cast gold anterior occlusal platform. This treatment is indicated to correct abrasion caused by extruded mandibular anterior teeth on the maxillary removable partial denture. The advantages compared to prosthetic teeth supported by an acrylic resin base or metal-backed facings are discussed. This technique allows for development of optimal esthetics, strength, and durability while preventing further extrusion and excessive wear of the teeth occluding against prosthesis.

Custom devices for sleep apnea treatment.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a potentially life-threatening sleep disorder that is estimated to affect 20 million Americans. OSA is characterized by repeated collapse of the upper airway during sleep, which produces breathing pauses and interruption of the sleep cycle. Symptoms include heavy snoring, many nighttime arousals, sleep deprivation, chronic fatigue and a variety of cardiovascular diseases. While many treatments are advocated for OSA, oral devices have been shown to be effective. Dental technicians and dentists may be involved in the construction of oral appliances for patients with OSA. In this article, a synopsis of various treatment modalities is presented, and the construction of two appliances is described and illustrated.

Repair of a removable partial denture using gold occlusals.

Limited interarch space causes maintenance problems with removable partial dentures. The problem of abrasion and breakage of acrylic resin teeth, the concomitant supraeruption of opposing natural teeth, and possible decrease of vertical dimension of occlusion can be prevented or minimized with cast-gold occlusals. Use of metal occlusals has been advocated on newly constructed removable partial dentures, but not on existing prostheses with severely worn or broken denture teeth. This article describes a repair procedure for a removable partial denture where minimal interarch distance resulted in wear and breakage of denture teeth. A thin, abraded denture tooth that had been repaired numerous times was prepared and covered with a cast gold restoration. The problem of abrasion and breakage of the acrylic resin tooth was solved and the service life of the prosthesis was extended.

An electron microscopic comparison of bristle end-rounding of three commercial toothbrushes.

The results from three separate examinations using SEM photomicrographs and shape factor (SF) measurements show that Oral-B P-35 brushes have a highly significant difference in bristle end-rounding when compared to Colgate Precision and Crest Complete toothbrushes. The proportion of Oral-B P-35 bristles with highly rounded ends was substantially greater than that for Colgate Precision and Crest Complete toothbrushes. Oral-B also had fewer bristles in the very sharp-edged category than both Complete and Precision toothbrushes. Each toothbrush sample in these studies was purchased from geographically dispersed retail outlets throughout the United States. Scanning electron micrographs were made from a representative random sample of bristles, then digitized and evaluated using image analysis software. The comparisons were made on the basis of the number and distribution of bristles having varying degrees of roundness as determined by shape-factor analysis. Previous studies asserted that low shape-factor values indicate sharp bristle edges that are less conducive to good oral hygiene than end-rounded bristles with high SF values. In separate studies, Oral-B P-35 had a significantly higher number of highly end-rounded bristles than did either the Colgate Precision or Crest Complete toothbrushes. The averages for end-roundness fall in the order of Oral-B P-35 > Complete > Precision. Thus we conclude that the potential for harming dental tissues is less for the Oral-B P-35 toothbrush than for either the Colgate Precision or Crest Complete toothbrushes.