Access opening guide produced using a 3D printer (AOG-3DP) as an effective tool in difficult cases for dental students.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of using an access opening guide in teaching ideal access opening shape and preventing excessive tooth loss, with a focus on predoctoral dental students. METHODS: Ninety teeth that were mounted in a box just below the level of the cementoenamel junction using tray resin were randomly divided into two study groups. An access opening guide produced using a 3D printer (AOG-3DP) was designed using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). The AOG-3DP was applied in the test groups, while no aid was used in the control group. Access preparations in both groups performed by predoctoral dental students were scanned using CBCT to detect overpreparation. The preparation time and access cavity volume were evaluated. RESULTS: The mean times required for achieving access opening were 327.2 and 97.4 s in the control and AOG-3DP groups, respectively, for premolars, and 547.4 and 104.5 s for molars. The mean volumes for premolars and molars differed from the ideal cavities by 38.1 and 72.2 mm3 , respectively, in the control group, and by -2.0 and -8.7 mm3 the AOG-3DP group. CONCLUSIONS: Using the AOG-3DP significantly reduced the access opening time for premolars and molars. However, there is a limitation in that CBCT DICOM images must be converted to stereolithographic .stl files in order to be printed via 3D technology. This requires additional preclinical treatment time for imaging and subsequent printing. It could be considered that this can be a useful method in difficult cases.

Repeated Dry Sauna Therapy Improves Quality of Life in Obese Korean People.

BACKGROUND: Dry sauna treatments improve the quality of life for chronic pain, congestive heart failure, and type 2 diabetes patients. This study aimed to determine whether dry sauna therapy improved the quality of life of obese people. METHODS: A total of 38 consecutive participants aged over 20 years with a body mass index of ≥25 kg/m2 were recruited for the study. The participants were treated with a 90°C dry sauna for 15 minutes, twice daily for 4 consecutive days. To assess the quality of life, all participants completed the 5 level EQ-5D questionnaires and the EQ-Visual Analog Scale. Study parameters were measured on the same day prior to commencing the sauna sessions in a fasted state and 2 days after the last sauna session. RESULTS: The average age was 62.3±9.5 years; 84.2% of the participants were female. The mean body mass index was 28.5±2.4 kg/m2. Dry sauna significantly improved the mean 5 level EQ-5D index scores from 0.83±0.12 to 0.89±0.11 and increased the mean EQ-Visual Analog Scale from 79.0±15.2 to 91.1±9.7. However, there were no significant changes in body mass index, blood pressure, heart rate, or body composition before and after the 8-session sauna therapy. CONCLUSION: Dry sauna improved the health-related quality of life of obese patients without adverse events. Further clinical studies in larger study populations are needed to verify these findings and provide concrete evidence for obesity treatment.

Population-based study of the epidemiology of herpes zoster in Korea.

General epidemiological data regarding herpes zoster (HZ) are necessary for treatment and prevention of this disease. In addition, epidemiological data can play an important role in evaluating the efficacy and impact of vaccination. Though several epidemiological studies of HZ in Korea have been conducted, they usually depend on hospital-based data and may not be representative of HZ characteristics all over Korea. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence and other epidemiological features of HZ in the general Korean population. We used population-based medical records from the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service, which includes 50,908,646 medical insurance subscribers, to calculate the incidence of HZ. Also, we analyzed an age-stratified random sample of 1,375,842 individuals to study descriptive epidemiologic characteristics of HZ in Korea in 2011. We observed that the incidence of HZ was 10.4 per 1,000 person-years and was strongly correlated with age. Sex had a major influence on HZ incidence; overall, there were 12.6 cases per 1,000 person years in women and 8.3 cases per 1,000 person years in men. There was no difference in incidence according to the locality and season.