Impact of fully guided implant planning software training on the knowledge acquisition and satisfaction of dental undergraduate students.

BACKGROUND: A majority of dental school students do not undergo hands-on clinical training in implantology in the undergraduate curriculum. Training is usually restricted to pre-implant evaluation and post-implant prostheses. Virtual implant planning software (VIPS) provides an alternative opportunity for undergraduate students to experience implant planning much before gaining hands-on experience. However, not many studies have the contribution of VIPS to the knowledge acquisition of students. We conducted a preliminary study to evaluate the knowledge acquisition of the students when exposed to a hands-on session of VIPS. We also evaluated students' satisfaction levels, when exposed to hands-on training in fully guided implant planning software. METHODS: A two-part theory lecture on fully guided implant planning was delivered to 90, 5th (final)-year dental undergraduate students by the oral radiology faculty. The students were then randomly divided into three groups. Group A was exposed to didactic lectures only. Group B was shown a video for fully guided implant planning in addition to the didactic lecture. Group C was shown a video for fully guided implant planning in addition to a didactic lecture and then performed a hands-on session of virtual implant planning under faculty guidance. Students from all groups were given an MCQ-based test. After the completion of the test students from group A and B also received VIPS hands-on training. Students from all three groups answered and a feedback questionnaire regarding their satisfaction levels with VIPS. RESULTS: The overall test score of students in Group C was higher than their colleagues in both Groups A and B and the differences were statistically significant (p = 0.01). More than 85% of the students were satisfied with the teaching approach. CONCLUSIONS: The utilization of VIPS in the training of dental undergraduate students improves their performance confirming better knowledge acquisition and content mastery.

Double Crown-Retained Removable Prostheses Supported by Implants or Teeth and Implants: A Long-Term Clinical Retrospective Evaluation.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this retrospective clinical study was to investigate the survival rates and complications of implant (I)-retained or tooth-implant (TI)-retained prostheses and abutments (teeth, implants) over a mean observation period of 11.26 years. The study also aimed to analyze the differences and complication rates between implant-retained double crown removable dental prostheses (I-DC-RDPs) versus tooth-implant-retained double crown removable dental prostheses (TI-DC-RDPs). MATERIAL AND METHODS: We reviewed the clinical data of 110 nonsmokers (mean age = 53.9 years) who received DC-RDPs in maxillary or mandibular arches. 153 teeth and 508 implants were used to restore partially edentulous (PE; TI-DC-RDPs; n = 53) and completely edentulous (CE; TI-DC-RDPs; n = 57) arches. Two designs of the distal extension were used: cantilevers (CANs) and saddles (SADs). Restorations were examined for abutment survival, mechanical, or biological complications. RESULTS: The 10-year survival rates were 99.3% (95% CI: 95.4-99.9%) for teeth and 99.3% (95% CI: 97.5-99.7%) for implants. The cumulative rates of TI- and I-RDPs free of technical complications were 77% and 86%, respectively. The risk of complications was not significantly different between the CAN and SAD subgroups of I-RDPs (p > 0.05). However, for TI-RDPs, technical complication risk was significantly higher in SAD type compared with CAN restorations (p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: I- and TI-DC-RDPs seem to be recommendable for restoration of CE or PE arches. The technical and biological complication rates were lower for I-DC-RDPs in the CE arches than for TI-DC-RDPs in the PE arches. Regarding the RDP design, CAN prostheses produced significantly fewer technical complications than did SAD prostheses.

Differences in Mechanical and Physicochemical Properties of Several PTFE Membranes Used in Guided Bone Regeneration.

Non-resorbable PTFE membranes are frequently used in dental-guided bone regeneration (GBR). However, there is a lack of detailed comparative studies that define variations among commonly used PTFE membranes in daily dental clinical practice. The aim of this study was to examine differences in physicochemical and mechanical properties of several recent commercial PTFE membranes for dental GBR (CytoplastTM TXT-200, permamem®, NeoGen®, Surgitime, OsseoGuard®-TXT, OsseoGuard®-NTXT). Such differences have been rarely recorded so far, which might be a reason for the varied clinical results. For that reason, we analyzed their surface architecture, chemical composition, tensile strength, Young's modulus, wettability, roughness, density, thickness and porosity. SEM revealed different microarchitectures among the non-textured membranes; the textured ones had hexagonal indentations and XPS indicated an identical spectral portfolio in all membranes. NeoGen® was determined to be the strongest and OsseoGuard®-TXT was the most elastic. Wettability and roughness were highest for Surgitime but lowest for OsseoGuard®-NTXT. Furthermore, permamem® was the thinnest and NeoGen® was identified as the thickest investigated GBR membrane. The defect volumes and defect volume ratio (%) varied significantly, indicating that permamem® had the least imperfect structure, followed by NeoGen® and then Cytoplast TM TXT-200. These differences may potentially affect the clinical outcomes of dental GBR procedures.

Peri-Implant Mucosa Augmentation with an Acellular Collagen Matrix.

Peri-implant keratinized mucosa (PI-KM) may support implant survival. Acellular collagen matrices (aCMs) have been widely used to facilitate soft tissue regeneration. The aim of this study was to investigate clinical outcomes obtained with the use of an aCM (mucoderm®) to enhance PI-KM. In this retrospective non-randomized case series, 27 restored implants in 14 patients (eight males and six females, mean age = 56 years) with a PI-KM width ≤ 1 mm were followed for 6 months. It was demonstrated that aCM grafts augmented PI-KM effectively (mean increase of 5.4 mm; >533%) without a significant change in bleeding on probing (BOP) from baseline. The mean aCM shrinkage was 3.9 mm (42%). Gender, area, arch, and BOP did not influence PI-KM augmentation or aCM shrinkage significantly. The present results demonstrated that the examined aCM was effective and predictable for attaining a band of keratinized tissue, while avoiding graft donor site harversting.

Tooth-implant connection with fixed partial dentures in partially edentulous arches. A retrospective cohort study over an 11.8 year observation period.

BACKGROUND: The fixed tooth-implant connection remains a controversial issue. This private practice-based retrospective study aimed to evaluate the clinical outcomes of a contemporary fixed partial denture (FPD) design for connecting natural teeth and implants (TI-FPD), over an 11.8 years observation period. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The data of 91 partially edentulous patients (44 males and 47 females, mean age of 47.7 years) treated with a newly designed TI-FPD retained on 1 implant and 1 natural tooth were analyzed retrospectively. Teeth were covered with electroformed copings and a CAD/CAM made bridge was fixed over the abutments with provisional cement. Two different implant systems were used: Camlog (N=22; anterior areas) and Straumann tissue level (N=69; posterior areas). RESULTS: The survival rate for both implants and teeth was 100%. 19/21 (90%, 95%CI 82-95%), 16/21 (66%, 95%CI 66-84%), and 16/21 (66%, 95%CI 66-84%) patients were free of biological complications after 5 years, 10 years, and 15 years post-loading, respectively. 23/35 (90%, 95%CI 54-74%), 21/35 (61%, 95%CI 50-70%), and 21/35 (61%, 95%CI 50-70%) were free of technical complications following 5 years, 10 years, and 15 years post loading, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Despite limitations of the study, the findings demonstrated that the use of a recently designed TI-FPD could be used for the tooth-implant connection in cases of partial edentulism and this may widen the treatment modalities by reducing the cost and need for extensive bone tissue augmentations. Further controlled longitudinal studies with larger patient groups are needed. Key words:Tooth-implant connection, dental implant, fixed partial dentures, complications, implant prosthodontics.