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Amalgam and composite restorations are used to treat minor dental issues. University of Michigan, School of Dentistry Electronic Health Record (EHR) reports show a 2.31% failure rate for amalgam and 1.14% for composite. Our study aims to determine the true failure rates through manual EHR chart reviews. Patient data from the University of Michigan School of Dentistry were utilized—216 amalgam restorations from 2020 to 2022 and 350 composite restorations in 2021 were searched. We defined failure and retreatment as replacing a restoration with the same material and failure and alternate treatment as replacing restoration with an alternative treatment within one year. The failure rate refers to a combination of replacement with the same and alternative treatment material within one year. For Amalgam: 1.85% failed and were retreated; 7.87% failed and were received an alternate treatment. Composite: 9.71% failed and retreated; 2.86% failed and received alternate treatment. In total anterior composite: 10.5% retreated, 2.6% failed; posterior composite: 9.1% retreated, 3.0% failed. Our study revealed higher restoration failure rates than the reports extracted in the EHR. This highlights the need to foster a culture of precise documentation to align EHR reports with hand-search findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Although the threat of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) was the same at different US dental schools, the response wasn't. There is no study that documents the variation in mitigation strategies, COVID‐19 transmission, and clinical educational changes at US Dental schools during the ongoing pandemic that began in 2020 in the US. Methods: The current study was approved as exempt research (project number HUM00199261). Our survey of Associate Dean's of Clinical Operations was individually emailed in July 2021. There were no reminders and descriptive statistics were calculated using Microsoft Excel. Results: We received 46 completed surveys from the 68 sent out. Note that 65.2% of respondents reported requiring N95 masks for aerosol‐generating procedures. Note that 38.9% of respondents said they required student partnering as chairside dental assistants for aerosol‐generating procedures. Note that 37.7% of respondents began using alternate cubicles. A total of 6.52% of schools reported a transmission of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 virus from patient to provider. There were no reported transmissions from provider to patient or from patient to patient. Conclusion: In our study, we found a lot of similarities between the approach taken by Dental School Clinics across the US to mitigate the risks of COVID‐19, however, we also observed many differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: U.S. data on opioid prescribing by dentists are limited to 2019. More recent data are needed to understand the effect of the COVID-19 outbreak on dental opioid prescribing, characterize current practices, and determine if dental opioid stewardship initiatives are still warranted. Objective: To evaluate the association between the COVID-19 outbreak and the rate of opioid prescribing by U.S. dentists Methods: During February—April 2023, the authors conducted a cross-sectional analysis of the IQVIA Longitudinal Prescription Database, which reports 92% of prescriptions dispensed in U.S. retail pharmacies. The authors calculated the monthly dental opioid dispensing rate, defined as the monthly number of dispensed opioid prescriptions from dentists per 100,000 U.S. individuals, during January 2016-February 2020 and June 2020-December 2022. To prevent distortions in trends, data from March–May 2020, when dental opioid dispensing declined sharply, were excluded. Using linear segmented regression models, the authors assessed for level and slope changes in the dental opioid dispensing rate during June 2020. Results: Analyses included 81,189,605 dental opioid prescriptions. The annual number of prescriptions declined from 16,105,634 in 2016 to 8,910,437 in 2022 (-44.7%). During January 2016-February 2020, the dental opioid dispensing rate declined -3.9 (95% CI: -4.3, -3.6) per month. In June 2020, this rate abruptly increased by 31.4 (95% CI: 19.3, 43.5) and the monthly decline in the dental opioid dispensing rate slowed to -2.1 (95% CI: -2.6, -1.6) per month. As a result, 6.1 million more dental opioid prescriptions were dispensed during June 2020-December 2022 than would be predicted had trends during January 2016-February 2020 continued. Discussion: U.S. dental opioid prescribing is declining, but the rate of this decline slowed after the COVID-19 outbreak. Findings highlight the continued importance of dental opioid stewardship initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background—Direct-to-consumer (DTC) sequential aligners promote "teeth straightening" at a low cost and with added patient convenience. DTC sequential aligners have risen in popularity among the general public and sparked debate among dental professionals. Dental professionals argue that using these aligners without an in-person diagnosis and treatment planning protocol set by a licensed dentist or orthodontist may lead to adverse effects on teeth and surrounding structures. The objective of this study is to describe adverse clinical events associated with the use of DTC sequential aligners as reported in the Food and Drug Administration's Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience (FDA MAUDE) database. Methods—We searched the MAUDE database from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2020 for the product code of 'NXC' (sequential aligners). The year, type of adverse event, reporter occupation, and event description were noted. Results—651 reports associated with sequential aligners were found, of which 104 were related to DTC sequential aligners. Fifty-four adverse events were reported in 2019. From the event description, 41.3% comprised bite problems, 29.8% comprised orofacial pain, and 26.6% of patients had some form of periodontal sequelae. Furthermore, 69.2% of the patients followed up after an adverse event with a dentist not associated with DTC aligners. Conclusions—The use of DTC sequential aligners without dental supervision has led to oral health problems, as documented in the MAUDE database. Commonly reported adverse events include bite problems, pain, sensitivity, and periodontal disease, and some adverse events are irreversible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]