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Funding Information: Funding: This research is part of a TUTL-project awarded to T.P. and funded by Aalto University (https://www.aalto.fi/en, accessed on 29 April 2021) and Tekes (https://www.businessfinland.fi/en, accessed on 29 April 2021; grant number 4364/31/2016). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Aim: This study aimed to determine the feasibility and first efficacy of indocyanine green (ICG)-assisted antimicrobial photodynamictherapy (aPDT) as activated using LED light to the dental plaque. Methods: Fifteen healthy adults were assigned to this four-day randomized study. After rinsing with ICG, 100 J/cm2 of 810 nm LED light was applied to the aPDT-treatment area. Plaque area and gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) matrix metalloproteinase-8 (MMP-8) were measured, and plaque bacteriomes before and after the study were analyzed using 16S rRNA sequencing. Results: aPDT administration was preformed successfully and plaque-specifically with the combination of ICG and the applicator. Total plaque area and endpoint MMP-8 levels were reduced on the aPDT-treatment side. aPDT reduced Streptococcus, Acinetobacteria, Capnocytophaga, and Rothia bacteria species in plaques. Conclusion: ICG-assisted aPDT reduces plaque forming bacteria and exerts anti-inflammatory and anti-proteolytic effects.

Background: Mini dental implant (MDI) overdenture rehabilitation for the edentulous maxilla is a valuable, less invasive and affordable treatment alternative for complete removable dentures (CRD). However, comparative quantification of masticatory performance in different oral conditions are scarce. Purpose: This study compares objective masticatory performance of dentate groups, maxillary CRD and MDI overdentures and subjective masticatory performance in maxillary CRD and MDI overdentures. Materials and Methods: Four groups were defined, age 20+ dentate dental students (DS), age 50+ complete dentate subjects (DP), age 50+ maxillary CRD or MDI overdentures/dentate mandible. Objective masticatory performance was evaluated by measuring circular Variance of Hue (VOH) or the mixture degree of two-color chewing gum (Hue-check View Gum® Test). Additionally, subjective masticatory comparison was investigated in the CRD and MDI groups, with a visual analogue scale (VAS) for different food consistencies and the Oral Health Related Quality of Life (OHRQL) OHIP-14 questionnaire. Results: The mean VOH was 0.11 (SD 0.50, range 0.05–0.27) for the dentate dental 20+ students, 0.13 (SD 0.08, range 0.03–0.31) for the 50+ dentate group (p = 0.774), 0.41 (SD 0.41, range 0.14–0.76) for the CRD group and 0.39 (SD 0.18, range 0.07–0.76) for the MDI group (p = 0.725). Based on the VAS scores, no improvement was found between the CRD and the MDI overdenture group (p &gt, 0.050). The mean OHIP-14 total score was 12.10 (SD 15.87, range 0–56) for CRD, while the MDI group (p = 0.039) saw a significant improvement to 2.85 (SD 2.85, range 0–15). Conclusion: Comparable results in objective masticatory performance were registered in dentate 20+ and 50+ subjects with a remarkable inferior outcome for the CRD and MDI group. Compared to CRD, MDI overdentures revealed no substantial improvement in subjective and objective masticatory performance. However, for MDI a significant increase in OHRQL was apparent.

BACKGROUND: The number of contingent valuation (CV) studies in dental medicine using willingness-to-pay (WTP) methodology has substantially increased in recent years. Missing values due to absent information (i.e., missingness) or false information (i.e., protest zeros) are a common problem in WTP studies. The objective of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of missing values in CV studies in dental medicine, to assess how these have been dealt with, and to suggest recommendations for future research. METHODS: We systematically searched electronic databases (MEDLINE, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, PROSPERO) on 8 June 2021, and hand-searched references of selected reviews. CV studies in clinical dentistry using WTP for valuing a good or service were included. RESULTS: We included 49 WTP studies in our review. Out of these, 19 (38.8%) reported missing values due to absent information, and 28 (57.1%) reported zero values (i.e., WTP valued at zero). Zero values were further classified into true zeros (i.e., representing the underlying preference of the respondent) or protest zeros (i.e., false information as a protest behavior) in only 9 studies. Most studies used a complete case analysis to address missingness while only one study used multiple imputation. CONCLUSIONS: There is uncertainty in the dental literature on how to address missing values and zero values in CV studies. Zero values need to be classified as true zeros versus protest zeros with follow-up questions after the WTP elicitation procedure, and then need to be handled differently. Advanced statistical methods are available to address both missing values due to missingness and due to protest zeros but these are currently underused in dental medicine. Failing to appropriately address missing values in CV studies may lead to biased WTP estimates of dental interventions. ispartof: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH vol:18 issue:14 ispartof: location:Switzerland status: published