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Introduction: Hypodontia refers to the congenital absence of less than six teeth. This absence may be unilateral or bilateral. Though the congenital agenesis of bilateral mandibular/maxillary incisors has often been reported in literature, however, the congenital absence of bilateral mandibular and maxillary incisors, as well as the mandibular second molar-giving rise to a total of six missing permanent teeth in an apparently healthy individual has not been reported earlier.

Background: Most children experience distress while visiting a dentist, above which the sound of the airotor and suction machine results in fear and difficulty in performing further procedures. Methods: This was a randomized controlled parallel-group study of 40 children aged 6–13 years who required cavity preparation via the airotor. The children were randomly allocated to either Group 1 (Piano music app; active distraction combined with audio analgesia) or Group 2 (basic behavioural guidance alone). Self-reported dental anxiety was measured via a modified child dental anxiety scale, and behavior was assessed via Venham's and FLACC (Faces Legs Activity Cry and Consolability) scales. The data obtained were subjected to appropriate statistical analysis. Results: Self-reported dental anxiety was significantly lower in group 1 (p < 0.005). No significant difference between the groups was observed for the Venham and FLACC scores. Conclusion: Compared with basic behavioural guidance alone, the use of active distraction with audio analgesia in the form of the piano music app significantly decreased the degree of dental anxiety caused by the use of the airotor. This also resulted in clinically better cooperation by the child during cavity preparation. Trial Registration: Registered in the Clinical Trials Registry India (CTRI/2024/07/070160) dated 08/07/2024. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Earlier, treatment of immature necrotic tooth focussed only on surgical endodontic management and apexification procedures. Regenerative endodontic therapies have called for a paradigm shift in management of such cases. Prognosis becomes challenging though at times due to chronicity of infection, inadequate disinfection of canal space and cytotoxic nature of irrigants used hindering the survival of the apical stem cells.

Articaine hydrochloride has steadily gained popularity among the pediatric dental practitioners. Plenty of research advocates that use of articaine in pediatric patients is safe and effective. It is said to be 1.5 times more potent and 0.6 times less toxic local anesthetic. It is also least likely to induce an overdose from the administration of too much anesthetic. This makes articaine one of the most preferred drugs in pediatric use. Newer techniques have emerged that assists clinician to enhance the success of the local anesthetic injections. Alkalizing the anesthetic cartridge is one such technique. Studies have shown that buffered articaine is a better anesthetic agent in terms of efficacy and success. An electronic search of databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar) was carried out in order to identify all relevant articles using a combination of the following keywords: "Buffered local anesthetics", "buffered articaine", "Articaine" for all clinical studies. All the studies reviewed indicated satisfactory results for the use of buffered articaine. It highlights the advantages such as lack of burning sensation during injection, quick onset on action and good quality of anesthesia on both subjective and objective evaluations. There are only a few studies and varying evidence regarding the effectiveness of buffered articaine in adults and, to the best of our knowledge. Extensive research is warranted to evaluate the efficacy of buffered articaine use in children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lithium compounds such as lithium hydride (LiH) and lithium hydroxide (LiOH) have a wide range of industrial applications, but are highly reactive in environments with H2O and CO2. These reactions lead to the ingrowth of secondary lithium compounds, which can alter the homogeneity and affect the application of particular lithium chemicals. This study performed an exploratory analysis of different lithium compounds using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and Raman spectroscopy. Machine learning models are trained on the recorded spectral data to discriminate emission features that differ between LiH, LiOH, and Li2CO3 to perform high-fidelity classification. Support vector machine classifiers yield perfect prediction accuracy between the three compounds with optimal training time. Multivariate methods are then used to produce regression models quantifying the ingrowth of LiOH in LiH. Performing a mid-level data fusion of selected LIBS and Raman features with partial least-squares regression produces the superlative model with a root mean square error of 2.5 wt % and a detection limit of 6.3 wt %. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laser-induced plasmas of materials containing hydrocarbons present strong carbon molecular emission features. Using these emissions to build models relating changes in spectral features to a physical parameter of the system, such as hydrocarbon content, can be difficult because of the dynamic complexity of the spectral features and temperature disequilibrium between molecular species. This study presents machine learning models trained to quantify the mole fraction of hexane in hexane–air plasmas from CN Violet and C2 Swan spectral features. Ensemble regression methods provide the most accurate predictions with root mean squared error on the order 10−2. Artificial neural network regressions produce predictions with superlative sensitivity, exhibiting detection limits as low as 0.008. These foundational models can be further refined with more advanced data to quantify the presence of carbon species in complex plasma environments, such as high-speed reacting flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Esophageal carcinoma is the sixth-leading cause of cancer death worldwide. A precursor to esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) is Barrett's Esophagus (BE). Early-stage diagnosis and treatment of esophageal neoplasia (Barrett's with high-grade dysplasia/intramucosal cancer) increase the five-year survival rate from 10% to 98%. BE is a global challenge; however, current endoscopes for early BE detection are costly and require extensive infrastructure for patient examination and sedation. We describe the design and evaluation of the first prototype of ScanCap, a high-resolution optical endoscopy system with a reusable, low-cost tethered capsule, designed to provide high-definition, blue-green illumination imaging for the early detection of BE in unsedated patients. The tethered capsule (12.8 mm diameter, 35.5 mm length) contains a color camera and rotating mirror and is designed to be swallowed; images are collected as the capsule is retracted manually via the tether. The tether provides electrical power and illumination at wavelengths of 415 nm and 565 nm and transmits data from the camera to a tablet. The ScanCap prototype capsule was used to image the oral mucosa in normal volunteers and ex vivo esophageal resections; images were compared to those obtained using an Olympus CV-180 endoscope. Images of superficial capillaries in intact oral mucosa were clearly visible in ScanCap images. Diagnostically relevant features of BE, including irregular Z-lines, distorted mucosa, and dilated vasculature, were clearly visible in ScanCap images of ex vivo esophageal specimens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To describe the challenges pediatric dentists face while caring for their patients during the pandemic. Material and Methods: A descriptive qualitative study was conducted with purposefully sampled pediatric dentists. Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews until the content of the collected data reached theoretical saturation. Data were transcribed verbatim, coded, and analyzed using content analyses. Results: Seven participants (four females and three males) between 29 and 50 years participated in the study. Three themes emerged from the analyses: Anxiety and fear; PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) and its impact on care delivery; and 3) Behavior management. Conclusion: Dental care delivery was challenging for pediatric dentists. They experienced high anxiety levels and modified their services according to the recommended guidelines while making accommodations to lessen patients’ COVID-19-related anxiety. The additional mandated PPE use affected the communication between the dentists and their patients, affecting their dentist-patient bonding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The primary maxillary molars occasionally remain sensitive during operative procedures even post the buccal supraperiosteal injection. This could be due to the widely flared palatal roots receiving accessory innervation from the palatal nerves. Identifying inadequate anesthesia upfront using the electric pulp test (EPT) would give vital information to the clinician on the need of a supplemental palatal injection. Aim: The aim of this study was to assess and evaluate the reliability of the EPT as an indicator of pulpal anesthesia in primary maxillary molars. Methodology: Fifty one primary maxillary molars were subjected to the EPT following a buccal supraperiosteal injection. During the operative procedure, the " Face Legs Activity Cry Consolability" (FLACC) scores were recorded. The outcome of the EPT was correlated with the results of the FLACC score using Pearson's Chi-square test. Results: The EPT results were correlated to the FLACC scores. Five out of the 10 primary maxillary second molars which responded to the EPT scored 0 on the FLACC scale. The remaining 5 teeth scored 1 on the FLACC scale. The P value was 0.056 which was not statistically significant. This infers that the EPT is not a reliable tool to assess the adequacy of pulpal anesthesia in primary maxillary second molars. Conclusion: From the results of the present study, it can be concluded that the EPT is not a reliable tool to be used as an indicator of pulpal anesthesia in primary maxillary molars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The necessity to modify silver diamine fluoride (SDF) to make it esthetically acceptable without affecting its beneficial properties keeps the research in this field pertinent. Aim: This study aims to comparatively evaluate the efficacy of Glutathione (GSH) in reducing tooth discoloration associated with SDF. Materials and Methods: This split-mouth in vivo study was conducted on 20 children aged 3–8 years having a minimum of 3 active carious primary teeth. The three teeth in each patient were randomly divided into Group I – 38% SDF; Group II – 38% SDF followed by application of potassium iodide; and Group III – 38% SDF mixed with 20% GSH. Standardized photographs were taken immediately after application and after 6 months, which were analyzed using Image J software. The carious lesions were clinically classified as active or arrested after 6 months. Results: When mean gray values of three groups were compared postoperative, the highest value (lighter shade) was observed for group II and least (darker shade) for group I, whereas, during the 6-month follow-up, the highest value was seen for group III and least for group I. The color change from preoperative to 6 months' follow-up was compared, and a statistically significant difference was observed between groups I and II (P = 0.003) and groups I and III (P = 0.001). When caries arresting effectiveness was analyzed, there was no significant difference found between any of the groups (P = 1). Conclusion: Mixing 20% GSH with 38% SDF was an effective measure in reducing the tooth discoloration associated with SDF, without affecting caries arresting the efficiency of the latter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 1-year 6-month-old male child reported the chief complaint of pain and bleeding from the gums for the past 7 days in the upper left front tooth region. On intraoral examination, the patient had a crown-root fracture involving tooth 61 with gingival overgrowth almost covering the distal half of the fractured crown. A diagnosis of Ellis class IX fracture in relation to tooth 61 was made, and the planned treatment was extraction. However, since the child was precooperative, a simple chairside extraction was not possible. Thus, the extraction was carried out with oral sedation using triclofos on an outpatient basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discussion of query processing focuses on techniques developed by LEXIS-NEXIS for identifying key concepts, selecting synonyms and related terms, and detecting phrases that can be combined to increase recall and precision. Describes experiments in the ad hoc track of the sixth TREC (Text Retrieval Conference), including the use of ranking algorithms. (Author/LRW)