Search

Background: It is important to adhere to infection control measures in dental procedures due to direct contact with blood and saliva. During the Coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, regular surveillance is imperative to ensure adherence to the standards. This study aimed to assess the level of adherence to infection control guidelines in specialized dental clinics in different working shifts. Materials and Methods: This study was assessed the level of adherence of 45 selected dental departments to three main guidelines released by (I) the Center for Disease Control (CDC), (II) Ministry of Health (MOH), and (III) armed forces organization (AFO) in three different working shift. The CDC checklist had eight domains. Thus, the items of each domain were individually scored, and considering the weighting coefficient of each item, the total score was calculated. The same procedure was carried out for the two remaining guidelines. Possible effect of working shifts and different specialties on infection control practice was also calculated. Results: The mean rate of adherence was 70.7% to the CDC, 93.8% to the MOH and 84.4% to the AFO guidelines indicating that adherence to the CDC guidelines was lower than the other two domestic guidelines. Individual assessment of each item revealed that hand hygiene (39%) and safe handling and disposal of sharp instruments (46%) acquired the lowest, and sterilization (79%) and safe injection (97%) acquired the highest score according to the CDC checklist. There was no relationship between working shifts and dental specialties regarding the adherence to infection control standards. Conclusion: Dental clinics had different performances regarding infection control guidelines. Further emphasis should be placed on hand hygiene and disposal of sharp instruments.

Introduction: Remineralizing agents may be used for the treatment of white spot lesions (WSLs) prior to bracket bonding. However, some concerns exist regarding their possible interference with the etching and bonding process, negatively affecting the bond strength. This study aimed to assess the effect of two remineralizing agents with/without CO2 laser irradiation on the mechanical properties and shear bond strength (SBS) of demineralized enamel to the orthodontic bracket. Methods: This study evaluated 60 premolar teeth in 6 groups (n=10) as follows: (I) sound enamel, (II) demineralized enamel, (III) Nupro remineralizing agent (N), (IV) Nupro and CO2 laser (N/L), (V) Teethmate remineralizing agent (T), and (VI) Teethmate and CO2 laser (T/L). The remineralizing agents were applied to the enamel surfaces after their immersion in a demineralizing solution for 5 days. In groups IV and VI, the CO2 laser with a 10.6 μm wavelength, 10 ms pulse duration, a 50 Hz repetition rate, 0.3 mm beam diameter and 0.7 W power was irradiated after applying the remineralizing agents. Brackets were bonded to the enamel surfaces and SBS was measured by a universal testing machine. For the assessment of enamel microhardness, 20 sections of molar teeth were divided into 4 groups (n=5; N, N/L, T, T/L) and their microhardness was measured before demineralization, after demineralization and after remineralization. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and energy-dispersive spectrometry (EDS) were carried out to assess the formation of hydroxyapatite. The atomic percentages of the C, O, P, Ca, Na, Si, F and Ca/P ratio were determined by EDS analysis. Results: The SBS significantly decreased in group II (PConclusion: Remineralizing agents can significantly improve the microhardness and structural properties of demineralized enamel to a level similar to that of sound enamel with no adverse effect on SBS to orthodontic brackets.

The surgery-first approach (SFA), which proceeds without presurgical orthodontic treatment, is assumed to shorten the treatment course because the direction of post-surgical orthodontic tooth movement conforms to the normal muscular forces. Moreover, the regional acceleratory phenomenon (RAP), evoked by surgery, helps in tooth alignment and compensation in a faster way. Although SFA has definite advantages, especially in class III individuals, there is a lack of data about its indications in patients with facial asymmetry. In this article, we reviewed recently published articles on the treatment of asymmetric patients using the SFA. Different aspects, including the three-dimensional assessment of stability in different planes, approaches for fabrication of a surgical splint, predictability of the results, skills needed for bimaxillary surgery, indications as the treatment of choice for condylar hyperplasia, and combination with distraction osteogenesis in candidates with severe asymmetries were found to be the main topics discussed for patients presenting with facial asymmetry

Introduction: Ceramic brackets have gained increasing popularity among dental clinicians and orthodontic patients but friction is a major concern when using them. This study sought to assess the effects of diode and Nd:YAG (neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet) laser irradiation on friction forces between two types of ceramic brackets and rhodium-coated esthetic archwires. Methods: Thirty polycrystalline and 30 poly-sapphire brackets were divided into 6 groups (n=10) as follows: (I) control polycrystalline brackets (no laser irradiation), (II) polycrystalline brackets subjected to diode laser irradiation, (III) polycrystalline brackets subjected to Nd:YAG laser irradiation, (IV) control poly-sapphire brackets (no laser irradiation), (V) poly-sapphire brackets subjected to diode laser irradiation, and (VI) poly-sapphire brackets subjected to Nd:YAG laser irradiation. The bracket slots were laser-irradiated on a custom-made table. Sixty 5-cm pieces of rhodium-coated archwires were used for the friction test in a universal testing machine at a speed of 10 mm/min. Ten brackets from the six groups underwent scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Results: The frictional resistance value of polycrystalline brackets was significantly higher than that of poly-sapphire brackets, irrespective of laser type (P0.05). Conclusion: It appears that diode and Nd:YAG laser irradiation cannot significantly decrease the friction. Future studies are warranted on different laser types with variable exposure.

Aim The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of different dentin pretreatments on the interfacial fracture toughness of a self-adhesive flowable composite to dentin compared with that of a conventional flowable composite. Methods Caries-free human molars were sectioned to expose the underlying dentin and were randomly divided into seven groups (N = 12) of dentin pretreatments bonded to a self-adhesive flowable composite (Vetise Flow, VF) or a conventional flowable composite (Clearfil Magesty Flow, CM). For VF; Control group (group C-VF), there was no pretreatment, self-etching primer (SP), oxalate dentin desensitizer (OX), and chlorhexidine gluconate (CH) were used. For CM; SP (group SP-CM), OX followed by SP (OX-CM), and CH followed by SP (CH-CM) were used. The interfacial fracture toughness was measured using a universal testing machine. Data were analyzed by Kruskal-Wallis test and analysis of variance. Results For VF, the fracture toughness of SP-VF was significantly higher than that of other groups. For CM, a significantly higher fracture toughness for SP-CM than that of OX-CM was found. For all dentin pretreatments, the fracture toughness values were significantly higher for CM compared with the VF. Conclusions The self-adhesive flowable composite had reduced bonding efficacy to dentin compared with that of the conventional flowable composite, regardless of the type of dentin pretreatment.

Self-ligating brackets are ligature-less brackets with the mechanical device built into them to close edgewise slot. It was claimed that self-ligating brackets (SLBs) have advantages over conventional-ligating brackets brackets (CLBs). The most claimed advantageous feature is reduced friction between the archwire and the bracket and full archwire engagement, resulting in faster alignment and space closure. Greater arch expansion with less incisor proclination, also faster ligation, reduced number of visits and less pain is mentioned as the beneficial features of SLBs in different articles. In this review article, we compared SLBs with CBs in aspect of resistance to sliding, speed of archwire ligation, quality of alignment and amount of pain during treatment base on the most recent articles published in literature. We concluded that although self-ligating brackets are proved to have some advantages over conventional brackets, but more studies are needed to discard doubts about using them, routinely.

Background The clinical use of composite resins has increased substantially over the past few years due to increased esthetic demands by patients, improvements in formulation, and simplification of bonding procedures. An alternative for preventing or reducing composite discoloration is using of composite surface sealant. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of surface sealant on color-stability of Nano-hybrid composites after polishing with one-step system. Material and Methods 56 disk-shaped specimens (10*2 mm) of a Nano-hybrid composite resin (VOCO,Cuxhaven,Germany) were prepared. The specimens were randomly divided in to 2 groups of 28 specimens each. The surfaces of specimens were polished with One-step system (Dimanto,VOCO,Germany ). one group of specimens assigned as control group and received no more surface treatment .surface sealant (PermaSeal,Ultradent,USA) was applied on the surface of specimens of the other group as experimental group .specimens were stored in Ringer’s solution for 24 hours at 37oC. The specimens were subjected to artificial aging with thermocycling method between coffee solution at 55°C and Ringer’s solution at 5°C for 3000 cycles. CIE L*a*b color coordinates were established using a spectrophotometer for each specimen. Statistical significance was set at p 3.3) and there was no significant difference between the two groups in ΔE. Conclusions Surface sealant was not effective in improving color stability. Key words:Surface-penetrating Sealant, Color Stability, Nano-hybrid composites.