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The purpose of this study was to measure select properties of four temporary filling materials suitable for use in treating minor dental emergencies in the field. Specimens were made of each of the following four materials: intermediate restorative material, Fuji IX GP Fast, Ketac-Molar Quick, and the forward-deployable dental dressing recently developed by the Naval Institute for Dental and Biomedical Research. Twenty-fours hours after specimen fabrication, five properties (hardness, compressive strength, diametral tensile strength, flexural strength, and flexural modulus) were measured for each of the materials and compared using analysis of variance and Tukey-Kramer tests to determine whether significant differences existed among the materials (alpha = 0.05). Data analysis revealed that significant differences existed among the products for all of the properties tested. The forward-deployable dental dressing's properties compared favorable with and, in many cases exceeded those of intermediate restorative material, Fuji IX GP Fast, and Ketac-Molar Aplicap Quick. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dental officers and technicians must have reliable, durable, well-performing field dental equipment to enable them to provide dental care to deployed troops in operational environments. Unfortunately, no organized program exists to test such equipment before its purchase and use in the field. This article presents the results of a project conducted by the Naval Institute for Dental and Biomedical Research and the Air Force Dental Evaluation and Consultation Service to evaluate commercially available field dental equipment through laboratory testing and clinical-user evaluations in theater. The purpose of this 2-year project was to identify the best-performing and most cost-effective field dental equipment for possible future procurement. Initial laboratory testing was performed at the Naval Institute for Dental and Biomedical Research, and the equipment was then shipped to Kuwait for in-theater environmental and clinical-user testing. A seven-member scientific team of military dental officers and technicians was deployed for 1 month to perform in-theater testing under regional environmental conditions and to coordinate clinical-user evaluations. The testing provided beneficial results by identifying equipment that performed properly and equipment that exhibited shortcomings serious enough to render it inadequate for operational use. It is recommended that the project serve as a model for future testing and evaluation of medical/dental equipment by all of the military services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This laboratory is developing fluorescence polarization (FP) methods as diagnostic tools to assay antibodies in saliva and other oral fluids. FP provides quantitation of molecular interaction, such as antigen-antibody binding, of a single, small-volume sample in real time and without prior separation of components such as blood cells. There is potential for wide-spread use of these homogeneous assays as noninvasive tests, especially as more compact, simplified fluorescence polarimeters become available. FP tests can be designed that are applicable to a wide spectrum of microorganisms and may be used in a clinic or far-forward deployed setting to aid in diagnosis of disease or verification of vaccination. Rapid salivary diagnostics, including FP, have been identified by the Office of Naval Research as requirements for future naval capabilities in basic and applied medical research for warfighter protection in casualty prevention. The applications of FP salivary diagnostics for determination of tuberculosis exposure and of anthrax immunization status are discussed as examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluated the ability of a chairside filtration system to remove particulate-based mercury (Hg) from dental-unit wastewater. Prototypes of the chairside filtration system were designed and fabricated using reusable filter chambers with disposable filter elements. The system was installed in five dental operatories utilizing filter elements with nominal pore sizes of 50 microm, 15 microm, 1 microm, 0.5 microm, or with no system installed (control). Daily chairside wastewater samples were collected on ten consecutive days from each room and brought to the laboratory for processing. After processing the wastewater samples, Hg concentrations were determined with cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry (USEPA method 7470A). Filter systems were exchanged after ten samples were collected so that all five of the configurations were evaluated in each room (with assignment order balanced by a Latin Square). The numbers of surfaces of amalgam placed and removed per day were tracked in each room. In part two, new filter systems with the 0.5 microm filter elements were installed in the five dental operatories and vacuum levels at the high-velocity evacuation cannula tip were measured with a vacuum gauge. In part three of the study, the chairside filtration system utilizing 0.5 microm and 15 microm filter elements was evaluated utilizing the ISO 11143 testing protocol, a laboratory test of amalgam separator efficiency utilizing amalgam samples of known particle size distribution. Mean Hg per chair per day (no filter installed) was 1087.38 mg (SD = 993.92 mg). Mean Hg per chair per day for the 50 microm, 15 microm, 1 microm, 0.5 microm filter configurations was 79.13 mg (SD = 71.40 mg), 23.55 mg (SD = 23.25 mg), 17.68 mg (SD = 17.35 mg), and 4.25 mg (SD = 6.35 mg), respectively (n = 50 for all groups). Calculated removal efficiencies from the clinical samples were 92.7%, 97.8%, 98.4%, and 99.6%, respectively. ANCOVA on data from the four filter groups, with amalgam-surfaces-removed included as a significant covariate, was statistically significant (P < 0.0001). Tukey post-hoc comparisons (P < or = 0.05) indicated that the 50 microm filter removed less mercury than all other filters and the 0.5 microm removed more mercury than the 50 microm and 15 microm filters. Chairside vacuum measured on chairs with the 0.5 microm filters installed were minimally affected at the time of installation, and then gradually diminished as the filters became loaded with debris. The 0.5 microm configuration passed the ISO 11143 testing protocol at 96.8% efficiency.

This laboratory is developing fluorescence polarization (FP) methods as diagnostic tools to assay antibodies in saliva and other oral fluids. FP provides quantitation of molecular interaction, such as antigen-antibody binding, of a single, small-volume sample in real time and without prior separation of components such as blood cells. There is potential for wide-spread use of these homogeneous assays as noninvasive tests, especially as more compact, simplified fluorescence polarimeters become available. FP tests can be designed that are applicable to a wide spectrum of microorganisms and may be used in a clinic or far-forward deployed setting to aid in diagnosis of disease or verification of vaccination. Rapid salivary diagnostics, including FP, have been identified by the Office of Naval Research as requirements for future naval capabilities in basic and applied medical research for warfighter protection in casualty prevention. The applications of FP salivary diagnostics for determination of tuberculosis exposure and of anthrax immunization status are discussed as examples.

Biofilms are well-organized communities of cooperating microorganisms that can include bacteria, protozoa, diatoms, and fungi. Surveys of dental unit waterlines (DUWLs) indicate that biofilm formation is a universal problem and that environmental and human-derived opportunistic pathogens can be cultured consistently from biofilms retrieved from DUWLs and other dental devices. Although the health risks presented by waterline bacterial colonization have yet to be adequately addressed, professional and ethical considerations indicate that steps should be taken to improve the quality of DUWLs. To address these concerns, the Council on Scientific Affairs of the ADA recently published a list of products cleared by the FDA to control dental waterline contamination. The goal of this article is to increase the awareness of potential health risks posed by biofilm formation and provide information on techniques and devices designed to control the microbial contamination of DUWLs.