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Objective: Syringe irrigation, commonly used for delivering sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) during root canal treatment, requires careful handling to prevent NaOCl extrusion into periapical tissues. This randomised controlled in vitro study aimed to quantify syringe plunger forces exerted by dental undergraduates and to assess the impact of an educational intervention on adherence to safe irrigant delivery parameters. Methods: Fifty-two undergraduates performed syringe irrigation at three intervals: baseline (T1), after two weeks (T2), and after 12 weeks (T3). At T1, irrigation was conducted without prior educational intervention, while at T2, it was preceded by an intervention. The educational intervention involved a short video highlighting safe irrigation practices, including plunger force and time recommendations for syringe irrigation. At T3, the undergraduates were randomly allocated to two groups: One received a repeated intervention, while the other did not. Syringe irrigation was performed on a 3D-printed tooth using two side-vented cannulas: one of 25 Gauge (G) and another of 30 G. A syringe equipped with a force sensor recorded the plunger forces. Based on earlier research, plunger forces exceeding 10 Newtons (N) for the 25 G cannula and 40 N for the 30 G cannula were deemed critical. The data were subjected to descriptive statistical analyses. Results: Overall, the mean of maximum values of plunger forces remained under 10 N for the 25 G and below 20 N for the 30 G cannulas, with only a few measurements exceeding 40 N. Instances of surpassing the critical plunger force threshold were more common with the 25 G side-vented cannula than with the 30 G variant. At T3, the group that received the repeated educational intervention exhibited lower average maximum plunger forces for both cannulas than the group that did not receive the intervention. Conclusion: Integrating plunger force measurements with targeted educational interventions presents an effective approach for instructing undergraduates in the proper techniques of syringe irrigation. The findings suggest that, generally, undergraduates do not apply excessive plunger forces that could risk apical irrigant extrusion. Implementing repeated educational interventions decreased the plunger forces exerted by undergraduates, underscoring its effectiveness in fostering safe endodontic irrigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Numerous studies support a bidirectional association between rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a chronic autoimmune degenerative inflammatory joint disease, and periodontitis, a chronic inflammatory disease caused by the immune reaction to bacteria organized in biofilms. RA and periodontitis are both multifactorial chronic inflammatory diseases that share common modifiable and non‐modifiable risk factors. There is no cure for RA; treatment is based on lifestyle modifications and a variety of medications: nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (NSAID), glucocorticoids, and disease‐modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs, e.g., conventional synthetic DMARDs [csDMARDs]; biological DMARDs [bDMARD] and targeted synthetic DMARDs). There are molecular pathways of inflammation that are common to both RA and periodontitis. Thus, there is a potential effect of RA treatments on periodontitis. This systematic review aims to assess the impact of antirheumatic agents on periodontal conditions of patients suffering from both RA and periodontitis. Methods: PubMed/MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, and Embase online databases were systematically explored, and a manual search was performed to identify relevant studies published until January 2023. This review is registered in the PROSPERO database (CRD42023409006). Results: A total of 2827 articles were identified, and 35 fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The included studies generally show a consensus that, at normal dosage, NSAID and corticosteroids have negligible impact on periodontium. Similarly, csDMARD alone or in combination with other csDMARD demonstrated no adverse effect on periodontium. Monotherapy with bDMARD had a positive effect on periodontal pocket depths and gingival inflammation in the longitudinal studies up to 6 months but showed negligible effect on the periodontium in interventional studies with a longer follow‐up (9 months and 15.1 months). However, the combination of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‐α inhibitors + methotrexate (MTX) was associated with a rise in gingival inflammation. Due to the considerable heterogeneity of the study designs, a meta‐analysis could not reasonably be performed. Conclusion: Within the limitations of the available studies, there is evidence to suggest that bDMARD monotherapy may improve the periodontal condition of RA patients with periodontal disease to a certain extent; the concomitant medication of TNF inhibitor + MTX could worsen gingival inflammation. More data are required to understand the impact of RA therapies on periodontal health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Evidence on the impact of oral piercings on periodontal conditions is scarce. Thus, the aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the influence of oral piercings on periodontal health. Materials and Methods: A systematic literature search was performed for studies published by 6 June 2023, using three electronic databases and a hand search. Clinical trials including ≥10 patients wearing ≥1 oral piercing and presenting data on probing pocket depths (PPDs) were considered. Primary outcomes were PPD, and secondary outcomes included clinical attachment loss (CAL), gingival recession, bleeding on probing (BOP), and plaque score (PI). A synthesis of results, using a vote‐counting method, was applied. Results: From 131 titles identified, eight studies, published between 2007 and 2022, were included. Out of these were six cross‐sectional studies and two case series. A total of 236 lip piercings and 236 tongue piercings in overall 408 patients were analyzed. In patients with tongue piercings, teeth adjacent to the piercing showed increased PPD (3 of 5 studies), more CAL (3 of 4 studies), more gingival recessions (4 of 4 studies) and a higher BOP (2 of 3 studies) compared with control teeth. In patients with lip piercings, teeth adjacent to the piercing demonstrated more gingival recessions (3 of 4 studies) compared with control teeth. Time since piercing placement was associated with localized periodontal destruction in patients with tongue and/or lip piercings (4 of 7 studies). Conclusions: The available evidence from eight studies suggests negative effects of tongue piercings on several periodontal health parameters of adjacent teeth, while gingival recessions were frequently detected in patients with lip piercings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When dental trauma occurs, initial management on the day of injury has a determining influence on healing and thus on the prognosis of the affected teeth. Improper, delayed, and/or inconsistent treatment often has far-reaching consequences that cannot be reversed later, even with great effort, especially in children and adolescents. In most cases, it is unrealistic or impossible for the patient to get to a specialized dental trauma facility in time. Therefore, it is every dental practitioner's duty to provide adequate initial diagnosis and treatment of dental trauma at their dental practice, even if they do not have routine experience in this area. This article serves as a guide to the initial management of dental trauma. It utilizes a three-tiered approach to illustrate which initial management measures are absolutely essential (MUSTS), which should ideally be performed (SHOULDS), and which are not top priorities but can be performed (CANS) if the necessary time, training and experience, and equipment and facilities are available. For further treatment, dental practitioners should realistically assess the limits of their ability to treat complex dental trauma cases and, if necessary, they should refer the patient to a specialist or specialized treatment center. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To assess the effect of different surface pretreatments on the shear bond strength of resin luting material on CAD-CAM composite resins and a polymer-infiltrated ceramic network (PICN). Materials and Methods: CAD-CAM materials (Brilliant Crios, Cerasmart, Lava Ultimate, VITA Enamic) were subjected to the following pretreatments: no pretreatment; grit blasting; grit blasting + silane; HF etching + silane; tribochemical silica coating + silane; manufacturers' specifications; manufacturers' specifications + silane; manufacturers' specifications using only the manufacturers' products including their recommended luting materials (DuoCem, G-Cem LinkForce, RelyX Ultimate, RelyX Unicem 2). Specimens were luted with resin luting material according to the Swiss shear test design. After six months of water storage, shear bond tests were performed. Data were analyzed with multiple linear regression models and nested models (α = 0.05). Results: Low bond strengths were obtained without pretreatment (Brilliant Crios 3.01 ± 0.54 MPa, Cerasmart 2.66 ± 0.47 MPa, Lava Ultimate 1.76 ± 0.26 MPa, VITA Enamic 2.83 ± 0.63 MPa). Grit blasting achieved high bond strengths across all materials (Brilliant Crios 5.17 ± 0.77 MPa, Cerasmart 4.27 ± 0.50 MPa, Lava Ultimate 3.98 ± 0.54 MPa, VITA Enamic 4.97 ± 0.90 MPa). Silane application tended to decrease bond strengths on CADCAM composite resins. Following the manufacturers' specifications and using their recommended materials achieved the highest bond strengths for all materials except Cerasmart (Brilliant Crios 5.75 ± 0.91 MPa, Cerasmart 2.82 ± 0.28 MPa, Lava Ultimate 6.63 ± 0.97 MPa, VITA Enamic 7.09 ± 0.77 MPa). Conclusion: Grit blasting and the application of a suitable material primer is a useful pretreatment for the bonding of CAD-CAM composite resins. Silane application on CAD-CAM composite resins may entail drawbacks, possibly owing to the scarcity of silanizable fillers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]