Human pulpal response to direct pulp capping with an adhesive system

Purpose: To evaluate clinically and microscopically the human pulp response when directly capped with an adhesive system or calcium hydroxide over short (9-12 days) and long (53-204 days) experimental periods. Materials and Methods: Fifty-one sound human premolars scheduled for orthodontic extraction, had their pulp horns gently exposed with a diamond point. Debris in the pulp wound was washed out with a sterile saline solution. The pulps were then capped with either an adhesive system (Scotchbond Multi-Purpose Plus) or calcium hydroxide. All teeth were subsequently restored with resin-based composite (Z-100) according to the manufacturer's instructions. After the experimental periods, the teeth were extracted and processed for light microscopic examination. Results: Short-term: the pulp tissue capped with SBMP-P exhibited dilated and congested blood vessels associated with a mo;derate inflammatory response and blanching of pulp cell nuclei. Long-term: no evidence of healing and bridge formation was observed. A persistent mild inflammatory pulp response was present. Micro-abscesses were detected in three cases associated with bacterial infiltration. Calcium hydroxide stimulated early pulp repair and dentin bridging which extended into the longest period.

Tissue response to experimental dental cements prepared from a modified power glass composition

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Antimicrobial activity of disinfectant agents incorporated into type IV dental stone

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Scanning electron microscopy evaluation of the hard tissue barrier after pulp capping with calcium hydroxide, mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) or ProRoot MTA

The aim of this study was to investigate the morphology and localisation of calcium hydroxide- and mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA)-induced hard tissue barriers after pulpotomy in dogs' teeth. Pulpotomies were performed on maxillary and mandibular premolars of five dogs. The teeth were assigned into three groups according to the pulp-capping agent used. The pulpal wounds were capped with calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)(2) - control), MTA or ProRoot MTA, and the cavities were restored with amalgam. After a 90-day follow-up period, the dogs were euthanised and the teeth were examined under scanning electron microscopy (SEM). An image-processing and analysis software was used to delimit the perimeters of the root canal area and the hard tissue barrier to determine the percentage of root canal obliteration. SEM data were used to assess the morphology, localisation and extension of the reparative hard tissue barriers. ProRoot MTA was statistically different from MTA and Ca(OH)(2) (P < 0.05) regarding tissue barrier morphology. Localisation data showed that ProRoot MTA was significantly different from Ca(OH)(2) (P < 0.05) and similar to MTA (P > 0.01; P > 0.05). No statistically significant difference (P > 0.01; P > 0.05) was observed between MTA and Ca(OH)(2). A larger number of complete (centroperipheral) hard tissue barriers with predominance of dentinal tubules was observed to the ProRoot MTA when compared with the Ca(OH)(2) group.

Stimulation of IL-6 Cytokines in Fibroblasts by Toll-like Receptors 2

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Development and application of methods for determination of residual monomer in dental acrylic resins using high performance liquid chromatography

Two high-performance liquid chromatographic methods for determination of residual monomer in dental acrylic resins are described. Monomers were detected by their UV absorbance at 230 nm, on a Nucleosil((R)) C-18 (5 mu m particle size, 100 angstrom pore size, 15 x 0.46 cm i.d.) column. The separation was performed using acetonitrile-water (55:45 v/v) containing 0.01% triethylamine (TEA) for methyl methacrylate and butyl methacrylate, and acetonitrile-water (60:40 v/v) containing 0.01% TEA for isobutyl methacrylate and 1,6-hexanediol dimethacrylate as mobile phases, at a flow rate of 0.8 mL/min. Good linear relationships were obtained in the concentration range 5.0-80.0 mu g/mL for methyl methacrylate, 10.0-160.0 mu g/mL for butyl methacrylate, 50.0-500.0 mu g/mL for isobutyl methacrylate and 2.5-180.0 mu g/mL for 1,6-hexanediol dimethacrylate. Adequate assay for intra- and inter-day precision and accuracy was observed during the validation process. An extraction procedure to remove residual monomer from the acrylic resins was also established. Residual monomer was obtained from broken specimens of acrylic disks using methanol as extraction solvent for 2 h in an ice-bath. The developed methods and the extraction procedure were applied to dental acrylic resins, tested with or without post-polymerization treatments, and proved to be accurate and precise for the determination of residual monomer content of the materials evaluated. Copyright (c) 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A quantitative and qualitative evaluation of reports of clinical trials published in six Brazilian dental journals indexed in the Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO)

Introduction: Open access publishing is becoming increasingly popular within the biomedical sciences. SciELO, the Scientific Electronic Library Online, is a digital library covering a selected collection of Brazilian scientific journals many of which provide open access to full-text articles. This library includes a number of dental journals some of which may include reports of clinical trials in English, Portuguese and/or Spanish. Thus, SciELO could play an important role as a source of evidence for dental healthcare interventions especially if it yields a sizeable number of high quality reports. Objective: The aim of this study was to identify reports of clinical trials by handsearching of dental journals that are accessible through SciELO, and to assess the overall quality of these reports. Material and methods: Electronic versions of six Brazilian dental Journals indexed in SciELO were handsearched at www.scielo.br in September 2008. Reports of clinical trials were identified and classified as controlled clinical trials (CCTs - prospective, experimental studies comparing 2 or more healthcare interventions in human beings) or randomized controlled trials (RCTs - a random allocation method is clearly reported), according to Cochrane eligibility criteria. Criteria to assess methodological quality included: method of randomization, concealment of treatment allocation, blinded outcome assessment, handling of withdrawals and losses and whether an intention-to-treat analysis had been carried out. Results: The search retrieved 33 CCTs and 43 RCTs. A majority of the reports provided no description of either the method of randomization (75.3%) or concealment of the allocation sequence (84.2%). Participants and outcome assessors were reported as blinded in only 31.2% of the reports. Withdrawals and losses were only clearly described in 6.5% of the reports and none mentioned an intention-to-treat analysis or any similar procedure. Conclusions: The results of this study indicate that a substantial number of reports of trials and systematic reviews are available in the dental journals listed in SciELO, and that these could provide valuable evidence for clinical decision making. However, it is clear that the quality of a number of these reports is of some concern and that improvement in the conduct and reporting of these trials could be achieved if authors adhered to internationally accepted guidelines, e. g. the CONSORT statement.

Diametral tensile strength and film thickness of an experimental dental luting agent derived from castor oil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Effect of Incorporation of Disinfectant Solutions on Setting Time, Linear Dimensional Stability, and Detail Reproduction in Dental Stone Casts

Purpose: The aim of this paper was to analyze the influence of incorporation of disinfectants during the cast die stone-setting time. Setting time, linear dimensional stability, and reproduction details on casts were measured.Materials and Methods: Die stone type IV specimens with disinfection solutions (sodium hypochlorite 1%, glutaraldehyde 2%, chlorhexidine 2%) were incorporated in two concentrations (50%, 100%). The detail reproduction, dimensional stability, and setting time were tested in accordance with ADA recommendations.Results: Disinfecting solutions promoted an increase in setting time compared to control; sodium hypochlorite was responsible for the highest setting time. The addition of undiluted sodium hypochlorite 1.0% led to contraction during setting, but the groups with 50% diluted sodium hypochlorite 1.0% and undiluted chlorhexidine 2.0% resulted in intermediate values compared to the other groups, thus matching the control. The others did not demonstrate any effect on expansion. For detail reproduction, it was observed that the control group presented results similar to the others, except those where sodium hypochlorite was added.Conclusions The addition of sodium hypochlorite in both dilutions significantly altered, negatively, all the evaluated properties. But the addition of glutaraldehyde and chlorhexidine did not promote any significant alterations in the evaluated properties.

Cytotoxicity of monomers, plasticizer and degradation by-products released from dental hard chairside reline resins

Objectives. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cytotoxic effect of the monomers isobutyl methacrylate (IBMA) and 1,6-hexanediol dimethacrylate (1,6-HDMA), the plasticizer di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP), and the degradation by-products methacrylic acid (MA) and benzoic acid (BA) on L929 cells. Based on previous investigations on the release of these compounds from hard chairside reline resins, a range of concentrations (mu mol/L) were selected for the cytotoxicity tests (IBMA, 5.491406.57; 1,6-HDMA, 1.2239.32; DBP, 1.12143.8; MA, 9.07581; BA, 3.19409).Methods. Cytotoxic effects were assessed using MTT and 3H-thymidine assays after the cells had been exposed to the test compounds at the given concentrations for 24h. Cytotoxicity was rated based on cell viability relative to controls (cells exposed to medium without test substances).Results. DNA synthesis activity was inhibited by all compounds. Mitochondrial dehydrogenase activity decreased in cells treated with monomers, plasticizer and MA by-product, whereas no cytotoxic effect was observed on contact with BA at the majority of concentrations tested. The ranges of suppression for 3H-thymidine assay were: IBMA, 2595%; 1,6-HDMA, 9598%; DBP, 4098%; MA, 9799%; BA, 5471%. For MTT assay, the ranges of suppression were: IBMA, 096%; 1,6-HDMA, 2689%; DBP, 1780%; MA, 5266%; BA, 027%. The 3H-thymidine assay was more sensitive than the MTT assay.Significance. This study evaluated the cytotoxicity of a wide range of concentrations of monomers (IBMA and 1,6-HDMA), plasticizer (DBP) and degradation by-products (MA and BA), including those expected to be released from hard chairside reline resins. The differences observed in the cytotoxicity of these compounds, along with other properties, may assist the dental practitioners in the selection of reline materials with improved service life performance and low risk of adverse reactions in patients who wear relined dentures.

Fracture strength of incisor crowns after intracoronal bleaching with sodium percarbonate

Objectives: To compare the fracture resistance of bovine teeth after intracoronal bleaching with sodium percarbonate (SPC) or sodium perborate (SP) mixed with water or 20% hydrogen peroxide (HP). Materials and methods: Fifty extracted bovine teeth were divided into four experimental groups (G1G4) and one control (n = 10) after endodontic treatment. Following root canal obturation, a glass ionomer barrier was placed at the cementoenamel junction. After that, the pulp chambers were filled with: G1 SP with water; G2 SP with 20% HP; G3 SPC with water; and G4 SPC with 20% HP. No bleaching agent was used in the control group. Coronal access cavities were sealed with glass ionomer and specimens were immersed in artificial saliva. The bleaching agents were replaced after 7 days, and teeth were kept in artificial saliva for an additional 7 days, after which the pastes were removed and the coronal access cavities were restored with glass ionomer. Crowns were subjected to compressive load at a cross head speed of 0.5 mm min-1 applied at 135 degrees to the long axis of the root by an EMIC DL2000 testing machine, until coronal fracture. Data were statistically analysed by anova and Tukey test. Results: No differences in fracture resistance were observed between the experimental groups (P > 0.05). However, all experimental groups presented lower fracture resistance than the control group (P < 0.05). Conclusion: SPC and SP led to equal reduction on fracture resistance of dental crowns, regardless of being mixed with water or 20% HP.

Evaluation of mechanical properties of dental feldsphatic porcelains for metal and zirconia core

Studies has been reported a significant incidence of chipping of the feldspathic porcelain veneer in zirconia-based restorations. The purpose of this study was to compare the three-point flexural strength (MPa), Weibull parameters, Vickers hardness (VHN) and Vickers indentation fracture toughness (MPa/mm(1/2)) in feldspatic porcelains for metal and for zirconia frameworks. Bar specimens were made with the porcelains e.MaxCeram (EM) and VitaVM9 (V9) for zirconia core, and Duceragold (DG) and VitaVMK95 (VK) for metal core (n = 15). Kruskal-Wallis and Dun test were used for statistical analysis. There was no significant difference (p=0.31) among the porcelains in the flexural strength (Median = 73.2; 74.6; 74.5; 74.4). Weibull calculation presented highest reliability for VK (10.8) followed by em (7.1), V9 (5.7) and DG (5.6). Vickers hardness test showed that em (536.3), V9 (579.9) and VK (522.1) had no difference and DG (489.6) had the lowest value (p<.001). The highest fracture toughness was to VK (1.77), DG (1.58) had an intermediate value while V9 (1.33) and em (1.18) had the lowest values (p<.001). Despite of the suitable flexural strength, reliability and high hardness, the porcelains used to zirconia-based fixed dental prostheses showed lower fracture toughness values.

Location of the mandibular foramen according to the amount of dental alveoli

The aim of this study was to analyze the anatomotopographic location of the mandibular foramen in the right and left ramus, and to verify the influence of the amount of dental alveoli on the foramen position. Thirty-five adult dry human mandibles of Araraquara Dental School, UNESP - São Paulo State University were assessed, with or without dental alveoli. Measurements were obtained, using a ruler and a digital caliper. The following distances were measured: Fl - distance between the lowest point of the mandibular incisure and the mandibular foramen (F point); FB - distance between the mandibular base and F point; FP - distance between the posterior margin of the ramus and F point; FA - distance between the anterior margin of the ramus and F point; FT - distance between the apex of the retromolar trigone and F point. The Mann-Whitney test was used to compare each measurement according to hemi-arch, and the Kruskal-Wallis test was used to analyze the influence of the presence of alveoli on the measures. For multiple comparison, Dunn's method was used. There was no statistically significant difference in the location of the mandibular foramen when compared to the right and left hemi-arches. The amount of dental alveoli influenced, significantly, only on FA and FP distances. Thus, it was concluded that the right and left mandibular ramus showed symmetry in the location of the mandibular foramen, and the amount of alveoli influenced on the distances of the anterior and posterior margins of the mandibular rams, in relation to the mandibular foramen.