Microleakage testing has been used to determine the possible clinical performance of a restorative material. Many microleakage testing materials have been developed and performed through the years. There has been no agreement as to which testing methodology would give the most accurate results. Attempts have been made to simulate the oral conditions and to give a more quantitative representation of micro leakage. The different micro leakage testing methodologies are presented in this paper.
The impaction of dental prostheses in either the airway or esophagus is an under-recognized problem which may result in severe morbidity or even mortality. The radio-opacity and the size of fixed and removable dental prostheses in an animal carcass was investigated. Prostheses were placed one at a time in the oro-laryngopharynx or in tho trachea and the esophagus. Lateral radiographs were taken for each prosthesis in site. The radio-opacity and size of the prostheses on the radiograph was graded. Most of the prostheses investigated were radio-opaque though the removable prostheses were more likely to be radiolucent and differ in size. In a symptomatic patient with a missing dental prosthesis, a negative chest or abdominal radiograph does not exclude impaction, inhalation or ingestion. Further evaluation with endoscopy or even computed tomography may be essential to reduce the possibility of severe morbidity or even mortality.
The main objective of this study was to assess knowledge on tooth bleaching among patients visiting dental health care centres in Klang Valley. A total of 200 patients were conveniently selected and interviewed using structured questionnaires. Among the 200 respondents, 75.5% knew about bleaching. There was no statistically significant difference in knowledge of bleaching in relation to age, gender, ethnic group and income level of the patients interviewed (p>0.05) but the education level had a significant influence (p=0.049). Respondents with tertiary education had better knowledge about tooth bleaching as compared to those respondents without tertiary education. The sources of information about bleaching came from advertisements on electronic media (65.5%), articles in newspapers and magazines (14.7%), dentists (10.9%) and family and friends (8.8%). Out of the 75.5% of respondents who knew about bleaching, 18.2% had tried bleaching their teeth using either over-the-counter products or had undergone professional bleaching treatment. The commonest reasons cited for bleaching treatment were to remove coffee and tea stains (70%) and cigarette stains (16.7%). 73.3% of these patients were satisfied with the results achieved after bleaching. However, the majority of these patients (59.6%) were unsure of the safety of these bleaching products/procedures. In conclusion, 75.5% of patients interviewed in this study knew that bleaching is one of the treatment options available to improve dental aesthetics but only 18.2% have tried bleaching their teeth. Their main source of knowledge about bleaching came from advertisements on electronic media.
Introduction: Owing to the variety of materials and methods employed, comparison of the results and findings from bonding studies is difficult. Until recently, several types of teeth have been used in published research papers as a substrate in orthodontic bonding research including bovine incisors, fresh and rebonded human premolars. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to compare the shear bond strength of an adhesive bonded to different tooth surfaces (human premolar, bovine incisor and rebonded human premolar). Methods: Two groups of thirty premolar teeth and one group of bovine incisors had brackets attached in a standardized manner using Transbond XT (3M Unitek). The adhesive was cured using conventional halogen light and a specially designed tool to standardize the distance between the light curing tip and the adhesive. The debonding force was measured using Instron universal testing machine. ANOVA and Post Hoc Dunnett C test were performed to determine any significant difference among groups (p