Faculty Bibliography

There are numerous materials that are used as temporaries for inlay and onlay preparations while the permanent restoration is being made. This article looks at 2 types of temporary materials that were placed into inlay or onlay preparations by student dentists: a methylmethacrylate acrylic material (DuraLay Inlay Pattern Resin) and a visible light-cured (VLC) periodontal surgical dressing (Barricaid). The resilience and effectiveness of both products are compared and evaluated for use as temporary restorations in inlay or onlay preparations. The study found that use of the VLC periodontal dressing material offers a novel technique for a quick and efficient method to provide a temporary restoration for various inlay and onlay preparations.

Background: This study investigated postoperative hypersensitivity at 1, 4, and 13 weeks following resin-based composite (RBC) restorations of occlusal caries and its relationship with prepreparation (baseline) sensitivity and preparation-related variables, including dentin caries activity, cavity dimension and volume, and lesion radiographic visibility. Methods: Investigators in a practice-based research network enrolled patients with occlusal caries deemed to require operative treatment. The 45 dental practitioners then placed restorations using their preferred techniques. Complete baseline data on 665 restorations from 602 patients included patient-reported sensitivity (pre-preparation); dentists' ranking of dentin caries on opening the enamel; measurements of preparation depth, width, and length; and patient demographics. At 1, 4, and 13 weeks post-treatment, patients anonymously reported any sensitivity to hot and cold stimuli, sweets, clenching, and chewing, as well as quality-of-life indicators related to the restorations. Results: At baseline, 30% of teeth had reported sensitivities of >/=3 on an anchored scale from 0 to 10 points and were designated as appreciable hypersensitivity (AH). Appreciable hypersensitivity at baseline was related to lesion radiographic visibility and patient age but not to dentin caries activity ranking, type of posterior tooth, gender, or race/ethnicity. Patients reported on 491 restorations at 4 weeks post-treatment-18% had AH. Of those who had AH, 39% (34 of 87) had no baseline AH. With restoration, 63% of teeth with baseline AH no longer had AH. Changes in AH were not associated with preparation depth, length, width, or volume. Conclusion: Patient-reported occlusal caries tooth sensitivity was high at baseline and eliminated by RBC restoration in 63% of cases; however, new sensitivity after restoration was reported in 10% of lesions that had none at pretreatment. Sensitivity was not related to preparation dimensions, volume, tooth type, or patient demographics (other than age) in these early lesions.

When faced with the presence of peg laterals in adolescent patients, the problem is, how do you correct the laterals in order to obtain an esthetic smile result? This case study describes a procedure to produce an esthetic smile for an adolescent patient. The procedure represented in this case report is only a temporary way to create an esthetic smile until the patient becomes an adult, when a more permanent solution addressing the peg laterals can be accomplished.

Posterior permanent teeth with carious lesions radiographically extending no further than halfway into dentin (N = 565) were restored by 38 dentists in a practice-based research network, using a resin-based composite. Preoperative and 1-, 4-, and 13-week posttreatment hypersensitivity was recorded with an 11-point visual analog scale that was completed anonymously by participants. The analyses determined whether any correlation or association existed among several variables, including degree of carious activity; cavity extent; application of antimicrobial or desensitizing agents; application of liner, dentin-bonding agent and resin-based composite employed; and composite placement method. Three results were fairly unexpected: Only 36% of lesions were ranked as caries-active, 31% of teeth had appreciable preoperative hypersensitivity, and 16% of teeth with no preoperative hypersensitivity had appreciable hypersensitivity at 1 week posttreatment. Preoperative hypersensitivity was correlated with lesion visibility on radiographs but not with dentin caries activity (ranked on opening enamel), preparation depth, or preparation volume. Accrual to the study continues, and conclusions regarding other relationships await 13-week results.

In dentistry, three 'non-precious' alloy groups predominate: chromium-cobalt, nickel-chromium, and nickel-chromiumberyllium. These alloys have little or no precious metals, but exhibit low flexibility and achieve high porcelain-to-metal bond strengths when handled properly. The most common of the 'non-precious' metal alloys utilize nickel; unfortunately, nickel is the most common of all potential metal contact allergens. This article describes a case involving a patient with a sensitivity reaction to the metal component of a ceramo-metal crown and the procedure that was used to rectify the problem

This article describes a time-tested method for avoiding common problems encountered while pouring crown and bridge impressions