Journal of oral science最新文献

Mandibular deviation and rotation following mandibulectomy can significantly impact oral function and quality of life. The postoperative course of a 57-year-old patient who underwent mandibulectomy for oral cancer and findings over 11 years of follow-up observation to monitor changes in the mandibular position are described here. Based on the observations, it is important to raise awareness regarding the necessity of continued monitoring of mandible position and regular adjustments of prostheses for patients who have undergone mandibulectomy.

Purpose: Using multivariate analysis, this study investigated the effectiveness of maxillofacial prosthetic treatment in relation to oral health-related quality of life (OHR-QoL), masticatory ability (food intake status score and gum-jelly test score) and related factors in patients who had undergone surgery for head and neck tumors.

Methods: The study cohort comprised 112 patients who underwent surgical resection and prosthetic treatment among 224 patients with head and neck tumors seen at the Maxillofacial Prosthetics Clinic of Tohoku University Hospital in a 2-year period. Correlations between OHR-QoL, food intake status score, and gum-jelly test score (criterion variables), and age, sex, maxillary defect, tongue/soft tissue defect, reconstructive surgery, and chemoradiotherapy (explanatory variables) were investigated, and the data were examined statistically.

Results: Maxillary defect, tongue and soft palate tissue defect, and chemoradiotherapy were identified as factors that hindered the effectiveness of maxillofacial prosthetic treatment for improvement of the OHR-QoL, food intake status score, and gum-jelly test score. On the other hand, reconstructive surgery was a factor that facilitated the improvement of OHR-QoL and masticatory ability with maxillofacial prosthetic treatment.

Conclusion: The factors identified to be related to the success or failure of maxillofacial prosthetic treatment suggest the importance of combining prosthetic intervention with surgical reconstruction.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze oral functions (MOF: maximum occlusal force; MTP: maximum tongue pressure; and MF: masticatory function) in Eichner A subjects aged from 20 to 49 years.

Methods: The data of three oral functions in Eichner A patients aged from 20 to 49 years were extracted. The mean values, subjects with lower values than the thresholds, and the differences among ages, and between sexes were investigated retrospectively.

Results: Although the mean values of these oral functions in 183 subjects were higher than the thresholds, the numbers of the subjects with lower values than the thresholds were 30 in MTP, 19 in MOF, and only three in MF. No significant effects of ages on all oral functions were identified and all functions in males were significantly higher than those in females. The subjects whose two functions were lower than the thresholds were nine females, eight of whom were associated with malalignment.

Conclusion: Although the mean values of oral functions were higher than the thresholds, some patients showed lower values, especially in MOF and MTP, even though they were unaware of any inconvenience. Patients with malalignment might be associated with declined oral functions.

Purpose: This study aimed to compare awake bruxism events between subjective and objective evaluations using a questionnaire survey and a modified portable electromyography (EMG) device, and to examine correlations between sleep quality and awake bruxism.

Methods: The Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and awareness of awake bruxism as clarified via interviews were conducted on 34 participants as subjective evaluations. The EMG device was used to record left temporal muscle activity for 6.5 h (from 09:00 to 15:30) and the number of awake bruxism episodes per hour. The participants were then classified into “bruxer” and “non-bruxer” groups based on the number of awake bruxism episodes.

Results: The mean number of awake bruxism episodes per hour was 33.6 ± 21.4, and 23% of the participants who reported having no awareness of awake bruxism in the interviews were defined as “bruxers” in the objective evaluations. In the bruxer group, positive correlations were found between the number of awake bruxism episodes and both ESS and PSQI scores.

Conclusion: These findings suggest that objective measurements using a portable EMG device can increase the diagnostic accuracy for awake bruxism, and that sleep quality is a major risk factor for awake bruxism.

Purpose: To assess the sensitivity and the effect of topical lidocaine on the tongue by quantitative sensory testing, comparing healthy middle-aged female subjects with healthy young female subjects.

Methods: Sixteen healthy female subjects including eight in their fifties and eight in their twenties participated. They participated in two sessions at a 2-week interval in randomized order: lidocaine (experimental session) or placebo gel (placebo session) was applied on the tongue tip for 5min. The following parameters were taken on the tongue tip before and after application of the gel in each session: tactile detection threshold (TDT), filament-prick pain detection threshold (FPT), and numerical rating scale (NRS).

Results: An increase of both TDT and FPT and a decrease of NRS were found after lidocaine application in both middle-aged and young female subjects. In the elder females, an increase of TDT, FPT, and NRS was also found after placebo gel application. However, the changes were not statistically significant, except for FPT in middle-aged subjects.

Conclusion: The reactions found after lidocaine application in middle-aged female subjects could be due to habituation as well as to the post-application effect of placebo gel. Placebo-induced changes appeared more pronounced in the elder females.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to measure residual monomer, cell adhesion, and cell viability of 3-dimensional printable permanent resin (PR), hybrid ceramic block (HCB), and indirect composite (IC) produced with additive, subtractive, and conventional techniques.

Methods: Five 8 × 8 × 2 mm³ samples of each material were prepared for each experiment. In a 24-h period, monomer release was analyzed with high-performance liquid chromatography, and cell viability and adhesion were evaluated with the water-soluble tetrazolium salt test. Data were analyzed with IBM SPSS Statistics 26.0 statistical software, and results were regarded as significant at α = 0.05.

Results: Monomer release (triethylene glycol dimethacrylate, urethane dimethacrylate, and Bisphenol A glycerolate dimethacrylate) was significantly higher in the IC group. Mean cell viability was significantly lower in the HCB group than in the IC group.

Conclusion: All monomers in the tested materials were released at rates that were below clinical significance. Cell adhesion rates in the groups were similar. Cytotoxic response was classified as minor in the HCB and PR groups and non-cytotoxic in the IC group.

Purpose: This study investigated the efficacy of various antiseptics for disinfection of rubber dams used during endodontic treatment, the duration of disinfection effectiveness, and the disinfection protocol employed by dental schools in Thailand.

Methods: The efficacy of 10% povidone-iodine, 1.5% tincture iodine and 70% ethyl alcohol in eliminating Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis) and Candida albicans (C. albicans) on the rubber dam was investigated. Time duration of disinfection was evaluated at 0, 30, 60, and 120 min. The two-step disinfection method adopted at Thai dental school was examined. Independent t-test or Kruskal-Wallis followed by a Dunnett's test was used for statistical analysis.

Results: Among the three antiseptics, 10% povidone and 1.5% tincture iodine eradicated the microorganisms completely, whereas 70% ethyl alcohol did not achieve a statistically significant decrease. The duration of sterilization effectiveness was 120 min for 10% povidone-iodine, but bacteria were eliminated only at 0 min by 1.5% tincture iodine. The results also indicated that the two-step protocol scarcely eliminated the microorganisms.

Conclusion: The best antiseptic for rubber dam disinfection is 10% povidone-iodine, which remains effective for 120 min. The two-step protocol typically practiced in Thai dental schools needs to be updated. The use of 10% povidone-iodine alone is adequate for complete eradication of E. faecalis and C. albicans.

Various neuropathies of the cranil nerves can accompany trigeminal neuropathic pain attributed to space-occupying lesions. In this case report, the patient presented with persistent intraoral pain and numbness on the right side of the face. Cranial nerve examination revealed dysfunctional eye movements, diplopia, and mechanical hyposensitivity in the mandibular region. The patient was diagnosed with neuropathy due to intracranial lesions and referred to the Department of Neurosurgery and Otorhinolaryngology. The patient was suspected of having malignant lymphoma and is currently undergoing neurosurgical intervention. This article discusses the importance of the examination of the cranial nerve for patients with persistent pain in the trigeminal nerve distribution.

Purpose: After tooth extraction, preservation of the alveolar ridge by socket grafting attenuates bone resorption. Runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2) and SP7/Osterix (OSX) are transcription factors playing an important role in osteoblast differentiation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of carbonate apatite (CO₃Ap) on osteoblast-related gene and protein expression after socket grafting.

Methods: Alveolar bone and new bone after CO₃Ap grafting were collected at the time of implant placement. Levels of mRNA for RUNX2, SP7/OSX, bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2), BMP7 and platelet derived growth factor B were determined by real-time PCR. Immunostaining was performed using antibodies against RUNX2, SP7/OSX, vimentin and cytokeratin. To evaluate bone resorption rates, cone-beam CT (CBCT) imaging was performed after socket grafting and before implant placement.

Results: CBCT imaging showed that the average degree of bone resorption at the CO₃Ap graft site was 7.15 ± 3.79%. At the graft sites, levels of SP7/OSX and BMP2 mRNA were significantly increased. Replacement of CO₃Ap with osteoid was evident histologically, and in the osteoid osteoblast-like cells were stained for SP7/OSX and vimentin.

Conclusion: These results show that gene expression of both SP7/OSX and BMP2 can be induced by CO₃Ap, suggesting that increased expression of SP7/OSX and vimentin may be involved in the BMP pathway.

Purpose: To evaluate the image quality of vertical dual-exposure panoramic radiography (PR), which merges two PR images taken at different focus heights to reduce ghost images of cervical vertebrae (CV) and intervertebral spaces (IVS) in the incisor region.

Methods: PR images of an aluminum block, a CV phantom and a human head phantom were taken at 0 mm and merged with and subtracted from PR images taken at other heights (0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 mm) to create new images, e.g., Merg_{0 + 15 mm} and Sub_{0 - 10 mm}. The subtracted images were analyzed subjectively according to the uniformity on the line profile. Merged images were evaluated subjectively by six raters to determine the influence of the ghost images.

Results: Objective evaluation revealed a positional shift in the ghost images according to the height of the focus for both phantoms. In the subjective evaluation, the normal PR (Merg_{0 + 0 mm}) showed the worst score, indicating strong influence of CV and IVS ghost images.

Conclusion: The vertical dual-exposure PR method, which merges PR images taken at the normal position and a higher X-ray focus, can reduce CV and IVS ghost images in the incisor region.