The thermal insulating effects of five dental gloves

On occasions within the case reports of the various medico-legal defence organizations mention is made of burns to the oral soft tissues arising from contact with a heated instrument. Good cross infection control dictates that the dentist should be gloved whilst treating patients. No study has to date examined the thermal insulating effect of wearing dental procedure gloves although double gloving is known to blunt temperature perception. It was the purpose of this work to compare the degree of thermal insulation afforded by five makes of gloves (Biogel-D, Featherlite, Healthline, Microtouch and Tru-Touch). Measurement of temperature rises at 15, 30 and 60 s were made when a copper cylinder, at ambient room temperature, containing an iron/constantan thermocouple was placed upon a 2.35 kg aluminium block maintained at 50 degrees C by a thermostatically controlled electrical heating element. This measurement was initially performed, on 10 separate occasions, with the aluminium block and copper cylinder in direct contact (Control). This arrangement was then modified to investigate the effects of the various gloves by placing a circular mat of each glove material, harvested from the palm of each glove, between the block and cylinder. For each glove, 10 sets of observations were made using a different circular mat of glove material whose thickness had been previously determined. An analysis of variance identified highly significant (P<0.001) differences between the temperature rise of the control and experimental groups. The degree of thermal insulation afforded by each glove type appeared related to the glove thickness. This was confirmed by regression analysis but, although correlation coefficients of at least 0.91 were recorded, no single relationship best related these two quantities. Glove thermal insulating properties should be considered when selecting gloves for use in the surgery.     

An evaluation of five dental Internet portals

BACKGROUND: Dental Internet portals can offer dental practitioners "one-stop shopping" for many information needs. To date, no studies have described and evaluated dental portals' services and content. METHODS: The authors evaluated five dental portals from Jan. 22, 2001, to April 5, 2001, using 90 evaluation criteria in seven categories: general, services, miscellaneous, navigation and usability, site currency, site performance and responsiveness, and site integrity. Groups of three to four dental students rated each portal. The authors rated certain criteria using commercial monitoring and analysis services. RESULTS: The portals evaluated in this study provided a wide range of services such as product purchasing, online continuing education, practice management services, news, dental practice Web pages and event calendars. Portals differed in many characteristics, such as the number of services, product pricing, discussion forum activity, navigability, reaction time in response to questions and site responsiveness. CONCLUSIONS: The implementation and usefulness of each portal's services varied. No portal can fit all needs best, and many portals change rapidly owing to the volatility of the Internet industry. Dentists should be familiar with portals' services and alternatives for using them. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Portals can provide useful services to dental practitioners. Practitioners, however, should evaluate portals carefully to ensure that their needs are met optimally.     

An evaluation of complications following dental extractions using either sterile or clean gloves

This randomized prospective study aims to evaluate any differences in the postoperative infection rate from dental extraction using either sterile or clean surgical gloves and to determine any predisposing factors that may complicate socket healing. A total of 609 patients were randomly assigned to two groups, with the operators wearing either sterile or clean gloves in performing forcep extractions. 551 patients, who had 811 extractions performed, returned for the postoperative assessment visit. There was no difference in the incidence of an acutely inflamed socket, acutely infected socket and dry socket and also no significant predisposing factors found between the sterile and clean glove groups. The pre-operative diagnosis of caries, periodontal disease or retained root had a higher tendency of producing an acute-inflamed socket, whereas an acutely infected socket only developed in the cases of retained root. On the pain intensity level, an acutely inflamed socket caused mild to moderate pain, on acutely infected socket caused moderate to severe pain; and a dry socket caused severe pain in the majority of cases. The study concluded that the use of sterile surgical gloves does not offer an advantage over clean gloves in minimizing socket inflammation, infection, as well as a dry socket following dental extraction.     

Monomer permeability of disposable dental gloves

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: Studies have suggested that monomers may be able to permeate dental gloves. PURPOSE: This study examined the permeability of disposable dental gloves to 6 kinds of dental monomers. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The permeability of 6 kinds of dental monomers (methyl methacrylate [MMA], 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate [HEMA], triethyleneglycol methacrylate [TEGDMA], ethyleneglycol dimethacrylate [EGDMA], urethane dimethacrylate [UDMA], and Bis-glycidyl methacrylate [Bis-GMA]) through 5 kinds of dental gloves (latex, powder-free latex, coated latex, polychloroprene, and polyvinyl chloride) was examined for up to 180 minutes at 37 degrees C. The fingers of unused gloves without pin holes were cut and used in the experiments. Five specimens per test group were examined. One type of monomer was poured into each finger and dipped in ethanol. The ethanol for extraction was measured by a spectrophotometer at a wavelength of 210 nm, and the results were analyzed by analysis of variance and the Kruskal-Wallis test (P<.05). RESULTS: Four of the monomers tested (MMA, HEMA, TEGDMA, and EGDMA) permeated the gloves tested, whereas 2 (UDMA and Bis-GMA) did not (P>.01). The amount of monomers permeating the latex in 10 minutes was 0.8 +/- 0.6, 0.6 +/- 0.6, 0.07 +/- 0.1, 0.07 +/- 0.1, 0.1 +/- 0.1 and 0.06 +/- 0.1 microL/mL for MMA, HEMA, EGDMA, TEGDMA, UDMA, and Bis-GMA, respectively. The amount of permeated monomer was then increased in relation to the examination time, and in MMA and HEMA, permeation occurred rapidly during the initial 60 minutes at 3 times the 10-minute values, then continued gradually and linearly. The polyvinyl chloride glove showed the greatest monomer permeability. Two-way analysis of variance showed significant correlations between MMA, HEMA, EGDMA or TEGDMA and UDMA or Bis-GMA (P<.01). Statistical significance was shown between polyvinyl chloride and latex, powder-free latex, coated latex or polychloroprene (P<.01). However, there was no significant relation between any kind of dental monomer and any kind of dental glove. CONCLUSION: Within the limitations of this study, 4 of the monomers tested permeated all of the gloves tested.     

An evaluation of porous alumina ceramic dental implants.

The fabrication, characterization, and clinical results of porous rooted alumina dental implants in animals are presented. Failures of all implants occurred in less than six months and were attributed to the presence of microporosity on the crown and cervical portion of the implant which prevented the establishment of an effective biological seal between the oral cavity and the alveolus.     

An auxiliary evaluation of dental student management style.

An instrument has been developed to identify a dental student's leadership style. This instrument is used in the TEAM program at the University of Louisville as an aid in teaching dental students basic personnel management principles.     

Evaluation of the permeability of latex gloves for use in dental practice.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the permeability of the disposable, nonsterile gloves used in dental practice. A visual inspection and a water-filling test were carried out on seven different brands of gloves. Only five of the seven makes analyzed showed a value of pinch marks statistically not different from 2% (the limit recommended by the American Society for Testing and Materials). Analysis of the gloves with holes revealed that only four makes showed a value statistically not different from 2%. Finally, only three of the seven makes analyzed had a number of defects statistically not different from 2%. It may therefore be stated that the average quality level currently available should be improved to guarantee a safer and more effective protection against oral pathogens in dental practice.     

Microbial penetration of gloves following usage in routine dental procedures.

Unsterile polyvinyl, regular latex, and powder-free, modified latex examination gloves were evaluated following usage in routine dental procedures to assess their loss of integrity. Glove fingers were filled with a suspension of red-pigmented Serratia marcescens and drawn across the surface of tryptic soy agar plates. The appearance of red-pigmented Serratia colonies on the plates was used as an indication of glove defects. Unused, unwashed gloves taken at random from boxes served as controls. Of the gloves used in clinical procedures, 83.3% of the polyvinyl gloves, 35.0% of the regular latex gloves, and 7.5% of the powder-free, modified latex gloves allowed penetration of Serratia. Data thus suggest that advances in technology continue to develop a glove with more resistance than regular latex and vinyl gloves to routine clinical usage.     

Corrosion of five different dental amalgams.

The purpose of this study was to determine the gamma-2 presence in two South African amalgams (Amalgaphase and Silvalloy) and to compare this data with that obtained from tests on a well-known gamma-2 containing amalgam (Amalcap) and on two products with a reportedly low gamma-2 content (Dispersalloy and Permite-C). Samples were prepared according to standard ISO procedures in special sample holders. The rotating disc electrode technique (similar to the technique described by Gal-Or, Bruckenstein and Carter, 1978) was used to determine the presence of gamma-2. All samples were evaluated after one and again after nine days. Results indicated that only Dispersalloy displayed no reaction at day one; in other words no gamma-2 could be detected after 24 hours. All other amalgams showed a definite peak on the polarization plot between -200 and -250 mV indicating electrochemical activity (corrosion) in that region. On day nine, only Amalcap (the gamma-2 containing amalgam) still exhibited a reaction peak. Thorough clinical studies will have to be undertaken to evaluate the durability of the South African products.     

Treatment of a dental phobic with pronounced aversion to rubber gloves.

This case illustrates where excessive dental stress on the swallowing reflex caused retching then nausea and eventually dental phobia. Swallowing relaxation enabled normal variable function to be quickly restored, which allowed the phobia to be brought under control.