Reconstruction of facial nerve injuries in children

Facial nerve trauma is uncommon in children, and many spontaneously recover some function; nonetheless, loss of facial nerve activity leads to functional impairment of ocular and oral sphincters and nasal orifice. In many cases, the impediment posed by facial asymmetry and reduced mimetic function more significantly affects the child's psychosocial interactions. As such, reconstruction of the facial nerve affords great benefits in quality of life. The therapeutic strategy is dependent on numerous factors, including the cause of facial nerve injury, the deficit, the prognosis for recovery, and the time elapsed since the injury. The options for treatment include a diverse range of surgical techniques including static lifts and slings, nerve repairs, nerve grafts and nerve transfers, regional, and microvascular free muscle transfer. We review our strategies for addressing facial nerve injuries in children.     

Clinical measurement of palatal tooth wear following coating by a resin sealing system

This study investigated the hypothesis that coating eroded teeth with a resin-based dentin bonding agent gave protection from tooth wear. Nineteen adults with palatal tooth wear exposing dentin were recruited, following referral by their general dental practitioner. Alternate teeth were coated with the resin adhesive, while the uncoated teeth acted as controls. Accurate impressions of the eroded teeth, onto which were cemented machined stainless steel discs to act as reference areas, were scanned with a non-contacting laser profilometer at 3, 6, 12 and 24 months. The mean thickness of resin at baseline application was 0.15 mm and, from 0 to 6 months, the rate of wear of the control teeth was higher than those covered with Seal & Protect. There was a statistically significant difference in "wear" measured between resin covered and control teeth at three months. The Inter Class Correlations (repeated measurements) for the step heights obtained for the original and repeat impressions was excellent at 0.99. This study shows that coating eroded teeth with a resin-based adhesive has the potential to prevent further tooth wear.     

Electrochemistry of some novel hole transport materials

Several charge transfer agents have been investigated using cyclic voltammetry. We report multistep mechanisms involving both chemical and electrochemical steps, for the three compounds in the study. The overall mechanism consists of two quasi-reversible electron transfer events, each followed by a chemical step, an ECEC mechanism. The first cyclic voltammetric wave for each compound was studied separately. After the second quasi-reversible electron transfer, a third oxidation wave is observed under conditions of high concentration and slower scan rates. This is attributed to direct oxidation of the product of the second chemical step, which is identified as oligomer formation. This hypothesis is consistent with the physically observed formation of a film on the surface of the electrode, presumably from electrooxidative oligomerization of the compound.     

Aggressive periodontitis among young Israeli army personnel

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of aggressive periodontitis among young Israeli army recruits and to evaluate its association with smoking habits and ethnic origin. METHODS: The study population consisted of 642 young army recruits (562 men [87.5%] and 80 women [12.5%]), aged 18 to 30 years (average: 19.6 +/- 1.6 years), who arrived at a military dental clinic for dental examinations between January and December 2004. Subjects filled out a questionnaire regarding their ethnic origin and family periodontal history, followed by radiographs and a clinical periodontal examination of four first molars and eight incisors. RESULTS: Aggressive periodontitis was found in 5.9% of the subjects (4.3% localized and 1.6% generalized). At least one site with a probing depth > or =5 mm was found in 20.1% of the subjects. A radiographic distance between crestal bone height and the cemento-enamel junction >3 mm was found in 43 (6.7%) subjects. Current smokers (39.9%) (P = 0.03) and subjects of North African origin (P <0.0001) correlated with a high prevalence of aggressive periodontitis. CONCLUSION: A relatively high prevalence of aggressive periodontitis was found in young Israeli army recruits, which was particularly associated with smoking and ethnic origin.     

Association of self-perceived periodontal status with oral hygiene, probing depth and alveolar bone level among young adults

The literature regarding self-reported dental/oral health data suggests that certain self-reported information is valid. The objective of this study was to show whether self-perceived periodontal conditions can predict actual periodontal status measured by probing depth and radiographic bone level. Participants completed a questionnaire regarding systemic health, education, smoking status, oral hygiene habits and self-perception of their own periodontal status using a visual analog scale (VAS); they were examined clinically and radiographically. More than two-thirds self-perceived their periodontal status as between 5 and 8 (out of 10). Smoking was related to radiographic bone loss, but not to the number of sites with PD > or = 5mm. Periodontal self-assessment correlated with the number of sites with PD > or = 5mm (p = 0.013), the number of sites with radiographic bone loss > or = 3 mm (p = 0.045), as well as with plaque index (p = 0.003) and daily flossing (p = 0.022). For a cutoff of 5 in the VAS score, sensitivity of 84% and specificity of 22% were found for high PD and sensitivity of 85% and specificity of 24% for bone loss.