Dental health of children in Australia 1977–1982

A bstract — An extensive programme was begun in 1977 to assess annually the dental health of school children aged four to thirteen years examined by the school dental services in each State and Territory.
In the period 1977 to 1982, the number of DIMF teeth per child declined by 41.4 per cent while the oral hygiene index was reduced by 21 per cent. Significant factors in addition to fluoridated water and fluoridated dentifrices have contributed to the decline in the prevalence of dental caries, however, the current data indicate that the decline in the annual increment of dental caries has ceased.     

Actinomyces spp. in supragingival plaque of ethnic Chinese preschool children with and without active dental caries

Very limited molecular epidemiological data are available on the role of Actinomyces spp. in the pathogenesis of caries in the primary dentition. Therefore, we investigated their distribution in supragingival plaque of ethnic Chinese preschool children from Singapore and Hong Kong, either with or without active caries. Plaque samples were taken from intact interproximal enamel areas using dental floss. Bacterial genomic DNA of each sample was extracted and variable regions of 16S ribosomal DNA amplified and labelled with digoxigenin. Oligonucleotide probes specific for Actinomyces bovis, Actinomyces gerencseriae, Actinomyces israelii, Actinomyces meyeri, Actinomyces odontolyticus, catalase-negative Actinomyces naeslundii (genospecies 1 and 2) and catalase-positive Actinomyces naeslundii genospecies 2 (previously Actinomyces viscosus serotype II) were used to detect these species using Southern hybridization with a Minislot and Miniblotter system. A. odontolyticus, A. gerencseriae and A. meyeri were detected with similar frequency in both Singapore and Hong Kong samples or in those with and without active caries. However, the prevalence of A. naeslundii was significantly different in the two locales (p<0.05). A. odontolyticus (88.7%), A. gerencseriae (56.6%) and A. naeslundii (50.9%) were detected in a majority of the samples and the positive hybridization signals of A. gerencseriae in the caries-active group were stronger than from the caries-free group. A. bovis and A. israelii were undetectable in any of the samples. These data imply that A. odontolyticus, A. naeslundii and A. gerencseriae may play an important role in supragingival plaque formation on primary teeth in ethnic Chinese, with others such as A. meyeri contributing.     

Adverse reactions associated with the use of eugenol in dentistry

Eugenol is a material commonly used in dentistry with few reported side effects. It is not however, a bio-friendly material when in contact with oral soft tissues. It can produce both local irritative and cytotoxic effects, as well as hypersensitivity reactions. Here we report on two cases of adverse local reaction to eugenol, contained within a temporary restorative material and a temporary cementation material respectively, which illustrate these problems.     

Juvenile hyaline fibromatosis complicated with oral squamous cell carcinoma: a case report

A 45-year-old woman was referred because of swelling of the palate, gingival hypertrophy, and multiple cutaneous tumors. She had many cutaneous tumors, which covered most of her body, and she also displayed contractures of the major joints. Maxillary and mandibular gingival hypertrophy, malposition of the teeth, and swelling of the hard palate were the oral findings. The histopathologic features of the cutaneous and gingival tumors were consistent with hyaline fibromatosis, and the swelling of the palate proved to be a squamous cell carcinoma. The carcinoma was treated with tegafur/uracil and seemed to respond to this therapy.     

Wear behavior of new composite restoratives

This study investigated the wear resistance of recently introduced nanofill (Filtek Supreme [FS], 3M-ESPE) and ormocer (Admira [AM], Voco) composites and compared their wear characteristics to microfill (Filtek A110 [AO], 3M-ESPE]), minifill (Esthet X [EX], Dentsply; Filtek Z250 [ZT], 3M-ESPE) and polyacid-modified (Dyract AP [DY], Dentsply) composites. Six specimens were made for each material. The specimens were conditioned for one week in distilled water at 37 degrees C and subjected to wear testing at 20 MPa contact stress against SS304 counter-bodies using reciprocal compression-sliding wear instrumentation. Distilled water was used as lubricant. Wear depth (microm) was measured using profilometry every 5,000 cycles up to 20,000 cycles. The results were analyzed using ANOVA/Scheffe's test (p<0.05). Wear of the materials was cycle and fatigue dependent. Although no significance in wear was observed between materials after 5,000 cycles of wear testing, significant differences were observed at 10,000 cycles and greater. After 20,000 cycles of wear testing, ranking was as follows: ZT > DY >AM > AO > FS > EX. Wear ranged from 39.90 microm for EX to 113.32 microm for ZT. The wear resistance of ZT and DY was significantly lower than AO, FS and EX In addition, ZT experienced significantly more wear than AM. Under the conditions of this in-vitro study, the wear resistance of nanofill and ormocer composites was comparable or superior to polyacid-modified, microfill and minifill composites.     

Oral candidosis--frequency, treatment and relapse tendency in a group of psychiatric inpatients.

Candida fungi are frequent in the oral cavity, especially in denture wearers. The infection can cause serious complications in elderly or debilitated subject. The present experimental group consisted of 81 female psychiatric patients (35--91 years of age). In addition to a clinical examination, smears from the palate, tongue and dentures (when present) were cultured on Nickerson's medium. Patients with a positive clinical and/or microbiological diagnosis were treated for 35 days with one of two gels containing 1% chlorhexidine. Following the treatment period patients with full or partial dentures took part in a maintenance program, in which the dentures were either soaked in a 0.2% chlorhexidine solution or mechanically cleaned every day for a period of 35 days. Two thirds of the patients showed clinical signs of oral candidosis or had positive cultures preexperimentally. The treatment with chlorhexidine gels resulted in negative cultures in 71% and negative clinical diagnosis gels resulted in negative cultures in 71% and negative clinical diagnosis in 96% of the patients. Mucosal soreness occurred during the treatment period in 8 out of 28 patients wearing full dentures. Xerostomia was not influenced by the chlorhexidine treatment. The relapse tendency was low during the post-treatment period. No clearcut differences between the two maintenance methods could be detected.     

Mandibulo-facial aspects of the cervical cystic lymphangioma (cystic hygroma).

Sixteen cases of cervical cystic lymphangioma are reported; all but two were present at birth. Intra-oral extensions were detected in five and three of these caused macroglossia resulting in partial respiratory obstruction. Mal-development of the jaws and consequent dental malocclusion is a possible complication of the condition. In planning the treatment of such patients, maxillo-facial surgeons and orthodontists should be consulted at an early stage. The treatment of choice is complete excision, but where vital structures are involved repeated sub-total excisions are advocated.     

Direction of the mental canal in human mandibles

The direction of the mental canal was calculated in the horizontal and vertical planes with a view to aiding anaesthetic techniques. Based on our data, it is advisable to give the following approximate inclinations to the needle when penetrating the mental canal in anaesthetic procedures: 55 degrees postero-anteriorly in relation to a horizontal plane and 40 degrees latero-medially in relation to a horizontal line tangent to the body of the mandible at the level of the mental foramen.