Complications associated with maxillary nerve block anaesthesia via the greater palatine canal

This paper documents the type, frequency and duration of complications associated with regional anaesthesia of the maxillary nerve via the greater palatine canal in a series of 101 patients treated in the Oral Surgery Department, United Dental Hospital of Sydney.     

Learning root debridement with curettes and power-driven instruments in vitro: the role of operator motivation and self-assessment

The influence of systematic dummy-head training with Periopolishe (PP, group A) and Gracey instruments (GRA, group B) on the effectiveness of root debridement was evaluated by Rühling et al., 2002 (9). Their results indicate that independent of the instrument used, untrained operators were only able to debride root surfaces at low levels of effectiveness. It was possible to increase effectiveness to a high level through systematic training in both groups. The aim of the present study was to assess the role of operator motivation and self-assessment on scaling effectiveness. Before baseline, operators were asked to answer a questionnaire rating the expectation of the instrument performance. Four groups of inexperienced operators (n = 11 each) received 10 weeks dummy-head training. In groups A (GRA) and B (PP), training was combined with a motivational programme. Groups C (GRA) and D (PP) received the same training, but no additional motivational programme. In a dummy-head, 10 test teeth were debrided and operators were asked to estimate their effectiveness of debridement at each test day. Effectiveness was calculated as percentage of debrided root area on 10 test teeth at different time points with an image analysis programme (NIH Image) and ANOVA. Two groups were compared using the Mann-Whitney U-test (unpaired) and the Wilcoxon signed ranks test (paired). Motivated groups (A and B) reached about 25% higher debridement results (p < 0.001) and were able to estimate their effectiveness more precisely compared to groups C and D. In the low motivation groups (C and D), overestimation of more than 20% was evident (p < 0.001). The questionnaires revealed underestimation of the GRA instruments and overestimation of PP instruments. Operator motivation and self-assessment greatly influence learning of effective root debridement.     

Dorsal root ganglia cocultured with macrophages: an in vitro model to study experimental demyelination

The present investigation introduces an in vitro model to study macrophage properties during demyelination. Rat dorsal root ganglia (DRG) were cultured for obtaining myelinated peripheral nerve fibers. These cultures were exposed to non-resident macrophages. In untreated control cultures, there was no indication of myelin removal by the added macrophages. DRG were exposed to enzymatically generated oxygen radicals using the xanthin/xanthin oxidase or the glucose/glucose oxidase system. Assessment of Schwann cell viability and ultrastructural morphology revealed different patterns of cell cytotoxicity and morphological changes in different experiments. High concentrations caused complete tissue necrosis of the DRG, while low concentrations did not affect either cell viability or ultrastructural morphology. Under intermediate experimental conditions, oxygen radicals caused non-lethal Schwann cell damage leading to Schwann cell retraction and myelin sheath rejection. Myelin lamellae were disrupted and decompacted. These changes were followed by a selective macrophage attack on myelin sheats, resulting in demyelination. Axons, Schwann cells and sensory ganglion cells survived this attack. The specificity of the oxygen radical effects was tested in experiments using the oxygen radical scavengers catalase and superoxide dismutase. Catalase prevented the described effects on cell morphology and subsequently blocked demyelination by non-resident macrophages.Supported by a grant from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) (Br 1274/1-1)     

椎管内原发性孤立性纤维性肿瘤临床病理观察(附2例报告)

目的探讨椎管内孤立性纤维性肿瘤的临床病理特征、诊断和鉴别诊断,以期提高对该肿瘤的诊断水平。方法复习2例椎管内原发性孤立性纤维性肿瘤的临床资料,并观察其组织学特征和免疫组化标记。结果2例患者男、女各1例,年龄分别为23岁和32岁,临床表现为局部神经压迫症状。MRI示椎管内髓外硬膜内占位。组织学特征为梭形、卵圆形细胞呈束状、波浪状或旋涡状排列,富于胶原纤维及伴有分支状薄壁血管。细胞未见异型性和核分裂像。免疫组化示瘤细胞Vimentin( ),CD34( ),CD99( ),Bcl-2( ),AACT(-),Actin(-),S-100(-),EMA(-),GFAP(-),CD68(-),CD117(-),SMA(-),NF(-)。结论椎管内原发性孤立性纤维性肿瘤是一种罕见的肿瘤,诊断主要依靠病理形态学及免疫组化,并应与椎管内的其他梭形细胞肿瘤鉴别。     

试尖对根管充填质量影响的研究

目的：了解试尖对侧向加压法根管充填质量的影响因素。方法：随机提取我院1998年10月至2004年12月所完成的根管充填病例的X线片1000例，按试尖与未试尖，分别对前牙、前磨牙和磨牙根管充填质量进行分析。结果：在482例未试尖根管充填病例中，前牙、前磨牙和磨牙的适充比例分别为46％、37％和23％，欠充为20％、29％和47％。超充为34％、33％和29％：在518例试尖病例中，前牙、前磨牙和磨牙的适充比例分别为68％、62％和51％，欠充为6％、12％和13％，超充为25％、24％和36％。结论：在侧向加压法根管充填中，试尖可明显改善充填质量。     

Asynchronous blepharospasm, facial and cervical dystonia, and bilateral asynchronous hemifacial spasm.

We present a patient with a facial movement disorder that has characteristics of both blepharospasm and bilateral asynchronous hemifacial spasm. Because of the increased incidence of blepharospasm in patients with hemifacial spasm, our patient's clinical presentation is probably not a chance occurrence, but rather a manifestation of some predisposition for these two movement disorders. This unusual constellation of signs and symptoms challenges the current diagnostic criteria and suggests that some of these facial movement disorders may lie on a spectrum, rather than represent distinct entities.     

少见和不典型椎管肿瘤的MRI诊断和误诊分析

目的：探讨少见和不典型椎管肿瘤MRI误诊原因，提高对该类疾病的认识。资料与方法：对16例少见和不典型椎管肿瘤进行回顾性手术病理对照分析。结果：8例实性神经鞘瘤，7例MRI误诊为脊膜瘤，1例误诊为室管膜瘤；2例神经母细胞瘤误诊为硬膜外淋巴瘤和脊膜瘤；2例海绵状血管瘤误诊为神经鞘瘤；3例血管畸形误诊为室管膜瘤、神经鞘瘤和硬膜外脓肿：1例血管球瘤误诊为硬膜外淋巴瘤。结论：在评价椎管肿瘤方面，MRI具有绝对优势，根据肿瘤的位置、信号强度和均匀度，再辅以对比剂的恰当应用，不仅对典型的肿瘤能做出正确诊断，对不典型的和少见的椎管肿瘤也可提供更多可靠的信息。     

Topical application of fluorides on teeth

Abstract Prevention of caries in exposed root surfaces constitutes an important clinical problem. It is thus important that clinicians involved with periodontology have an insight into fluoride prophylaxis. The understanding of the cariostatic mechanism of fluoride has improved during recent years. The aim of the present review is to give a short account of the present concept. Calcium fluoride appears to be the only product which is formed on enamel, dentin or cementum during brief topical treatments with fluoride or use of toothpaste containing fluoride. This calcium fluoride is stable in the oral environment: this is contrary to what was believed until recently. The calcium fluoride constitutes a pH-dependant reservoir of fluoride which releases fluoride when pH drops. The practical consequences of this concept is discussed.     

Differential effects of the pyrethroid tetramethrin on tetrodotoxin-sensitive and tetrodotoxin-resistant single sodium channels

The differential effects of the pyrethroid tetramethrin on tetrodotoxin-sensitive (TTX-S) and tetrodotoxin-resistant (TTX-R) single sodium channel currents in rat dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons were investigated using the outside-out configuration of patch-clamp technique. Channel conductances were 10.7 and 6.3 pS for TTX-S and TTX-R sodium channels, respectively, at a room temperature of 24–26°C. The single-channel current of TTX-S sodium channels at the test potential of −30 mV was −1.27 ± 0.25 pA, and was not changed after exposure to 10 μM tetramethrin (−1.28 ± 0.23 pA). The open time histogram of TTX-S single-channel currents could be fitted by a single exponential function with a time constant of 1.27 ms. After exposure to 10 μM tetramethrin, the open time histogram could be fitted by the sum of two exponential functions with time constants of 1.36 ms (τ_fast) and 5.73 ms (τ_low). The percentage of contribution of each component to the population was 62% for the fast component representing the normal channels and 38% for the slow component representing the tetramethrin modified channels. The amplitudc of TTX-R single-channel currents was slightly changed from −0.72 ± 0.14 to −0.83 ± 0.07 pA by 10 μM tetramethrin. The open time histogram of TTX-R single-channel currents could be fitted by a single exponential function with a time constant of 1.92 ms. In the presence of 10 μM tetramethrin, the open time histogram could be fitted by the sum of two exponential functions with time constants of 2.07 ms (τ_fast) and 9.75 ms (τ_slow). The percentage of contribution of each component was 15% for the fast, unmodified component and 85% for the slow, modified component. Differential effects of tetramethrin on the open time distribution of single sodium channel currents explains the differential sensitivity of TTX-S and TTX-R sodium channels.     

Concomitant intrusive luxation and root fracture of a central incisor - report of a case

Abstract A case of a 9-year-old boy who presented with intruded maxillary central incisors, one of which had also sustained a middle third root fracture, is reported. The root fracture was diagnosed after orthodontic extrusion was started, which resulted in separation of the apical and coronal fragments. The hypermobile coronal fragment was stabilised by passing a K file through a palatal access cavity into the root canal of the apical fragment. Orthodontic alignment was completed and the fractured incisors were restored with the file left in situ. At a 10-year follow-up, the incisors were clinically healthy and continued to satisfy aesthetic and functional demands.