Kosovka Obradovic-Djuricic

In vitro radiographic detection of cement overhangs on cement-retained implant restorations.

PURPOSE The aim of this in vitro study was to investigate the potential of digital and conventional radiography to detect small amounts of residual dental luting cements around implant abutments. MATERIALS AND METHODS Artificial cement and aluminum overhangs in varying thicknesses, heights, and depths were radiographed adjacent to implant restorations with a radiovisiography sensor. Five trained evaluators were asked to identify the smallest depth of overhang that could be detected on radiographs. RESULTS For detection of cement overhangs adjacent to implant abutments, a luting agent must have greater radiopacity than what is recommended by relevant International Organization for Standardization directives. To detect a 0.1-mm-thick portion of excess cement adjacent to an implant abutment, the cement should have a radiopacity of at least 1.7 mm of aluminum for high-resolution digital radiographs and 2.2 mm of aluminum for film-based radiographs. Two-way analysis of variance revealed that the thickness of the specimens, type of imaging detector, and type of cement all affected the radiopacity threshold for artificial cement excess (P < .05). The height of the specimens and the surrounding structures were not statistically significant factors in cement detection. CONCLUSIONS Digital radiography offers better possibilities for visualization of cement excess than conventional radiography.

Introduction to verification of the GOHAI instrument for measuring the oral health-related quality of life in patients with dentures using the Serbian preliminary version: A pilot study

BACKGROUND/AIM Quality of life related to health should be seen as a multidimensional concept that, in addition to the physical symptoms associated with a disease and treatment, should include physical, psychological and social functioning of a person. The primary objective of this study was to use the Serbian preliminary version of the Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI) questionnaire in oder to examine the consistency, reliability and stability, as well as an introduction to the verification tool. METHODS The GOHAI questionnaire with 6-level Likert scale, translated into Serbian, including the relevant oral health characteristics (oral hygiene, required dentures, number of teeth extracted), was filled by five specialists in prosthodontics for 30 randomly selected respondents, before and after the dental prosthetic treatment. Subsequently, in order to measure the reliability of the questionnaire, 27 patients were re-interviewed. RESULTS The value of Cronbachs Alpha Coefficient (Crα) before the treatment was 0.878, and after the treatment it was 0.788 confirming the internal consistency and stability of the questionnaire. The validity of discriminatory properties of the GOHAI was confirmed by the Spearmans correlation coefficient (r), which was highly significantly associated with oral health characteristics, confirming the high reliability of the measurement. The results of test-retest analysis measured by the individual Pearsons correlation coefficient (r) were in the range of 0.34-0.97, and for the total score r was 0.927, while the Kappa coefficient was 0.63. The correlation analysis of the GOHAI score before the treatment showed that for 10 questions there was a statistically significant correlation of the score with the answers to the questions, and for 6 questions Spearmans r was ≥ 0.7. After the treatment a highly significant correlation of the GOHAI was shown with the answers to 10 questions, while for 5 questions the Spearmans r was > 0.6. The GOHAI average score before the treatment was 19.44 ± 11.12, and after the treatment 2.77 ± 3.83, where the lower value indicates better quality of life. CONCLUSION The results of this pilot study confirm internal consistency and stability of the Serbian preliminary version of the GOHAI questionnaire and the causal relation between the quality of life and the characteristics of oral health of the patients with dentures. Accordingly, instrument verification is recommended.

Influence of Dental Restorations on Oxidative Stress in Gingival Crevicular Fluid

Biocompatibility of dental materials (DM) can be evaluated by gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) oxidative stress (OS) status. The goal of the study was to ascertain influence of dental caries degree, teeth position, and type and amount of applied DM on GCF OS profile. For this purpose, we tested six DMs that were sealed in one session: amalgam (Amg), composites: Tetric EvoCeram and Beautifil (BF), phosphate cement—zinc phosphate and polycarboxylate cements—zinc polycarboxylate cements, and glass ionomer cement (GIC). The study included 88 dental outpatients. Follow-up was scheduled at 7th and 30th day. Oxidative stress parameters (malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH) levels and total superoxide dismutase (tSOD) activity) were measured before (0th day) and after the treatment (7th and 30th day) in GCF. Control teeth were mirror-positioned healthy teeth. The DM accomplished the following effects (listed in descending order): increase of GSH in GCF was realized by ZPoC > BF > GIC > Amg; tSOD activity increase by ZPoC > BF > Amg; and MDA decrease by ZPoC > ZPhC > Amg > TEC. Dental caries provokes insignificant rise of OS in GCF. ZPoC and ZPhC showed the highest antioxidant effect, contrary to GIC. Restorations with antioxidant properties may reduce gum diseases initiated by caries lesion, what is of great clinical relevance in dentistry.

Health safety multidisciplinary approach to the study of oral health quality of life

The aim of this paper is to promote the necessity of a multidisciplinary approach to the study of oral health and oral health quality of life. When it comes to oral health, multidisciplinary approach requires the study of oral health from a medical and dental point of view, but also from a social and socio-medical aspects, with full appreciation of the importance of psycho-social problems caused by oral diseases. It is obvious that there is a professional need to define a multidimensional model for monitoring of dental patients, which will enable the provision of relevant indicators for the assessment of oral health problems, and hence for planning and programming of measures in the field of dentistry, from the aspect of public health, and socio-medical standpoint.