Rubem Beraldo dos Santos

Assessment of noise intensity in a dental teaching clinic

Objectives/Aims:The aim of this study is to evaluate if the duration of the consultation has influence on the intensity of noise in the dental clinic environment.Materials and Methods:The measurement was performed using the decibelmetre IDETEC 300. It was turned on among 10 dental equipment at basal time (BT) and in the first, second and third hours of activity by 10 times with 1-week interval.Results:The average noise was 67.39±1.11 dB for BT and 82.38±3.85, 80.99±4.78, and 70.06±6.95 dB for hours 1 to 3, respectively, representing a significant difference (ANOVA, F(3.36)=29.28, P<0.0001).Conclusion:In the first and second hours of clinical care there was more noise intensity in the work environment compared to BT and to the third time. Furthermore, the noise peaks became closer to the limit of 85 dB, which can threaten hearing loss with repeated exposure throughout a dentist’s career.Discussion:The findings presented here show how much the dental surgeon is exposed to the level of noise since his time of study.

Actinic cheilitis: proposition and reproducibility of a clinical criterion

Objectives/Aims:The actinic cheilitis (AC) is a precancerous lip lesion seen as a consequence of chronic sun exposure. Clinically, the border between the lip’s skin and the semimucosa could be blurred; in the more aggressive cases, leucoplakia and ulcers also represent its clinical feature. It seems that no clinical criterion is universally accepted for this disease yet. Therefore, this study was carried out to make a proposition of a clinical score to actinic cheilitis (Grade I starting from dryness of vermilion to endured ulcers representing Grade IV) and to assess its reproducibility.Materials and Methods:Fifty subjects were assessed, most of whom were male, Caucasian farmers, with an average age of 46.12 (18–74) years. The obtained data were analysed by means of descriptive statistics and by Kappa test to assess the inter-examiners and the clinical Golden-Pattern concordance (95% CI).Results:During calibration, 15 patients were examined three times a week by each examiner (4) until Kappa test observed k=0.8 or more. In the main experiment, the inter-examiner concordance was classified between good (k=0.779; P<0.05) and very good (k=0.925; P<0.05) from the 35 examined subjects. With the Golden-Pattern, it was considered very good (k=0.812; P<0.05 to k=0.925; P<0.05).Discussion:Four examiners with different experiences could strongly suggest that after adequate calibration, it could be well applied by examiners with as much experience as a dental student.Conclusions:The authors concluded that the proposed classification was easily applied and had a very good reproducibility.