Frontiers in Dentistry
Volume:13 Issue: 1, Jan 2016

Leptin is a hormone-like protein produced by the adipose tissue. It plays an important role in protection of host against inflammation and infection. Some studies have reported changes in leptin levels in the gingival crevicular fluid (GCF), saliva and blood serum of patients with periodontal disease compared to healthy individuals. The aim of the present study was to compare the salivary leptin levels in patients with advanced periodontitis and healthy individuals.
In this case-control study, the salivary samples of healthy individuals and patients with advanced periodontitis with clinical attachment loss >5mm were obtained using a standardized method and the leptin levels were measured in the salivary samples by means of ELISA. The effects of the periodontal status and sex on the salivary leptin levels of both groups were statistically analyzed by two-way ANOVA.
The means ± standard deviation (SD) of salivary leptin levels in healthy subjects and patients with advanced periodontitis were 34.27±6.88 and 17.87±5.89 pg/mL, respectively. Statistical analysis showed that the effect of sex on the salivary leptin levels was not significant (P=0.91), while the effect of advanced periodontitis on the salivary leptin levels was significant compared to healthy individuals (P In patients with advanced periodontitis, the salivary leptin levels were significantly lower compared to healthy individuals. Thus, assessment of salivary leptin can be done as a non-invasive and simple method to determine the susceptibility of patients to advanced periodontitis.

Pain is an unpleasant outcome of endodontic treatment that can be unbearable to patients. Instrumentation techniques may affect the frequency and intensity of post-endodontic pain. This study aimed to compare single visit post endodontic pain using Mtwo (NiTi) rotary and hand K-file instruments.
In this randomized controlled trial, 60 teeth with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis in 53 patients were selected and randomly assigned into two groups of 30 teeth. In group A, the root canals were prepared with Mtwo (NiTi) rotary instruments. In group B, the root canals were prepared with hand K-file instruments. Pain assessment was implemented using visual analog scale (VAS) at four, eight, 12 and 24 hours after treatment. The acquired data were analyzed using chi-square, Mann-Whitney U and Student’s t-test (P Patients treated with rotary instruments experienced significantly less post-endodontic pain than those treated with hand instruments (P The use of Mtwo (NiTi) rotary instruments in root canal preparation contributed to lower incidence of postoperative pain than hand K-files.

The present study was designed to evaluate the changes in saliva properties and oral microbial flora in patients undergoing fixed orthodontic treatment.
Two important saliva properties namely the salivary flow rate and pH as well as oral microbial flora were assessed in 30 orthodontic patients before starting fixed orthodontic treatment and after six, 12 and 18 weeks of treatment. Selective media, Sabouraud dextrose agar, Mitis salivarius agar and Rogosa agar were used for isolation of Candida albicans, Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus acidophilus, respectively. Statistical analysis was performed using Friedman and Dunn’s tests. P After six, 12 and 18 weeks of commencing fixed orthodontic treatment, the total colony counts of Candida albicans, Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus acidophilus showed a significant increase. The saliva pH decreased during the orthodontic treatment (P Fixed orthodontic treatment causes major changes in the saliva properties. The changes in oral microflora and saliva properties show the importance of caries preventive measures during orthodontic treatment.

Geographic tongue or migratory glossitis is an inflammatory disorder with unknown etiology. Considering the accompanied burning pain, taste dysfunction, and lack of definite cure, it is important to treat this condition symptomatically. The objective of the current study was to compare the efficacy of a combination of 0.05% retinoic acid and 0.1% triamcinolone acetonide with that of triamcinolone acetonide alone for treatment of symptomatic geographic tongue.
This randomized controlled double-blind clinical trial was performed on 28 patients with symptomatic geographic tongue, who were referred to two dental clinics. Participants were randomly divided into two groups and treated with triamcinolone alone or retinoic acid plus triamcinolone for 10 days. Patients were assessed for the level of pain, burning sensation and size of lesion at the beginning and at the end of the study. Participants were followed up for two months after cessation of treatment (at the end of each month). SPSS 11 was applied to compare the two therapeutic modalities.
Twenty-eight participants with a mean age of 40 years were evaluated including Seven (25%) males and 21(75%) females. There was a positive family history of geographic tongue in 21 patients. Despite the diminished pain and burning sensation as well as smaller size of lesions following treatment (P 0.05). No side effect was reported.
The combination of triamcinolone and retinoic acid was not more effective than triamcinolone alone for symptomatic treatment of geographic tongue.

Micromechanical retention of resin cements to alloys is an important factor affecting the longevity of metal base restorations. This study aimed to compare the bond strength and etching pattern of a newly introduced experimental etchant gel namely Nano Met Etch with those of conventional surface treatment techniques for nickel-chrome (Ni-Cr) and high noble alloys.
A total of 120 discs (8×10×15 mm) were cast with Ni-Cr (n=20), high noble BegoStar (n=50) and gold coin alloys (n=50). Their Surfaces were ground with abrasive papers. Ni-Cr specimens received sandblasting and etching. High noble alloy specimens (begoStar and gold coin) received sandblasting, sandblasting-alloy primer, etching, etch-alloy primer and alloy primer alone. Cylindrical specimens of Panavia were bonded to surfaces using Tygon tubes. Specimens were subjected to micro-shear bond strength testing after storing at 37°C for 24 hours.
In gold coin group, the highest bond strength was achieved after sandblasting (25.82±1.37MPa, P For the Ni-Cr alloy, etching was more efficient than sandblasting but for the high noble alloys, higher Au content increased the efficacy of etching.

bjectives: Instruction of local anesthesia injection in an important part of dental education curricula. This study was performed to compare dental students’ preference with regard to tactile or visual determination of injection site for an inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) in children.
This crossover randomized clinical trial was conducted on dental students of Zahedan Dental School who took the first practical course of pediatric dentistry in the first academic semester of 2013-14 (n=42). They were randomly divided into two groups. During the first phase, group I was instructed to find the needle insertion point for an IANB via tactile method and group II was instructed to do it visually. In the second phase, the groups received instructions for the alternate technique. Both instructions were done using live demonstrations by the same instructor and immediately after instruction the learners practiced an IANB using the taught method. A five-point Likert scale questionnaire was then filled out by the students. The preference score was determined by calculating the mean of item scores. Data were analyzed using Mann-Whitney U and Wilcoxon Singed Rank tests in SPSS 19 at P=0.05 level of significance.
Thirty-eight students completed the study. By using the visual method to perform an IANB, students gained a significantly higher mean preference score (P=0.020). There was a significant difference in the preference of male students (P=0.008).
Instruction of IANB by visual identification of needle insertion point is more desirable by students.

White spots and enamel demineralization around orthodontic brackets are among the most important complications resulting from orthodontic treatments. Since the antibacterial properties of metals and metallic particles have been well documented, the aim of this study was to assess the antibacterial effect of stainless steel orthodontic brackets coated with silver (Ag) particles.
In this study, 40 standard metal brackets were divided into two groups of 20 cases and 20 controls. The brackets in the case group were coated with Ag particles using an electroplating method. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to assess the adequacy of the coating process. In addition, antibacterial tests, i.e., disk diffusion and direct contact tests were performed at three, six, 24and 48 hours, and 15 and 30 days using a Streptococcus mutans strain. The results were analyzed using Student’s t-test and repeated measures ANOVA.
Brackets coated with Ag, via an electroplating method, exhibited antibacterial properties when placed in direct contact with Streptococcus mutans. This antibacterial effect persisted for 30 days after contact with the bacteria.

Despite the increasing use of Internet, there is no supervision over the accuracy and quality of the information provided in the web. To deal with this problem, health specialists should take part in planning, publishing and supervision of online health-related information. The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of information related to pit and fissure sealants in Persian websites.
In this cross-sectional study, Persian websites providing information about fissure sealants were found using Google search engine. The searched keywords according to the MeSH database were "patient education" and "fissure sealant". After applying the exclusion criteria, 37 websites out of 500 initial links remained in the study. These websites were evaluated based on a researcher-made checklist. The validity and reliability of the checklist were evaluated and confirmed. Descriptive analysis was applied to report the results of our study using SPSS version 11.5.
The average score for the quality of information was 22.46 out of 38. The minimum scores were 16 and 30 and belonged to Pezeshkanemrooz.com and Asa85.blogfa.com, respectively. The results showed that 62.2% of the answers were scored 2-4 and 37.8% were scored 1; therefore, the overall quality of the published content was rated to be moderate for 62.2% and low for 37.8% of the websites.
Overall, the quality of information related to fissure sealant provided in Persian websites was good; however, the information given was mostly incomplete and could be improved. The main problems were doubtful credibility and outdated information.

This study aimed to compare the shear bond strength (SBS) of composite to stainless steel crowns (SSC) using two mechanical surface treatments (MSTs) and two bonding systems.
Eighty-four SSCs were divided into six groups of 14; Group1: No MST䧊⵲ᛨ Universal adhesive (N), Group 2: Surface roughening by a diamond bur䧊⵲ᛨ Universal adhesive (R), Group 3: Sandblasting䧊⵲ᛨ Universal adhesive (S), Group 4: No MSTə Primer੗骭 SE Primer and Bond (N), Group 5: Surface roughening by a diamond burə Primer੗骭 SE Primer and Bond (R), Group 6: Sandblastingə Primer੗骭 SE Primer and Bond (S). After MST and bonding procedure, composite cylinders were bonded to the lingual surface of SSCs, then the SBS of composite to SSCs was measured using a universal testing machine following thermocycling.
The SBS of groups R and S was significantly higher than that of group N. No significant difference was noted in SBS of groups R and S. The SBS of group S was significantly higher than that of groups N and R. No significant difference was noted in the SBS of groups N and R (P>0.05).
In Scotchbond Universal adhesive groups, sandblasting and surface roughening by diamond bur significantly increased the SBS of composite to SSCs compared to no MST. In Alloy Primer groups, sandblasting significantly increased the SBS of composite to SSC compared to surface roughening with diamond bur and no MST.

Rapid prototyping (RP) is a technique of manufacturing parts by the additive layer manufacturing technology; where, a three-dimensional (3D) model created in a computer aided design (CAD) system is sectioned into 2D profiles, which are further constructed by RP layer by layer. Its use is not limited to industrial or engineering fields and has extended to the medical field for the manufacturing of custom implants and prostheses, the study of anatomy and surgical planning. Nowadays, dentists are more frequently encountered with the individuals affected with craniofacial defects due to trauma. In such cases, the cranio-maxillofacial rehabilitation is a real challenge to bring the patients back to society and promote their well-being. The conventional impression technique for facial prosthesis fabrication has the disadvantage of deforming the soft tissue and causing discomfort for the patient. Herein, we describe the fabrication of a cranial prosthesis combined with an ocular prosthesis with RP and stereolithography.