[Dentinal hypersensivity after vertical stripping of enamel]

INTRODUCTION

Vertical stripping of enamel in patients with minor or moderate crowding of teeth and Angle's class I is an effective method which supplements orthodontic treatment. Stripping is an alternative to tooth extraction or to extension of alveolar arches which carries the risk of recurrence of crowding and further periodontal difficulties. Stripping also shortens considerably the duration of treatment. Apart from unquestionable advantages, enamel reduction may lead to complications such as caries or hypersensitivity of interproximal surfaces of stripped teeth. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of hypersensitivity and to measure the intensity of pain.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We performed a verbal and visual assessment of pain in a group of 32 patients who underwent stripping during the recent few years as part of orthodontic treatment.

RESULTS

According to verbal assessment, the highest percentage (46.9%) of patients rated their pain as 1 (gentle pain) which corresponded to 1-3 cm on the 10 cm Visual Analog Scale. 37.5% of patients reported no pain.

CONCLUSION

None of the patients described their pain as very strong and discouraging from further treatment. All symptoms subsided without recurrence. The patients found this method to be more effective than alternative ones.

[Proceeding with patients having mental impairment and those affected by congenital development anomalies during orthodontic treatment]

The aim of the work was to describe the specificity of proceeding with patients having mental impairment and those affected by congenital development anomalies during orthodontic treatment. At the same time, an attempt has been made at solving some problems concerning the treatment of patients with special needs. Based on available references three model syndromes of congenital development anomalies with coexisting mental impairment have been described: Down, Lejeune and Williams syndromes. It results from the descriptions and discussions included in this work that the possibilities of optimal cooperation and most effective treatment of patients affected by congenital birth defects and by mental impairment are conditioned, among other things, by: good contact between a doctor, a patient and a parent (guardian), availability and application of the best treatment solutions as well as coordinated implementation of a common therapeutic plan by members of an interdisciplinary team in specialized medical health centres.

[A comparative evaluation of Apex D.S.P. and Root ZX Apex locators. An in vitro study]

INTRODUCTION

In modern endodontics, no possibility of the root canal preparation is allowed, unless its length was individually determined. Only until recently, the length was assessed on the basis of the radiograph with the file placed into the root of the canal. However, apex locators have been in use for this assessment for some time. The newest ones, called the apex locators with different frequencies, in opposition to the classical ones, allow for accurate measurement even in teeth with wet content and periapical lesions. The aim of this in vitro study was a comparison of accuracy of two apex locators with different frequencies.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Thirty single-rooted teeth were used in this study. After access cavity preparation, the actual canal length was determined, and subsequently they were placed in alginate impression material in order to perform measurements with Root ZX (Morita, Japan) and Apex D.S.P. (Septodont, France) apex locators. The obtained lengths were measured with endodontic ruler.

RESULTS

Length concordance with the actual canal length for Root ZX apex locator was 93.3%. In two cases, electronic measurement was inaccurate--one too short and one too long. For Apex D.S.P. device precise measurements were obtained in 90% of cases with 10% of results being too long if compared to the actual values. Statistical analysis did not disclose significant differences between the measurements. Length value comparison, for the assessed apex locators, allowed to confirm result concordance in 28 of 30 measurements (93.3%). In 2 remaining cases, lengths determined by the Apex D.S.P. device were 1 mm longer than the values for Root ZX apex locator.

CONCLUSIONS

Root ZX and Apex D.S.P. apex locators allow for relatively accurate assessment of the root canal length. Precision of these two devices is comparable.