Summary
Background
Fissures of the occlusal surface of equine cheek teeth are commonly encountered during oral examination but their aetiology is unknown.
Objectives
To examine the prevalence and ...characteristics of occlusal fissures in cadaver teeth. It is hypothesised that their prevalence is influenced by masticatory forces. Consequently, their possible association with wear disorders and occlusal angles were examined.
Study design
Cross‐sectional survey.
Methods
The dental abnormalities and occlusal fissure findings in the cheek teeth of 143 cadaver heads were recorded. The cheek teeth occlusal angles were measured using the stiff‐hinge technique. Multiple regression analyses were performed to establish possible relationships between age, sex, dental wear, occlusal angle and fissure prevalence.
Results
Occlusal fissures were found in 103/143 (72%) heads. Sex and age were determining factors in the prevalence of fissures. A similar prevalence was found in mandibular (54.1%) and maxillary teeth (45.9%, OR = 1.10; 95% CI = 0.95–1.29, P = 0.2). Mandibular fissures were more commonly located on the buccal aspect (OR = 1.42; 95% CI = 1.16–1.65, P < 0.001), whereas for maxillary fissures there was no difference in prevalence between palatal and buccal aspects (OR = 1.19; 95% CI = 0.97–1.46, P = 0.1). Two main fissure types were identified. Type 1a fissures were the most prevalent type (39.5%). No significant correlation was found between the presence of wear abnormalities or the occlusal angle of cheek teeth, and the prevalence of fissures.
Main limitations
No dental histories were available.
Conclusion
Equine cheek teeth show a high prevalence of occlusal fissures. Despite some evidence of predilection sites on the tooth surface that might indicate a mechanical aetiology for these lesions, no associations were found with wear abnormalities or occlusal angles of affected cheek teeth. Further histological and ultrastructural studies are warranted to elucidate their aetiology and possible role in other dental diseases.
The authors conducted an in vivo study to determine clinical cutoffs for a laser fluorescence (LF) device, an LF pen and a fluorescence camera (FC), as well as to evaluate the clinical performance of ...these methods and conventional methods in detecting occlusal caries in permanent teeth by using the histologic gold standard for total validation of the sample.
One trained examiner assessed 105 occlusal surfaces by using the LF device, LF pen, FC, International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS) criteria and bitewing (BW) radiographic methods. After tooth extraction, the authors assessed the teeth histologically. They determined the optimal clinical cutoffs by means of receiver operating characteristic curve analysis.
The specificities and sensitivities for enamel and dentin caries detection versus only dentin caries detection thresholds were 0.60 and 0.93 and 0.77 and 0.52 (ICDAS), 1.00 and 0.29 and 0.97 and 0.44 (BW radiography), 1.00 and 0.85 and 0.77 and 0.81 (LF device), 0.80 and 0.89 and 0.71 and 0.85 (LF pen) and 0.80 and 0.74 and 0.49 and 0.85 (FC), respectively. The accuracy values were higher for ICDAS, the LF device and the LF pen than they were for BW radiography and the FC.
The clinical cutoffs for sound teeth, enamel carious lesions and dentin carious lesions were, respectively, 0 through 4, 5 through 27 and 28 through 99 (LF device); 0 through 4, 5 through 32 and 33 through 99 (LF pen); and 0 through 1.2, 1.3 and 1.4 through 5.0 (FC). The ICDAS, the LF device and the LF pen demonstrated good performance in helping detect occlusal caries in vivo. The ICDAS did not seem to perform as well at the D(3) threshold (histologic scores 3 and 4) as at the D(1) threshold (histologic scores 1-4). BW radiography and the FC had the lowest performances in helping detect lesions at the D(1) and D(3) thresholds, respectively.
Occlusal caries detection should be based primarily on visual inspection. Fluorescence-based methods may be used to provide a second opinion in clinical practice.
To investigate the effectiveness of topical fluorides in preventing fissure caries, we conducted a randomized controlled trial with parallel groups. In total, 501 children (1,539 molars, 3,078 ...sites), mean age 9.1 years, who had at least one sound permanent first molar with deep fissures or fissures with signs of early caries were recruited. They were randomly allocated among four groups: (1) resin sealant, single placement; (2) 5% NaF varnish, semi-annual application; (3) 38% silver diamine fluoride (SDF) solution, annual application; and (4) placebo control. Follow-up examinations were conducted every 6 months by a masked examiner. After 24 months, 485 children (97%) were examined. Proportions of pit/fissure sites with dentin caries in the sealant, NaF, SDF, and control groups were 1.6%, 2.4%, 2.2%, and 4.6%, respectively. A multi-level logistic regression analysis accounting for the effects of data clustering and confounding factors showed that fissures in any of the three treatment groups had significantly lower risks of carious cavity development into dentin than did controls (p < 0.05). We concluded that placement of resin sealant, semi-annual application of NaF varnish, and annual application of SDF solution are all effective in preventing pit and fissure caries in permanent molars (ClinicalTrials.gov number CT01446107).
The principle of minimal intervention dentistry (MID) is to limit removal of carious tooth tissue while maximizing its repair and survival potential. The objective of this study is to explore the ...fracture resistance of a permanent molar tooth with a fissure carious lesion along with three clinical restoration procedures, namely one traditional and two conservative approaches, based upon MID. The traditional restoration employs extensive surgical removal of enamel and dentine about the cavity to eliminate potential risk of further caries development, while conservative method #1 removes significantly less enamel and infected dentine, and conservative method #2 only restores the overhanging enamel above the cavity and leaves the infected and affected dentine as it was. An extended finite element method (XFEM) is adopted here to analyze the fracture behaviors of both two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) modeling of these four different scenarios. It was found that the two conservative methods exhibited better fracture resistance than the traditional restorative method. Although conservative method #2 has less fracture resistance than method #1, it had significantly superior fracture resistance compared to other restorations. More important, after cavity sealing it may potentially enhance the opportunity for remineralization and improved loading bearing capacity and fracture resistance.
Diagnosis of the extent of pit-and-fissure caries has been subjective and thus difficult to teach and categorize for treatment planning. This in vitro study compares occlusal caries diagnosis of ...extracted posterior teeth (n=49) using three-dimensional (3D) scanned images vs visual examination, according to the International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS). The surfaces chosen for study represent all ICDAS classifications. Five experienced restorative faculty members examined scanned images for 60 seconds from a standardized series of views of each surface and scored them independently. One month later, the same teeth were examined visually by the same five raters with magnification and LED headlamps, with compressed air available. Intrarater and interrater agreement and validity were assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). The ICCs, ranging from 0.90 to 0.93, indicated excellent agreement between and within raters and between the raters and the gold standard ICDAS determination. This suggests that both photographs and 3D scans of pits and fissures are equally effective in diagnosing caries.
Dental caries is a bacterially mediated disease characterised by demineralisation of the tooth surface, which may lead to cavitation, discomfort, pain and eventual tooth loss. Ozone is toxic to ...certain bacteria in vitro and it has been suggested that delivering ozone into a carious lesion might reduce the number of cariogenic bacteria. This possibly could arrest the progress of the lesion and may, in the presence of fluoride, perhaps allow remineralisation to occur. This may in turn delay or prevent the need for traditional dental conservation by 'drilling and filling'.
To assess whether ozone is effective in arresting or reversing the progression of dental caries.
We searched the Cochrane Oral Health Group's Trials Register (to 7 November 2003); Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library 2003, Issue 3); MEDLINE and PREMEDLINE (OVID) (1966 to November 2003); EMBASE (OVID) (1980 to November 2003); CINAHL (OVID) (1982 to November 2003); AMED (OVID) (1985 to November 2003). Quintessence was handsearched through 2002 and KaVo were contacted as manufacturers of the HealOzone apparatus for any additional published or unpublished trials.
Inclusion was assessed independently by at least two reviewers. Trials were only included if they met the following criteria: randomisation in a controlled trial; single surface in vivo carious lesion accessible to ozone application; clear allocation concealment; ozone application to the lesions in the intervention group; no such application of ozone in the control group; outcomes measured after at least 6 months.
Reviewers independently extracted information in duplicate. A paucity of comparable data did not allow meta-analytic pooling of the included studies.
Three trials were included, with a combined total of 432 randomised lesions (137 participants). Forty-two conference papers, abstracts and posters were excluded (from an unknown number of studies). The risk of bias in all studies appeared high. The analyses of all three studies were conducted at the level of the lesion, which is not independent of the person, for this reason pooling of data was not appropriate or attempted. Individual studies showed inconsistent effects of ozone on caries, across different measures of caries progression or regression. Few secondary outcomes were reported, but one trial reported an absence of adverse events.
Given the high risk of bias in the available studies and lack of consistency between different outcome measures, there is no reliable evidence that application of ozone gas to the surface of decayed teeth stops or reverses the decay process. There is a fundamental need for more evidence of appropriate rigour and quality before the use of ozone can be accepted into mainstream primary dental care or can be considered a viable alternative to current methods for the management and treatment of dental caries.
Abstract Objectives This study reports the development and assessment of a novel method using quantitative light-induced fluorescence (QLF), to determine whether QLF parameters Δ F and Δ Q were ...appropriate for aiding diagnosis and clinical decision making of early occlusal mineral loss by comparing QLF analysis with actual restorative management. Methods Following ethical approval, 46 subjects attending a dental teaching hospital were enrolled. White light digital (WL) and QLF images/analyses of 46 unrestored posterior teeth with suspected occlusal caries were made after a clinical decision had already been taken to explore fissures operatively. WL and QLF imaging/analysis were repeated after initial cavity preparation. The type of restorative treatment was determined by the supervising clinician independent of any imaging performed. Actual restorative management carried out was recorded as fissure sealant/preventive resin restoration (F/P) or class I occlusal restoration (Rest.) thus reflecting the extent of intervention (=gold standard). All QLF images were analysed independently. Results The results showed statistically significant differences between the two treatment groups Δ F ( p = 0.002) (mean 22.60 – F/P and 28.80 – Rest.) and Δ Q ( p = 0.012) (mean 230.49 – F/P and 348.30 – Rest.). Conclusions Δ F and Δ Q values may be useful in aiding clinical diagnosis and decision making in relation to the management of early mineral loss and restorative intervention of occlusal caries. Clinical significance QLF has the potential to be a valuable tool for caries diagnosis in clinical practice.
Abstract Objectives The aim of this in vitro study was to evaluate three treatment modalities infiltrant resin (IR), micro-filled infiltrant resin (MFIR), infiltrant-sealant-combination (ISC) ...regarding both their abilities to penetrate lesions differing in ICDAS-codes and to fill fissures and cavities. Materials and methods Extracted human molars (n = 90) showing fissure caries lesions with and without cavitations were etched with 15% hydrochloric acid (HCl) that was mixed with abrasives and a 15% HCl-solution (1:1). The etching gel was rubbed for 30 s within the fissure and, if eligible, within the cavity using a brush. After this pretreatment an infiltrant (Icon; DMG; IR) or an infiltrant mixed with microfillers (MFIR) was applied. ISC included the application of an infiltrant followed by a fissure sealant (Helioseal; Ivoclar Vivadent) From each tooth slices showing a non-cavitated (based on ICDAS-2) or cavitated lesion part (based on ICDAS-3/5) were prepared. Lesion (LA) and penetration areas (PA) as well as the completeness of fissure and cavity filling were analyzed using dual staining and confocal laser scanning microscopy. Results Percentage penetration (PP) was calculated as 100 × PA/LA. PP median (25th/75th) did not differ significantly between IR 95 (86/100)%, MFIR 93 (62/100)% or ISC 89 (67/97)% (p > 0.05; Kruskal-Wallis test). All three materials filled about 90% of the dimensions of fissures and cavities (p > 0.05; Kruskal-Wallis test). Conclusion It can be concluded that MFIR seems to be suitable to fill fissures and cavities like a fissure sealant and that it penetrates fissure caries lesions similarly deep as the conventional infiltrant after an experimental etching regime. Clinical significance The MFIR seems to combine advantages of the fissure sealing and the caries infiltration procedure.
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