No abstract

A supplemental appendix to this article is published electronically only at http://jdr.sagepub.com/supplemental.

This study aimed to develop and evaluate resin-based experimental dental sealants containing electrospun nylon-6 (N6) and chitosan (CH) fibers in an attempt to improve the physicomechanical properties and provide an antibacterial protective effect, respectively. Electrospun N6 and CH mats were immersed into a resin mixture, light-cured, and then cryomilled to obtain micron-sized resin-modified fiber particles. Different levels of the novel cryomilled particles (i.e. 1, 2.5, and 5% relative to the resin mixture, % by weight) were used to prepare the N6- and CH-containing sealants. A commercial sealant and the experimental resin mixture (unfilled) were used as controls. Flexural strength (FS), Vickers microhardness (VH), and agar diffusion tests were performed. The data were analyzed at the 5% significance level. No significant difference in fiber diameter of N6 (503 ± 31 nm) and CH (595 ± 38 nm) was observed. Upon cryomilling, the resin-modified CH and N6 mats led to the formation of irregularly-shaped particles, with an average diameter of 14.24 µm and 15.87 µm, respectively. CH-5% had significantly higher FS (115.3 ± 1.3 MPa) than all the other groups. CH-1% had significantly higher hardness values (38.3 ± 0.3 VHN) than all the other groups. Collectively, the results indicated that CH-containing sealants presented the highest FS and hardness; however, none of the CH-containing sealants displayed antimicrobial properties.

"Pilot clinical study to assess caries lesion activity using quantitative light-induced fluorescence during dehydration," J. Biomed. Opt. Abstract. This study aimed to evaluate the ability of quantitative light-induced fluorescence (QLF) to assess caries lesion activity using visual examination (VE) as the gold standard. Twenty-four visible white spot lesions on buccal surfaces were examined from 23 children, ages 9 to 14 years. At baseline, the surface was hydrated with water, and thereafter, it was dehydrated with continuous compressed air during image acquisition. QLF images were acquired at 0 (baseline), 5, and 15 s. QLF variables [QLF V : fluorescence loss (ΔF), lesion size (S), ΔQ: ΔF × S] was recorded. Changes-in-QLF V per second (ΔQLF V ) were determined: ΔQLF V ¼ ðQLF VN − QLF VBaseline Þ∕N, where N indicates dehydration time. One experienced dentist conducted VE independently using a dental unit's light, compressed air, and explorer. QLF V and ΔQLF V of the active group (n ¼ 11) were compared with those of the inactive group (n ¼ 13) using two-sample t -tests. As the surface was dehydrated, S and ΔQ values of the active group increased, whereas QLF V of the inactive group showed only a small change. ΔQLF V of the active group were larger than those of the inactive group; however, the difference did not reach statistical significance (p > 0.11). Within the limitations of this study, QLF data indicated increments for lesions designated as active and minimal change for lesions defined as inactive.

To evaluate the in vitro performance of the International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS) visual examination, bitewing radiography (BW), and the DIAGNOdent 2190, a pen-type laser fluorescence device (LFpen), in detecting caries around amalgam restorations on approximal surfaces. Approximal surfaces (N=136) of permanent posterior teeth (N=110) with Class II amalgam restorations were assessed twice by two experienced examiners using ICDAS, BW, and LFpen. The occurrence of proximal overhangs was also evaluated. The teeth were histologically prepared and assessed for caries extension. Different cutoff limits for the LFpen were used. Intraexaminer and interexaminer reproducibility showed moderate to good agreement for all the methods (weighted κ/intraclass correlation coefficient=0.40 to 0.87). The specificities at D1 (all visible lesions affecting enamel) and D3 (lesions extended into dentin) were, respectively, 0.41 and 0.82 for ICDAS, 0.70 and 0.82 for BW, and 0.77-0.89 and 0.88-0.94 for LFpen. The sensitivities were 0.80 and 0.52 for ICDAS, 0.56 and 0.51 for BW, and 0.04-0.23 and 0.01-0.02 for LFpen at D1 and D3, respectively. At the D1/D3 thresholds, the accuracy and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (Az) values were similar and statistically higher for ICDAS (0.65/0.68 and 0.633/0.688) and BW (0.64/0.68 and 0.655/0.719), respectively; whereas, LFpen presented lower accuracy (0.37-0.44/0.49-0.52) and Az (0.390-0.454/0.345-0.395) values. The occurrence of overhangs (26.8%) was shown to be irrelevant in determining the presence of secondary caries. The ICDAS and BW methods presented the best performance in detecting caries lesions affecting enamel and dentin on approximal surfaces of amalgam restorations.