Objective: This preliminary study aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial activity, flow and radiopacity of endodontic sealers with nanostructured silver vanadate decorated with silver nanoparticles (AgVO3). Methods:The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of AgVO3 was evaluated against Enterococcus faecalis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli. Specimens were prepared from the following endodontic sealers: AH Plus (DENTSPLY DeTrey GmbH, Konstanz, Germany), Sealapex (Sybron Endo, Orange, CA, USA), Sealer 26 (DENTSPLY, Petrópolis, Brazil) and Endofill (DENTSPLY, Petrópolis, Brazil), with concentrations of 0%, 2.5%, 5% and 10% of AgVO3. Agar diffusion was used to evaluate the materials after 48 hours and 7 days (n=6). Flow (n=6) and radiopacity (n=9) were evaluated. The data were analysed by analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the Tukey honestly significant difference (HSD) (α=0.05). Results: The MIC of AgVO3 was 500 µg/mL for E. faecalis and 31.25 µg/mL for P. aeruginosa and E. coli. The AgVO3 did not influence the antimicrobial activity of AH Plus against E. faecalis (P>0.05) but did promote this activity for Sealapex (P<0.01). Moreover, this activity increased for Endofill from 2.5% and for Sealer 26 from 5% (P<0.05). Against P. aeruginosa, only AH Plus and Endofill 10% inhibited zone formation (P<0.01). The antimicrobial activity of Endofill increased from 2.5% against E. coli (P<0.01). Sealapex 5% and 10% (P<0.01), Sealer 26 10% and AH Plus promoted antimicrobial activity against E. coli. An increase in the zone of inhibition occurred between 48 hours and 7 days in the Sealapex 10% and Endofill 5% groups against E. coli. The flow of AH Plus and Endofill decreased with the increase of AgVO3 (P<0.05), and the flow of Sealer 26 and Sealapex was not affected (P>0.05). The radiopacity of AH Plus increased with AgVO3 (P<0.05). Endofill 5% and 10% did not differ from the control Endofill (P>0.05). The incorporation of AgVO3 did not influence the radiopacity of Sealer 26 (P>0.05). The incorporation of 2.5% and 5% AgVO3 reduced the radiopacity of Sealapex (P<0.05). Conclusion: Adding AgVO3 may increase the antimicrobial effect of endodontic sealers without major changes in their physicochemical properties.

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Objectives:The objective of the study is to incorporate the nanostructured silver vanadate (AgVO3) decorated with silver nanoparticles at endodontic sealers AH Plus, Sealapex, Sealer 26, and Endofill, at concentrations of 2.5%, 5%, and 10%, and to evaluate physical-chemical properties.Materials and Methods:The study was to evaluate the radiopacity using digital radiography (n = 5), the tooth color change in 48 incisors (n = 3) for 7, 30, 90, and 180 days in a spectrophotometer, and the topographic distribution in a confocal laser (n = 5). The radiopacity was analyzed by Kruskal–Wallis test and the permutation (α = 0.05) and the color and topographical distribution by descriptive statistical analysis.Results:The AgVO3 had no effect on the radiopacity of Endofill and Sealapex (P > 0.05) and at 2.5% concentrations increased the radiopacity of Sealer 26 and AH Plus (P < 0.05). The Endofill 10% showed less color change, and the major changes were the modified groups in 180 days. The AgVO3 showed a circular topographic distribution in areas of the sealers.Conclusion:It was found that the addition of AgVO3 did not affect the radiopacity of Endofill and Sealapex however, increased the radipacity of Sealer 26 and AH Plus. For modified groups, the greatest color change was promoted after 180 days, except for Endofill with 10%. Topographic distribution of nanomaterial affected the color change of theevaluated sealers.

Biofilm formation on biomaterials is a challenge in the health area. Antimicrobial substances based on nanomaterials have been proposed to solve this problem. The aim was to incorporate nanostructured silver vanadate decorated with silver nanoparticles (β-AgVO3) into dental porcelains (IPS Inline and Ex-3 Noritake), at concentrations of 2.5% and 5%, and evaluate the surface characteristics (by SEM/EDS), antimicrobial activity (against Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus sobrinus, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa), silver (Ag+) and vanadium (V4+/V5+) ions release, and mechanical properties (microhardness, roughness, and fracture toughness). The β-AgVO3 incorporation did not alter the porcelain’s components, reduced the S. mutans, S. sobrinus and A. actinomycetemcomitans viability, increased the fracture toughness of IPS Inline, the roughness for all groups, and did not affect the microhardness of the 5% group. Among all groups, IPS Inline 5% released more Ag+, and Ex-3 Noritake 2.5% released more V4+/V5+. It was concluded that the incorporation of β-AgVO3 into dental porcelains promoted antimicrobial activity against S. mutans, S. sobrinus, and A. actinomycetemcomitans (preventing biofilm formation), caused a higher release of vanadium than silver ions, and an adequate mechanical behavior was observed. However, the incorporation of β-AgVO3 did not reduce P. aeruginosa viability and increased the surface roughness of dental porcelains.

The aim of this study was to evaluate anxiety, stress and symptoms of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) among a sample of participants that practice choir singing as a recreational activity. As the literature shows the positive effects of choir singing on mental and physical health, we hypothesized that anxiety, stress and TMD symptoms would be less frequent in the choir group when compared to participants from the general population. The choir group included 33 adults who participated weekly in a choral singing group as a recreational activity and the comparison group included 40 participants from the general population. Choir singers had significantly lower levels of anxiety and TMD. A significant positive correlation was observed between anxiety and TMD scores. The groups did not differ regarding the presence of stress symptoms. It seems that choir singing was associated with better mental and physical outcomes. This study reinforces the promising benefits of choir singing as a recreational activity. Although we only included amateur singers in our sample, the literature shows that singing as a professional may be an etiologic factor for developing TMD. Future studies should explore differences between professional and amateur choir singers regarding TMD symptoms.