This study evaluated the effect of disinfection methods [chemical disinfection (immersion in 100 ppm chloride solution) or microwave disinfection (690 W for 6 min)] on the internal adaptation of denture bases and resin surface roughness. For the adaptation test, 18 maxillary denture bases were obtained from stone casts duplicated from a metallic master model and submitted to the following treatments: 1) control (no disinfection), 2) chemical disinfection or 3) microwave disinfection. Disinfection procedures were performed twice (T1, T2) with a 7-day interval between them. Internal adaptation was measured at baseline (T0) and after T1 and T2 by weighing a vinyl polysiloxane film reproducing the gap between the resin base and the master model. For surface roughness measurement, 60 rectangular (5x10x40 mm) resin specimens were either mechanically or chemically polished and then submitted to the disinfection treatments. Surface roughness (Ra) was recorded after polishing (T0) and after T1 and T2. Data were analyzed by ANOVA GLM for repeated measures and Bonferroni correction at 5% significance level. Bases submitted to microwave disinfection had gradual increase of misfit, while bases immersed in chloride solution did not differ from the control group. Surface roughness increased in the mechanical polishing groups with microwave disinfection and decreased in the chemical polishing groups.

Microwave irradiation has been used for disinfection of dentures instead of chemical solutions; yet, its effect on resin properties after repeated procedures still is unclear. This study evaluated the cumulative effect of two disinfection methods on Knoop microhardness and tridimensional stability of a poly(methyl methacrylate) denture base resin. For the microhardness measurement, 24-resin discs received mechanical polishing and were submitted to the following treatments: (1) control (no disinfection), (2) chemical disinfection (immersion in 100ppm chloride solution for 24h), or (3) microwave disinfection (irradiation at 690 W for 6 min). Disinfection procedures were performed twice (T1, T2) with a 7-day interval. Knoop microhardness was recorded after polishing (T0) and after T1 and T2. For the dimensional stability test (measured by the adaptation of the denture bases), 36-maxillary denture bases were obtained from type III dental stone casts duplicated from a metallic master model and submitted to the disinfection treatment. Adaptation of denture bases was measured at baseline (T0) and after T1 and T2 by weighing a vinyl polysiloxane film reproducing the gap between resin base and master model. Data were analyzed by ANOVA GLM for repeated measures and Bonferroni's test, alpha = 0.05. Knoop microhardness was not modified by any disinfection procedure but decreased over time. Denture resin bases submitted to microwave disinfection had gradual increase of distortion over time, while bases immersed in chloride solution did not differ from the control group and remained dimensionally stable from T1 to T2.

The present results show excellent intra-rater and good inter-rater reliability of this digital image method for measuring MMF in dentate subjects.

This descriptive study assessed the self-reported medications taken by 1,163 European-American and Mexican-American community-dwelling adults (age range 32 to 81 years of age) from the Oral Health: San Antonio Longitudinal Study of Aging (OH:SALSA) sample and reports on the potential oral side effects (OSE) of their medications. Data collection included sociodemographic characteristics, number of prescription and non-prescription drugs, and frequency of potential OSE. Medications were checked in three drug references, and all potential OSE were classified into 16 major categories. The mean number of medications taken per subject was 2.7. Persons 65 years or older, females, European Americans, and suburban residents reported taking more drugs than their counterparts. There was no difference in the number of drugs taken due to income or education (p>0.05). The Spearman rank order correlation between age and number of medications was 0.30 (p<0.001). The most frequent potential OSE was dry mouth in 664 subjects (57%), followed by bleeding in 456 (39%), alteration in taste of 389 (33%), and stomatitis in 331 (28%). The distribution of subjects with respect to number of potential OSE was: none, 20%; 1 to 2, 24%; 3 to 4, 26%; 5 to 6, 14%; and 7 or more, 16%. Many older community-dwelling persons may be at risk for multiple oral complications due to medications they are taking.

More advanced stages of dental formation indicate less time until dental eruption. The strong correlation with crown length/total length proportion (CL/TL) provides a linear regression equation for prediction of the timing of eruption of mandibular second premolars.