Azithromycin is detectable in inflamed periodontal tissues >or=14 days after systemic administration; it is associated with clinical and microbiologic improvement.

Contact with Ca(OH)2 agents left on the canal wall caused considerable changes to the sealing ability of sealers.

No abstract

Original paper Application of Thermography in Dentistry-Visualization of Temperature Distribution on Oral Tissues-Manabu KOMORIYAMA, Rie NOMOTO, Rin TANAKA1), Noriyasu HOSOYA2), Kazuhiro GOMI2), Fumiaki IINO2), Akihiro YASHIMA2), Yasuko TAKAYAMA3), Masahiko TSURUTA4), Hajime TOKIWA4), Kenzo KAWASAKI1), Takashi ARAI2), Toshio HOSOI3), Ayao HIRASHITA4) and Susumu HIRANO The purpose of this study was to devise and propose appropriate conditions for the photographing of thermal images in the oral cavity and to evaluate which thermography techniques can be applied to dentistry by evaluating the differences in temperature among oral tissues. Thermal images of oral cavities of 20 volunteers in normal oral condition were taken according to the guidelines of the Japanese Society of Thermography, with five added items for oral observation. The use of a mirror made it possible to take thermal images of the posterior portion or palate. Teeth, free gingiva, attached gingiva and alveolar mucosa were identified on thermal images. There were differences in temperature between teeth, free gingiva, attached gingiva and alveolar mucosa. These were nearly in agreement with the anatomical view. Thermography need no longer be restricted to the anterior portion using a mirror, and can now be applied to the dental region.

Aim:The purpose of this study was to clarify detection characteristics of the secondary mesio-buccal canal in maxillary first molars using various methods.Materials and Methods:The root canal system of 86 extracted human maxillary first molars was inspected using micro-focus-computed tomography to accurately determine the number of canals. Radiographs or floors of the pulp chamber for all samples were observed for the secondary mesio-buccal canal with computed tomography for dentistry, digital dental radiography, magnifier, or the naked eye. Sensitivity, specificity, positive, and negative predictive values and diagnostic accuracy for these four methods were investigated using the results from the micro-focus-computed tomography inspection as the gold standard. All samples of each method were observed by 10 endodontists. Using these results, the χ2 test was used to compare and analyze differences between the various conditions (P<0.05).Results:The secondary mesio-buccal canal could be recognized in 60.9% of samples with the micro-focus-computed tomography. No significant difference was seen between efficiencies of the computed tomography for dentistry and the micro-focus-computed tomography. The computed tomography for dentistry was superior to the other three methods.Conclusion:Detectability of the secondary mesio-buccal canal in the maxillary first molar was superior using dental-computed tomography compared to digital dental radiography, magnification telescope, and the naked eye.