The complexity of rehabilitation for totally edentulous patients makes it necessary to devise treatment strategies that meet the patients' expectations in terms of function, esthetic, psychological, and social aspects. The aim of this study was to i) compare the satisfaction of edentulous patients who had been rehabilitated with implant-supported overdentures and fixed prostheses in the mandible, and ii) assess the technical aspects of the prostheses in relation to patient satisfaction. This was a cross-sectional study involving 30 patients, 15 of whom had been rehabilitated with implant-supported overdentures and 15 who had been treated with fixed prostheses. The patients answered the OHIP-EDENT questionnaire, validated for the Brazilian Portuguese language, to assess satisfaction. Also, patients underwent clinical examination to assess the condition of their prostheses. Statistical analysis using the Mann-Whitney U-test revealed no significant differences in satisfaction between patients with overdentures and those with fixed prostheses. Likewise, Fisher's exact test demonstrated no significant differences in patient satisfaction concerning the condition of the prostheses as evaluated by the prosthodontist. It was concluded that both types of prostheses were perceived as being equally satisfactory by edentulous patients, and that the condition of the prostheses did not influence individual satisfaction in
Objective
Numerous investigators have theorized that postoperative changes in Alzheimer's disease neuropathology may underlie postoperative neurocognitive disorders. Thus, we determined the relationship between postoperative changes in cognition and cerebrospinal (CSF) tau, p‐tau‐181p, or Aβ levels after non‐cardiac, non‐neurologic surgery in older adults.
Methods
Participants underwent cognitive testing before and 6 weeks after surgery, and lumbar punctures before, 24 h after, and 6 weeks after surgery. Cognitive scores were combined via factor analysis into an overall cognitive index. In total, 110 patients returned for 6‐week postoperative testing and were included in the analysis.
Results
There was no significant change from before to 24 h or 6 weeks following surgery in CSF tau (median [median absolute deviation] change before to 24 h: 0.00 [4.36] pg/mL, p = 0.853; change before to 6 weeks: −1.21 [3.98] pg/mL, p = 0.827). There were also no significant changes in CSF p‐tau‐181p or Aβ over this period. There was no change in cognitive index (mean [95% CI] 0.040 [−0.018, 0.098], p = 0.175) from before to 6 weeks after surgery, although there were postoperative declines in verbal memory (−0.346 [−0.523, −0.170], p = 0.003) and improvements in executive function (0.394, [0.310, 0.479], p < 0.001). There were no significant correlations between preoperative to 6‐week postoperative changes in cognition and CSF tau, p‐tau‐181p, or Aβ42 changes over this interval (p > 0.05 for each).
Interpretation
Neurocognitive changes after non‐cardiac, non‐neurologic surgery in the majority of cognitively healthy, community‐dwelling older adults are unlikely to be related to postoperative changes in AD neuropathology (as assessed by CSF Aβ, tau or p‐tau‐181p levels or the p‐tau‐181p/Aβ or tau/Aβ ratios).
Trial Registration: http://clinicaltrials.gov (NCT01993836).
Evaluation of the influence of laser application on osseointegration around implants with different surface characteristics is limited. This study aims to evaluate the influence of low-level lasers on the early stages of osseointegration. Ninety-six external hex implants (3.75 mm × 5.0 mm) were placed in 24 rabbits-one machined and one sandblasted acid-etched per tibia. The rabbits were later divided into the laser group, which received a total dose of 24 J/cm(2) of gallium-aluminum-arsenide laser over 15 days, and a control group. At 16 and 30 days after surgery, removal torque and histomorphometric analyses were performed. No statistical differences in removal torque or histomorphometric analyses were verified between laser and control groups regardless of implant surface (P > .05). Time was the only variable presenting significant differences between measurements (P < .05). Low-level laser had no significant short-term effect on bone-to-implant contact and removal torque values regardless of implant surface characteristics.
Conflict of Interest Statement: The authors state that there are no financial and personal conflicts of interest that could have inappropriately influenced their work.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.