Evaluation of participants’ perception and taste thresholds with a zirconia palatal plate

Lidocaine-Loaded Hyaluronic Acid Adhesive Microneedle Patch for Oral Mucosal Topical Anesthesia

The pain and fear caused by direct local injection of anesthetic or the poor experience with surface anesthetic cream increase the difficulty of clinical treatment for oral diseases. To address this problem, a hyaluronic acid microneedle patch (Li-HAMNs) that consists of fast-dissolving lidocaine hydrochloride (LDC)-loaded tips and a wet-adhesive backing layer made of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/carboxymethylcellulose sodium (CMC-Na) was fabricated to explore its potential use in dental topical anesthesia. Li-HAMNs could puncture the stratum corneum with an insertion depth of about 279 μm in the isolated porcine oral mucosal. The fast-dissolving tips could release LDC to improve the patients’ convenience and compliance. Importantly, the backing layer, which has good adhesion ability and water-absorbing properties, could surmount the contraction and extension of oral masticatory muscles and the saliva scour. In the tail flick test, the topical anesthesia efficacy of the Li-HAMNs group was much better than clinical lidocaine cream (EMLA cream, LDC, 1.2 mg) in spite of a relatively lower LDC dose with Li-HAMNs (LDC, 0.5 mg). It is believed that the proposed adhesive microneedle patch could enhance transmucosal delivery of anesthetics and thus open a new chapter in the painless treatment of oral diseases.

Comparison of adhesiveness of chewing gum to hard and soft denture base materials

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to compare the adhesiveness of chewing gum to hard and soft denture base materials to investigate food retention associated with the basal surface of the denture.

METHODS

Test specimens were fabricated using acrylic resin[Re], cobalt-chromium alloy[Co], zirconia[Zr], silicone soft relining material[SS], and acrylic soft relining material[AS]. Samples were set on a top-and-bottom pair lifting platform equipped with a digital force gauge. The experimenter chewed 3.0 g of chewing gum for 5 min. After surface saliva was wiped off, the chewing gum was placed on the lower test fragment and compressed until the distance between the upper and lower test fragments decreased to 1 mm. The upper test fragment was pulled at a crosshead speed of 100 mm/min. Adhesiveness was measured under dry conditions, and under wet conditions with inter-positioned artificial saliva.

RESULTS

Under dry conditions, the adhesive strength was 17.04 ± 1.99 N for Re, 12.88 ± 2.20 N for Co, 3.80 ± 1.03 N for Zr, 5.76 ± 1.41 N for SS, and 12.54 ± 2.44 N for AS. Under wet conditions, the adhesive strength was 5.26 ± 1.64 N for Re, 0.96 ± 0.21 N for Co, 3.32 ± 0.40 N for Zr, 5.20 ± 1.35 N for SS, and 6.78 ± 1.97 N for AS.

CONCLUSIONS

Among the hard denture base materials, zirconia recorded low adhesiveness and Re recorded high adhesiveness under both wet and dry conditions. The adhesiveness of Co was low under wet conditions but high under dry conditions. Among the soft denture base materials, SS under dry conditions recorded lower adhesiveness than that of AS. The adhesiveness of SS was low under both wet and dry conditions.

Titanium removable denture based on a one-metal rehabilitation concept

The use of a single metal for all restorations would be necessary because it protects against metal corrosion caused by the contact of different metals. For this "one-metal rehabilitation" concept, non-alloyed commercially pure (CP) titanium should be used for all restorations. Titanium frameworks have been cast and used for the long term without catastrophic failure, whereas they have been fabricated recently using computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM). However, the milling process for the frameworks of removable partial dentures (RPDs) is not easy because they have very complicated shapes and consist of many components. Currently, the fabrication of RPD frameworks has been challenged by one-process molding using repeated laser sintering and high-speed milling. Laser welding has also been used typically for repairing and rebuilding titanium frameworks. Although laboratory and clinical problems still remain, the one-metal rehabilitation concept using CP titanium as a bioinert metal can be recommended for all restorations.

Inhibition of denture plaque by TiO2 coating on denture base resins in the mouth

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

Information is lacking about antiadhesion effect of titanium dioxide (TiO₂) coating on denture base resins in the mouth.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this clinical study was to investigate the antiadhesion effect of TiO₂ coating on denture base resins.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Ten healthy dentate participants (mean 27 ±2 years of age) participated in this study. Disks and palatal appliances were made with denture base resin. They were divided into 2 groups: a TiO₂-coated group and an uncoated group. A primer and a top coat containing TiO₂ were applied to the surfaces of the resin by means of an air spray. In the denture plaque staining test, resin disks were fixed to the retainer, placed in each participant's mouth for 3 days, and stained with a dental plaque-disclosing solution. The staining rate was calculated. The resin disks and palatal appliances were used to measure the total number of microbes. The resin specimens were placed in each participant's mouth for either 3 or 7 days and swabbed to count the total number of microbes. The chewing gum adherence test was performed both subjectively and objectively. Subjectively, each participant wearing a palatal appliance rated adherence using a visual analog scale. The objective test was performed with a chewing gum adhesion test. The staining rate, the total number of microbes, and the visual analog scale values were statistically analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed rank test, and the adhesive force was statistically analyzed using a Student t test.

RESULTS

In the denture plaque staining test, the measurement of microbes, and the resin chewing gum adherence test results, significant differences were observed between the TiO₂-coated groups and the uncoated groups.

CONCLUSIONS

TiO₂ coating of the denture base acrylic resin inhibited the adhesion of microbes, denture plaque, and highly adhesive food.