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This article proposes a digital procedure to create the emergence profile of prosthetic crowns for teeth prepared with the Vertical Edgeless Preparation (VEP) technique. This technique extends the tooth preparation below the gingival margin on the root surface of teeth with reduced periodontal attachment. The tooth prepared according to this technique does not present a defined prosthetic margin or the relative finishing line. Still, it shows an edgeless axial wall that emerges from the gingival sulcus. The digital procedure for creating a prosthetic emergence profile, although representing a novelty in absolute terms, is based on traditional concepts, as they have been known and described in the literature for a long time. This article will explain and review the various clinical and laboratory steps necessary to produce, through an entirely digital procedure, a fixed partial denture composed of three zirconia elements, which are going to be subsequently veneered in a traditional way on the vestibular side to improve the esthetic appearance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to describe Vertical Edgeless Preparation (VEP), a full-crown vertical preparation technique initially introduced by the Porta Mascarella Group in the 1980s. The method is defined as "periodontally driven" because its main indication is teeth with a loss of periodontal attachment, and it aims to obtain healthier periodontal tissues. This work describes the step-by-step procedure for performing this prosthetic technique and its indications, contraindications, impression phases, temporary crown management, and its biological concept of periodontal dominance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of our study was to investigate how endodontics is taught in Italian universities. An online survey was conducted from August to December 2021. A comparison between courses led by full or associate professors (Group 1) versus courses led by other figures, such as researchers or temporary lecturers (Group 2), was made. A total of 28 out of 36 schools participated (78%). In most schools, endodontics is taught in the fifth year to 15–29 students. All schools planned pre-clinical endodontic training, and in 25/28 schools (89.3%), clinical endodontic training was also provided. The course programs varied among schools, and significantly more hours were allocated to teaching nonsurgical root canal treatment in Group 1 schools than in Group 2 schools. The average numbers of hours of preclinical and clinical training were 34.3 ± 23.6 and 84.1 ± 76.7, respectively. All schools used rotary NiTi files in their clinical training, and the vertical condensation of hot gutta-percha was the most frequently taught obturation technique. As expected, the scenario of endodontic education in Italian universities was variable and needs harmonization. Courses led by full or associate professors seem to be better structured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the androgenic hormone testosterone enanthate (TE) on human MG-63 cells. MG-63 were cultured for 24 h in the presence of TE at increasing concentrations to assess its lethal dose. Therefore, the suitable concentration for a prolonged use of TE in vitro was assessed by viability assay over 9 days. Finally, MG-63 were exposed to TE for 14 days and assayed for differentiation by qPCR and Alizarin Red S staining. TE in the amount of 100 µM resulted as the maximum dose tolerated by MG-63 cells after 24 h. However, a prolonged exposure in culture TE in the amount of 100 µM showed a cytostatic effect on cell proliferation. On the contrary, TE 10 µM was tolerated by the cells and did not boost cell proliferation, but did enhance new bone formation, as revealed by COL1A1, ALPL, BGLAP, and IBSP gene expression after 3, 7, and 14 days, and calcium deposition by Alizarin Red S staining after 14 days. Based on the current study, 10 µM is the critical dose of TE that should be used in vitro to support bone differentiation of MG-63 cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An important issue with digital impression techniques is the difficulty in replicating the subgingival zone, particularly when abutments are prepared with a vertical finish line. We propose a novel procedure, the reverse subgingival scan (RSS), to depict the subgingival area via digital impression without a retraction cord or the distortion of the sulcus. The software workflow, beginning with a digital dental impression, was performed using Exocad® (Align Technology) and Meshmixer® (Autodesk). The approach is based on the direct alignment of the surface of abutments, which is used as a reference point. The efficacy of the RSS approach was confirmed via fit tests, radiographic control assessments, and evaluations of the rate of tissue compression of the final prosthetic restoration, so long as the provisional had a perfect fit. RSS yields information on the transversal dimension and depth of the gingival sulcus. The procedure depends on the quality and characteristics of the provisional restoration, and is suitable only for cases in which the finish line of the final crown is at the same level or more coronal than that of the provisional. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The host-material interface is a crucial relationship dictating the possibility of successful osseointegration in implant dentistry. The aim of the present study was to characterize the effects of plasma proteins pre-adsorption on the adhesion capacity of osteoblasts, which occurs immediately after implant insertion in vivo. After having pre-adsorbed human plasma proteins on a machined and microrough titanium surface, MC3T3-E1 osteoblasts adhesion was evaluated through crystal violet cell adhesion assay, immunofluorescence staining for cytoskeleton, focal adhesions and cell nuclei, and scanning electron microscopy. The pre-adsorbed protein layer markedly affected the adhesion rate of cells, as well as their morphology and the expression of focal contacts. Moreover, protein adsorption to the underlying titanium surface was found to be correlated to surface pre-wetting. Thus, the early adsorption of serum proteins to the interface of dental implants impacts cell adhesion in terms of strength and of focal adhesions expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A decisive step in cell-biomaterial interaction is represented by the adsorption of proteins at the interface, whose fine control may be useful to trigger proper cell response. To this purpose, we can selectively control protein adsorption on biomaterials by means of aptamers. Aptamers selected to recognize fibronectin dramatically enhance chitosan ability to promote cell proliferation and adhesion, but the underlying biological mechanism remains unknown. We supposed that aptamers contributed to ameliorate the adsorption of fibronectin in an advantageous geometrical conformation for cells, thus regulating their morphology by the proper activation of the integrin-mediated pathway. We investigated this possibility by culturing epithelial cells on chitosan enriched with increasing doses of aptamers in the presence or in the absence of cytoskeleton pharmacological inhibitors. Our results showed that aptamers control cell morphology in a dose dependent manner (p < 0.0001). Simultaneously, when the inhibition of actin polymerization was induced, the control of cell morphology was attenuated (p < 0.0001), while no differences were detected when cells contractility was challenged (p > 0.05). Altogether, our data provide evidence that aptamers contribute to control fibronectin adsorption on biomaterials by preserving its conformation and thus function. Furthermore, our work provides a new insight into a new way to accurately tailor material surface bioactivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tissue engineering (TE) is a multidisciplinary science, which including principles from material science, biology and medicine aims to develop biological substitutes to restore damaged tissues and organs. A major challenge in TE is the choice of suitable biomaterial to fabricate a scaffold that mimics native extracellular matrix guiding resident stem cells to regenerate the functional tissue. Ideally, the biomaterial should be tailored in order that the final scaffold would be (i) biodegradable to be gradually replaced by regenerating new tissue, (ii) mechanically similar to the tissue to regenerate, (iii) porous to allow cell growth as nutrient, oxygen and waste transport and (iv) bioactive to promote cell adhesion and differentiation. With this perspective, this review discusses the options and challenges facing biomaterial selection when a scaffold has to be designed. We highlight the possibilities in the final mold the materials should assume and the most effective techniques for its fabrication depending on the target tissue, including the alternatives to ameliorate its bioactivity. Furthermore, particular attention has been given to the influence that all these aspects have on resident cells considering the frontiers of materiobiology. In addition, a focus on chitosan as a versatile biomaterial for TE scaffold fabrication has been done, highlighting its latest advances in the literature on bone, skin, cartilage and cornea TE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]