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The treatment of a root perforation is discussed. The root was perforated by a post that was placed in the tooth along with composite resin. Two years later, the patient experienced swelling in the area next to the tooth. An X-ray revealed that the post had perforated the root of the tooth.

The article discusses the principles and mechanism of action of activated charcoal-based oral care products and shows evidence supporting their use. Topics include how charcoal works, the absence of fluoride in many activated charcoal-based oral care products, especially in dentifrices, and effect of charcoal-based toothpastes on dental erosion and gingival health.

Dentists describe the use of a reciprocating handpiece with thin-bladed lamineer abrasive tips to minimize excess composite resin in fiber-reinforced splints. This technique is used to stabilize teeth affected by periodontal disease to prevent tooth loss.

Dental erosion is a multifactorial condition associated with chemical, biological, and behavioral factors whereby a non-bacterial chemical process leads to an irreversible loss of dental structure. Consequences of this erosive process include painful sensitivity, susceptibility to further erosion, mechanical wear, changes in occlusion, exposure of dental pulp, and poor esthetics. Substantial evidence has revealed new insights to diagnosing early stages of dental erosion and enabling novel preventive approaches to control its progression. In the context of outpatient medical/dental practice, clinicians often encounter patients with progressive dental erosion. This article summarizes published research in this area of dentistry to suggest guidelines that are clinically oriented but scientifically fundamental. It is aimed at helping clinicians effectively integrate this information into their professional evaluations of dental erosion with regard to diagnosis, risk factors, clinical signs, assessment, and clinical preventive strategies and treatment. Clinicians should address patient diet habits, educate patients on prevalence data, and inform them regarding potential acidic interactions, such as medically induced acidic conditions, that may ultimately lead to tooth destruction. Prevention of dental erosion, including the recognition of initial erosive lesions and the implementation of the early intervention, involves the clinical expertise of both the dentist and physician. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a method for replacing an anterior tooth using etched porcelain veneers on the abutment teeth. It is stated that the fixed tooth replacement methods of using a removable partial denture or a fixed partial denture, have major drawbacks for the patient. The use of acid etched enamel bonding in combination with etched porcelain veneers requires minimal or no tooth reduction. Information is given on tooth replacement in a 55-year-old man who had a missing maxillary lateral right incisor.

Clinicians have many choices when selecting an appropriate material for interim restorations for both single crowns and multi-units. Interim restorations serve as a diagnostic as well as biologic and biomechanical component of fixed prosthodontics treatment; in the anterior, they are also important in evaluating the esthetics for the definitive restoration. Factors to be considered when choosing provisional materials are physical properties, handling characteristics, patient response to the appearance of the interim restoration, durability of the restoration, and the cost of the material. Practitioners should, therefore, base their choice on the clinical needs for each situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provisional restorations are vital to fixed prosthodontics treatment, providing an important diagnostic function while in place. In addition to protecting the prepared teeth, provisionalization enables clinicians to refine biologic and biornechanical issues before the final restoration is fabricated. Adjustments can be made in the provisional restoration to achieve both the clinician's and patient's desired results. The fabrication of temporary restorations requires that clinicians be proficient with a variety of materials and techniques that can be used to make well-adapted and functional provisionals. There are many material choices available to temporize a single crown as well as multi-unit fixed partial dentures, and the selection of provisional materials should be made based on a case-by-case evaluation. This article provides a review of polymeric resin provisional materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents case reports on the use of N'Durance, a universal composite resin, in anterior and posterior restorations. The first patient suffered from traumatic fracture of the incisal edge of the maxillary incisors and chipping of adjacent incisors, and the composite resin was polished and the teeth was reshaped. In another case, a composite resin was placed to replace the fractured veneer of a patient with traumatic fracture to the distal incisal edge.

The article presents a case report of a patient who complains of a brown-white enamel dysmineralization appearance on maxillary teeth. The patient, a 2nd-year dental student, was concerned on the negative impact to his patients. Dental history reveals that the patient took multivitamins with fluoride and uses fluoride toothpaste and gum. It shows that the translumination is an indicative of mild to moderate fluorosis. Moreover, assessments, treatment plans and goals are also discussed.

The prevalence of dental caries in children and adults in the United States has been declining the past 40 years primarily because of increased use of fluoride, improved oral hygiene and better oral hygiene devices, a greater emphasis on disease prevention and control, and better access to dental care made available by the dental profession. Caries diagnosis and detection for pit-and-fissure lesions has changed dramatically in the past 25 years. Research has confirmed that the carious process is bacterially mediated and is accompanied by changes in salivary flow and pH and the intake of refined carbohydrates. In recent years a number of new technologies have become available as adjuncts to traditional methods of diagnosing carious lesions. While using these new technologies, the clinician still needs to understand the concepts of caries risk, diagnosis, detection, and assessment. Working from the evidence, dental practitioners can decide on a sound clinical diagnosis and treatment plan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]