In dental implant treatment, ridge preservation and immediate or early implant placement are recommended to minimize bone resorption after tooth extraction and achieve esthetic outcomes. However, there is no consensus concerning the efficacy of this surgical method. There is also no consensus on the efficacy of bone and soft tissue grafts and surgical methods for alveolar ridge reconstruction. This paper reports ridge alteration in the anterior maxilla after tooth extraction, and summarizes the efficacy of various ridge preservation methods and immediate or early implant placement as alveolar ridge preservation methods to minimize bone resorption after tooth extraction. The advantages and complications of alveolar ridge reconstruction methods, and the efficacy and surgical method of soft tissue graft are reviewed. The anterior maxilla is in the esthetic zone, and the thickness of the bone on the labial side around the natural tooth is less than 1mm in many cases. Therefore, it is impossible to prevent bone resorption completely, even if ridge preservation and immediate or early implant placement are performed after tooth extraction. It is necessary to obtain stable and long-term esthetics by combining connective tissue and free gingival grafts, in addition to hard tissue augmentation. It is important to consider the burden and level of satisfaction of patients, such as in terms of donor site morbidity in hard and soft tissue grafting, and to pay attention to appropriate indications to avoid overtreatment.

Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is widely used in dental applications. However, PMMA specialized for stereolithography (SLA) additive manufacturing (3D-printing) has not been developed yet. This study aims to develop a novel PMMA-based resin for SLA 3D-printing by mixing methyl methacrylate (MMA), ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA), and PMMA powder in various mixing ratios. The printability and the viscosity of the PMMA-based resins were examined to determine their suitability for 3D-printing. The mechanical properties (flexural strength and Vickers hardness), shear bond strength, degree of conversion, physicochemical properties (water sorption and solubility), and cytotoxicity for L929 cells of the resulting resins were compared with those of three commercial resins: one self-cured resin and two 3D-print resins. EGDMA and PMMA were found to be essential components for SLA 3D-printing. The viscosity increased with PMMA content, while the mechanical properties improved as EGDMA content increased. The shear bond strength tended to decrease as EGDMA increased. Based on these characteristics, the optimal composition was determined to be 30% PMMA, 56% EGDMA, 14% MMA with flexural strength (84.6 ± 7.1 MPa), Vickers hardness (21.6 ± 1.9), and shear bond strength (10.5 ± 1.8 MPa) which were comparable to or higher than those of commercial resins. The resin’s degree of conversion (71.5 ± 0.7%), water sorption (19.7 ± 0.6 μg/mm³), solubility (below detection limit), and cell viability (80.7 ± 6.2% at day 10) were all acceptable for use in an oral environment. The printable PMMA-based resin is a potential candidate material for dental applications.

The aim of this randomized placebo-controlled clinical study was to investigate the effects of a probiotic tablet containing Lactobacillus reuteri in peri-implantitis patients. Subjects comprised 30 patients with mild to moderate peri-implantitis. A baseline clinical examination and microbiological assessment were conducted, followed by an antibiotics treatment (azithromycin, 500mg, once a day for 3 days). Subjects were divided into probiotic and placebo groups. The clinical examination and bacterial sampling were performed 0, 4, 12 and 24 weeks after the intake of probiotics. The clinical examination included probing pocket depth (PPD), bleeding on probing (BOP), the modified plaque index (mPI), and modified bleeding index (mBI). The number of bacteria was assessed using the PCR-invader method. The Wilcoxon rank-sum test and Wilcoxon signed-rank test with Bonferroni corrections were used for data analyses. Although the number of bacteria decreased after the administration of azithromycin in both groups, they increased again thereafter. No significant difference was observed in bacterial numbers between the two groups. Although PPD in the probiotics group was significantly lower at 4 and 24 weeks than at 0 weeks (p<0.05), a significant decrease did not occur in the placebo group. The mBI score at 24 weeks was significantly lower in the probiotics group than in the placebo group (p<0.05). No significant difference was observed in BOP or mPI between the two groups. These results suggested that probiotics prevent inflammation by affecting host responses rather than improving microbial flora in peri-implant sulci in peri-implantitis patients.

Poly-ether-ether-ketone (PEEK) is commonly employed in dental prostheses owing to its excellent mechanical properties; however, it is limited by its low bond strength with dental resin cement. This study aimed to clarify the type of resin cement most suitable for bonding to PEEK: methyl methacrylate (MMA)-based resin cement or composite-based resin cement. For this purpose, two MMA-based resin cements (Super-Bond EX and MULTIBOND II) and five composite-based resin cements (Block HC Cem, RelyX Universal Resin Cement, G-CEM LinkForce, Panavia V5, and Multilink Automix) were used in combination with appropriate adhesive primers. A PEEK block (SHOFU PEEK) was initially cut, polished, and sandblasted with alumina. The sandblasted PEEK was then bonded to resin cement with adhesive primer according to the manufacturer’s instructions. The resulting specimens were immersed in water at 37 °C for 24 h, followed by thermocycling. Subsequently, the tensile bond strengths (TBSs) of the specimens were measured; the TBSs of the composite-based resin cements after thermocycling were found to be zero (G-CEM LinkForce, Panavia V5, and Multilink Automix), 0.03 ± 0.04 (RelyX Universal Resin Cement), or 1.6 ± 2.7 (Block HC Cem), whereas those of Super-Bond and MULTIBOND were 11.9 ± 2.6 and 4.8 ± 2.3 MPa, respectively. The results demonstrated that MMA-based resin cements exhibited stronger bonding to PEEK than composite-based resin cements.

Background: Low‐intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) has been used in fracture treatment to shorten the time needed for biologic wound healing. Clinical trials applying LIPUS in implant dentistry have reported accelerated soft‐tissue healing and osseointegration. However, details of the clinical effects of LIPUS have not been well characterized. Connective tissue growth factor (CCN2/CTGF) plays an important role in wound healing and angiogenesis in periodontal tissue. In this study, we focus on the effect of LIPUS on gingival epithelial cells and the role of CCN2/CTGF therein.Methods: Gingival epithelial cells (GE1) were cultured in six‐well cell‐culture plates for 24 hours at 37°C with 5% CO₂, and then exposed to LIPUS for 15 minutes at 3‐MHz frequency and 40‐mW/cm² power. Total RNA was extracted after LIPUS exposure and analyzed by real‐time polymerase chain reaction to detect CCN2/CTGF. Additionally, total protein from each sample after LIPUS exposure was immunoblotted with anti‐CCN2/CTGF antibody.Results: LIPUS exposure increased the mRNA level of CCN2/CTGF on exposure, and the level was significantly greater at 0 and 15 minutes after LIPUS exposure compared to the control. Western blotting analysis showed intense staining of CCN2/CTGF for 60 minutes after LIPUS exposure. The results demonstrate that LIPUS exposure accelerates soft‐tissue healing by increasing CCN2/CTGF on exposure, in addition to its effects on bone formation.Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate that LIPUS exposure accelerates soft‐tissue healing by increasing connective tissue growth factors via a mitogen‐activated protein kinase signaling pathway on exposure.