The purpose of this article was to present a novel clinical workflow for the fabrication of complete dentures using computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD-CAM) technology. The dental technique consists of 3 clinical steps and 2 laboratory phases that result in the production of 2 CAD-CAM milled complete denture bases with prefabricated teeth. The integration of analog and digital procedures and materials maximizes their benefits in the planning and fabrication of complete dentures, with the goal of improving clinical outcomes.
This work investigated whether the anti-resorptive drugs (ARDs) zoledronic acid (Zol) and denosumab (Dmab) affect differently the levels of circulating immune cell subsets, possibly predicting the risk of developing medication-related ONJ (MRONJ) during the first 18 months of treatment. Blood samples were collected from 10 bone metastatic breast cancer patients receiving cyclin inhibitors at 0, 6, 12, and 18 months from the beginning of Dmab or Zol treatment. Eight breast cancer patients already diagnosed with MRONJ and treated with cyclin inhibitors and ARDs were in the control group. PBMCs were isolated; the trend of circulating immune subsets during the ARD treatment was monitored, and 12 pro-inflammatory cytokines were analyzed in sera using flow cytometry. In Dmab-treated patients, activated T cells were stable or increased, as were the levels of IL-12, TNF-α, GM-CSF, IL-5, and IL-10, sustaining them. In Zol-treated patients, CD8+T cells decreased, and the level of IFN-γ was undetectable. γδT cells were not altered in Dmab-treated patients, while they dramatically decreased in Zol-treated patients. In the MRONJ control group, Zol-ONJ patients showed a reduction in activated T cells and γδT cells compared to Dmab-ONJ patients. Dmab was less immunosuppressive than Zol, not affecting γδT cells and increasing activated T cells.
7 November 2024 in Clinical and Experimental Dental Research
Objective: The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of dental erosion in competitive swimmers using teledentistry and artificial intelligence.Materials and Methods: An opportunistic sample of 20 competitive swimmers was recruited. The participants reported that they carried out an average of 2.40 h of training per day, 4.45 days per week. Data gathering was carried out remotely. The subjects completed a digital questionnaire and uploaded three photos of their mouth. Intraoral photographs were analyzed using the “Intact‐Tooth” application to assess dental erosion. A statistical analysis was carried out to verify a possible correlation between the collected data.Results: The average calculated Basic Erosive Wear Examination (BEWE) index was 13.95, and 11 subjects (55%) had a severe BEWE (≥ 14). More than 40% of the participants disagreed about having social issues related to tooth hypersensitivity. Considering only subjects with a severe total BEWE value, we have observed an indirect correlation between the degree of dental erosion and diet (Pearson coefficient r = −0.57), whereas a direct correlation was observed between dental erosion and age (r = 0.493) and between BEWE and weekly training hours (r = 0.217).Conclusions: Because of their lifestyle, competitive swimmers can be considered at a higher risk of developing dental erosion. In this context, teledentistry and AI tools can be effectively used to intercept those at the highest risk and prevent the occurrence of conditions.Summary: Dental erosion assessment in competitive swimmers using teledentistry and AI.
Due to potentially harmful exposure to X-rays, condylar growth in response to orthodontic treatment is poorly studied. To overcome this limitation, here, the authors have proposed high-resolution MRI as a viable alternative to CBCT for clinical 3D assessment of TMJ. A male subject underwent both MRI and CBCT scans. The obtained three-dimensional reconstructions of the TMJ were segmented and superimposed by a semiautomatic algorithm developed in MATLAB R2022a. The condylar geometries were reconstructed using dedicated software for image segmentation. Two geometrical parameters, i.e., the total volume and surface of the single condyle model, were selected to quantify the intraclass and interclass variability from the mean of each DICOM series (CBCT and MRI). The final comparison between the reference standard model of CBCT and 3T MRI showed that the former was more robust in terms of reproducibility, while the latter reached a higher standard deviation compared to CBCT, but these values were similar between the operators and clinically not significant. Within the inherent limitation of image reconstruction on MRI scans due to the current lower resolution of this technique, the method proposed here could be considered as a nucleus for developing future completely automatic AI algorithms, owing to its great potential and satisfactory consistency among different times and operators.