Purpose: This research aimed to investigate fracture resistance of endodontically treated maxillary premolars restored using preheated thermo-viscous and fiber-reinforced bulk fill resin composite, in vitro.Methodology: Sixty sound human maxillary premolars were selected and divided randomly into 6 groups of ten teeth each (n = 10). Group 1; is the positive control with sound unprepared teeth (P), Group 2; is the negative control in which Mesio-occluso-distal (MOD) cavities were left unrestored (N), Group 3; includes the teeth restored by incremental packing with conventional nanohybrid composite (ChP), Group 4; includes teeth restored with short fiber reinforced bulk fill composite (EF), Group 5; includes teeth restored with preheated thermo-viscous bulk fill composite (VB), and Group 6; includes teeth restored using packable bulk fill composite (XF) Tested restorative materials were bonded with a universal adhesive in self-etch mode. Teeth were kept in distilled water for 24 h at 37 °C proceeded by thermocycling (5- 55 °C, 1200×). Teeth were then exposed to compressive load till fracture at a crosshead speed of 1 mm/min. One-way ANOVA followed by Tukey post-hoc test was implemented to compare between more than two groups in non-related samples. The significance level was established at α = 0.05 for both tests.Results: Intact teeth significantly recorded the highest fracture resistance values among all groups. A significant difference was recorded among all the tested groups, with the EF recording the highest values, followed by the VB group then the XF group and ChP that recorded the lowest data. Negative control premolars significantly recorded the lowest fracture.Conclusions: After thermocycling, endodontically treated maxillary premolars restored with pre-heated thermos-viscous composite did not exhibit an increase in fracture resistance. Notably, our findings indicate that short fiber-reinforced composite demonstrated significantly higher fracture resistance compared to other types of composites assessed in this study. This suggests the potential superiority of short fiber-reinforced composite in enhancing the overall structural integrity of endodontically treated teeth subjected to occlusal forces.

Objective. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the adaptation of newly introduced bioactive restorative materials to the cavity floor using cross-polarization optical coherence tomography (CP-OCT). Materials and Methods. Round class V cavities were prepared on the proximal surfaces of sixty non-carious human anterior teeth (0.5 mm depth × 4 mm diameter), which were divided into groups according to the restorative material (n = 15). In the VF group, Vertise flow composite (Kerr, Orange, CA, USA) was used, in the BF group, Beautifil II composite (Shofu, Koyoto, Japan) was used, and in the AB group, ACTIVA BioACTIVE composite (Pulpdent, Watertown, NY, USA) was used. Cavities were restored using the bulk filling technique and cured according to the manufacturers’ instructions. Then, the specimens were immersed in a contrasting agent, and image acquisitions were taken by CP-OCT to calculate the adaptation percentage by using an image analysis software. Results. B-scans showed a diffuse bright band of white pixels at the tooth-resin interface that was interpreted as a micro-gap present between the cavity floor and restorative material. The Kruskal-Wallis test showed a statistically significant difference between all tested groups with the AB group representing the least gap formation, followed by the BF group, and then the VF group, which demonstrated the highest gap formation. Conclusions. In class V cavities, better adaptation to the cavity floor can be obtained when using ACTIVA BioACTIVE more than Vertise flow and Beautifil II composites. In addition, CP-OCT is considered a non-destructive imaging tool that helps in evaluating the quality of the tooth-restoration interface when bioactive composites are used.

Aim: To investigate the efficacy of the XP-endo Finisher-R (XP-FR) and manual H-filing in enhancing the removal of Totalfill BC sealer from oval root canals. Methodology: Forty mandibular incisors were prepared using ProTaper Next up to file X3 then filled with warm vertical condensation using Totalfill BC sealer. The volume of the root canal filling post-obturation and the remaining volume post-retreatment using Mani NRT-GPR system were assessed using Micro-CT (µ-CT). The total volume in 3 mm was calculated from the cervical line till the root apex using the CT-an software. Specimens were randomly divided into two equal groups n=20 according to the supplementary approach of gutta percha removal used; where Group I: XP-FR was used for 1 min, and Group II: size 30 H-file was used in a filing motion for 1 min. Specimens were again scanned using µ-CT and the remaining gutta percha volume was calculated. Data were statistically analyzed using Wilcoxon, Man-Whitney, Friedman tests with significance level of 5%. Results: Significant reduction of the remining filling material was recorded post-retreatment with percentage of reduction of 63.34%, 78.53%, and 66.21% at the apical, middle, and coronal thirds respectively using Mani NRT-GPR system. Supplementary removal approaches significantly improved filling material removal (P<0.05). XP-FR removed significantly more filling material than manual H-filing with percentage of filling material reduction of 52.22%, 34.92%, and 40.60% compared to 21.89%, 18.43%, 31.72% in the apical, middle, and coronal thirds (Man-Whitney test, P<0.001). Conclusions: Rotary retreatment files failed to totally remove the root canal filling material. Supplementary methods have improved root canal filling material removal; where XP-FR significantly removed more filling than manual H-filing.

Background: Individuals seek out cosmetic dentists not so much for improved dental function or overall health but rather to improve the appearance of their teeth and gain more social acceptance. This study aimed to evaluate how dental students at King Abdul-Aziz University (KAU) perceived smiles based on their gender. Methods: The study included two hundred students with clinical experience from the College of Dentistry, KAU. The data were collected using a three-part validated questionnaire. The first part included socio-demographic items; the second part included two close-ended questions regarding aesthetic characteristics; and the third part consisted of perception to seventeen photos of digitally manipulated smiles to be assessed using a numeric rating scale (NRS), (1, best; 5, worst). Results: The first facial feature to catch the attention of most students was a smile, which was followed by the eyes. Almost 98% of the participants considered the smile one of the most important features of facial aesthetics. According to Faradeni research, men valued their gingival smile characteristic (p=0.013) and teeth color (p=0.001) substantially higher than women. Conversely, females had higher crucial margin discrepancy (p=0.038) and convex occlusal plane (p>0.001) than males. Conclusion: When it comes to the gingival smile, teeth color, and the initial facial feature that attracts the eye, women perceive smiles as more aesthetically pleasing than men. Gingival margin discrepancy and convex occlusal plane were more critical in males than females. Understanding smile aesthetics from the perspective of dental students enhances patient care, education, and overall treatment outcomes.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the influence of commonly used beverages, on surface microhardness of Zirconia reinforced glass ionomer (Zirconomer improved) and microhybrid resin-based composite (Filtek Z250).Materials and methods: A total of 40 disk-shaped specimens were fabricated (20 discs from each type of material). Ten Specimens from each material were immersed in Instant Coffee and the other ten Specimens were immersed in Cola. After initial microhardness recording, each group was subject to thermocycling and then microhardness was re-assessed (n= 10). Results: It was observed that each of restorative material type, thermocycling, and immersion solution, had a statistically significant effect on mean microhardness of both tested materials irrespective of the other tested variables.Conclusion:Resin composite showed significant higher hardness values when compared to Zirconia reinforced glass ionomer. There was a significant decrease in hardness in both materials after thermocycling, with a significant influence of soft drinks more than instant coffee.

This study aimed to evaluate various shade selection protocols using corrective light for shade selection with different viewing backgrounds and to assess the shade matching the performance of students in King Abdulaziz University Faculty of Dentistry (KAUFD). One-Hundred participants were recruited from undergraduate levels with clinical experience. Six different techniques took place with each participant individually using either daylight or corrective light (Smile Lite), with or without