Plastic bread-bag clips in the gastrointestinal tract: report of 5 cases and review of the literature. (1/82)

Plastic bread-bag clips have been identified as a cause of local perforation or obstruction at many sites in the gastrointestinal tract. This study is the largest case series yet reported, consisting of 3 cases presenting as small-bowel perforation, 1 case in which the clip was found incidentally in the small bowel at laparotomy during vascular surgery and 1 case in which the clip was found incidentally in the small bowel at autopsy. In all cases there was no radiographic evidence to suggest a foreign body in the gastrointestinal tract. People older than 60 years of age who have either partial or full dentures seem to be particularly at risk for the accidental ingestion of these devices. If accidentally ingested, plastic bread-bag clips represent a significant health hazard. As the population ages, small-bowel perforation secondary to ingestion of such clips may occur with increasing frequency. The authors recommend elimination or redesign of the clips, to prevent their being swallowed and becoming impacted in the small bowel or to allow them to be identified in the gastrointestinal tract by conventional radiography.  (+info)

Oral health of patients scheduled for elective abdominal aortic correction with prosthesis. (2/82)

OBJECTIVE: to evaluate the frequency of potential oral foci of infection in patients scheduled for elective abdominal aortic surgery. DESIGN: prospective clinical study. MATERIALS: oral health and dentures of 50 patients (33 males and 17 females, mean age 65 years) were examined before aortic surgery. CHIEF OUTCOME MEASURES: radiographic and clinical examination with special emphasis on identifying acute and chronic oral and ontogenic conditions which may contribute to aortic prosthesis infection. RESULTS: eighty-two per cent of the patients had some oral infection foci. The mean number of remaining teeth in the cohort was 9.3, and 21% of these were potential infectious foci (62% in the patients). Twenty-six per cent of the patients suffered from oral Candida infection. Seventy-four per cent of the patients had total or partial dentures, 45% of which were ill-fitting and needed repair. CONCLUSIONS: oral infectious foci occur frequently in patients needing aortic surgery. Untreated foci may contribute to aortic prosthesis infection. Preoperative oral evaluation and elimination of intraoral infection is recommended for patients scheduled for abdominal aortic repair.  (+info)

Current trends in removable prosthodontics. (3/82)

BACKGROUND: This article discusses trends in the demographics and treatment of the edentulous patient. It is clear that there still is a tremendous need for removable-prosthodontic services today. While the basic process of making dentures has changed little over the past several decades, new materials and techniques can help laboratories and clinicians provide functional, esthetic restorations that offer exceptional value to patients. Implant treatment is a tremendous adjunct to removable prosthodontics in the treatment of edentulous patients, but it is not within the financial reach of all dental patients. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: The clinical skills required to deliver excellent complete denture care are also paramount to successful implant prosthodontics (fixed and removable) and esthetic dentistry. Even so, the opportunities to develop these skills and the interest appear to be decreasing at the same time that the need is projected to increase. In service to our patients, the profession must examine this trend closely.  (+info)

Surgical simulation of Class III edentulous patient using a 3D craniofacial model: report of a case. (4/82)

A case of edentulous prognathism in a 46-year-old Japanese male is presented. We described the outcome of the patient who underwent simultaneous sagittal splitting ramus osteotomy of the edentulous mandible, interpositional bone graft of severely atrophic edentulous jaws, and delayed placement of titanium implants for reconstruction. We highly recommend performing a surgical simulation using a craniofacial model of the patient's anatomy created using CT image data. The procedure provides almost ideal maxillary and mandibular contours.  (+info)

Application of sintered titanium alloys to metal denture bases: a study of titanium powder sheets for complete denture base. (5/82)

The purpose of this study was the fabrication of titanium powder sheets to enable the application of sintered titanium alloys as metal denture bases. The effects of titanium particle shape and size, binder content, and plasticizer content on the surface smoothness, tensile strength and elongation of titanium powder sheets was investigated. To select a suitable ratio of powdered metal contents for application as a metal denture base, the effects of aluminum content in Ti sheets and various other powder metal contents in Ti-Al sheets on the density, sintering shrinkage, and bending strength were evaluated. Based on the results of the above experiments, we developed a mixed powder sheet composed of 83Ti-7Al-10Cr with TA45 titanium powder (atomized, -45 microm), and 8 mass% binder content. This titanium alloy sheet had good formability and ductility. Its sintered titanium alloy had a density of 3.2 g/cm3, sintering shrinkage of 3.8%, and bending strength of 403 MPa. The titanium alloy sheet is clinically acceptable for fabricating denture bases.  (+info)

Good occlusal practice in removable prosthodontics. (6/82)

The loss of teeth may result in patients experiencing problems of a functional, aesthetic and psychological nature. This section addresses the very important subject of occlusal considerations for partial and complete dentures. The occlusion is particularly important given the bearing that occlusal factors have, especially on edentulous patients.  (+info)

A clinical and microbiological evaluation of denture cleansers for geriatric patients in long-term care institutions. (7/82)

BACKGROUND: Many elderly patients in long-term care hospitals cannot adequately brush their dentures because of disease, dementia and poor dexterity. Such inadequate cleaning may allow for the multiplication of Candida spp. and bacteria, which could serve as reservoirs for disseminating infections. OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy of 3 denture cleansers in reducing the number of microorganisms on dentures in a hospitalized geriatric population. METHODS: Three brands of cleanser (Denture Brite, Polident and Efferdent) were compared; water was used as the control. Microbiological samples were obtained before and after 3 one-week periods of cleanser use; these samples were taken by a microbiologist blinded to the assigned treatment. In the statistical analysis, the ranks of the differences between the before-treatment and after-treatment scores of each regimen were compared by means of the general linear model. In addition, the efficacy of each cleanser in reducing accumulation of plaque, stain and food was assessed. RESULTS: The rank of the differences in the number of colony-forming units (CFUs) of Candida spp. before and after one week of use of Denture Brite (p = 0.04) and Polident (p = 0.01), was significantly greater than that of the control group, but there was no difference between Efferdent use and control (p = 0.10). No significant differences in reduction of Streptococcus mutans were observed between Denture Brite (p = 0.13) or Polident (p = 0.12) and the control group, whereas dentures cleaned with Efferdent exhibited significantly greater reduction in Streptococcus mutans (p = 0.02) than dentures cleaned with water. Over all study periods, there were no significant differences among the cleansers in reduction of Candida spp. or Streptococcus mutans. Dentures cleaned with Denture Brite, Polident or Efferdent appeared to have similar reductions in the level of plaque, stain and food, and all had substantially greater reductions than dentures cleaned with water only. The significant difference in the rank of the reduction in Candida spp. CFUs (p = 0.005) was related to the variance between study periods (p = 0.01) and the variance between subjects (p = 0.008). CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The use of denture cleansers significantly reduced the number of microorganisms on dentures in a hospitalized geriatric population.  (+info)

The future of teaching of complete denture construction to undergraduates. (8/82)

For some time there has been a need to discuss the undergraduate complete denture curriculum in the light of the inception of the specialist lists and the impending introduction of clinical dental technicians to ensure that general dental practitioners can continue to provide a complete denture service to the public. Publication in draft form by the General Dental Council of their document 'The First Five Years - The undergraduate dental curriculum increases the need for this debate.  (+info)