The Journal of prosthetic dentistry
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A particle container has many uses in the dental laboratory and operatory. This article describes a method of making such a container from a 3 1/2 gallon bucket with a lid. Such a container can be easily and inexpensively made from materials that are readily available.
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Data on interrater reliability in assessing a number of clinical signs commonly evaluated in the diagnosis and treatment of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) is presented in this article. Four experienced dental hygienists who were field examiners for a large epidemiologic study of TMD and three experienced clinical TMD specialists (dentists) who are coinvestigators in the same study followed carefully detailed specifications and criteria for examination of TMD patients and pain-free controls. Excellent reliability was found for vertical range of motion measures and for summary indices measuring the overall presence of a clinical sign that could arise from several sources (for example, summary indices of muscle palpation pain). ⋯ In particular, assessment of pain in response to muscle palpation and identification of specific temporomandibular joint sounds seemed to be possible only with modest, sometimes marginal, reliability. These modest reliabilities could arise from examiner error because the clinical signs are themselves unreliable, changing spontaneously over time and making it difficult to find the same sign on successive examinations. The finding that, without calibration, experienced clinicians showed low reliability with other clinicians suggests the importance of establishing reliable clinical standards for the examination and diagnostic classification of TMD.
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A technique is described for using an endotracheal tube to make an impression of the intratracheal anatomy for fabrication of a custom-fitted tracheostomy prosthesis.
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Initial clinical studies applying the osseointegration concept for retention of facial prostheses have been encouraging. The results of these preliminary investigations indicate new treatment possibilities with facial prostheses anchored to the cranial skeleton by osseointegrated implants. Osseointegrated rehabilitation of the maxillofacial prosthetic patient presents the potential for overcoming many of the disadvantages associated with conventional retentive methods. Fabrication and support for facial prostheses by using osseointegrated implants for retention are described.
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Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
Discomfort and bite force in painful masseter muscles after intramuscular injections of local anesthetic and saline solution.
Thirty women with a history of daily pain in the masseter muscles were injected with either lidocaine or saline. The participants were told that they were being given an anesthetic injection to reduce their muscular discomfort. The dentist performing the injections did not know which fluid was used. ⋯ The intraindividual force values increased significantly after injection in the saline group. This effect was not found in the lidocaine group. Despite the minor tendencies for lidocaine to have a better effect, the placebo effect was considered to be high and important.