Dental update
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With the demand for orthodontic treatment increasing, it is inevitable that the practitioner will see a significant number of patients with previously traumatized teeth who require orthodontic treatment. The possible risks and guidelines for the management of these teeth during active tooth movements are discussed. The use of orthodontic appliances in the management of incisors traumatized during active orthodontic treatment is also discussed.
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Neurological complications following the administration of a local anaesthetic can be alarming. By reading reports of such incidents, dentists who find themselves in similar situations will be able to reassure their patients and act accordingly. ⋯ Examples of complications covered are facial nerve palsy, transient amaurosis, post-injection paraesthesia, Horner's syndrome, transient paralysis of combined cranial nerves III, IV and VI, sudden unilateral deafness and abducens nerve palsy. A thorough knowledge of the relevant anatomy pertinent to the various injections used in dental surgery is essential and is highlighted in the text.
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Mouth ulcers are one of the most common oral complaints. The term ulcer is used usually where there is damage to both epithelium and lamina propria, and a crater, sometimes made more obvious clinically by swelling caused by oedema or proliferation in the surrounding tissue. The term erosion is usually used where the damage is somewhat more superficial. ⋯ Some are caused by aphthae or malignant neoplasms, and a few have aetiology in obvious systemic disease. Ulcers of local cause, drugs, aphthous ulcers, Behcet's syndrome and malignant ulcers are discussed in this article. The next two articles discuss the ulcers due to systemic disease including disorders of the blood, gastrointestinal disorders, skin diseases, connective tissue disease and infective diseases.
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This final article in the series on computing for dental practitioners examines multimedia and the Internet. Multimedia is one area where the greatest advances have been made in recent years; almost all PCs marketed today have multimedia capabilities and more and more software is being written with multimedia attributes.