General dentistry
-
The periodontal ligament (PDL) injection is used primarily when conventional anesthesia is not fully effective, when dentists require only a short duration of anesthesia, and when a patient wants to avoid the lip and tongue numbness associated with mandibular block injections. To provide effective anesthesia and to lessen adverse reactions associated with the injection, it is important to understand the proper technique for administering a PDL injection. This article provides a literature review of the PDL injection and a review of the author's techniques, including indications and contraindications, patient considerations, site and syringe preparation, administration of the injection, and possible postoperative effects.
-
Inter-examiner reliability of physical assessment methods for assessing temporomandibular disorders.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether non-expert examiners could reliably use the physical assessment methods described in the Research Diagnostic Criteria for temporomandibular disorders (RDC/TMD). Screening examinations were performed on patients with self-reported TMD symptoms by two examiners using techniques specified in Axis I of RDC/TMD diagnostic criteria. ⋯ Concordance for diagnostic signs was good for determining opening click, closing click, and coarse crepitus, while concordance for determining protrusive click and joint space pain categories was poor. Using the examination and diagnosis procedures specified in the RDC/TMD, conscientious nonexpert examiners can assign diagnostic labels to the major subcategories of TMD with a satisfactory level of reliability.