01.    Dental traumatology and transplantation

  Jens O. Andreasen, D.D.S.,
Department of Oral Medicine and Surgery, University Hospital (Rigshospitalet) Copenhagen, Denmark.

Recent treatment procedures for traumatic dental injuries. In many industrialized countries every second child is affected by traumatic dental injuries which often compromise the esthetics and function of the dentition. For various reasons, dental traumatology has become the orphan on dentistry, being almost totally neglected by the academic institutions with respect to both clinical and experimental research. As these injuries usually represent an injury to both the pulp, periodontal ligament and supporting bone, complex healing patterns result.

In this presentation, emphasis will be placed on the effect of various common treatment procedures, such as repositioning and splinting of displaced teeth, pulp capping and pulpotomy of crown fractured teeth. Finally, methods to treat non-salvageable teeth by auto-transplantation will be presented.
Saudi Dental Journal 1992;4(SI)-Abstr.01:p2.

Steven M. Morgano, D.M.D.,
Boston University, School of Graduate Dentistry, Boston, Maryland, USA.

Few topics generate as much controversy and emotionalism as occlusion, and yet virtually every restoration affects the patient's occlusion. In this presentation, fundamental principles of occlusion will be described in an organized fashion, and these principles will be related to the goals of occlusal restoration with fixed and removable prosthodontics.

Topics to be discussed include the anatomy and physiology of the masticatory system, anterior guidance, centric relation, temporomandibular joint function, articulators, artificially created occlusions, and common problems encountered when restoring an occlusion.
Saudi Dental Journal 1992;4(SI)-Abstr.02:p3.

The latest dental materials and clinical placement techniques will be detailed in light of the new knowledge of the role of dentin smear layers and bacterial penetration on pulpal response and sensitivity. The course will cover dentine smear layers, removal of bases from clinical practice, the new liners and varnishes, dentin bonding agents, etching of dentin, clinical results of dentin bonding evaluations, bonding and sealing dental amalgam, treatment of root sensitivity, composite resins including cavity design and placement techniques, as well as repair of composite resin and composite and porcelain inlays and onlays.

Course Objectives Upon completion of the presentation, the clinician should be able to:

1. Describe the evidence for and clinical procedures to seal the dentin for dental amalgam restorations in light of our knowledge of smear layers.
2. Compare the current methods for bonding to dentin and select the system where clinical evidence best supports its efficacy.
3. Repair composite resin and fractured porcelain with the latest techniques.
4. Select and place composite resin in the latest cavity designs with proper selection of a liner or pulpal protection material.
5. Describe the limitations on the use of composite resin inlays and onlays as well as etched porcelain inlays and onlays.
6. Discuss the latest methods to treat root sensitivity and the difficulty in evaluating clinical reports based upon the placebo effect.

Saudi Dental Journal 1992;4(SI)-Abstr.03:p4.

04. Bacterial penetration of periodontal pocket epithelium and connective tissue in advanced adult and rapidly progressive periodontitis cases.

S. Shafshak, S. Shafik,
Department of Periodontology and Oral Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt.

Five patients with advanced chronic adult periodontitis (AP), and three patients with rapidly progressive periodontitis (RP) were included in this study. Transmission electron microscope was used to examine the gingival pocket walls removed during the reversed bevel incision of an apically repositioned flap procedures recommended for these patients. The main purpose of this study was to analyze whether microorganisms have the potential to penetrate the pocket soft tissue wall in two different advanced forms of periodontal disease.

The results showed very few microorganisms either in the degenerated epithelium of RP specimens or in the underlying connective tissue of the AP specimens. It can be concluded that microorganisms could only be translocated rather than actively penetrate the destructed periodontal tissues. This destruction is mostly caused by the bacterial products and the harmful effects produced by the inflammatory reactions within the tissues.
Saudi Dental Journal 1992;4(SI)-Abstr.04:p5.

05.    Yeast in juvenile and adult periodontitis cases: a scanning electron microscopic study of the root surfaces.

Sami Shafik
Department of Preventive Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, King Saud University, P.O. Box 60169, Riyadh 11545, Saudi Arabia.

The aim of this study was to examine the root surfaces adjacent to periodontal pockets in both advanced adult and localized juvenile periodontitis cases focusing on the possible role of yeasts in these two periodontal disease entities.

Teeth with poor prognosis according to the treatment plan were extracted from two groups of 10 patients each diagnosed as having localized juvenile periodontitis (LJP) and advanced adult periodontitis (AAP). The extracted teeth of AAP cases were matched to the corresponding LJP specimens by both the tooth number and pocket depths which ranged between 8-10 mm. The teeth were then prepared for examination by the scanning electron microscope (SEM).

The results of this study showed the presence of yeast cells on the root surfaces of six LJP specimens while yeasts were only found on two specimens of AAP cases. Yeast cells were observed on the middle and apical parts of the root surfaces. Most of these cells appeared irregular in outline and some of them appeared with bud formations which is related to the activity of these cells for multiplication. It can be concluded that yeasts may have a possible role in periodontal destruction especially in localized juvenile periodontitis cases.
Saudi Dental Journal 1992;4(SI)-Abstr.05:p6.