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PubMed1986

Hepatitis B virus infection in dentists and dental students.

To evaluate exposure to hepatitis B virus (HBV) in dental operators, we surveyed 297 students of the Dental School, University of Milano, and 526 dentists registered at the Italian Dental Association (A.M.D.I.) of Lombardia. Out of 297 students, 10.8% had one or more serologic markers of HBV infection; none was hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positive. No significant difference in seropositivity was detected among students in relation to sex, age, or possible risk factors investigated. Out of 526 practitioners, 2.3% were positive for HBsAg, and 37.3% were antibody positive. The seropositivity increased progressively with age and years of professional experience, reaching the highest proportion in dentists with 30 years or more of practice (79.3%). Of those who had suffered from clinical hepatitis during their curriculum, 81.1% were seropositive compared with 34.5% observed in dentists without a prior clinical history of viral hepatitis. The proportion of seropositive dentists did not vary significantly with a history of blood transfusion, size of their practice, presence or absence (or unawareness) of subjects at high risk for HBV infection among their patients. The seropositivity was significantly lower in dentists who routinely adopted mask and gloves (21.1%) compared with those who never and/or occasionally used such barriers (46.3%). The result of the study confirmed that hepatitis B does remain a significant hazard for dental professionals, hence immunization with hepatitis B vaccine should be delivered early in their employment.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

A prospective multicenter clinical study of the Osseotite implant: four-year interim report.

This article reports the 4-year interim results of a multicenter study evaluating the clinical performance of the Osseotite dental implant. At 4 study centers, 485 Osseotite implants were consecutively placed in 181 patients (219 were placed in the mandible and 266 in the maxilla). A total of 355 implants were placed in posterior regions. Short implants (10 mm or less) represented 31.5% (n = 153) of all implants placed in this study. Patients were restored with 210 restorations, distributed as 123 short-span prostheses, 58 single-tooth replacements, 28 long-span prostheses, and 1 maxillary overdenture. At this 4-year interim evaluation, the mean time from implant placement to the most recent evaluation was 52.6 +/- 3.0 months, with a mean loading time of 43.3 +/- 3.8 months. Of the 485 implants placed, there have been 6 failures. All implant failures occurred prior to loading and were categorized as early implant failures. Five of the 6 failures occurred in the maxilla. Only one of the 153 short implants failed to integrate. Baseline radiographs were obtained at prosthesis connection. Radiographic analysis 1 year post-restoration showed a mean bone loss of 0.09 +/- 0.7 mm. From baseline to the end of the second year of function, an overall mean bone loss of 0.13 +/- 0.8 mm was recorded, indicating no additional bone was lost after the first year of implant function. At 4 years, the cumulative implant success rate for all implants placed in this study was 98.7%, with a 99.4% success rate in the posterior mandible and 98.4% success rate in the posterior maxilla. Results of this 4-year interim analysis indicate that this implant achieved a high success rate in posterior regions and that all failures with this implant in this patient population occurred prior to implant loading. When the clinical success of implants 10 mm or shorter was compared to that of implants greater than 10 mm in length, the shorter implants in this study performed similarly to longer implants.

Adolescent↗