Dental amalgam has served as an excellent and versatile restorative material for many years, despite periods of controversy. The authors review its history, summarize the evidence with regard to its performance and offer predictions for the future of this material. The PubMed database was used initially; the reference list for dental amalgam featured 8641 articles and 13 publications dealing with recent advances in dental amalgam. A forward search was undertaken on selected articles and using some author names. For the present, amalgam should remain the material of choice for economic direct restoration of posterior teeth. When esthetic concerns are paramount, tooth-colored materials, placed meticulously, can provide an acceptable alternative. All alternative restorative materials and procedures, however, have certain limitations.

Highest microbial inhibition was shown by (CRCS), followed by MTA Fillapex and AH Plus. Gutta Flow 2 did not show any inhibition of E. faecalis by ADT. Maximum reduction in antibacterial property with time against E. faecalis was seen with AH Plus. Maximum flow was shown by AH Plus and minimum by CRCS.

The role of fluoride to reduce demineralization and enhance remineralization of dental hard tissue has been well documented. Different forms of fluoride solutions have been topically used in dentistry as prophylactic agents against tooth decay. In the recent past, metal fluorides, especially titanium tetrafluoride, have become popular in the fraternity of dental research due to their unique interaction with dental hard tissue. Many studies on titanium tetrafluoride, with positive and negative conclusions, have been published in many research journals. This gives the reader a plethora of inconclusive results with one study neutralizing the outcome of other, which confuses us regarding the present status of titanium tetrafluoride in the field of dentistry. This is an endeavor to organize and present the various studies of this unique compound, to provide us with a lucid overall review of its versatile potential application in dentistry, along with its fallacy/drawbacks. We have discussed its role as a cariostatic agent, pit and fissure sealant, tooth desensitizer, against dental erosion, as a root canal irrigant and others.

This study evaluated the effectiveness of ultrasound, color Doppler imaging and conventional radiography in monitoring the post-surgical healing of periapical lesions of endodontic origin. Fifteen patients who underwent periapical surgery for endodontic pathology were randomly selected. In all patients, periapical lesions were evaluated preoperatively using ultrasound, color Doppler imaging and conventional radiography, to analyze characteristics such as size, shape and dimensions. On radiographic evaluation, dimensions were measured in the superoinferior and mesiodistal direction using image-analysis software. Ultrasound evaluation was used to measure the changes in shape and dimensions on the anteroposterior, superoinferior, and mesiodistal planes. Color Doppler imaging was used to detect the blood-flow velocity. Postoperative healing was monitored in all patients at 1 week and 6 months by using ultrasound and color Doppler imaging, together with conventional radiography. The findings were then analyzed to evaluate the effectiveness of the 3 imaging techniques. At 6 months, ultrasound and color Doppler imaging were significantly better than conventional radiography in detecting changes in the healing of hard tissue at the surgical site (P < 0.004). This study demonstrates that ultrasound and color Doppler imaging have the potential to supplement conventional radiography in monitoring the post-surgical healing of periapical lesions of endodontic origin.

Background Aim of this trial was to evaluate the combined clinical and radiographic success rate of endodontic treatment using passive ultrasonic irrigation (PUI) and laser activated irrigation (LAI) as compared to conventional syringe irrigation. Material and Methods Permanent incisors and single rooted premolars were assessed for eligibility and 69 patients were randomly divided into three treatment groups (n=23) by allocation concealment method and irrigation was performed in accordance with the allocated group. Teeth were evaluated clinically and radiographically with CBCT after 6 months and 12 months of the treatment. Results A significant difference was observed in the radiographic healing rates among three groups (χ2=12.29, p =0.05). On comparing the final outcome among the three groups (n=19), it was found that 2 (10.5%) cases of group I(Conventional Syringe irrigation), 7 (36.8%) cases of group II (Passive ultrasonic irrigation) and 8 (42.1%) cases of group III(Laser activated irrigation) were healed while under healing category 13 (68.4%) cases of group I, 12 (63.2%) cases of group II and 11 (57.9%) of group III were observed whereas 4 (21.1%) cases were categorised as diseased in group I only. Conclusions LAI and PUI can increase the predictability of the endodontic treatment success in cases of chronic apical periodontitis. Key words: Cone-beam computed tomography, CBCT-PAI, Irrigation, LASER, Radiographic healing, Root canal treatment, Ultrasonic.