Aim: To obtain a consensus on the domains of cariology for undergraduates in dental schools in the Caribbean.Materials and Methods: Dental school deans from the Dominican Republic (DR) and Puerto Rico (PR) were invited to participate. Afterwards, 24 cariology faculty members from the dental schools in the DR received a 40-h workshop on the current un-

Background: The clinical evidence relate the effect of associating the in-office and at home vital tooth whitening, describing positive effects on tooth color change and reduction of dental sensitivity. Objective: The purpose of this randomized double-blind clinical trial was to evaluate the effect on the shortened application of in-office vital tooth whitening combined with different concentrations of at-home peroxides in the final tooth color change and dental sensitivity. Methods: Randomized double-blind clinical trial with 120 participants between 18-65 years, allocated in four tooth whitening treatment groups: G1= Carbamide Peroxide 10% + Hydrogen Peroxide 40%, G2= Carbamide Peroxide 15% + Hydrogen Peroxide 40%, G3= Carbamide Peroxide 20% + Hydrogen Peroxide 40%, G4= Hydrogen Peroxide 10% + Hydrogen Peroxide 40% was conducted. Tooth color was measured at baseline and dental sensitivity and tooth color change during and after treatment. Results: No statistical significant differences were found in tooth color change (superior arch p= 0.183 / inferior arch p= 0.374), and in dental sensitivity (p=0.268). Conclusion: Reducing the application time of in-office whitening, combined with in-home products was effective in improving the color. All groups resulted in identical final color change and dental sensitivity. Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT02682329 Available from: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02682329?term=hydrogen+peroxide.

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly influenced the routine of healthcare workers. This study investigated the impact of the pandemic on dental practice and dentists’ feelings in Latin America. Methods: A survey was conducted with dentists from 11 Spanish-speaking Latin American countries in September–December 2020. Professionals were invited by email and via an open campaign promoted on social media. The questions investigated dental care routines, practice changes, and feelings about the pandemic. Descriptive statistics were used to identify frequencies and distributions of variables. Proportions were compared using chi-square tests. Results A total of 2127 responses were collected from a sample with diverse demographic, sex, work, and education characteristics. The impact of COVID-19 was considered high/very high by 60% of respondents. The volume of patients assisted weekly was lower compared with the pre-pandemic period (mean reduction = 14 ± 15 patients). A high rate of fear to contracting the COVID-19 at work was observed (85%); 4.9% of participants had a positive COVID-19 test. The main professional challenges faced by respondents were reduction in the number of patients or financial gain (35%), fear of contracting COVID-19 (34%), and burden with or difficulty in purchasing new personal protective equipment (22%). The fear to contracting COVID-19 was influenced by the number of weekly appointments. A positive test by the dentists was associated with their reports of having assisted COVID-19 patients. The most cited feelings about the pandemic were uncertainty, fear, worry, anxiety, and stress. Negative feelings were more prevalent for professionals who did not receive training for COVID-19 preventive measures and those reporting higher levels of fear to contract the disease. Conclusion This multi-country survey indicated a high impact of the pandemic on dental care routines in Latin America. A massive prevalence of bad feelings was associated with the pandemic.

Introducción: se evaluó la microfiltración marginal en las restauraciones clase II realizadas por medio de la técnica incremental oblicua, de perlas de resina y del SonicFill. Métodos: se realizó un estudio cuantitativo, experimental, in vitro y transversal en una población constituida por 30 terceros molares extraídos, en la que se realizaron 60 cavidades clase ii, independientes y estandarizadas (4 mm de ancho vestíbulo-lingual/palatino, 4 mm mesio-distal y 5 mm de profundidad). Los molares fueron divididos en tres grupos: grupo 1, técnica incremental convencional y perlas de resina; grupo 2, técnica perlas de resina y el SonicFill; grupo 3, SonicFill e incremental oblicua. Las muestras se tiñeron con azul de metileno al 0,1% durante 48 horas, se seccionaron para evaluar la penetración del colorante y las superficies se examinaron en los márgenes de las restauraciones con un microscopio óptico a 10 x de magnificación. Los datos se analizaron con el programa Excel 2007 y el sistema operativo Windows 7. Resultados: los resultados estadísticos muestran que existe una diferencia significativa en los niveles de microfiltración marginal, según la técnica de restauración utilizada. Conclusión: las restauraciones realizadas por medio del SonicFill ofrecen un mayor sellado marginal que las realizadas por medio de la técnica perlas de resina e incremental oblicua.