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Dental pain management is one of the most critical aspects of modern dentistry which might affect patient's quality of life. Several methods are suggested to provide a painless situation for patients. Desensitization of the oral site using topical anesthetics is one of those methods. The improvements of topical anesthetic agents are probably one of the most important advances in dental science in the past 100 years. Most of them are safe and can be applied on oral mucosa with minimal irritation and allergic reactions. At present, these agents are various with different potent and indications. Eutectic mixture of local anesthetics (EMLA) (lidocaine + prilocaine) is a commercial anesthetic agent which has got acceptance among dental clinicians. This article provides a brief review about the efficacy of EMLA as a topical anesthetic agent when used during dental procedures.

BackgroundUniversal bondings can be used either with the etch-and-rinse or self-etch technique. Thus, the present study was done to evaluate the micro-shear bonding strength of two types of Universal Bondings to superficial dentin i.e self-etch and etch and rinse.Material and MethodsThe samples included 70 tooth blocks taken from 35 extracted sound premolar teeth. The superficial dentin was exposed to grinding by 800 grit silicon carbide Disk. The samples were randomly divided into 5 equal groups (14 samples in each group). Scotch bond universal (3M/USA) and All bond universal (BISCO/USA) were applied by self-etch and etch and rinse technique in group 1-4 and Adper Single bond 2 (3M/USA) was used in group 5 as etch and rinse for the control group. Z250 XT (3M/USA) resin composite was bonded in tygon tube on surfaces of samples and were cured. Specimens were stored in distilled water at 37ºC for 24 h and then subjected to the micro shear bond strength test in a universal testing machine at a crosshead speed of 0.5 mm/min. The data were analyzed by two-way ANOVA and Tukey test. Failure mode was determined using a stereomicroscope under 20X magnification. Significance level was considered 0/05.ResultsThe mean of micro-shear bonding strength and Standard Deviation of groups in Mega Pascal are respectively: 35.74 (6.21), 29.50 (3.89), 24.60 (3.53), 31.47 (4.73), 18.09 (3.87). The self-etch technique for Scotch bond Universal and the etch and rinse technique for All bond Universal showed higher micro shear bonding strength. Adper single bond 2 showed the lowest bond strength to a significant level in comparison to other groups (p<0.05). Failure mode was predominantly adhesive.ConclusionsThe micro shear bonding strength of universal adhesives was highly bonding-dependent. Universal bondings had higher micro-shear bonding strength than Adper single bond 2. Key words:Bond strength, dentin, self-etch, etch-and-rinse, universal bonding.

Traditional acupuncture has been introduced more than 2500 years ago which provides an alternative and complementary option during clinical practices. Its main mechanism is based on stimulating the nerves by altering the processes and perception of pain transmitters. It facilitates releasing natural pain relievers such as endorphins and serotonin. Its success for various dental procedures has been proved earlier. However, its effects on controlling the gag reflex seem to be overlooked. The gag reflex is recognized as a protective reaction for stopping the entrance of any foreign bodies into the oropharynx. Pronounced gag reflexes can have negative impacts on the quality of dental procedures. Many techniques have been suggested for managing this reflex and acupuncturing is one of those which seems to be overlooked recently. The aim of this paper is reviewing the published high-quality researches about the efficacy of this technique for eliminating the gag reflex during dental procedures.

Objectives: Use of miniscrews has become very common in orthodontic treatment of patients. Following tissue manipulation during miniscrew placement, bacteremia may occur, which is important in patients susceptible to infective endocarditis. This study aimed to investigate the possibility of bacteremia following orthodontic miniscrew placement. Materials and Methods: The present quasi-experimental study was conducted on 30 orthodontic patients, including 11 males (36.7%) and 19 females (63.3%) with a mean age of 23.67±4.87 years, who required miniscrew placement in their treatment plan. Two blood samples were taken from the patients for aerobic and anaerobic cultures right before and 30-60 seconds after miniscrew placement. To investigate the presence of bacteremia, the blood samples were incubated in an automated blood culture machine for five days. The standard biological methods were used for the positive sample(s) to identify the type of bacteria. Data analysis was performed using the McNemar test. Results: The blood samples of 29 patients were negative for the bacteria before and after miniscrew placement. Blood sample of one patient was positive for aerobic and anaerobic bacteria after miniscrew placement. However, bacteremia was negative in the initial (preplacement) blood samples for both aerobes and anaerobes. Conclusion: Miniscrew placement in orthodontic patients was not associated with bacteremia.