No abstract

The use of implant-supported prostheses in the replacement of natural missing teeth is a reliable and effective treatment option. 1 Obtaining accurate dental impressions is a crucial step in any implant treatment. 2-4 Inaccurate transfer of the implant position can lead to an ill-fitting prosthesis, which may put unnecessary strain on the various prosthetic components in the system and ultimately result in complications. 5,6 Impression procedures

Background Whether stitching the palate during intraoral digital scans of implants would improve, scanning accuracy is unclear. Purpose Evaluate the effect of stitching the palate and the scan body position on the trueness (distance and angular deviation) and precision of digital scans in a completely edentulous situation. Materials and Methods An edentulous maxillary model with four parallel dental implant analogs was fabricated and intraoral scan bodies were attached. The entire surface was scanned using an industrial scanner to generate a master reference model digital scan (MRM‐DS). Digital scans of the master model were made using an intraoral scanner and the resulting scans were divided into two groups [stitched palate (S) and unstitched palate (U)]. All test scans were converted to STL files and superimposed over the MRM‐DS. Results For trueness, scan body position had a significant effect on distance (P < .001) and angular (P < .001) deviation values. In terms of precision, no significant difference was found in distance (P = .051) and angular deviations (P = .36) between stitched and unstitched techniques. Conclusions The accuracy and precision of digital scans of edentulous maxillary arch was similar independent of stitching or unstitching the palate. Position of the implant had a significant effect on trueness.

Poor oral health is common in HIV+ adults. We explored the feasibility, acceptance and key features of a prevention-focused oral health education program for HIV+ adults. This was a pilot sub-study of a parent study in which all subjects (n=112) received a baseline periodontal disease (PD) examination and provider-delivered oral health messages informed by the Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills (IMB) Model. Forty-one parent study subjects were then eligible for the sub-study; of these subjects, a volunteer sample was contacted and interviewed 3–6 months after the baseline visit. At the recall visit, subjects self-reported behavior changes that they had made since the baseline. PD was re-assessed using standard clinical assessment guidelines and results were shared with each subject. At recall, individualized, hands-on oral hygiene coaching was performed and patients provided feedback on this experience. Statistics included frequency distributions, means and chi-square testing for bivariate analyses. Twenty two (22) HIV+ adults completed the study. At recall, subjects had modest, but non-significant (p>0.05) clinician observed improvement in PD. Each subject reported adopting, on average, 3.8 (± 1.5) specific oral health behavior changes at recall. By self-report, subjects attributed most behavior changes (95%) to baseline health messages. Behavior changes were self-reported for increased frequency of flossing (55%) and tooth-brushing (50%), enhanced tooth-brushing technique (50%), and improved eating habits (32%). As compared to smokers, non-smokers reported being more optimistic about their oral health (p=.024) at recall and were more likely to have reported changing their oral health behaviors (p=.009). All subjects self-reported increased knowledge after receiving hands-on oral hygiene coaching performed at the recall visit. In HIV+ adults, IMB-informed oral health messages promoted self-reported behavior change; subjects preferred more interactive, hands-on coaching. We describe a holistic clinical behavior change approach that may provide a helpful framework when creating more rigorously-designed IMB-informed studies on this topic.