Codruța Victoria Țigmeanu

By Lavinia Cosmina Ardelean, Laura-Cristina Rusu and Codruta Victoria Tigmeanu

Traditionally, a denture base is manufactured using a heat-cured acrylic resin. This type of resin was first used in dental labs in 1936, being a great step forward. Because of the many disadvantages as increased porosity, high water sorption, polymerization shrinkage, allergenic potential and citotoxicity due to the residual monomer, awkward flasking and packaging, and difficult processing, alternatives were continuously searched. Monomer-free and high-impact acrylics were developed, and gold plating of the denture base was experienced, in order to provide an alternative to allergic patients. Once polymers developed, new types of resins, such as polyamides (nylon), acetal, epoxy resins, styrene, polycarbonate, vinyl, urethane, polyether ether ketone (PEEK), became available on the dental market, accompanied by modern technologies, such as injection. CAD/CAM milled and 3D printed denture bases represent the present state of the art in this domain. Our chapter aims to present these alternative materials, which are safe to use in cases of allergic patients and guarantee a healthy oral environment and a high degree of comfort.

Part of the book: Oral Health Care

By Laura-Cristina Rusu, Alexandra Roi, Ciprian-Ioan Roi, Codruta Victoria Tigmeanu and Lavinia Cosmina Ardelean

Dental caries is the most prevalent chronic oral disease, influencing the oral and systemic health of the individuals, being the result of the interaction of multiple factors, such as microbial agents, the oral environment, the salivary pH, and the host response. The main process that occurs in dental caries is the demineralization of the tooth enamel, process that is directly influenced by the salivary pH, exposing the dental structures to the action of pathological agents. The role of saliva in the etiology of dental caries is a major one, by influencing the homeostasis through the altering of its buffer capacity. The properties of saliva are influenced either by local pathogens or through a general mechanism with direct implications upon the salivary components. The alteration of the salivary pH, flow rate, and composition will further have repercussions upon the cariogenic activity, through a change of its physiochemical properties. Nevertheless, the salivary pH is strongly linked to the incidence of dental caries, any persistent imbalance due to various causes can be assessed as an indicator of the oral health status.

Part of the book: Dental Caries

By Lavinia Cosmina Ardelean, Laura-Cristina Rusu, Daniela Elisabeta Jumanca and Codruta Victoria Tigmeanu

Human teeth play an important role in facial aesthetics. The modern society trends for more and more demanding aesthetics strongly reflect in teeth appearance. Perfect shaped, aligned, and white teeth are considered the business card of an appealing smile. Fixed prosthetics not only aim to restore the lost function of human teeth but also their aesthetics. The ideal in this matter is to provide an indirect restoration that perfectly matches the neighboring teeth or aims to improve the overall appearance of the patient’s teeth, depending on the situation. However, the choice of aesthetic materials and technologies has experienced a significant development in recent years. By far, dental ceramics are the state-of-the-art material when a high-quality indirect fixed prosthetic restoration is the goal. This chapter will provide information on this class of materials and their indications in fixed prosthodontics, focusing on novel manufacturing technologies, as well.

Part of the book: Human Teeth

By Lavinia Cosmina Ardelean, Laura-Cristina Rusu, Codruta Victoria Tigmeanu, Meda Lavinia Negrutiu and Daniela Maria Pop

Acrylic resins dominated dentures technology for several decades. Due to their many disadvantages, new types of polymers, with better properties, suitable for dental prosthodontics applications were constantly attempted. The choice of polymeric materials and manufacturing technologies has experienced significant development in recent years. Different types of thermoplastic injected resins, light-cured resins, or the versatile high-performance polymers are several choices of novel materials for dentures manufacturing. CAD/CAM systems, both substractive and additive, are being considered the most promising choice for the future manufacturing of polymers in dentistry. The chapter is focused on presenting the choices of novel polymeric materials, their manufacturing technologies, and applications in prosthodontics.

Part of the book: Advances in Dentures

By Alexandra Roi, Ciprian Roi, Codruța Victoria Țigmeanu and Mircea Riviș

The introduction of composites and dental materials in the implantology field has shown an important increase in the past years. The restorative approaches using dental implants are currently a desirable option for edentulous patients. Since their introduction in dentistry, dental implants have proven to be a reliable option for restabling the functions and esthetics of certain areas. Characteristics such as high biocompatibility, nontoxicity, and high corrosion resistance have been key factors for their worldwide acceptance. In time, researchers aimed to improve their qualities by manufacturing the implants using various materials that could improve the interaction between the bone and implant. Although, until now, dental implant materials were limited to the use of single or coated metals, there are certain limitations that current studies aimed to overcome by introducing a new category, the composite dental implants. With this new category, the mechanical characteristics can be designed in order for their integration and further functions to have a positive outcome. This chapter describes the use of composite dental implants as a restorative prosthetic option, their advantages, and physicochemical and osteointegration properties as future approaches for restorative prosthetic rehabilitation.

Part of the book: Advances in Dentures

By Lavinia Cosmina Ardelean, Codruta Victoria Tigmeanu, Alexandra Roi and Laura-Cristina Rusu

Demineralization-induced white spot lesions (WSL) are early non-cavitated carious lesions, representing the earliest stage of tooth decay, and appear as opaque, milky, porous areas, with a depth of only 40–130 μm. They are frequently found postfixed orthodontic treatment, because of the retentive nature of brackets and wires, and the inherent difficulties in maintaining proper oral hygiene, but can be found in non-orthodontic patients, as well. The main concern is of esthetic nature, but untreated WSL may evolve in dental caries, with important structural and functional consequences. The treatment approach more often uses conservative methods such as remineralization, microabrasion, tooth whitening, and resin infiltration, but, depending on the case, resin restorations and veneers may be involved. This chapter aims to discuss their etiology, characteristics and diagnosis, prevention and treatment methods, and to present three clinical cases of demineralized induced WSL, of orthodontic and non-orthodontic origin, treated by means of a microinvasive method, namely resin infiltration.

Part of the book: Enamel and Dentin-Pulp Complex

By Alexandra Roi, Ciprian Ioan Roi, Mircea Riviș, Laura-Cristina Rusu, Lavinia Cosmina Ardelean and Codruța Victoria Tigmeanu

Oral cancer carcinogenesis is a complex process that outlines the implication of multiple mechanisms that lead to the development of this specific malignancy. The high heterogeneity of this disease is a key factor that controls the progression and treatment response, influencing the survival rate. The multifactorial etiology, the genetic alterations and the diagnosis in advanced stages are directly involved in the high mortality rate of this pathology. Currently, the gold standard for oral cancer diagnosis is represented by the tissue biopsy and its histopathological examination, procedure that in time revealed several disadvantages. Recent research focused on a non-invasive, fast and reliable diagnosis approach based on the use of saliva. Saliva through its components provides information regarding specific salivary molecules, proteomic and genomic changes linked to oral cancer occurrence and progression. By using saliva as a diagnosis tool, it offers an important perspective of the tumor environment, designing a complete molecular profile of the tumor by creating the concept of personalized medicine.

Part of the book: Molecular Diagnostics of Cancer