BACKGROUND The Taiwan government adopted National Health Insurance (NHI) in 1995, providing universal health care to all citizens. It was financed by mandatory premium contributions made by employers, employees, and the government. Since then, the government has faced increasing challenges to control NHI expenditures. The aim of this study was to determine trends in the provision of dental serv...

To realize low-dose imaging in X-ray computed tomography (CT) examination, lowering milliampere-seconds (low-mAs) or reducing the required number of projection views (sparse-view) per rotation around the body has been widely studied as an easy and effective approach. In this study, we are focusing on low-dose CT image reconstruction from the sinograms acquired with a combined low-mAs and sparse...

When I graduated from dental school in 1987, dental amalgam was essentially the only material available for the direct restoration of carious posterior teeth. Dentin bonding was in its first generation of technological development in restorative dentistry, and composite resin restoration of posterior teeth was carried out with caution by some dentists, but avoided by most. Even at that time, th...

Different materials and techniques are used in dental wear restoration with the objective of increasing teeth resistance, and providing an aesthetic appearance. The aim of this study was to compare the fracture resistance of amalgam and posterior composite in abrasioned premolar and molar teeth. In this study, 60 carries and restoration- free human permanent mandibular premolar and molar teeth,...

OBJECTIVE When utilizing a single implant-supported crown to replace a central incisor, understanding the final shape of the implant restoration is an important factor to help achieve a successful esthetic outcome. In today's dentistry, tooth shape is a critical factor when dental implant prostheses are considered in the esthetic zone. The major esthetic goal for this type of restoration is to ...

During mastication, foods are reduced into particles suitable for swallowing and digestion. Smaller particles possess a greater surface area per unit of volume on which digestive enzymes and bacteria may work than relatively larger particles, and are thus more readily digested. As dental morphology facilitates the breakdown of diets with specific mechanical properties, extensive dental wear and...

To determine the prevalence of dental erosion among 5 and 6 year olds school children living in Ajman, United Arab Emirates and to establish associated risk factors. Samples of 207 children of both sexes were randomly selected. Information about potential risk factors for dental erosion was collected via questionnaires filled by the parents. Clinical examinations of buccal, occlusal/incisal and...

Dental caries has been considered as a historically important component of the global oral disease burden. Thus, the quest for an ideal restorative material with optimum physical properties and durability exists. There was a lack of availability and development in the field of restorative materials. Though amalgam has many drawbacks, such as postoperative tooth sensitivity, susceptibility to fr...

The clinical success of adhesive composite-resin restorations has changed the way that dentists treatment plan and treat periodontally mobile teeth. While adhesive composite resin provides for strong, durable, and esthetic single-tooth restorations, when placed to join teeth together, these materials—which are chemically brittle by nature—are susceptible to fracture and are not durable. When su...

Background and Aim: The main goal of root canal treatment is to prevent or treat apical periodontitis. The aim of the present study was to assess the coronal restoration status, root canal filling quality, periapical health condition, and related factors in endodontically treated teeth at the Dental Faculty of Islamic Azad University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, in 2011-12. Materials and...