BACKGROUND: The analgesia after lower third molar alveolectomy is based on the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) that have significant risks, and are contraindicated in the third trimester of pregnancy. Aiming to reduce NSAIDs use after this surgery, we quantified analgesic effects of ultrasound (US)-guided extraoral mandibular nerve block.
METHODS: Thirty-six patients were equally allocated to the experimental or control group, based on their willingness to receive experimental US-guided extraoral mandibular nerve block for postoperative analgesia. The experimental block applied prior to lower third molar alveolectomy, was followed by standard intraoral inferior alveolar nerve block. In the control group, patients received only intraoral block of inferior alveolar nerve. All patients reported pain level (visual analogue scale, VAS) right after the application of blocks. The next day, patients reported duration of pain-free time and the use of analgesic.
RESULTS: The US-guided extraoral mandibular nerve block prolonged the pain-free time to 8 h (vs. 4 in control group, P < 0.001) and reduced NSAIDs use (12 patients needed analgesic in experimental vs. 17 patients in control group, P = 0.038). The application of experimental block was less painful (VAS = 2) than the application of intraoral inferior alveolar nerve block (VAS = 4, P = 0.011). In 8/18 patients in the experimental group US-guided extraoral mandibular nerve block solely achieved adequate surgical anesthesia.
CONCLUSIONS: US-guided extraoral mandibular nerve block prolonged pain-free period and reduced the use of NSAIDs after lower third molar alveolectomy, thus proving to be successful analgesia method for this dental surgery.
BACKGROUND: https://classic.
RESULTS: gov/ct2/show/NCT06009302 , identification number: NCT06009302, date of registration: 18/08/2023.

BACKGROUND: This study aims to evaluate the performance of a deep learning system for the evaluation of tooth development stages on images obtained from panoramic radiographs from child patients.
METHODS: The study collected a total of 1500 images obtained from panoramic radiographs from child patients between the ages of 5 and 14 years. YOLOv5, a convolutional neural network (CNN)-based object detection model, was used to automatically detect the calcification states of teeth. Images obtained from panoramic radiographs from child patients were trained and tested in the YOLOv5 algorithm. True-positive (TP), false-positive (FP), and false-negative (FN) ratios were calculated. A confusion matrix was used to evaluate the performance of the model.
RESULTS: Among the 146 test group images with 1022 labels, there were 828 TPs, 308 FPs, and 1 FN. The sensitivity, precision, and F1-score values of the detection model of the tooth stage development model were 0.99, 0.72, and 0.84, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, utilizing a deep learning-based approach for the detection of dental development on pediatric panoramic radiographs may facilitate a precise evaluation of the chronological correlation between tooth development stages and age. This can help clinicians make treatment decisions and aid dentists in finding more accurate treatment options.

The emergence of the Middle Palaeolithic, and its variability over time and space are key questions in the field of prehistoric archaeology. Many sites have been documented in the south-eastern margins of the Massif central and the middle Rhône valley, a migration path that connects Northern Europe with the Mediterranean. Well-dated, long stratigraphic sequences are essential to understand Neanderthals dynamics and demise, and potential interactions with Homo sapiens in the area, such as the one displayed at the Maras rock shelter (\"Abri du Maras\"). The site is characterised by exceptional preservation of archaeological remains, including bones dated using radiocarbon (14C) and teeth using electron spin resonance combined with uranium series (ESR/U-series). Optically stimulated luminescence was used to date the sedimentary deposits. By combining the new ages with previous ones using Bayesian modelling, we are able to clarify the occupation time over a period spanning 200,000 years. Between ca. 250 and 40 ka, the site has been used as a long-term residence by Neanderthals, specifically during three interglacial periods: first during marine isotopic stage (MIS) 7, between 247 ± 34 and 223 ± 33 ka, and then recurrently during MIS 5 (between 127 ± 17 and 90 ± 9 ka) and MIS 3 (up to 39,280 cal BP).

Identifying evidence of human modification of extinct animal remains, such as Pleistocene megafauna, is challenging due to the similarity of anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic taphonomic features observed under optical microscopy. Here, we re-investigate a Late Pleistocene ground sloth tooth from northeast Brazil, previously suggested as human-modified based only on optical observation. To characterize the macro- and micro-morphological characteristics of the marks preserved in this tooth and evaluate potential human modification, we used stereomicroscope and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) supplemented by energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), UV photoluminescence (UV/PL), synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence (SR-XRF), and synchrotron micro-computed tomography (SR-µCT). These methods allowed us to discriminate non-anthropogenic taphonomic features (root and sedimentary damage), anthropogenic marks, and histological features. The latter shows the infiltration of exogenous elements into the dentine from the sediments. Our evidence demonstrates the sequence of anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic taphonomic modification of this tooth and supports its initial intentional modification by humans. We highlight the benefits of emerging imaging and spectral imaging techniques to investigate and diagnose human modification in fossil and archaeological records and propose that human modification of tooth tissues should be further considered when studying possibly anthropogenically altered fossil remains.

Post-mortem interval (PMI) estimation remains one of the major challenges in forensic practice, especially for late PMIs beyond 7-10 days after the death of the subject. In 2022, an innovative method to investigate the occurrence of mutations induced by the death of a subject in the DNA of post-mortem dental pulps at different PMIs was developed, applying a next-generation sequencing (NGS) analysis. The present study aims to apply the same method of analysis to a small sample of teeth belonging to the same subject and analyzed at different PMIs/accumulated degree days (ADDs), and of teeth extracted from different subjects but analyzed at the same PMI/ADD to verify the repeatability of the results obtained in relation to the time elapsed since death. A total of 10 teeth were collected from 6 patients (3 males and 3 females) with PMI varying from 8 to 35 days, and ADD from 157.4 to 753.8. We found 1754 mutations in 56 genes, with more than 700 mutations having a prevalence > 5% and more than 300 variants considered of interest for the purposes of the study. Mutations that were not present at lower PMIs but manifested in later PMIs in pulps belonging to the same subject demonstrate that they can only have been acquired by the subject after death and according to the time elapsed since death. In total, 67 somatic mutations in 29 out of the 56 genes of the used panel occurred in a fashion that allows an association with specific PMI/ADD ranges (within 8 days, between 17 and 28, and beyond 30 days after death). The results suggest that temperature and humidity could influence the rate of DNA degeneration in dental pulps, thus PMI should be estimated in ADD more than days. The preliminary validation supports the hypothesis that the innovative method could be a useful tool for estimating the post-mortem interval even beyond the first week after death, but further analyses are needed to customize a specific genetic panel for forensic investigations and verify the influence of degenerative processes of soft tissues surrounding dental elements on DNA degeneration of pulps.

UNASSIGNED: We aimed to evaluate the morphology of maxilla and sinus dimensions in subjects with unilaterally and bilaterally impacted canine using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) records.
UNASSIGNED: CBCT records taken during 2020-2022 of 120 patients were obtained to investigate the relationship between impacted canine and maxillary morphology as well as sinus dimensions. The CBCT images were then divided into three groups: control, unilaterally canine impaction and bilaterally canine impaction. Then morphology-related variables (arch circumference, arch length, inter molar width, inter first premolar width, palatal depth, anterior posterior dimension of the right and left sinuses, and mediolateral dimension of the right and left sinuses) were analyzed and compared between groups. All measurements were done by Ondeman 3D dental software. Statistical analysis was carried out by SPSS software version 21 using one-way ANOVA.
UNASSIGNED: There were meaningful differences in patients with canine impaction compared with control group in arch circumference (P value= 0.004) and arch length (P value= 0.001), inter molar width (P value= 0.001), inter first premolar width (P value= 0.001), mediolateral dimension of the right (P value=0.001) and left (P value= 0.001) sinuses of maxilla. Furthermore, Palatal depth and anterior posterior dimension of the right and left sinuses did not show statistically significant difference between groups.
UNASSIGNED: Canine impaction can considerably affect the morphology of maxillary and sinuses dimensions. Nevertheless, future studies are needed to determine the exact structural and molecular effects of the canine impaction on maxillary sinuses and neighboring tissues.

Ornithopod dinosaurs evolved numerous craniodental innovations related to herbivory. Nonetheless, the relationship between occlusion, tooth wear rate, and tooth replacement rate has been neglected. Here, we reconstruct tooth wear rates by measuring tooth replacement rates and tooth wear volumes, and document their dental microwear. We demonstrate that total tooth volume and rates of tooth wear increased steadily during ornithopod evolution, with deeply-nested taxa wearing up to 3360 mm3 of tooth volume/day. Increased wear resulted in asymmetric tooth crown formation with uneven von Ebner line increment width by the Late Jurassic, and in faster tooth replacement rates in multiple lineages by the mid-Cretaceous. Microwear displays a contrasting pattern, with decreasing complexity and pit percentages in deeply-nested and later-occurring taxa. We hypothesize that early ornithopods were browsers and/or frugivores but deeply nested iguanodontians were bulk-feeders, eating tougher, less nutritious plants; these trends correlate with increasing body mass and longer gut passage times.

UNASSIGNED: Various dressing materials have been evaluated for pulpotomy of primary teeth. However, an ideal pulp dressing material has not been identified yet. This systematic review investigated the effectiveness of TheraCal compared to Formocresol in pulpotomy of primary teeth.
UNASSIGNED: This research was conducted in the form of a secondary study, with a systematic search of texts until 2023 in Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed and Google Scholar databases. The articles were selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria and, finally the search results were reported in the PRISMA chart. The quality of the studies was evaluated based on the NIH checklist. The extracted information was entered into Stata17 software. Heterogeneity was evaluated using Cochran\'s chi-square test and I2 statistics. Egger\'s tests were used to detect publication bias.
UNASSIGNED: After removing duplicate articles and articles that did not meet the inclusion criteria, 4 studies were selected for qualitative analysis. The odds\' ratio of success rate between Formocresol and TheraCal pulpotomy for absence of the pain, abscess, Mobility, internal root resorption and bone radiolucency was obtained 1.12 (95 % CI: 0.32, 3.85, P = 0.86), 0.47 (95 % CI: 0.1, 2.14, P = 0.33), 0.82 (95 % CI: 0.21, 3.21, P = 0.78), 0.89 (95 % CI: 0.3, 2.67, P = 0.84), and 1.96 (95 % CI: 0.68, 5.62, P = 0.21) respectively.
UNASSIGNED: The study results revealed that there was no significant difference in clinical and radiographic success between pulpotomy with TheraCal and Formocresol.

Coevolution between predator and prey plays a central role in shaping the pelagic realm and may have significant implications for marine ecosystems and nutrient cycling dynamics. The siliceous diatom frustule is often assumed to have coevolved with the silica-lined teeth of copepods, but empirical evidence of how this relationship drives natural selection and evolution is still lacking. Here, we show that feeding on diatoms causes significant wear and tear on copepod teeth and that this leads to copepods becoming selective feeders. Teeth from copepods feeding on thick-shelled diatoms were more likely to be broken or cracked than those feeding on a dinoflagellate. When fed a large diatom, all analyzed teeth had visible wear. Our results underscore the importance of the predator-prey arms race as a driving force in planktonic evolution and diversity.

UNASSIGNED: Forensic odontology plays an important role in mass disasters, house fires, criminal deaths, identification of missing persons, and child abuse cases. Teeth are the most stable part of the human body and are resistant to thermal, mechanical, and chemical insults. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of mandibular intercanine distance and mesiodistal width of mandibular first molar in gender determination.
UNASSIGNED: The study comprised 100 participants (50 males and 50 females) in the age group of 18-23 years. The mandibular impressions were made, and casts were prepared using dental stone. The intercanine distance and mesiodistal width of the right mandibular first molar were measured using digital vernier callipers. The data obtained was statistically analysed using SPSS software version 23.
UNASSIGNED: The mean mandibular intercanine distance was found to be 27.2 ± 2.3 in males and 25.94 ± 1.76 in females (P = 0.03). There was no statistical difference in the mesiodistal width of the mandibular molar between males and females (P = 0.166). However, the mean mesiodistal width of males was higher when compared to females.
UNASSIGNED: Males have a greater intercanine width and mesiodistal dimension when compared to females. This result will be helpful in forensic medicine, anthropology, orthodontic treatments, and clinical dentistry.