Sistema Regional de Información
en línea para Revistas Científicas de América Latina,
el Caribe, España y Portugal

The use of Bulk-Fill composite resins to perform posterior restorations has been massified in recent years in the different clinical disciplines of Dentistry.  This may be due mainly to the simplicity in the application technique of this material as it requires its insertion into the cavity preparation in 4-5mm of composite resin thickness, achieving a considerable reduction of clinical working time. Given the existence of different viscosities of this type of composite resins, certain difficulties have been identified before the selection of each Bulk-Fill material related to the possible combinations that can be made between the different brands available in the market, even when they are used with conventional composite resins. The purpose of the following case report, is to present two step-by-step clinical possibilities using initially, compactable Bulk-Fill composite resin in a single increment for the restoration of a second upper molar, and later, through the combination of Bulk-Fill flowable composite resin together with compactable Bulk-Fill composite resin and a high-refractive-index enamel-like conventional composite resin, for a first upper molar.

Dental fluorosis is an abnormality in the development of enamel due to the excessive intake of fluoride during formation of dental tissues, mainly characterized by hypomineralization and increased porosity of the enamel structure. Oftenly the spots caused by dental fluorosis can compromise the aesthetics of the patient and affect their self-esteem. In recent years a new generation of dental materials has been developed, known as resin infiltrants, which are basically low viscosity resins that infiltrate and paralyze the progression of incipient non cavitated carious lesions. When resin infiltrants have been used to stop carious lesions it has been verified that they also produce changes in the appearance of white spots, masking or making them imperceptible. The present article describes a case report of the use of resin infiltrants for aesthetic treatment of white spot lesions caused by fluorosis.

Bone lesions of the jaws have their origin from odontogenic and non-odontogenic structures. They can be benign or malignant, asymptomatic, they can be located around the root of the tooth, around the crown and in the interradicular area or they may not be related to the teeth. OBJECTIVE: to determine the frequency of the different bone lesions and the concordance between the clinical and histopathological diagnosis, in the clinical internship of the Faculty of Dentistry of the University of Costa Rica (UCR). METHODOLOGY: retrospective study of bone lesions recovered from the biopsy archive of the Faculty of Dentistry of the UCR from 2008 to 2015. Information on sex, age, location of the lesion, clinical diagnosis and diagnosis were evaluated and described. The agreement between the clinical and histopathological diagnosis was verified by the Kappa test. RESULTS: The 77 cases of oral bone lesions preferentially affected men 53.8% (n=41), the average age was 34.7 years (s.d.±19.6) and with lesions predominantly located in the posterior jaw 36.4% (n=28) and anterior maxilla 35.1% (n=27). Odontogenic cysts (OC) 42.9% (n=33), non-specific or unclassified diagnosis 28.6% (n=22) and inflammatory lesions of pulp and periapical origin 14.2% (n=11). TOs accounted for 7.8% (n=6) of the lesions. The four most predominant lesions were the radicular cyst, nonspecific diagnosis, dentigerous cyst and periapical granuloma. Concordance with the first diagnostic hypothesis was presented in 24 (31.2%) cases, the value of Kappa was 0.274 (discrete concordance) and 20.8% without clinical diagnosis only a description of the lesion. CONCLUSIONS: The OC were the predominant; being individually the radicular cyst the most frequent lesion. The clinical and histopathological concordance was discrete.

Worldwide, renal carcinoma constitutes 3% of all forms of cancer in the human body. Its biological behavior is variable depending on the biology of each individual; it tends to metastasize to contiguous sites such as adrenal glands, liver, lung, bone, lymph nodes, however, remote presentation in the oral cavity is less frequent, even in inserted gums. Granulomatous lesions of the periodontium include pyogenic granulomas, giant cell granulomas among others. The main objective of this clinical case is to describe the clinical and histopathological characteristics of oral cavity metastases as granulomatous lesions. The case of a 60-year-old female patient with a history of renal cell papillary carcinoma in the right kidney treated by nephrectomy in 2017 is presented, in 2019 she presented metastases to the left lung and oral cavity. It is currently under treatment protocol for renal clear cell metastases.

Osteoporosis is a chronic, silent, multifactorial and metabolic bone disease characterized by low bone mineral density and altered micro architecture, presenting a high fracture rate with minimal trauma or without trauma (hip, spine and forearms). Osteoporosis can occur in both sexes and in all ages; mainly considered a problem for postmenopausal women, with higher risk of fracture over 50 years old. This increases the morbidity, mortality and costs of the health system, considering it a significant public health issue. Healthy bone has equilibrium characteristics between bone formation by osteoblasts and bone resorption by osteoclasts. In osteoporosis this balance is altered, showing a greater tendency to resorption. The most important risk factors for osteoporosis are age, sex, genetic factors, early menopause, inadequate calcium intake, lack of exercise, alcoholism, and smoking; it can also be associated with some endocrine diseases, such as hyperparathyroidism, kidney failure chronic, liver disease, malabsorption and drugs, including oral glucocorticoids. The objective of this bibliographic review is to provide updated and specific information about osteoporosis in the jaws and its diagnostic methods, which allow the dentist and radiologist to recognize, prevent and / or refer to the specialist indicated cases that may arise with this condition.

Restoration of fractured anterior teeth presents a challenge to dental clinicians owing to its esthetic requirements and, more importantly, because of the young age of the patients. Thus, it is important to follow the most conservative protocol. Many professionals face the dilemma of whether or not to perform enamel beveling. This article briefly discusses the clinical perspective and evidence regarding this type of operative restoration procedure.

Introduction: Tooth development results from a highly coordinated epithelial-mesenchyme interaction in which mesenchyme cells originate the dental papilla and dental follicle, while ectodermal cells originate the enamel organ. Simultaneously, bone tissue is formed around the developing tooth, trapping it in a bony crypt. Tooth eruption requires the resorption of the coronal part of the bony crypt, followed by degradation of the lamina propria, most likely by metalloproteinases (MMPs) activity. Objectives:  The aim of this research was to determine MMP-2 expression in the dental germ cells (ameloblasts, odontoblasts, dental papilla and dental follicle) and surrounding tissues (alveolar bone and lamina propria) of rat molars throughout the eruptive process. Material and Methods: A total of 24 rats (4,6,9,11,14 and 16 days old) were used in this study. MMP-2 was detected through immunohistochemistry. A qualitative analysis was performed to investigate the expression of MMP-2 in the dental germ cells, lamina propria, and coronal and basal regions of the bony crypt. Results: MMP-2 expression was observed in the dental papilla cells, dental follicle, ameloblasts, odontoblasts and bone cells from the coronal and basal regions of the bony crypt. MMP-2 was also detected in the lamina propria during the mucosal penetration stage of tooth eruption. Conclusion: We conclude that MMP-2 may be important for the extracellular matrix rearrangement necessary for tooth development and secretion of its mineralized tissues.  We also conclude that MMP-2 may play a role in the extensive tissue remodeling during the intra-and-extra-osseous phases of the tooth eruption process.

The success of tissue engineering in combination with tissue regeneration depends on the behavior and cellular activity in the biological processes developed within a structure that functions as a support, better known as scaffolds, or directly at the site of the injury. The cell-cell and cell-biomaterial interaction are key factors for the induction of a specific cell behavior, together with the bioactive factors that allow the formation of the desired tissue. Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSC) can be isolated from the umbilical cord and bone marrow; however, the behavior of Dental Pulp Stem Cells (DPSC) has been shown to have a high potential for the formation of bone tissue, and these cells have even been able to induce the process of angiogenesis. Advances in periodontal regeneration, dentin-pulp complex, and craniofacial bone defects through the induction of MSC obtained from tooth structures in in vitro-in vivo studies have permitted the obtaining of clinical evidence of the achievements obtained to date.

Conventional glass ionomer cements are used as dental provisional restorative materials, which present several advantages such as adhesion to the tooth mineral phase among others. On the other hand, the knowledge about biological property of glass ionomers shows various approaches and results. In this work, it was studied the in vitro biological response of human gingival fibroblasts in contact with commercial cements of glass ionomer: Mirafil® and Ionglass® and with their extracts, according to ISO 10993. The extracts of the cements, in which the cells were cultured, were adjusted at different concentrations ranging 0.1% to 100%. The cellular metabolic activity of gingival fibroblasts was measured using the Alamar Blue® reagent. The results showed a significant effect on the cellular metabolic activity correlated with the concentration of liberated ions (Al³+ and Ca²+) for both ionomers, as well as the pH variations of the culture media. This could mean that the cellular metabolic activity is substantially influenced by ions and pH of the cell culture.

Dental anomalies can produce alterations in dental shape, number, size, and structure, affecting function and aesthetics. The objective of this study is to determine the frequency and location of teeth number anomalies in healthy Costa Rican children between 6 and 12 years old. An observational and retrospective study was carried out with 157 panoramic radiographs of the patients of the pediatric dentistry and orthodontics clinic of the University of Costa Rica between the years 2015-2017. Hyperdontias and hypodontias were the anomalies observed.  Data were analyzed using a Fisher exact test with a significance level of 5% . The results showed that the overall frequency  of dental anomalies  was 8.3%, 4.5% were hyperdontias and 3.8% hypodontias. Double or multiple hyperdontia and hypodontia were also found. The difference between sex was not significant (p= 0.145). Supernumeraries were more frequent in maxilla and hypodontias in mandible. Mesiodens was the most frequently found supernumerary teeth. Mandibular second premolars were the most commonly missing teeth.