• The Journal of Advanced Prosthodontics
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.29-35
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• 2013

PURPOSE. To longitudinally assess the quality of life in maxillectomy patients rehabilitated with obturator prosthesis. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Thirty-six subjects were enrolled in the span of 16 months, out of which six were dropouts. Subjects (age group 20-60 years) with maxillary defects, irrespective of the cause, planned for definite obturator prosthesis, were recruited. The Hindi version of European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer, Head and Neck version 1 of Quality of Life Questionnaire was used before surgical intervention and one month after definitive obturator. Questionnaire includes 35 questions related to the patient's physical health, well being, psychological status, social relation and environmental conditions. The data were processed with statistical package for social science (SPSS). Probability level of P<.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS. The quality of life after rehabilitation with obturator prosthesis was 81.48% (${\pm}13.64$) on average. On item-level, maximum mean scores were obtained for items problem with teeth ($1.87{\pm}0.94$), pain in mouth ($1.80{\pm}0.92$), trouble in eating ($1.70{\pm}0.88$), trouble in talking to other people ($1.60{\pm}1.22$), problems in swallowing solid food ($1.57{\pm}1.22$) and bothering appearance ($1.53{\pm}1.04$); while minimum scores were obtained for the items coughing ($1.17{\pm}0.38$), hoarseness of voice ($1.17{\pm}0.53$), painful throat ($1.13{\pm}0.43$), trouble in having social contacts with friends ($1.10{\pm}0.40$) and trouble having physical contacts with family or friends ($1.10{\pm}0.31$). CONCLUSION. Obturator prosthesis is a highly positive and non-invasive approach to improve the quality of life of patients with maxillectomy defects.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Prosthodontics
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• v.61 no.1
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• pp.18-25
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• 2023

We present the case of a 65-year-old man with maxillary and mandibular complete dentures prepared using neutral zone technique after undergoing mandibulotomy due to tonsil cancer 10 years ago. The patient had a short edentulous period; hence, there was minimal absorption of the alveolar ridge and no abnormality in the motor function of the tongue. However, the retromolar pad was located inside the hamular notch, and the posterior alveolar ridge was relatively turned inward. If the artificial teeth would have been aligned conventionally, the functional space of the tongue would have been invaded, which would have moved the tongue posteriorly thereby reducing the stability of the denture. Therefore, applying the concept of the neutral zone can be a good reference point in such cases. The neutral zone was registered using tissue conditioner, and tooth alignment was performed by making a silicone putty index. The biggest advantage of using neutral zone concept is denture stability. In this case, the neutral zone technique was applied to obtain the lingual alignment limit of the posterior teeth to avoid invasion of the tongue space by the left posterior part of the mandible. Particularly, in case of a patient in which denture stability is difficult to obtain due to absorption of the alveolar ridge, it is believed that better results can be obtained using neutral zone technique.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.398-408
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• 2006

The purpose of this study was to verify the usefulness of MTT analysis as a tool of measurement of the periodontal ligament cell viability from the extracted rat molar. A total of 80 Sprague-Dawley white female rat of 4 week-old with a body weight of 100 grams were used. The maxillary left and right, first and second molars were extracted under Ketamine anesthesia. Twenty-four teeth of each group (divided as five groups depending upon the time-lapse after extraction such as Immediate, 10, 20, 40 and 60 minutes) were immersed in $200{\mu}l$ of MTT solution (0.5 mg/ml) and processed for optical density measurements. Another 10 teeth of each group were treated as same as above and sectioned at $10{\mu}m$ for microscopic examination. All measurements values were divided by the value of hematoxylin-eosin staining which represented the volume of each corresponding samples. Immediate and 10 minute groups showed highest MTT values followed by 20, 40, and 60 minutes consecutively. Statistical significance (p<0.05) existed between all groups except in immediate versus 10 minute groups and 40 versus 60 minutes. Histological findings also showed similar findings with MTT results in crystal shape and crystal numbers between the experimental groups. These data indicate that in vivo MTT analysis nay be of value for evaluation of the periodontal ligament cell viability without time- consuming cell culturing processes.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.356-363
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• 2009

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the viability of periodontal ligament cells in rat teeth using slow cryo-preservation method under pressure by means of MTT assay and WST-1 assay. Eighteen teeth of Sprague-Dawley white female rats of 4 week-old were used for each group. Both sides of the first and second maxillary molars were extracted as atraumatically as possible under Tiletamine anesthesia. The experimental groups were group 1 (Immediate control), group 2 (Cold preservation at $4^{\circ}C$for 1 week), group 3 (Slow freezing), group 4 (Slow freezing under pressure of 3 MPa). F-medium and 10% DMSO were used as preservation medium and cryo-protectant. For cryo-preservation groups, thawing was performed in $37^{\circ}C$water bath, then MTT assay and WST-1 assay were processed. One way ANOVA and Tukey method were performed at the 95% level of confidence. The values of optical density obtained by MTT assay and WST-1 were divided by the values of eosin staining for tissue volume standardization. In both MTT and WST-1 assay, group 4 showed significantly higher viability of periodontal ligament cells than group 2 and 3 (p < 0.05), but showed lower viability than immediate control group. By the results of this study, slow cryo-preservation method under pressure suggests the possibility for long term cryo-preservation of the teeth.