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Biomedical subjects

R McAndrew

Publications and source records attributed to R McAndrew.

17 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

A survey of general dental practitioners' opinions of response letters received from hospital specialists following a referred patient's first appointment.

OBJECTIVES: To discover what dentists require of a hospital response letter with regards to content and timeliness. DESIGN: Postal survey. SETTING: South Wales. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A postal questionnaire was issued to all dentists (n = 256) who had referred a patient to the dental hospital between 1 January 2003 and 1 March 2003. RESULTS: The response rate was 60.2% (154). The preferred time frame for the receipt of a letter following a patient's appointment was one to three weeks for 96.4% (n = 133) of respondents, but 58.4% believed that they currently do not receive responses within this time frame. The preferred method of communication remained the letter (n = 82, 53%), followed by the telephone (n = 58, 38%). E-mail accounted for eight percent (n = 12) of communication. Most respondents (70%, n = 107) were satisfied with the letters' content. Eight of the ten items of information suggested as being appropriate in a response letter were considered essential by 53.2% of dentists (n = 82), and 55.8% (n = 76) believed the remaining two items to be desirable. CONCLUSIONS: Dentists agree closely on the information required in a response letter and most are satisfied with the content of current response letters. However, many dentists believe response letters arrive later than three weeks after their patient's appointment.

Correspondence as Topic↗
PubMed2006

Academic plight.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Academic Medical Centers↗
PubMed2005

The ability of fruit teas to remove the smear layer: an in vitro study of tubule patency.

OBJECTIVES: Fruit teas are know to have an erosive effect on enamel, but the effects on dentine are unknown. Lesions of dentine hypersensitivity have numerous patent dentinal tubules and the aim of this paper was to examine the ability of various fruit teas to remove the smear layer. METHODS: The erosive potential of a variety of fruit teas was assessed in the laboratory by measuring their pH and neutralisable acidity. Smeared dentine specimens were prepared from extracted teeth and the ability of each tea to remove the smear layer was assessed by measuring the diameter and area of the opened tubules and counting the number of patent tubules seen in a unit area using scanning electron microscopy. A 0.2% citric acid solution was used as a positive control. RESULTS: The pH of the fruit teas ranged from 2.98 to 3.95 and the neutralisable acidity ranged from 10.63 to 33.0 ml of 0.1 M NaOH. All the fruit teas tested were able to remove the smear layer. The mean diameter of the tubules ranged from 0.61 to 1.14 microm and the mean area ranged from 0.31 to 1.03 microm2. The number of patent tubules per specimen ranged from 13 to 121. CONCLUSION: All the fruit teas tested were found to be highly acidic and able to remove the smear layer.

Dental Enamel↗
PubMed2005

Does your practice website need updating?

The internet is becoming a more and more powerful tool and many dental practitioners use it to advertise their dental service; some dental practices even offer on-line appointment booking! It is not unreasonable to surmise that use of the internet is likely to become increasingly common practice by dentists in the future. This is not surprising as the World Wide Web (WWW) provides an opportunity for dentists to advertise themselves and their practices to a wide audience in a relatively economical manner.

Advertising↗
PubMed2001

A report of an elective to the Hospital for Sick Children and Bloorview Macmillan Centre, Toronto.

The Department of Dentistry based at the Hospital for Sick Children and Bloorview MacMillan Centre in Toronto is unique. It provides treatment for cleft lip and palate patients and all forms of specialist dental treatment to children and adolescents resident in Ontario. The quality of service provided by the department has been externally recognised and validated through an ISO 9002 award (February 1999). At that time, it was the first Dental Clinic in North America to receive the ISO 9002 standard. In addition, the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association has recognised the department for its organisation and contributions in the field of cleft lip and palate and craniofacial surgery.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Opinions of dental consultants on the standard of referral letters in dentistry.

AIM: To ascertain the views of dental consultants on the relative importance of a range of topics relevant to specialist referral. SUBJECTS: 200 randomly selected dental consultants working in the UK in 1995. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Data items which referral letters should contain; standard of referral letters; appropriate reasons for referral; how referrals could be improved; should restrictions be placed on specialist referrals. RESULTS: 161 replies were received. Overall there was only slight variation between specialities with regard to data items, appropriateness of referral and standard of referral letter. The perceived standard of referral letters was adequate or better on 76% of occasions; 21% were deemed to be of a poor standard; 2% were described as appalling. CONCLUSIONS: A Section 63 course on how to refer competently could be of benefit. Consultants were generally not in favour of restricting referrals to them.

Consultants↗
PubMed1996

Measurement of patient-derived utility values for periodontal health using a multi-attribute scale.

Periodontal health states are difficult to quantify and no formal scale quantifying patients' utilities for periodontal health states exits. Multi-attribute utility (MAU) techniques were used to develop such a scale. The MAU scale may be used to quantify patients' assessment of their current periodontal health and that of possible treatment outcomes. Such data, combined with probability values in formal decision analysis techniques would result in improved rationality of treatment planning for periodontal disease. 20 patients attending for routine undergraduate care were interviewed. Data from these interviews were sorted into groups of common interest (domains). Intra-domain health statements were complied from the interview content. 21 patients ranked the intra-domain statements on a scale of 0-100. This same group of patients also performed an inter-domain weighting. Mean results showed that patients were 2X as concerned with how they felt and with the prognosis of possible outcomes, than with how they looked and what facts they knew about their oral health. However, the real value of utilities research lies in application of individual results to treatment planning as there is a wide range of opinion regarding outcome health states.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

The effect of oxidising mouthrinses compared with chlorhexidine on salivary bacterial counts and plaque regrowth.

For various clinical indications, oxidising agents have been used in dentistry for many years. Little is known, however, of their antibacterial activity and their ability to inhibit plaque formation. In this study, 2 mouthrinses containing peroxyborate (Bocasan) and peroxycarbonate (Kavosan) were compared alongside a negative control saline rinse and a positive control chlorhexidine rinse (Corsodyl) for their ability to inhibit plaque reformation. Employing a randomised four replicate 4 x 4 latin square cross over design and, whilst omitting all other oral hygiene, plaque was measured by area and index after rinsing for 4 days. In a second study, in vivo antibacterial effects of the rinses were assessed by measuring salivary bacterial counts following single rinses with the preparations at various time intervals over 7 h. Plaque inhibition by chlorhexidine was significantly greater than the other rinses. All rinses were significantly better than the saline rinse at inhibiting plaque. For plaque area, the peroxycarbonate rinse was significantly better than the peroxyborate rinse at inhibiting plaque. Salivary bacterial count reductions were significantly greater compared to saline with chlorhexidine at all time intervals up to 7 h. Whilst both peroxyborate and peroxycarbonate rinses produced greater reductions in bacterial counts than saline up to 3 h, at no time interval were the differences significant. The findings of these studies would suggest oxidising mouthrinses may inhibit plaque formation not by a direct antibacterial effect, but by some other mechanism. The magnitude of plaque reductions obtained with the peroxyborate and more so peroxycarbonate rinses would suggest a need for further study of these preparations when used as adjuncts to normal toothbrushing.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1995

Effects of toothbrushing prior and/or subsequent to dietary acid application on smear layer formation and the patency of dentinal tubules: an SEM study.

Dentine sensitivity is a quite common condition, associated with open dentinal tubules patent all the way to the pulp. The purpose of this in vitro study was to assess the effects of toothbrushing preceded and/or followed by dietary acid application on the patency of dentinal tubules. Dentine sections were prepared from recently extracted human molars and, after removal of the smear layer, were treated as follows: 1) toothbrushing alone; 2) toothbrushing followed by exposure to orange juice; and 3) toothbrushing subsequent to orange juice exposure. All specimens were observed in the scanning electron microscope (SEM) at a standard magnification and the patency of the dentinal tubules estimated. Results showed that toothbrushing alone was the most effective in occluding the tubules, followed by toothbrushing subsequent to dietary acid application, and then by toothbrushing prior to dietary acid application. From the results of this study it may be that in cases of dentine sensitivity toothbrushing should not precede or follow dietary acid application but be separate from mealtimes. Clinical research is required to confirm the findings of this in vitro study.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1995

Case report: the use of heat-treated gold alloy following palatal tooth surface loss.

The use of veneers in dentistry has become a widely used and accepted technique for the treatment of various dental anomalies. The literature is replete with reference to the use of labial veneers but with less on the use of palatal veneers. This paper reports on the use of gold palatal veneers in the treatment of palatal tooth surface loss in two patients. Although not new the technique described has much to commend it; it is simple, not tooth destructive and has been shown to be successful in the treatment of palatal tooth surface loss.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

A radiographic study of post-retained crowns in patients attending a dental hospital.

A total of 327 post-retained crowns were examined radiographically and a number of features were assessed including the length of post, length of remaining root filling, periapical condition, fit and angulation of the post and quality of root filling. The post length was equal to or greater than that of the crown in only 34% of cases. Although the majority of posts fitted well laterally, 43% did not extend longitudinally as far as the end of the prepared post hole. Some 20% deviated from the line of the root canal but the number of actual lateral perforations was small. A total of 47% of the teeth had areas of radiolucency around the root apices. A majority of root fillings were judged to be unsatisfactory and there was no radiographic evidence of any root filling at all in nearly 10% of cases.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Thermal diffusivity of composite restorative materials.

The substantial increases in the filler volume fraction of the current generation of composite resins, and the incorporation of radiopacifying heavy elements in many of these fillers, constitute significant changes which may affect thermal transport properties. Thermal diffusivity has been determined for 21 of these composite materials recommended for anterior and posterior applications. For radiopaque hybrid and for microfine composites, there was, however, only a gradual trend to increased thermal diffusivity with increasing volume fraction of inorganic filler. The diffusivity values were not greatly in excess of the level observed for dentin. Nevertheless, a small group of materials, incorporating substantial amounts of quartz or silicon nitride filler particles, exhibited high rates of thermal diffusion, up to three times the level exhibited by dentin.

Composite Resins↗