Pulp sensibility test in elderly patients

doi: 10.1111/j.1741‐2358.2012.00623.x
Pulp sensibility test in elderly patients Background: The ageing process transforms the histological composition of the dental pulp and may affect the response to pulp sensibility tests. Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the influence of age on pulp response time and on pain intensity. Material and methods: Fifty elderly patients and 50 young patients were selected. Different classes of teeth were evaluated. The pulp sensibility test was performed with a refrigerant spray. The pulp response time was measured in seconds and the pain intensity was assessed by visual analogue scale. Results: The Spearman coefficient was calculated and detect a positive correlation between age and pulp response time for maxillary incisors, premolars, mandibular incisors, and mean (p < 0.05). On the contrary, there was a negative correlation between age and pain intensity for maxillary incisors, mandibular incisors, and mean (p < 0.05). Also, the results of elderly and young groups were compared by Mann–Whitney test. Significant difference was noted regarding the pulp response time for maxillary incisors, premolars, mandibular incisors, and mean (p < 0.05). Significant difference was detected regarding the pain intensity for mandibular incisors only (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Pulp response time increases when people get older while pain intensity decreases. There were variations among the classes of teeth.     

Permanent tooth emergence in Gujjars of Punjab, India.

Patterns of permanent tooth emergence in Gujjars were studied in a cross-sectional sample of 483 children ranging in age from 6 to 13 years. Females were markedly advanced in permanent tooth emergence times over males, but no such sex differences were observed in sequence of emergence. Differences between median emergence times of right and left side antimers were significant for only 4 of 28 instances (14.29%), namely central incisors, mandibular first molars in males and lateral maxillary incisors in females. In general mandibular teeth except premolars tended to emerge earlier than their maxillary counterparts. The quiescent period between first and second tooth emergence stages was longer in males than in females. Mandibular depth and morphological facial length were very significantly correlated (p < 0.01) with the number of permanent teeth present in the oral cavity.     

Sex differences in tooth wear ofMacaca fuscata,the Arashiyama-A troop in Texas

The incidence of tooth wear was studied in a wild troop ofM. fuscata, that had previously been transplanted from Arashiyama, Japan, to Texas. This study was undertaken to determine differences of attrition between males and females, and between maxillary and mandibular dentitions. Contrary to other findings, the rate of wear was not found to be an expression of sex difference, but seemed rather related to function. The following observations may suffice as examples: The mandibular third premolars function as a honing surface for the maxillary canines, and experience greater wear over time in males due to their proximity to smaller canines which leave their neighbors more vulnerable to wear. The degree of attrition intensity is neither the same for males and females, nor the maxillary and mandibular dentitions. Certain maxillary and mandibular teeth “pair up”; although all “pairs” are identical in males and females, they rank differently in the degree of wear experienced. Overall, females express greater attrition in the maxillary, and males in the mandibular dentitions.     

Oral and craniofacial morphology of a patient with Larsen syndrome

A case is reported of a 15 years old Chinese female with Larsen syndrome exhibiting many characteristic facial and skeletal features plus hitherto unreported orofacial anomalies including delayed dental development; hypodontia affecting all the permanent canines, second and third molars, maxillary lateral incisors and second premolars; morphological anomalies of the maxillary first premolars and molars; a class 3 skeletal pattern and reduced upper facial height. Cephalometric radiographs showed the skull bones to have an appearance similar to that of osteopetrosis.     

Principal axis analysis of dental attrition data from two Australian Aboriginal populations

Dental attrition scores from two distinct Australian Aboriginal populations were compared by principal axis analysis. The first group was composed of members of the Narrinyeri group who occupied the river basin and mouth of the River Murray. The second group consisted of members of the Kaurna tribe who occupied the coastal plain to the west of the Narrinyeri. The groups were isolated both physically and culturally and as a result differences in patterns of tooth wear might be expected. In the Narrinyeri sample, attrition tended to be more rapid in females for all but the anterior teeth. The only sex difference in the Kaurna was for the maxillary central incisors, which wore more rapidly in females. Interpopulation differences in the pattern of tooth wear were also evident. The incisors, canines, and premolars of Kaurna subjects tended to wear more rapidly, while the rate of posterior tooth wear tended to be greater in the Narrinyeri. The application of the principal axis method to quantitative attrition data provided a sensitive, objective evaluation of tooth wear. The reasons for the observed differences between the two groups are still not completely clear but may relect both functional and morphological differences between groups.     

Some dental traits of Diaguitas Indian skulls

Dental characteristics were studied on 60 skulls that belong to a population of Diaguitas Indians of approximately the Tenth Century. Mesiodistal crown diameters of permanent teeth were as follows: central incisors (8.77 mm), lateral incisors (7.23 mm), canines (8.40 mm), first maxillary molars (10.77 mm), second maxillary molars (10.71 mm), first mandibular molars (11.13 mm), and second mandibular molars (10.17 mm). Also determined was the frequency of shovel shaped incisors (80.30%), groove and cusp patterns of mandibular molars (Y5 73.40%), groove and cusp patterns of maxillary molars (H4 87.25%), and mesiopalatal version of maxillary incisors (66.20%). No skull showed Carabelli's cusp. The findings were compared with those for different populations past and living. The results suggest that the affiliation of the population analyzed was mongoloid.     

A nonadaptive dental trait

Compared to other anthropoid females, female cercopithecoids possess hypertrophied honing premolars (P₃) yet lack hypertrophied maxillary canines. In addition, female cercopithecoid maxillary canines are often tip-blunted, the crown rarely extends down to the entire shearing surface on the buccal face of P₃, and honing wear is usually confined to a small fraction of its hypertrophied buccal surface. The likely reason why the female P₃ has an unusually long buccal face is that genes involved in the expression of this morphology are also in males, for which the hypertrophied condition is adaptive—it serves as the honing surface for their hypertrophied canines. The data suggest that the hypertrophied P₃ of females is the correlated and nonadaptive response of an homologous characteristic. The possibility that this occurs in other female anthropoids and in other parts of the C/P complex is discussed, as well as the relevance of this phenomenon for understanding human canine evolution and identifying other traits which may also be examples of correlated response.     

Odontometry of a Spanish neolithic-Bronze age sample. Comparison with other populations of the iberian peninsula. I.-Permanent teeth

The present study concerns the morphometric characteristics of two hundred permanent teeth from the Neolithic-Bronze Age human remains found in «Galería del Sílex» (Atapuerca Cave, Burgos, Spain). The crown index reveals that all the upper maxillary teeth (except incisors) and the mandibular first incisors, canines and premolars have a vestibulo-lingual diameter greater than the mesio-distal. The dental module and the surface value show that the mandibular teeth (except the molars) are smaller than those of the upper maxillary. These results are very similar to other European populations. Finally, the Sílex Gallery sample was compared with five other series of the Iberian Peninsula which have a chronology from the Mesolithic to the Middle Age. The results indicate a general decrease for both diameters (ØMD and ØVL) throughout time.     

Field age determination of leopards by tooth wear

Age determination is an important tool in wildlife studies. Estimating the age of animals in the field using tooth wear criteria may be subject to error as a result of variations between individuals, habitats and populations. Data on age estimation of leopards and tooth wear characteristics are lacking. Nineteen leopards in Namibia were assessed for tooth eruption and wear. Between 1991 and 1995 leopards (including 13 individuals of known age) were monitored at one year intervals ('28 leopard years') to record age and tooth wear. At the age of two years leopards had fully developed dentition. Wear started with the incisors and canines, and spread to the premolars and molars. A chronology of tooth eruption and wear in relation to age is presented. Above the age of three years, male leopards showed higher frequencies of enamel flaking and canine fractures than females.     

Remains of a Pliocene Mammut borsoni (Hays, 1834) (Proboscidea,Mammalia), from Milia (Grevena,W. Macedonia,Greece)

A partial skeleton of the mastodont Mammut borsoni (Hays, 1834) (Proboscidea), was excavated from Pliocene deposits at Milia — Grevena, W. Macedonia, in 1996–1999. The skeleton includes substantial portions of the skull — maxillary area — with left and right molar series (M² + M³); with the longest upper tusks ever found in Greece (4.39 m); the most complete mandible with left and right molar series (M₂ + M₃) and two lower incisor tusks, as well as post-cranial skeleton. It represents a very large adult of about 40 years in age. The high age of the finding is partly corroborated by ESR dating studies of tooth enamel, indicating an age probably beyond the upper dating range of this technique (approx. 800 000 years). The evolutionary position of this specimen among mammutids is also discussed.     

Brief communication: physiological stress in the Florida Archaic-enamel hypoplasia and patterns of developmental insult in early North American hunter-gatherers

We examined the prevalence and developmental timing of linear enamel hypoplasias (LEHs) in an early Archaic Floridian population from Windover (8,120-6,980 (14)C years B.P. uncorrected). Using digital images, mandibular and maxillary canines were analyzed for defect prevalence and timing of insults. Although overall prevalence was very weakly correlated with earlier defect timing, there were significant differences in defect prevalence that varied by sex and tooth type. The mean LEH count in male mandibular canines was far higher than in male maxillary canines or in female mandibular or maxillary canines. We examined defect timing as a possible predictor of the sex differences in LEH prevalence. There were no significant sex differences in the developmental timing of the earliest defects in either tooth class. Developmental timing is not responsible for the sex differences seen in defect prevalence in mandibular canines.     

Symmetry of non-carious cervical lesions in canines and premolars

Objectives: Clinically non‐carious cervical lesions (NCCLs) are frequently seen. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the shape and symmetry of NCCLs, wear of cuSPS and triangular ridge, and the curvature of the tooth root. Methods: One hundred and twenty‐nine extracted human upper canine teeth and 274 extracted human upper premolar teeth with NCCLs were used in this study. The specimens were studied using photographs and three‐dimensional scanning. Results: Asymmetric NCCL was observed in 69.0% of the canines and 44.5% of the premolars. Wear of cusp and lingual ridges was observed in 82.9% and 93.0% of the canines, respectively. Wear of the buccal cusp and buccal triangular ridge was observed in 85.4% and 89.8% of the premolars, respectively. On the other hand, the wear of lingual cusp and lingual triangular ridge was observed in 89.1% and 93.8% of the premolars, respectively. The curvature of the root was observed in 48.1% of the canines and 43.4% of the premolars. Conclusions: There was no relationship between the symmetry of NCCLs, and the wear of cuSPS and triangular ridges for either canines or premolars. Although there was a relationship (p < 0.05) between the symmetry of NCCL and the curvature of the root in the canines, no relationship was observed between the symmetry of NCCL and the curvature of the root in the premolars.     

Cercopithecoid canine tooth honing mechanisms

The form of the unworn male Cercopithecoid maxillary canine tooth (C') is effectively adapted for stabbing and slashing. Its essential features are maintained by wear against the mandibular canine (C₁) and first premolar (P₃) teeth. The cusp tip of C₁ is sharpened by reciprocal wear against C'. The distribution of apposing wear facets indicates that functional attrition results from honing activity largely distinct from mastication. Functional attrition also occurs in reduced form in females and is produced within the masticatory excursive range. The significance of the “sectorial” form of P₃ is analyzed. Its elongated mesiobuccal surface serves the dual purpose of honing the distal cutting edge of C' and functioning as a cutting block against which vegetation is stabilized and shredded by the cervical third of the distal cutting edge of C'. Behavioral aspects of honing are correlated with field observations linking tooth grinding with aggression, tension release, and communication. Parallel human behavior is cited and the suggestion is made that human tooth grinding with its highly charged emotional overtones is largely relict behavior that once had high survival value in a canine tooth honing context.     

Age-related variability in occlusal wear planes

Investigation of two populations of 136 individuals shows several patterns of occlusal wear plane change which are positively correlated with age. For individuals up to the age of 18, there is a characteristic pattern in which the occlusal wear planes of the mandibular teeth are lingually sloped and those of the maxillary dentition buccally sloped, with the exception of the maxillary premolars, which are also lingually sloped. The long axes of the mandibular teeth give them a lingual orientation relative to the maxillary teeth, and the long axes of the maxillary molars, by contrast, are buccally oriented. In the 18-30 age range for all sexes, the mandibular M1 becomes buccally sloped on its occlusal surface while the occlusal wear plane on the maxillary M1 becomes lingually sloped. Later age changes indicate a trend for the mandibular premolars to become buccally sloped, while the wear planes of the maxillary premolars remain lingually sloped. There is a corresponding tendency for the maxillary and mandibular second molars to undergo changes in the initial orientation of the occlusal wear planes.     

Increasing human tooth length between birth and 5.4 years

Most previous studies of tooth development have used fractional stages of tooth formation to construct growth standards suitable for aging juvenile skeletal material. A simple alternative for determining dental age is to measure tooth length throughout development. In this study, data on tooth length development are presented from 63 individuals of known age at death, between birth and 5.4 years, from an archeological population recovered from the crypt of Christ Church, Spitalfields, London. Isolated developing teeth (304 deciduous, 269 permanent) were measured in millimeters and plotted against individual age. Regression equations to estimate age from a given tooth length, are presented for each deciduous maxillary and mandibular tooth type and for permanent maxillary and mandibular incisors, canines, and first permanent molars. Data on the earliest age of root completion of deciduous teeth and initial mineralization and crown completion of some permanent teeth in this sample are given, as well as the average crown height and total tooth length from a small number of unworn teeth. This method provides an easy, quantitative and objective measure of dental formation appropriate for use by archeologists and anthropologists. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Une reconstitution surprenante d’un fossile humain : la mandibule magdalénienne du crâne d’enfant Rochereil III

The fragmented pathological skull of a young child was discovered in a Magdalenian level in the Rochereil cave, Dordogne, France, in 1939. The bony fragments were extracted along with the surrounding soil, and completely cleaned in a laboratory. The mandible has been wrongly reconstructed. Among the nine teeth that are present on the mandible, three deciduous molars are human teeth at their correct places. Only one tooth in the incisor–canine block (the right deciduous lateral incisor) is a human tooth, but it is incorrectly positioned on the left side. The other incisors and canines implanted in this child's mandible originated from one or several young adult reindeer. These small animal teeth were probably mistaken for human pathological teeth because the child's skull and mandible showed several pathological lesions. The possibility of faulty reconstitution must be systematically considered when dealing with for all human fossils which have been discovered in the past.     

A new spalacolestine mammal from the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota and implications for the morphology,phylogeny, and palaeobiology of Laurasian ‘symmetrodontans’

‘Symmetrodontans’ are extinct mammals characterized by having a reversed‐triangle molar pattern in which three main cusps define a triangular molar crown. This dental morpholgy has been regarded as being intermediate between the ‘triconodont’ tooth and the tribosphenic pattern characterizing therians; it is a key feature in taxonomy of Mesozoic mammals and one to understand mammalian evolution and palaeobiology. Here we report a new genus and species of ‘symmetrodontan’ mammal, Lactodens sheni, from the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota, represented by a partial skeleton with dentary and upper and lower teeth with dental morphologies well‐preserved. The new species has a dental formula of three upper incisors, one canine, three premolars, and six molars/three lower incisors, one canine, five premolars and six lower molars, double‐rooted canines, extremely low‐crowned and transversely thin premolars, and acute angled molars. The dental morphologies of molars and peculiar deciduous premolars are similar to those of Spalacolestes from North America. The associated upper and lower dentitions from one individual animal helped to clarify tooth identification of some spalacotheriids represented only by fragmentary material. Phylogenetic analyses indicate a close relationship of the new species to North American spalacolestines and faunal interchanges between Eurasia and North America, thus supporting the notion that small‐bodied spalacotheriids were diverse and had a pan‐Laurasian distribution during the Early Cretaceous. Absence of the Meckelian groove suggests acquisition of the definitive mammalian middle ear in spalacolestines, and deciduous canines and premolars in the slim and extremely long dentary imply a faunivorous diet.     

Tooth Replacement in Late Jurassic Dryolestidae (Eupantotheria, Mammalia)

The discovery of juvenile dentitions of late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) Dryolestidae (Eupantotheria, Mammalia) from Guimarota, Portugal, yields for the first time information on the mode of tooth replacement in therian mammals prior to the dichotomy of placentals and marsupials. As in extant placentals, tooth replacement occurs at all antemolar positions [incisors (I1–I4), canine (C), premolars (P1–P4)]. P1 and P2 have premolariform milk predecessors, whereas the large premolariform third (P3) and fourth premolars (P4) are preceded by molariform deciduous premolars (dP3, dP4). Tooth replacement takes place in two waves, at least in the lower jaw, with I₂, I₄, P₁, and P₃ in the first series and I₁, I₃, C, P₂, and P₄ in the second. P₄ is the last premolar to erupt, and it is present when the sixth molar (M₆) starts to break through. The reduced tooth replacement pattern of marsupials (with only dP3 being replaced postnatally) evolved secondarily from the primitive or plesiomorphic mammalian condition, which was retained in Dryolestidae and Eutheria.