Publications

OBJECTIVE: The public health impact of substance use (SU) is substantial, with tobacco use and excessive drinking leading as causes of death in the USA. To address this growing epidemic, governments have implemented a range of SU-related policies. The NIH's Clinical & Translational Science Awards (CTSA) program, which aims to accelerate translation of research findings into health impact, may advance translation through its impact on the policy literature that informs policymakers, health professionals, and the public. Using innovative bibliometric tools, this study evaluates how CTSA-supported research published from 2006-2023 has influenced SU-related policy literature.

METHOD: The authors identified 135K publications that acknowledged CTSA support. Those publications were queried in the Overton Policy database, which indexes references to research publications in global policy literature.

RESULTS: Thus far, CTSA-supported publications have been cited in 3,451 policy documents identified as SU-related according to Overton's Topics field. SU-related Topics were classified into top categories of: Tobacco, Opioids, Cannabis, Alcohol, and General/Other SU. Policy documents came from 321 organizations across 49 countries- often governments, health agencies, or political think tanks, including the World Health Organization, Guidelines in Pubmed Central, and the RAND Corporation. The authors present case illustrations of individual research publications that have had notable influence on SU policy.

CONCLUSIONS: By elucidating ways that supported publications are applied outside academia, bibliometrics offer a useful avenue for evaluating the translational impact of programs on specific areas of policy. Our findings showcase the impact that CTSA research has had on SU-related policy literature, a critical area of health policy.

Organizing visual input into coherent percepts requires dynamic grouping and segmentation mechanisms that operate across both spatial and temporal domains. Crowding occurs when nearby elements interfere with target perception, but specific flanker configurations can alleviate this effect through Gestalt-based grouping, a phenomenon known as uncrowding. Here, we examined the temporal dynamics underlying these spatial organization processes using a Vernier discrimination task. In Experiment 1, we varied stimulus duration and found that uncrowding emerged only after 160 ms, suggesting a time-consuming process. In Experiment 2, we manipulated the stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) between the target and flankers. We found that presenting good-Gestalt flankers briefly before the target (as little as 32 ms) significantly boosted uncrowding, even in the absence of temporal overlap between the two stimuli. This effect was specific to conditions in which flankers preceded the target, ruling out pure temporal integration and masking accounts. These findings suggest that spatial segmentation can be dynamically facilitated when the temporal order of presentation allows grouping mechanisms to engage prior to target processing. Moreover, the observed time course indicates that segmentation is not purely feedforward, particularly for stimuli that are likely to recruit higher level visual areas, pointing instead to the involvement of recurrent or feedback processes.

AIM AND BACKGROUND: In a controlled, simulated root canal environment, this study examined and contrasted the resistance to cyclic fatigue of three heat-treated nickel-titanium (NiTi) rotary file systems. The goal of this work was to find systems with greater fatigue endurance because cyclic fatigue is a primary mode of instrument failure in current endodontics.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 30 NiTi rotary instruments-10 from Hero Gold, NeoEndo Flex, and T-Pro-were put to the test. The dimensions of all instruments were the same: Size 25, taper 0.04, and length 21 mm. A specially designed device simulated a 60° canal curvature (8 mm from the tip) was used. Time to fracture (TTF) was recorded while the instruments were run at the torque and speed recommended by the manufacturer until they failed. A conventional procedure was used to calculate cycles to fracture (NCF). Measurements of fragment lengths were made, and one-way ANOVA and post hoc analysis were used to evaluate the significance of the findings.

RESULTS: Hero Gold outperformed NeoEndo Flex and T-Pro regarding fatigue resistance, as evidenced by considerably higher TTF and NCF values (p < 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in fragment lengths between groups, suggesting that instruments consistently failed in the same places.

CONCLUSION: Hero Gold rotary files displayed the best fatigue resistance, indicating enhanced performance and durability in root canal applications.

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Understanding the differences in fracture resistance aids clinicians in selecting the appropriate instrumentation system for curved canals. How to cite this article: Boreak N. Assessment of Fatigue Resistance in Heat-treated Nickel-titanium Rotary Instruments with Single Canal Curvatures: An In Vitro Evaluation. J Contemp Dent Pract 2025;26(11):1047-1049.

AIM: The study aims to evaluate the effect of fluoridated and non-fluoridated mouthwash on the rate of tooth movement and surface topography changes of nickel-titanium (NiTi) and multistranded stainless steel arch wires.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty patients aged 18-30 years with moderate mandibular anterior crowding [Little's Irregularity Index (LII): 4-6 mm] were selected and randomly divided into two groups (n = 10) and were assigned by archwire type: Group I (NiTi) and group II (multistranded SS). Each group was subdivided into fluoridated (Colgate MaxFresh Mouthwash; groups IA and IIA) and non-fluoridated (Listerine; groups IB and IIB) mouthwash subgroups (n = 5). The rate of tooth movement was assessed monthly for 3 months using LII, and the surface topography of the retrieved wires was evaluated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Data were recorded and statistically analyzed.

RESULTS: Both group I and group II demonstrated a reduction in LII over the 3 months. The non-fluoridated subgroup of group I had the greatest reduction (from 5.58 ± 0.12 mm at T0 to 0.76 ± 0.03 mm at T3) compared to the fluoridated subgroup (from 4.80 ± 0.11 to 0.50 ± 0.07 mm). For group II, the non-fluoridated subgroup reduced from 5.26 ± 0.12 mm to 0.73 ± 0.04 mm, and the fluoridated subgroup reduced from 4.27 ± 0.15 mm to 0.43 ± 0.07 mm. Intragroup comparisons were statistically significant over time (p < 0.001; Friedman test), and intergroup differences at each time point also proved statistically significant (p < 0.05; Kruskal-Wallis test). The SEM showed more significant surface damage (pitting, corrosion, and inclusions) in wires exposed to the fluoridated mouthwash group than the non-fluoridated rinse.

CONCLUSION: Non-fluoridated mouth rinses seem to aid in orthodontic tooth movement rates, especially with NiTi arch wire, while fluoridated mouth rinses can inhibit arch wire efficacy.

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: This study addresses the lack of in vivo evidence regarding the impact of frequently used mouth rinses on orthodontic treatment efficiency. These findings will assist in selecting adjunctive mouth rinses to maintain the integrity of the arch wire and improve the rate of movement during the alignment phase. How to cite this article: Gadde H, Kumar S, Bhattu BK, et al. Effect of Fluoridated and Non-fluoridated Mouthwash on Tooth Movement and Surface Topography Changes of Arch Wires: An In Vivo Study. J Contemp Dent Pract 2025;26(11):1079-1086.

AIM: Despite the widespread availability of online information about dental veneers, there is a lack of data on the quality and readability of these resources. The aim of this study was to assess the quality and readability of patient-oriented online information on dental veneers.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study conducted a thorough web search utilizing Google, Yahoo, and Bing search engines to identify English-language websites offering information on dental veneers. The quality of the websites was assessed using DISCERN, Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmarks, and Health on the Net Code (HONcode) tools. The readability of the websites was evaluated using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL), Simplified Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG), and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) metrics.

RESULTS: Out of a total of 195 websites included in the study, only 8 websites obtained a high overall DISCERN score, representing 2.4% of dental clinic (DC) and 14.8% of nonprofit organization (NPO) websites. The median [interquartile range (IQR)] of the overall score of DISCERN was significantly higher for NPO websites [55.5 (13)] compared to DC websites [42 (13)] and commercial entity (CE) websites [36.25 (5.5); p < 0.001]. Up to 15, 63, and 70% of NPO, DC, and CE websites, respectively, did not report any of the four JAMA criteria. Only seven websites (all NPOs) showed an active Health on the Net (HONs) Code certificate. All readability indicators confirmed easier texts on the NPO websites.

CONCLUSIONS: The quality of the English web-based health information on dental veneers seems suboptimal. Nonprofit organization websites offer higher quality, more reliable, and readable content compared to DC and CE websites.

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Online dental veneer information is generally of poor quality, with NPO websites offering the most reliable and readable content. Clinicians should direct patients to trustworthy NPO resources for accurate information. How to cite this article: Alqutaibi AY, Alharbi AT, Alassaf MS, et al. Assessment of Quality and Readability of Online Patient-centered Information on Dental Veneers: An Infodemiological Study. J Contemp Dent Pract 2025;26(11):1060-1066.