The impact of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder is material in the dentistry field which not only centers its efforts on managing the oral health of the afflicted patients, prescribing proper medications, but also on raising awareness mainly through dental hygiene and smoking cessation. This literature review will explore the status and accomplishments of the field of dentistry with regards to battling COPD. The first section of the paper discusses the nature and dynamics of the disease which ranks between the third and fourth most common cause of death in the United States alone. Certain data trends from 1970 until 2002 showed double the death rates caused by the disease, and that exposure to environmental or occupational risk factors (e.g. dust, fumes, etc.) must be seriously considered for the effective management of COPD. The pressure of COPD management is great among dental practitioners who must ensure the safety of patients by providing the most suitable drug regimen and having a well-coordinated dental practice (i.e. with other health practitioners) to avoid exacerbation of the disease which often leads to hospitalization. The latter is often the result of oral devices or materials that are often comprised of small objects which might be swallowed or aspirated into the oropharynx of the patient when proper positioning during dental check-ups is not properly performed. Dentists must also make sure that they are able to gain the patient’s confidence and to avoid patient reluctance during dental care. Numbers and statistics also reveal that an estimated 24 million of the population in the United States is afflicted by COPD, and that is from 2015 alone. It is also prevalent among the male population which has a death rate of 83 per 100,000, while the death rate among women is 57 per 100,000. Immediate treatment of COPD is also emphasized to prevent hospitalization rates from rising, and as far as dental practice is concerned, they are often aware of CODP patients which number approximately 130 out of 2000. Smoking cessation is considered the best preventive measure in COPD management. Educating patients on the real dangers involved with smoking will help encourage them to quit while promoting better oral health. The field of dentistry is constantly responding to the challenges of COPD, and significant breakthroughs have already been achieved due to research efforts on COPD management. Through professional coordination with other fields in the healthcare system, it is with great hope that dental practitioners will contribute more to the alleviation of patient conditions and providing improved quality of life.

The newly emerging Clarity™ Clear Aligner System from 3M has set out to address one of the biggest pitfalls of thermoplastic aligners: accuracy of orthodontic movements. The 3M Clarity™ Clear Aligner System is unique among clear aligners because it employs a proprietary, sophisticated machine-learning algorithm to design orthodontic movement schematics. The core of the Clarity™ Aligner System is artificial intelligence, meaning that a prospective analysis of preliminary data is essential for the development and improvement of the accuracy of the algorithm. This study investigates movement and accuracy of the Clarity™ Aligner System, from a preliminary data subset from ongoing prospective, randomized clinical trials. Movement from the first trial subset is examined in terms of the following movement factors: secondary premolar-secondary premolar (5+5 in the Palmer system) arch expansion or crowding resolved, absolute rotation, absolute mesial-distal tipping, and absolute torque for both the crown and root. These movements are further examined according to specific tooth types. Both actual observational orthodontic movements and theoretical movements are designed by the Clarity™ System. The accuracy of actual movement in terms of theoretical movements is calculated; however, it is impossible to calculate the significance of these accuracies due to a complete lack of benchmark movement values for the clear aligner market. There are no benchmark values to compare to, so orthodontic movements will be critically examined for performance, and casually compared to alternative aligner systems. Identifying potential weaknesses in the Clarity™ Aligner System is imperative for maximizing its effectiveness.

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Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the Degree of Master of Technology: Dental Technology, Durban University of Technology, 2013. / Aim The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in exothermic polymerisation characteristics and a range of mechanical properties in PMMA/HA composites (of varying HA concentrations) against a control sample of pure PMMA. Methods Specimens of pure PMMA, and 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 percent HA composites were made according to the specification of appropriate testing standards using the flask and packing method. Exothermic polymerisation testing was conducted on respective samples using an internal j-type thermocouple temperature sensor. The rate of temperature change and maximum temperature in relation to time were recorded. Mechanical tests included tests of flexural strength and modulus, compressive strength and modulus, tensile strength and modulus and shear strength. All specimens were kept in a controlled environment prior to testing, which was performed on a LIoyd® LR30K universal testing machine, and recorded in computer-generated logs. Results Exothermic polymerisation testing revealed a decrease in mean maximum temperature values with increasing HA content. The mean exothermic temperatures of all six groups were above 100 ̊C, with small relative temperature reductions as the HA percentage increased. The results of mechanical testing revealed that there was a significant reduction in flexural strength in the range between pure PMMA and 15 percent HA and no statistical difference in flexural modulus. There was a notable trend toward a decrease in compressive strength as HA percentage increased, achieving statistical significance at 20 and 25 percent HA, with no statistical difference in compressive modulus between samples. The tensile strength test results no significant difference between pure PMMA and composites containing up to 15 percent HA. A significant difference was noted between the 20 percent- and 25 percent HA composites and those of lower HA concentration with an increased failure risk as HA concentration was increased above 10 percent. There was a tensile modulus peak at 15 percent HA, and a significant difference between 15 percent HA composites and pure PMMA and the 10 percent HA composite. Shear strength was noted to decrease with HA percentage, with significant reduced strength between the 15 percent HA composite and pure PMMA, as well as between the 20 and 25 percent HA composites and composites of less than 10 percent HA. Conclusions The study revealed that the addition of HA to pure PMMA negatively affects the mechanical strength measured in compression, bending or shear. Tensile, compression and flexural moduli showed a gentle increase with the addition of increasing amounts of HA. The peak values were noted at 15 percent for tensile modulus and 25 percent for compressive and flexural moduli. It was recommended that the best compromise across all properties (mechanical and thermal) should be based upon the context of composite use. It was further recommended that PMMA/HA composite materials with 10 – 15 percent HA be investigated further, with due cognisance of the limitations of the present study. The researcher recommended replication of the study using a larger sample size, more refined methodology and the incorporation of additional tests, including shear modulus testing, impact resistance, bioactivity and composite degradation.