A variety of prosthetic ankles have been successfully developed to reproduce the locomotor ability for lower limb amputees in daily lives. However, they have not been shown to sufficiently improve the natural gait mec...A variety of prosthetic ankles have been successfully developed to reproduce the locomotor ability for lower limb amputees in daily lives. However, they have not been shown to sufficiently improve the natural gait mechanics commonly observed in comparison to the able-bodied, perhaps due to over-simplified designs of functional musculoskeletal structures in prostheses. In this study, a flexible bionic ankle prosthesis with joints covered by soft material inclusions is developed on the basis of the human musculoskeletal system. First, the healthy side ankle–foot bones of a below-knee amputee were reconstructed by CT imaging. Three types of polyurethane rubber material configurations were then designed to mimic the soft tissues around the human ankle, providing stability and flexibility. Finite element simulations were conducted to determine the proper design of the rubber materials, evaluate the ankle stiffness under different external conditions, and calculate the rotation axes of the ankle during walking. The results showed that the bionic ankle had variable stiffness properties and could adapt to various road surfaces. It also had rotation axes similar to that of the human ankle, thus restoring the function of the talocrural and subtalar joints. The inclination and deviation angles of the talocrural axis, 86.2° and 75.1°, respectively, as well as the angles of the subtalar axis, 40.1° and 29.9°, were consistent with the literature. Finally, dynamic characteristics were investigated by gait measurements on the same subject, and the flexible bionic ankle prosthesis demonstrated natural gait mechanics during walking in terms of ankle angles and moments.展开更多
BACKGROUND The pontic design of fixed dental prostheses(FDPs)is strongly associated with the phonetic function,and the phonetic function of anterior FDPs with different pontic designs remains understudied.AIM To inves...BACKGROUND The pontic design of fixed dental prostheses(FDPs)is strongly associated with the phonetic function,and the phonetic function of anterior FDPs with different pontic designs remains understudied.AIM To investigate the immediate and short-term influence of pontic design of anterior FDPs on Chinese speech in a clinical case using objective acoustic analysis.METHODS Two FDPs with two types of pontic design(saddle pontic and modified ridge lap pontic)were fabricated for one patient with maxillary anterior teeth missing.The acoustic analysis of patient’s articulation was conducted immediately after wearing the FDPs and 1 wk after wearing these FDPs.RESULTS The effect of FDP on Chinese vowels(/a/,/o/,/e/,/i/,/u/,and/ü/)was insignificant,because the recovery of vowel distortion occurred within 1 wk for both FDPs.Three(/f/,/s/,and/sh/)of eight Chinese fricative consonants were found to have obvious distortions,and the/s/sound distortion last for more than 1 wk for the patient wearing FDP with modified ridge lap pontic design.CONCLUSION The influence of anterior FDP on articulation of Chinese vowels is insignificant,while the articulation of Chinese fricative consonants is more susceptible.When fabricating anterior FDPs for patients with speech related professions,saddle pontic design can be an alternative option compared with modified ridge lap pontic design.展开更多
At present,most total knee replacement(TKR)prostheses on the market are designed according to the sizes of Caucasians.However,extensive studies have indicated that human anatomies differ among different ethnicities.A ...At present,most total knee replacement(TKR)prostheses on the market are designed according to the sizes of Caucasians.However,extensive studies have indicated that human anatomies differ among different ethnicities.A number of reports have indicated that Chinese TKR patients do not match with available prostheses.In this study,computed tomography(CT)images of 52 knees of Chinese men and women were used for anthropometric measurements.Index and geometric measurements were definedand used for correlation analysis.Key parameters from the measurement results were identified.Detailed geometries of knees were measured as coordinates.A deformable three-dimensional(3D)knee modelbased on anatomical coordinates correlating with the identified key parameters was generated.A pros-thesis was then designed according to the analyzed results.Surface matching analysis,bone resectionanalysis,and cadaveric trials were conducted and compared with commercial products to validate theproposed design.The femoral component designed by this study resulted in the highest accuracy(rootmean square point-to-surface(RMS PS),(1.08±0.20)mm)and lowest amount of resected bone volume(27412mm^(3))in comparison with two commercial knee prostheses.This study suggests a new approachfor population-based patient-specific femoral prosthesis design With a single,easilty acquired dimen-sion-namely,epicondyle width(ECW)-as input,a patient-specific femoral prosthesis can be designed according to the analyzed measured data and manufactured by additive manufacturing(AM)methods.Meanwhile,the reconstructed femoral condylar surface was compared with the femoral condylar surfacein the original CT scanning data The average RMS PS distance of the reconstructed femoral condylar surface among all data was(1.10±0.18)mm,which is comparable to other statistical shape modeling methods using multiple radiographs as input data.There is a need to develop an anthropometric-based knee prosthesis for the Chinese population.Based on the anthropometry of the Chinese population,our new design fits Chinese patients better and reserves more bone volume compared with current commercial prostheses,which is an essential step toward AM for personalized knee prostheses.展开更多
<b><span>Background:</span></b><span> Patient-reported outcome</span><span> (</span><span>PRO</span><span>) </span><span>ha</span><...<b><span>Background:</span></b><span> Patient-reported outcome</span><span> (</span><span>PRO</span><span>) </span><span>ha</span><span>s</span><span> become the focus of increased attention in the assessment of total knee arthroplasty (TKA). The purpose of this study was to investigate whether different prosthesis designs affected postoperative patient-reported performance.</span><i><span> </span></i><b><span>Materials and Methods:</span></b><i><span> </span></i><span>We reviewed 216 patients (234 knees) implanted with the Press-Fit Condylar <pfc> Sigma prosthesis</pfc></span><b><span> </span></b><span>at our institution between January 2009 and December 2011. This study included 76 knees with fixed-bearing cruciate-retaining (FB-CR), 78 knees with fixed-bearing posterior-stabilized (FB-PS), and 80 knees with mobile-bearing posterior-stabilized (MB-PS) designs. The mean follow-up was 8.0 ± 0.74</span><b><span> </span></b><span>years. Preoperative and follow-up ratings according to the 2011 Knee Society Score (2011 KSS), range of motion (ROM), and standing femoro-tibial angle (FTA) were obtained for all patients. Additionally, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) scores were collected at last follow-up.</span><i><span> </span></i><b><span>Results:</span></b><span> </span><span>Three separate subscales of the 2011 KSS of the three</span><b><span> </span></b><span>cohorts were significantly improved post-operatively compared to the pre-operative values (</span><i><span>p</span></i><span> </span><span><</span><span> </span><span>0.05), except for expectation scores. At the time of follow-up, significantly higher the 2011 Knee Society Functional Scores</span><span> </span><span><2011 KSFS> (</span><i><span>P</span></i><i><span> </span></i><span>=</span><span> </span><span>0.016) were found in the PS group. In particular, there w</span><span>ere</span><span> significant differences in advanced activities of the 2011 KSFS among the three groups (</span><i><span>P</span></i><i><span> </span></i><span>=</span><span> </span><span>0.017). Satisfaction scores showed no difference among the three groups (</span><i><span>P</span></i><i><span> </span></i><span>=</span><span> </span><span>0.251). On the other hand, WOMAC and expectation scores were significantly better in the PS groups. (</span><i><span>P</span></i><span> </span><span>=</span><span> </span><span>0.003, </span><i><span>P</span></i><span> </span><span>=</span><span> </span><span>0.004). ROM in the MB-PS group (124.0</span><span>°</span><span>) was better than that in FB-PS (119.4</span><span>°</span><span>) and FB-CR (118.9</span><span>°</span><span>) (</span><i><span>P</span></i><span> </span><span>=</span><span> </span><span>0.005). On the other hand, additional surgery was needed in five PS knees.</span><i><span> </span></i><b><span>Conclusion:</span></b><span> </span><span>The PS prostheses had superior 2011 KSFS, expectation scores, WOMAC scores and </span><span>ROM than the CR prostheses. In contrast, the postoperative prosthesis-related</span><span> complication rates were lower with CR prostheses. Further detailed evaluation is necessary to determine whether the characteristics of the different prostheses</span><i><span> </span></i><span>affect PRO.</span>展开更多
The authors applied the first total ankle with partial tibial replacement forthe tumor of the tibia and fibula in 1987. We have followed this case for 10 years.Up to now, the outcome of this operation is very good, wi...The authors applied the first total ankle with partial tibial replacement forthe tumor of the tibia and fibula in 1987. We have followed this case for 10 years.Up to now, the outcome of this operation is very good, with no tumor recurrenceand good function. According to the experiences, the authors raised the technicalindexes of design, the indications, incision, surgical procedures, and warnings.展开更多
The results of years of dental study serve as the foundation for the practise of medicine and,for that matter,dentistry.Doctors may have their own preferences for techniques and materials,but whether directly or indir...The results of years of dental study serve as the foundation for the practise of medicine and,for that matter,dentistry.Doctors may have their own preferences for techniques and materials,but whether directly or indirectly,their decisions are influenced by systematic reviews and meta-analyses.However,due to poorly conducted or presented research,this very basic foundation may not be reliable.Bias in research is one of several factors that might make study results or research itself unreliable.Bias can be introduced into research at many stages,deliberately or unknowingly.Bias can appear at any point during the research process,even before the study itself begins.There are many biases in research,but some of them are more relevant to dentistry research than others.Because it is said that“eyes see what the mind knows”,it is essential to have a complete understanding of the different types of bias,how and when they get entrenched,and what steps may be taken to prevent or lessen them if they do occur.This comprehensive summary of bias in dentistry research is provided by this synoptic review.The goal is to identify gaps and measures that have been taken-or that should have been taken-by providing both descriptive and evaluative summaries,as well as examples from the literature,when needed.展开更多
Objective:To study the stress distribution of the femoral hip prosthesis after the hip joint replacement.Methods:After the hip joint replacement,when the femur and prosthesis are considered as concentric cylinders wit...Objective:To study the stress distribution of the femoral hip prosthesis after the hip joint replacement.Methods:After the hip joint replacement,when the femur and prosthesis are considered as concentric cylinders with perfectly banded interface,a relatively perfect theoretical model of simulating the interfacial stress transfer is established.Results:The maximum interfacial shear stress occured at Z=0.At the cross-section of the femoral neck,interfacial shear stress decreased exponentially with the increases of the Z.Shear stress became very small at Z>0.1 m,which meant that the shear stress at the far end of the femoral hip prosthesis was very small.In order to avoid the stress concentration and femoral hip prosthesis sinking,interfacial stress must remain constant and balanced with the pressure load at Z=0.The radius of the femoral hip prosthesis changed with interfacial shear stress.The maximum value of the radius occured at Z=0,then it decreased at m.Specially,a=18.2 mm at Z=10 mm,a=5.36 mm at Z=98 mm,these are ideal radius.Conclusion:A theoretical model of simulating the interfacial stress is established when the femur and prosthesis are considered as concentric cylinders.The distributions of the interfacial shear and radial stresses with the axial positions are obtained.A theoretical reference for the design of the prosthesis is provided.展开更多
Probes are the interface between microsystems and bio-cells.The ideal interface is one-to-one interface.Though variousresearch groups have been able to establish some sort of interfaces after many years of research,th...Probes are the interface between microsystems and bio-cells.The ideal interface is one-to-one interface.Though variousresearch groups have been able to establish some sort of interfaces after many years of research,they are very crude.Neurons aremillions in numbers,whereas the prostheses successfully built so far have only a few hundred probes at best.Creating an ef-fective interface is still far away.Though we have micro-and nano-technologies,we couldn’t build a prosthesis with an effectiveresolution.Main reasons behind it are the type of probe being used and the poor design of the probe.To address this problem,wedeveloped a methodology to design a probe and an array of probes with better resolution and less resistive donut probe.Thismethodology helps us to design a probe optimizing all the parameters.We presented our methodology through a design that iscapable of 70 μm penetration inside the tissue.The tissue heating by our designed probe is only 0.411 °C.We also characterizedthe donut probe,which could be used by any research group to design a donut probe of their specific need.展开更多
AIM: To identify standards, how entities of dental status are assessed and reported from full-arch radiographs of adults. METHODS: A Pub Med(Medline) search was performed in November 2011. Literature had to report at ...AIM: To identify standards, how entities of dental status are assessed and reported from full-arch radiographs of adults. METHODS: A Pub Med(Medline) search was performed in November 2011. Literature had to report at least one out of four defined entities using radiographs:number of teeth or implants; caries, fillings or restorations; root-canal fillings and apical health; alveolar bone level. Cohorts included to the study had to be of adult age. Methods of radiographic assessment were noted and checked for the later mode of report in text, tables or diagrams. For comparability, the encountered modeof report was operationalized to a logical expression.RESULTS: Thirty-seven out of 199 articles were evaluated via full-text review. Only one article reported all four entities. Eight articles reported at the maximum 3 comparable entities. However, comparability is impeded because of the usage of absolute or relative frequency, mean or median values as well as grouping. Furthermore the methods of assessment were different or not described sufficiently. Consequently, established sum scores turned out to be highly questionable, too. The amount of missing data within all studies remained unclear. It is even so remissed to mention supernumerary and aplased teeth as well as the count of third molars.CONCLUSION: Data about dental findings from radiographs is, if at all possible, only comparable with serious limitations. A standardization of both, assessing and reporting entities of dental status from radiographs is missing and has to be established within a report guideline.展开更多
基金supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China(No.2018YFC2001300)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.52005209,91948302,No.91848204,No.52021003)the Natural Science Foundation of Jilin Province(No.20210101053JC,No.20220508130RC).
文摘A variety of prosthetic ankles have been successfully developed to reproduce the locomotor ability for lower limb amputees in daily lives. However, they have not been shown to sufficiently improve the natural gait mechanics commonly observed in comparison to the able-bodied, perhaps due to over-simplified designs of functional musculoskeletal structures in prostheses. In this study, a flexible bionic ankle prosthesis with joints covered by soft material inclusions is developed on the basis of the human musculoskeletal system. First, the healthy side ankle–foot bones of a below-knee amputee were reconstructed by CT imaging. Three types of polyurethane rubber material configurations were then designed to mimic the soft tissues around the human ankle, providing stability and flexibility. Finite element simulations were conducted to determine the proper design of the rubber materials, evaluate the ankle stiffness under different external conditions, and calculate the rotation axes of the ankle during walking. The results showed that the bionic ankle had variable stiffness properties and could adapt to various road surfaces. It also had rotation axes similar to that of the human ankle, thus restoring the function of the talocrural and subtalar joints. The inclination and deviation angles of the talocrural axis, 86.2° and 75.1°, respectively, as well as the angles of the subtalar axis, 40.1° and 29.9°, were consistent with the literature. Finally, dynamic characteristics were investigated by gait measurements on the same subject, and the flexible bionic ankle prosthesis demonstrated natural gait mechanics during walking in terms of ankle angles and moments.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China,No.81901060the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation Funded Project,No.2018M640931the Science and Technology Key Research and Development Program of Sichuan Province,No.2019YFS0142.
文摘BACKGROUND The pontic design of fixed dental prostheses(FDPs)is strongly associated with the phonetic function,and the phonetic function of anterior FDPs with different pontic designs remains understudied.AIM To investigate the immediate and short-term influence of pontic design of anterior FDPs on Chinese speech in a clinical case using objective acoustic analysis.METHODS Two FDPs with two types of pontic design(saddle pontic and modified ridge lap pontic)were fabricated for one patient with maxillary anterior teeth missing.The acoustic analysis of patient’s articulation was conducted immediately after wearing the FDPs and 1 wk after wearing these FDPs.RESULTS The effect of FDP on Chinese vowels(/a/,/o/,/e/,/i/,/u/,and/ü/)was insignificant,because the recovery of vowel distortion occurred within 1 wk for both FDPs.Three(/f/,/s/,and/sh/)of eight Chinese fricative consonants were found to have obvious distortions,and the/s/sound distortion last for more than 1 wk for the patient wearing FDP with modified ridge lap pontic design.CONCLUSION The influence of anterior FDP on articulation of Chinese vowels is insignificant,while the articulation of Chinese fricative consonants is more susceptible.When fabricating anterior FDPs for patients with speech related professions,saddle pontic design can be an alternative option compared with modified ridge lap pontic design.
文摘At present,most total knee replacement(TKR)prostheses on the market are designed according to the sizes of Caucasians.However,extensive studies have indicated that human anatomies differ among different ethnicities.A number of reports have indicated that Chinese TKR patients do not match with available prostheses.In this study,computed tomography(CT)images of 52 knees of Chinese men and women were used for anthropometric measurements.Index and geometric measurements were definedand used for correlation analysis.Key parameters from the measurement results were identified.Detailed geometries of knees were measured as coordinates.A deformable three-dimensional(3D)knee modelbased on anatomical coordinates correlating with the identified key parameters was generated.A pros-thesis was then designed according to the analyzed results.Surface matching analysis,bone resectionanalysis,and cadaveric trials were conducted and compared with commercial products to validate theproposed design.The femoral component designed by this study resulted in the highest accuracy(rootmean square point-to-surface(RMS PS),(1.08±0.20)mm)and lowest amount of resected bone volume(27412mm^(3))in comparison with two commercial knee prostheses.This study suggests a new approachfor population-based patient-specific femoral prosthesis design With a single,easilty acquired dimen-sion-namely,epicondyle width(ECW)-as input,a patient-specific femoral prosthesis can be designed according to the analyzed measured data and manufactured by additive manufacturing(AM)methods.Meanwhile,the reconstructed femoral condylar surface was compared with the femoral condylar surfacein the original CT scanning data The average RMS PS distance of the reconstructed femoral condylar surface among all data was(1.10±0.18)mm,which is comparable to other statistical shape modeling methods using multiple radiographs as input data.There is a need to develop an anthropometric-based knee prosthesis for the Chinese population.Based on the anthropometry of the Chinese population,our new design fits Chinese patients better and reserves more bone volume compared with current commercial prostheses,which is an essential step toward AM for personalized knee prostheses.
文摘<b><span>Background:</span></b><span> Patient-reported outcome</span><span> (</span><span>PRO</span><span>) </span><span>ha</span><span>s</span><span> become the focus of increased attention in the assessment of total knee arthroplasty (TKA). The purpose of this study was to investigate whether different prosthesis designs affected postoperative patient-reported performance.</span><i><span> </span></i><b><span>Materials and Methods:</span></b><i><span> </span></i><span>We reviewed 216 patients (234 knees) implanted with the Press-Fit Condylar <pfc> Sigma prosthesis</pfc></span><b><span> </span></b><span>at our institution between January 2009 and December 2011. This study included 76 knees with fixed-bearing cruciate-retaining (FB-CR), 78 knees with fixed-bearing posterior-stabilized (FB-PS), and 80 knees with mobile-bearing posterior-stabilized (MB-PS) designs. The mean follow-up was 8.0 ± 0.74</span><b><span> </span></b><span>years. Preoperative and follow-up ratings according to the 2011 Knee Society Score (2011 KSS), range of motion (ROM), and standing femoro-tibial angle (FTA) were obtained for all patients. Additionally, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) scores were collected at last follow-up.</span><i><span> </span></i><b><span>Results:</span></b><span> </span><span>Three separate subscales of the 2011 KSS of the three</span><b><span> </span></b><span>cohorts were significantly improved post-operatively compared to the pre-operative values (</span><i><span>p</span></i><span> </span><span><</span><span> </span><span>0.05), except for expectation scores. At the time of follow-up, significantly higher the 2011 Knee Society Functional Scores</span><span> </span><span><2011 KSFS> (</span><i><span>P</span></i><i><span> </span></i><span>=</span><span> </span><span>0.016) were found in the PS group. In particular, there w</span><span>ere</span><span> significant differences in advanced activities of the 2011 KSFS among the three groups (</span><i><span>P</span></i><i><span> </span></i><span>=</span><span> </span><span>0.017). Satisfaction scores showed no difference among the three groups (</span><i><span>P</span></i><i><span> </span></i><span>=</span><span> </span><span>0.251). On the other hand, WOMAC and expectation scores were significantly better in the PS groups. (</span><i><span>P</span></i><span> </span><span>=</span><span> </span><span>0.003, </span><i><span>P</span></i><span> </span><span>=</span><span> </span><span>0.004). ROM in the MB-PS group (124.0</span><span>°</span><span>) was better than that in FB-PS (119.4</span><span>°</span><span>) and FB-CR (118.9</span><span>°</span><span>) (</span><i><span>P</span></i><span> </span><span>=</span><span> </span><span>0.005). On the other hand, additional surgery was needed in five PS knees.</span><i><span> </span></i><b><span>Conclusion:</span></b><span> </span><span>The PS prostheses had superior 2011 KSFS, expectation scores, WOMAC scores and </span><span>ROM than the CR prostheses. In contrast, the postoperative prosthesis-related</span><span> complication rates were lower with CR prostheses. Further detailed evaluation is necessary to determine whether the characteristics of the different prostheses</span><i><span> </span></i><span>affect PRO.</span>
文摘The authors applied the first total ankle with partial tibial replacement forthe tumor of the tibia and fibula in 1987. We have followed this case for 10 years.Up to now, the outcome of this operation is very good, with no tumor recurrenceand good function. According to the experiences, the authors raised the technicalindexes of design, the indications, incision, surgical procedures, and warnings.
文摘The results of years of dental study serve as the foundation for the practise of medicine and,for that matter,dentistry.Doctors may have their own preferences for techniques and materials,but whether directly or indirectly,their decisions are influenced by systematic reviews and meta-analyses.However,due to poorly conducted or presented research,this very basic foundation may not be reliable.Bias in research is one of several factors that might make study results or research itself unreliable.Bias can be introduced into research at many stages,deliberately or unknowingly.Bias can appear at any point during the research process,even before the study itself begins.There are many biases in research,but some of them are more relevant to dentistry research than others.Because it is said that“eyes see what the mind knows”,it is essential to have a complete understanding of the different types of bias,how and when they get entrenched,and what steps may be taken to prevent or lessen them if they do occur.This comprehensive summary of bias in dentistry research is provided by this synoptic review.The goal is to identify gaps and measures that have been taken-or that should have been taken-by providing both descriptive and evaluative summaries,as well as examples from the literature,when needed.
文摘Objective:To study the stress distribution of the femoral hip prosthesis after the hip joint replacement.Methods:After the hip joint replacement,when the femur and prosthesis are considered as concentric cylinders with perfectly banded interface,a relatively perfect theoretical model of simulating the interfacial stress transfer is established.Results:The maximum interfacial shear stress occured at Z=0.At the cross-section of the femoral neck,interfacial shear stress decreased exponentially with the increases of the Z.Shear stress became very small at Z>0.1 m,which meant that the shear stress at the far end of the femoral hip prosthesis was very small.In order to avoid the stress concentration and femoral hip prosthesis sinking,interfacial stress must remain constant and balanced with the pressure load at Z=0.The radius of the femoral hip prosthesis changed with interfacial shear stress.The maximum value of the radius occured at Z=0,then it decreased at m.Specially,a=18.2 mm at Z=10 mm,a=5.36 mm at Z=98 mm,these are ideal radius.Conclusion:A theoretical model of simulating the interfacial stress is established when the femur and prosthesis are considered as concentric cylinders.The distributions of the interfacial shear and radial stresses with the axial positions are obtained.A theoretical reference for the design of the prosthesis is provided.
基金supported by the Royal National Institute for Deaf people (RNID)
文摘Probes are the interface between microsystems and bio-cells.The ideal interface is one-to-one interface.Though variousresearch groups have been able to establish some sort of interfaces after many years of research,they are very crude.Neurons aremillions in numbers,whereas the prostheses successfully built so far have only a few hundred probes at best.Creating an ef-fective interface is still far away.Though we have micro-and nano-technologies,we couldn’t build a prosthesis with an effectiveresolution.Main reasons behind it are the type of probe being used and the poor design of the probe.To address this problem,wedeveloped a methodology to design a probe and an array of probes with better resolution and less resistive donut probe.Thismethodology helps us to design a probe optimizing all the parameters.We presented our methodology through a design that iscapable of 70 μm penetration inside the tissue.The tissue heating by our designed probe is only 0.411 °C.We also characterizedthe donut probe,which could be used by any research group to design a donut probe of their specific need.
基金Supported by The"Walter and Anna Koerner-Scholarship"as part of the Land of Baden-Wurttemberg’s Dentists Chamber(Stuttgart,Germany)within the cooperation of Tuebingen University and Peking University Dental Schoolsby Mrs.Barbara Welder of Dental Clinics Library at Eberhard-Karls-University(Tuebingen,Germany)by Lucas M Leister for English proofreading
文摘AIM: To identify standards, how entities of dental status are assessed and reported from full-arch radiographs of adults. METHODS: A Pub Med(Medline) search was performed in November 2011. Literature had to report at least one out of four defined entities using radiographs:number of teeth or implants; caries, fillings or restorations; root-canal fillings and apical health; alveolar bone level. Cohorts included to the study had to be of adult age. Methods of radiographic assessment were noted and checked for the later mode of report in text, tables or diagrams. For comparability, the encountered modeof report was operationalized to a logical expression.RESULTS: Thirty-seven out of 199 articles were evaluated via full-text review. Only one article reported all four entities. Eight articles reported at the maximum 3 comparable entities. However, comparability is impeded because of the usage of absolute or relative frequency, mean or median values as well as grouping. Furthermore the methods of assessment were different or not described sufficiently. Consequently, established sum scores turned out to be highly questionable, too. The amount of missing data within all studies remained unclear. It is even so remissed to mention supernumerary and aplased teeth as well as the count of third molars.CONCLUSION: Data about dental findings from radiographs is, if at all possible, only comparable with serious limitations. A standardization of both, assessing and reporting entities of dental status from radiographs is missing and has to be established within a report guideline.
