2025 Catalog: All Courses

Every year, the Committee on Scientific Investigation of the American Academy of Restorative Dentistry publishes an annual review of a number of studies, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, etc. on the latest findings and updates in restorative dentistry. In their words, “the attempt is made here to carefully select a broad distribution of published reports that will permit dental clinicians, academicians, scientists, dental students, and dental residents a glimpse into the developments, trends, innovations, and evidence-basis impacting the practice of modern prosthodontics.”
When I was in my residency in Iowa years ago, as part of our literature review coursework, we would weekly read and re-abstract many articles, and we would conclude each of our abstracts with what we would call a “one-liner” – a one-line summary of the findings of that particular study [or as close to one line as we could get…]. As the Annual Review is usually quite lengthy, I thought this month I would read and review it, and pass along a [very abbreviated] sampling of quick summaries and my own “one-liners” from this year’s Annual Review for your perusal. If something stands out to you, the Annual Review, with all of the citations for the articles, can be found online at the Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry’s website at the reference here:
Cagna DR et. al., “Annual review of selected scientific literature: A Report of the Committee on Scientific Investigation of the American Academy of Restorative Dentistry”; J Prosthet Dent 2024;132:1133-1214.
I haven’t taken the time to discuss limitations of any studies mentioned, or mention in any detail reliability of the evidence presented, etc – these are just quick, bird’s-eye views of the studies mentioned. If any of them pique your interest, please reference the JPD article for more details, or better yet, the original articles.
So here goes:
1.   What is the effect of bruxism on the longevity and failure rates of dental implants? Patients who exhibit bruxism, or who are probable bruxers, have a significantly higher risk of implant failure than those who do not brux – failure rates significantly higher than those previously published. Of the studies included, 2,105 implants were placed in bruxers, of which 138 failed [6.55]; 10,264 implants were placed in non-bruxers, of which 352 failed [3.43]. [Haggman-Henrikson et al, 2024]

2.   Does the “golden proportion” accurately describe natural dentitions? The “golden proportion” relates, in this case, to the width of the maxillary anterior teeth – the width of the lateral incisor being set to 1, with the width of the central incisor then being 1.6 and the width of the visible part of the canine being 0.6. In the populations studied, the “golden proportion” does not accurately describe maxillary anterior tooth-width esthetics. There was no difference noted between laterals and centrals between men and women with regard to proportion, although there was a significant difference between canines and laterals between men and women, with the ratio being higher for men. [Londono et al, 2023]


3.   What is the effect of bisphosphonate use on the failure rate of dental implants? Implants placed in patients taking bisphosphonates had significantly higher odds of implant failure than those not taking BPs; overall survival rates after 5 years for patients taking BPs was 94.2, and after 10 years was 90.1. There is a 65.3 higher risk of implant failure in patients taking oral BPs than in those not taking BPs; and since accumulation of bisphosphonate in bone is 142k.8 times faster when administered IV than orally, it is expected that failure rates of implants in patients taking IV bisphosphonates will be significantly higher still. [Ozdemir & Ozdemir, 2024]

4.   Edentulous patients can experience an increase in obstructive sleep apnea, since the absence of teeth can result in upper airway anatomical changes, a decrease in vertical dimension with accompanying mandible overrotation and increased likelihood of a collapsed airway space. While use of complete dentures reduced apneic episodes, this could not be definitively attributed to the dentures themselves; the available data was somewhat unreliable and more investigation is needed to see what therapies can be done to help edentulous patients suffering from obstructive sleep apnea. Mandibular advancement therapies were also discussed. [Krishnamurthy et al, 2022]


5.   How do traditional denture liners bond to 3D-printed and milled dentures? The authors found that bond strength between liners and milled or conventionally processed denture bases is similar, whether the liners are soft or hard reline materials, but bond strength between either hard or soft liners and 3D-printed bases is inferior. [Periera et al 2023]

6.   Do different denture adhesive modalities [cream, powder, or strips] affect the masticatory function of complete denture wearers? While the evidence gathered was not ideal, the general trend noted was that powders and creams worked better for patients than did the strips, with denture cream seeming to be more helpful for patients with more severely resorbed ridges; all types of adhesive seemed to improve the bite strength and efficiency of dentures over those patients not using adhesives. [Figueredo et al 2023]


7.   Treatment of denture stomatitis has included several modalities, including topical antifungals, topical antimicrobials, systemic antifungals, photodynamic therapy, topical plant products, and microwave disinfection. One of the most effective ways of treating this condition was concluded to be use of topical antifungals concurrently with microwave disinfection of the prosthesis. [Xin 2023]

8.   Several new methods and materials of RPD clasp design are becoming more prevalent, including polyether-ether ketone [PEEK] and laser-sintered cobalt chromium, however, very few studies have been conducted evaluating their fatigue and deformation rates over time. While more study is needed, primary findings suggest that cobalt chromium is the strongest material with the best fatigue performance, and digitally manufactured CoCr clasp materials exhibit similar fatigue properties to traditional materials. [Zheng et al 2023]


9.   Which manufacturing method, conventional lost wax, milled, or 3D printed, results in the most accurate fit of RPD frameworks? The authors concluded that milled frameworks fit significantly better than conventional lost wax fabricated frameworks, which in turn fit better than 3D printed frameworks. [Qui et al 2023]

10.   For edentulous patients being treated with implant overdentures, patients reported no significant improvement in functionality between a bar attachment and non-splinted implant retainers [i.e. Locators or ball attachments]; patients also did not report any significant improvement when the number of implants increased beyond two implants. [Abou-Ayash et al 2023]


11.   Masseter muscle mass increased for edentulous patients after being treated using implant overdentures relative to their muscle mass when using conventional dentures. [DeSouza et al 2023]

12.   One study compared the ability of 4 different burs to cut through zirconia crowns for removal. The authors concluded that every bur becomes less efficient with each cut, but that the Piranha 837.012 coarse [single-use] was the most efficient; single-use burs should be strongly considered when removing zirconia crowns. [Keeling et al 2023]


13.   A review discussed survival rates for endodontic posts/dowels, and the authors concluded that survival rates for fiber-reinforced, pre-fabricated metal, and cast metal dowels were all similar; failures were primarily a result of loss of retention; and a 1.5-2mm ferrule significantly improved the long-term prognosis of the restoration. [Ribeiro et al 2023]

14.   This study evaluated the ability to repair defective amalgam restorations with composite resin, and the authors concluded that composite resin was effective in repairing teeth with defective amalgam restorations with up to 1-cusp fractures, although less effective with defects larger than that [i.e. 2-cusp fractures, etc]. [Hopkins et al 2023]


15.   A survey of dental students found low agreement among dental students with regard to their knowledge of and comfortability with treating temporomandibular dysfunctions; this same finding was found with regard to trigeminal neuralgia, with the primary difficulty being with the differential diagnosis. The authors suggested more continuing education and dental school training in TMD as well as trigeminal neuralgia in order to avoid unnecessary dental procedures. [De Medeiros Tormes et al 2023; Tuncer et al 2024]

16.   For patients suffering with comorbid insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea, cognitive behavioral therapy was found to be an effective alternative in 30-50 of patients; CBT can potentially improve insomnia and enhance management of the sleep apnea. [Sweetman et al 2023]


17.   An extensive review found that for invasive dental procedures, the peak of bacteremia occurs 5 minutes after the disruption of mucosal integrity. The highest risk of bacteremia occurs with extractions, followed by periodontal procedures and hygiene procedures; maintenance of good oral hygiene is associated with a reduced post-operative complication rate after surgeries. [Martins et al 2023; Camus-Jansson et al 2023]

18.   Despite dental professionals’ efforts to control caries, the incidence rate remains high with only a minimal decrease in caries prevalence over the past 30 years. The new philosophy of caries management is minimal intervention, focusing on maintaining tooth structure and pulp vitality to prolong the tooth’s life, and on managing the precursors to caries, such as initial non-cavitated lesions, white spot lesions, and hypomineralization. [Skeie et al 2022; WHO Agenda item 2022; de Moura et al 2023]

1]   To review a sampling of recent literature published on various dental restorative topics, including bruxism, implantology, dental materials, restorative techniques and materials, and prosthodontic methods and materials.
2]   To provide citations and resources for the clinician to explore further any topics that they want to investigate.
3] Understand the effects of bruxism on dental implants.

The speaker has no conflicts of interest to report.

It is the policy of the Indian Health Service, Division of Oral Health, that faculty/planners disclose any financial or other relationships with commercial companies whose products may be discussed in the educational activity. The Indian Health Service, Division of Oral Health, also requires that faculty disclose any unlabeled or investigative use of pharmaceutical products and medical devices. Images that have been falsified or manipulated to misrepresent treatment outcomes are prohibited.

None of the faculty/planners for this activity has a conflict of interest, and there is no use of unlabeled or investigative pharmaceutical products or medical devices. No images have been falsified or manipulated to misrepresent treatment outcomes.The educational objectives, content, and selection of educational methods and instructors are conducted independent of any commercial entity.

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