Browsing by Author "Stuhlinger, ME"

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    A comparison of the accuracy of two methods used by pre-doctoral students to measure vertical dimension
    (Elsevier, 2004-01) Geerts, G; Stuhlinger, ME; Nel, DG
    Statement of problem. Measuring vertical dimension is a soft-tissue measurement. Therefore, inaccuracy may occur. Purpose. The purpose of this study is to compare the accuracy of the Willis gauge method with the caliper method. Material and methods. The Willis gauge measures the distance between the septum of the nose and the chin. The caliper method measures the distance between reference points on the tip of the nose and the chin. Twenty predoctoral students applied both methods 10 times in measuring the rest vertical dimension (RVD) and the occlusal vertical dimension (OVD) of a single edentulous patient. The measurements obtained from one experienced clinician were selected as controls for the interocclusal distances (IOD) for the Willis and the caliper methods, respectively. One-sided t tests and a 1-sided nonparametric test were used to determine significant differences between the 2 methods ( .05). Results. The variances in the RVD values for the Willis gauge method were higher than for the caliper method for most students. A Wilcoxon signed rank test showed that the accuracy of the OVD measurements for the caliper method was significantly better than for the Willis gauge method (P .001). This was not the case for the RVD measurements (P .073).The average IOD for the Willis method was significantly higher than the control IOD (P .026). The average IOD for the caliper method was not significantly larger than the control (P .1303). Conclusion. This study showed that the use of the caliper method by predoctoral students was a significantly more reliable method of measuring the OVD for the patient evaluated
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    Effect of an antifungal denture liner on the saliva yeast count in patients with denture stomatitis: a pilot study.
    (Wiley, 2008-09) Geerts G, G; Stuhlinger, ME
    Although in vitro studies on the release of antifungal agents from tissue conditioners have been done, no in vivo research on the topic could be found. The purpose of this study was to determine the in vivo effect of an antifungal agent released from a tissue conditioner on the salivary yeast count. Forty edentulous patients with denture stomatitis caused by Candida albicans were divided in two groups. Group 1 (control) was treated with a tissue conditioner only. Group 2 was treated with a tissue conditioner incorporating 500 000 U nystatin. Oral rinses were performed by both groups before treatment and every second day during treatment for a period of 14 days. Total yeast counts of the oral rinses were performed and the averages and standard deviations for both groups calculated and logarithm-transformed data of the counts over time were statistically analysed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. The average oral rinse yeast count of the control group decreased up to day 4. Thereafter, the count increased till the end of the test period. At day 14, the oral rinse yeast level was higher than the pre-treatment level. The average yeast count of the test group decreased up to day 7. Thereafter, the count increased but remained significantly lower (P = 0·01) than the control group and did not return to its pre-treatment level. A nystatin-containing short-term denture liner significantly decreases the salivary yeast count of patients with denture stomatitis compared with a liner without nystatin.