• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 2003.11c
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• pp.720-723
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• 2003

Electric stimulation of teeth is used for assessing pulp vitality. Because of very high and wide range of impedance of the enamel, electric pulp testers use high voltage, high output impedance and alternative current source. Most pulp testers use voltage stimulation method and their stimulating threshold levels significantly depend on each individual. Therefore, a constant current stimulator is necessary to minimize the effect of wide variation in enamel thickness. In this study, we constructed a constant current source type of pulp tester with the maximum current of 150 uA.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.226-232
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• 2004

Use of electric pulp testing elicits painful response in vital teeth. In this study, we examined the excessive time from pain feeling to stimulation disconnection in clinical situation. D626D (Parkell Inc., USA.) scan type electric pulp tester was used in total of 23 young healthy individuals. Each of the right central incisors and first premolars were used as testing teeth. Stimulation disconnection was achieved by EMG in anterior belly of digastric muscle, finger span, and voice and the excessive stimulation time over the sensory thresh-old was recorded. As a result, we found that the short responses before the stimulation disconnection appeared following order：EMG, finger span, and voice. The EMG disconnection is suggested to be used to reduce the excessive stimulus time in electric pulp testing.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.464-469
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• 2011

Introduction: As dental implant surgery is becoming increasingly popular, it has become one of the causes for the hypesthesia of the inferior alveolar nerve, along with other surgical procedures, such as a third molar extraction. In addition, it tends to cause legal problems between the operator and patient. Therefore, there must be a proper method that is reliable, objective and economical to assess the nerve impairment. For this reason, an attempt was made to use an Electric Pulp Tester to assess inferior alveolar nerve block anesthesia. Materials and Methods: Thirty patients were tested. Electric pulp testing of the lower jaw skin was performed at the three different times, before anesthesia, at the onset of sensory changes and after 15 minutes waiting from the onset, and on the 10 points of the chin, which produced 10 sections on the skin area. Results: Twenty seven patients (90%) could feel the electric stimulus on the chin at all 10 points before local anesthesia and the scores represent the statistical differences between the right and left points except R4 and L4. After anesthesia, the difference between the right and left points (L3-R3, L4-R4, L5-R5) increased significantly with time but two points (L2, R2) showed no significant difference. The scores on the left chin (L3, L4, L5) increased, whereas the other points (R1-R5, L1, L2) showed no significant differences. Conclusion: This study highlights the potential clinical use of an electric pulp tester for an assessment of inferior alveolar nerve impairment.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SC
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.61-68
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• 2004

Electric stimulation of teeth has been used for assessing pulp vitality. The principle is based upon the assumption that a subject feels the pain produced by electrical current stimulation of intradental nerve. Because of very high and wide range of impedance of the enamel, it is very difficult to determine stimulation levels regardless of teeth status. Most pulp testers adopt voltage stimulation method and thus, their stimulating threshold levels significantly depend on each individual. Therefore, a constant current stimulator is necessary to minimize the effect of wide variation due to different enamel thickness. And it is also necessary to test teeth vitality with a wide current range regardless of tooth impedance. In this study, we constructed a burst-wave type pulp tester to reduce the pain using a current stabilizing circuit with the maximum current of 150 uA.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.61 no.8
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• pp.1204-1209
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• 2012

To diagnose dental pulp vitality, electric pulp tester has been widely used, which is a method to test condition of nerve. However, especially in the case of patients with trauma, nerve desensitization could temporarily occur even though nerve might be recovered by blood flow within the pulp later, which implies that blood flow in dental pulp is also an important factor for diagnosing vitality. This paper described the development of a probe that relatively measured blood flow in dental pulp using photoplethysmography (PPG). The probe emits four different wavelength light sources including three visible and an infrared light. We tested which light source detect sensitively the blood flow in dental pulp. As a result, green light had the largest peak to peak voltage and the power spectrum among different wavelengths.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SC
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.43-49
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• 2004

Electric pulp test is a method to examine the vitality of dental pulp using physical and chemical stimulation. During the pulp test, the current stimulates intradental nerve, and it makes patients painful. In this paper, we measured each activating response EMG in anterior belly of digastric muscle, voice, and finger movement during the pulp test by increasing stimulus intensity gradually. We also measured excessive stimulus time from the activating responses (EMG, voice, and finger movement) to the end of the stimulation. We measured and analyzed excessive stimulus time for each stimulus detecting method. As a result, we developed automatic stimulus breaker using the human responses to stimulus during electric pulp test. We reduced the excessive stimulus time by disconnecting the pulp tester stimulus output rapidly in 10 ms after activating human response.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.278-290
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• 1997

The purposes of this study were to evaluate and compare the pulpal anesthesia induced by an inferior alveolar nerve block and that by Gow-Gates technique, and to investigate the relationship between pulpal anesthesia and intraoral soft tissue responses. After one side of mandibule was anesthetized with inferior alveolar nerve block or Gow-Gates technique using 2 % lidocaine with 1 : 100,000 epinephrine in 19 volunteers of ages between 24 and 29 (16 males and 3 females, average age 25.9 yrs.), electric pulp tests were done on the canine teeth of the anesthetized side and contralateral one before, at 1 min, continued at every 5 minutes until 60 min, and every 10 minutes until 100 min after completion of local anesthetic injection. Degree of pulpal anesthesia was classified as anesthetic failure, possible anesthesia and complete anesthesia by the criteria based on the thresholds to electric pulp test of contralateral canine and the currents of the electric pulp tester. Subjective signs on the lower lip and tongue were checked and prick-pin tests were done on the buccal gingiva of the first molar, buccal and lingual gingiva of the canine tooth at 5, 10 and 20 min after the completion of anesthetic injection. Thresholds to electric pulp test, degree of pulpal anesthesia and relationship between the pulpal anesthesia and soft tissue responses were analyzed with SPSS, paired t-test, Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-ranks test and correlation analysis. The results were as follows : No significant differences were found in the peak thresholds to electric pulp test, in the induction time to it and in the depth of pulpal anesthesia between inferior alveolar nerve block and Gow-Gates technique (p>0.05). There was no significant relationship between pulpal anesthesia and soft tissue responses in both inferior nerve block and Gow-Gates technique.

• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.296-299
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• 1998

After orthognathic surgery, postoperative complications are studied by many clinician. The complications include sensory disturbance, jaw fracture, excessive bleeding, condylar positional changes and loss of pulp vitality. Few surgical procedures are as satisfying for the surgeon and patient as a well-done orthognathic surgery. On the other hand, the patient is more satisfied with the result than who are treated with only orthodontic treatment especially in severe deformity case. There are problems that patient overcome but it is not serious complications. One of these, the problem about loss of pulp vitality can't influence function but give a lot of discomfort to the patient. From September 1997 to January 1998, 7 patients who are treated for dentofacial deformity via Le Fort I osteotomy or anterior segmental osteotomy were examined pulp sensitivity using digital pulp tester. This preliminary study have a focus on the investigation of recovery of pulp vitality. The electric pulpal test were used at preoperative, postoperative, at intervals. And we report some results acquired from this study. Follwing result are obtained 1. In anterior segmental ostetomy case (1 case), total 12 teeth were examined. Postoperative 8 weeks, 1 tooth are positive reaction 2. In Le Fort I osteotomy case (6 case), total 71 teeth were examined. Postoperative 8 weeks, 5 teeth are positive reaction

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.465-473
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• 2005

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the desensitizing effects of a Nd:YAG laser (Sunlase, SUNRISE Technologies, Inc., USA) irradiation on cervically exposed hypersensitive dentine. 45 patients was irradiated with pulsed Nd:YAG laser (1.5 W, 20 Hz, 75 mJ/pulse, 4 minutes) as the experimental group, 27 patients was mock irradiated as the control group. The degree of sensitivity to the thermal and tactile stimuli were determined qualitatively with an evaporative stimulus defined as two times air blast at a distance of 3 mm from each site to be tested and with a mechanical stimulus as a slightly scratching the cervical site with a dental explorer. A qualitative registration of the degree of discomfort was determined according to a numerical pain scale(NPS) in an 11-point scale in which 0= "no pain" and 10="most excruciating pain imaginable". Recordings were assessed before treatment, immediately after, 1 and 2 weeks after treatment. Pain tolerance threshold and pulp vitality were evaluated with electric pulp tester before and immediately after treatment. 1. Desensitizing of hypersensitive dentine with Nd:YAG laser irradiation was more effective than that with mock irradiation. 2. The placebo effect of mock irradiation was recognized for severe sensitive teeth($NPS\;{\geqq}\;6$), but not for moderate sensitive teeth(NPS < 6). 3. Laser irradiation did not affect the pain tolerance threshold and pulp vitality of the hypersensitive teeth. 4. Desensitizing effect of laser irradiation for the hypersensitive teeth had been continuing at least 2 weeks. It was concluded that desensitizing of hypersensitive dentine with a Nd:YAG laser is effective and the maintenance of the positive result was more prolonged than the placebo effect.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.507-513
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• 2000

Objective : The purpose of this study is to evaluate the vitality of the teeth in and adjacent to the mandibular fracture line according to variable conditions of fracture and to establish the protocol of treatment of fracture line teeth. Materials and Methods : The vitality of 97 teeth in fracture line and 104 teeth adjacent to fracture line of 52 patients were invested preoperatively. Of these, 66 teeth in fracture line and 72 teeth adjacent to fracture line were monitored at least 6 months after operation. An electric pulp tester was used to measure pulpal response. The relationships between the vitality of teeth in variable time(preoperation, immediate post-operation; within 1 week after operation, and 6 months after operation) and variable conditions of fracture(horizontal, vertical gap of fracture line, the number of fracture line)were evaluated statistically. Result : The vitality of fracture line teeth in the 6 months after operation statistically differed by the vertical gap of fracture line and the number of fracture line. The vitality of fracture line adjacent teeth in the immediate post-operation only statistically differed by the vertical gap of fracture line. There were statistically differences between preoperative EPT value and vitality of fracture line teeth on 6 months after operation. There were 5 cases of complications including periapical and periodontal abscess. Of these, only one tooth was extracted and the others were well treated with endodontic treatment and subgingival curettage. Conclusion : It is recommended to retain teeth and to monitor the vitality of teeth in and adjacent to fracture line, unless there is an absolute indication for extraction.