• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.395-402
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• 2005

In considering the healing process of injured periodontal tissue, healing rate would be influenced by the cellular activity of periodontal fibroblasts(PDLFs). In addition, the reattachment among PDLFs should be induced for healing process. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of epidermal growth factor(EGF) on the proliferation and attachment of PDLFs and to verify the efficacy of EGF as a storage media or a pre-replantation conditioner of traumatically avulsed tooth. Human recombinant epidermal growth factor(hrEGF) and human periodontal fibroblasts from first premolar were prepared. At first, MTT assay was done to evaluate the toxic effect on human periodontal fibroblast and the maximum cellular growth of EGF. Cellular proliferation rate was then compared between control group and 10ng/ml EGF added group. Also, western blot was done to evaluate the expression of fibronectin in both groups. The results were as follows: 1. From MTT assay, EGF showed no toxic effect on PDL fibroblasts. The highest proliferation was shown at 10ng/ml EGF. 2. In 10ng/ml EGF added group, the degree of proliferation of PDLFs was significantly higher than that in control group. 3. Fibronectin expression of EGF added group was also significantly higher than that of control group. From this study we could conclude that EGF enhanced the regeneration rate of periodontal fibroblast, which could be used as a pretreatment agent or a storage media for traumatically avulsed teeth.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Prosthodontics
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• v.61 no.1
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• pp.18-25
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• 2023

We present the case of a 65-year-old man with maxillary and mandibular complete dentures prepared using neutral zone technique after undergoing mandibulotomy due to tonsil cancer 10 years ago. The patient had a short edentulous period; hence, there was minimal absorption of the alveolar ridge and no abnormality in the motor function of the tongue. However, the retromolar pad was located inside the hamular notch, and the posterior alveolar ridge was relatively turned inward. If the artificial teeth would have been aligned conventionally, the functional space of the tongue would have been invaded, which would have moved the tongue posteriorly thereby reducing the stability of the denture. Therefore, applying the concept of the neutral zone can be a good reference point in such cases. The neutral zone was registered using tissue conditioner, and tooth alignment was performed by making a silicone putty index. The biggest advantage of using neutral zone concept is denture stability. In this case, the neutral zone technique was applied to obtain the lingual alignment limit of the posterior teeth to avoid invasion of the tongue space by the left posterior part of the mandible. Particularly, in case of a patient in which denture stability is difficult to obtain due to absorption of the alveolar ridge, it is believed that better results can be obtained using neutral zone technique.