Pontic Area Research Articles

Feasibility Testing of the Automatic Design of Three-Unit Implant Fixed Dental Prostheses with Different Dental CAD Software: A Pre-Clinical Pilot Trial.

Background/Objectives: The technical development of implant-supported fixed dental prostheses (iFDP) initially concentrated on the computer-aided manufacturing of prosthetic restorations (CAM). Advances in information technologies have shifted the focus for optimizing digital workflows to AI-based processes for design (CAD). This pre-clinical pilot trial investigated the feasibility of the automatic design of three-unit iFDPs using CAD software (Dental Manger 2021, 3Shape; DentalCAD 3.1 Rijeka, exocad GmbH). Methods: Two clinical scenarios based on a full dentition were created virtually. Physical models were produced and digitized using two intraoral scanners applying quadrant or full-arch scans (Trios3, 3Shape, Copenhagen, Denmark; and Primescan AC, Dentsply Sirona, Bensheim, Germany). For each scenario, iFDP designs were generated automatically using two laboratory software systems (Dental Manger 2021, 3Shape; DentalCAD 3.1 Rijeka, exocad GmbH), resulting in 80 STL datasets (2 scenarios × 2 scan strategies × 2 IOS systems × 5 scan repetitions × 2 software). The files were analyzed clinically for the contact schemes and pontic area. One of the automated designs for each scenario was manually post-processed and one iFDP design for each scenario was manually created by experienced dental technicians (control). The time required for all the design processes was recorded. Results: The automatic design of iFDPs without manual adjustment did not lead to clinically acceptable restorations. The time required for the automatically generated/manually adjusted iFDPs designs was not significantly different to that for the manually designed restorations. Conclusions: Current laboratory software can not automatically generate three-unit iFDPs with clinically acceptable results in terms of the interproximal and occlusal contacts and the pontic design. The automatic iFDP design process currently requires manual adjustment, which means there is no benefit in terms of the working time compared with manually created restorations.

Piese de mobilier din marmură și calcar de la Histria (I). Suporturi de masă în forma bâtei lui Herakles.

The article publishes a series of marble and limestone fragments in the shape of Heracles’ club. With one exception, which may belong to a statue representing the hero, they most likely functioned as table supports. However, considering the versatility of the columnar type of support, its use for vessels cannot be ruled out. Two limestone pieces show evidence of their function as supports. The earliest piece has an analogy at Delos, and dates back to the Hellenistic period. But most of the supports in the form of knotty clubs from Histria are most probably of Roman period. For the two limestone pieces the execution suggest a date in the late Roman period. A series of examples attest the wide spread of this type of support in the Italic (Ostia and Pompeii), Aegean (Imbros, Delos) and Pontic (Chersonesos) areas. Originally inspired by the iconography of Heracles, the motif of the knotty club in the stone furniture is not exclusively related to his cult. Although there are no data for the finding contexts, the up mentioned cases points to the popularity of this category of furniture in Histria.

Soft Tissue Contours at Pontic Sites With or Without Soft Tissue Grafting-A 15-Year Follow-Up of a Controlled Clinical Study.

To report on soft tissue contour changes at pontic sites with or without soft tissue grafting over an observation period of 15 years. Fourteen patients received a fixed dental prosthesis (FDP) in the posterior zone in a controlled clinical study and were available at the 15-year follow-up. Eight patients received a subepithelial connective tissue graft in the pontic area (test) while six received the FDP without soft tissue grafting (control). Impressions were taken after FDP cementation and at 15 years. Casts were digitized and a profilometric analysis was performed (mean distance) and the pontic height (PH) and ridge width (RW) were analyzed at the mid-buccal area. A descriptive analysis and Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test was performed (level of significance: 5%). Profilometric changes (mean distance) from baseline to 15 years amounted to -0.68 mm (test) and to -0.33 mm (control) (p = 0.208), 95% CI for group difference (0.290; -0.750). PH measured -0.47 mm (test) and 0.0 mm (control) (p = 0.079) and RW amounted to -1.05 mm (test) and -0.38 mm (control) (p = 0.138). Remodeling of the soft tissue contour at pontic sites of FDPs was evident in both groups, but slightly more accentuated following soft tissue grafting. This study is the first to report on soft tissue changes at pontic sites over more than 10 years. It investigates whether tissue contour changes with and without soft tissue grafting before the insertion of FDPs. Remodeling of the soft tissue contour at pontic sites was observed over 15 years, with more pronounced changes when soft tissues were augmented with SCTGs before FDP insertion. The volume loss at the augmented site must be considered in relation to the overall tissue changes over long periods. Connective tissue grafts reliably improve shape and esthetics around the pontic unit. Further long-term studies with more patients are needed to evaluate the initial gains and long-term performance of these augmentations.

CAD-CAM pressure-exerting device to create an ovate pontic for an implant-supported fixed partial denture

This article presents a digital approach to fabricating a computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD-CAM) ovate pontic creating device for an implant-supported fixed partial denture. Intraoral digital scanning was done after osseointegration, and the pontic was designed as 2 separate parts, with the fixed part connecting the coronal part of the restoration and an ovate former shaping the pontic area. A mechanical spring was placed between the 2 parts to exert consistent pressure on the ovate former. An ovate pontic can be individually created rapidly and precisely as designed with this novel CAD-CAM device. This technology can be used to personalize the gingival morphology, improve esthetics, and minimize discomfort during the procedure.

Nutritional and Sensory Characterization of Some Fermented Food Products Made in the Carpathian-Danubian-Pontic Area

Abstract The territory of Romania has been known as the Carpathian-Danubian-Pontic space since ancient times, being traversed from one end to the other by the Carpathian Mountains and being bordered to the south by the Danube River (Danubius) which flows into the Black Sea (Pontic area). Fermented food products manufactured in Romania belong to the many categories, such as: lactic acid dairy products or fermented dairy products (yogurt, sana, buttermilk, kefir, fermented cream, fresh cheese), pickled vegetables (cabbage, cucumbers, red pepper), non-alcoholic fermented beverages (braga, borsch, vinegar, socata), traditional fermented bread, maturated cheeses, raw dried salami and alcoholic beverages (beer, wine). In the present article we will focus on a nutritional and sensory characterization of the most famous fermented products that are manufactured almost exclusively in the Carpathian-Danubian-Pontic area, of course also due to the influence of the neighbours, this being: fermented dairy products (yoghurt, sana and buttermilk), lactic fermented pickles (pickled cabbage) and non-alcoholic fermented drinks (braga, borsh and socata).

Chronology of the Bronze Age in southeast Transylvania

The southeastern part of Transylvania has a specific location in the Carpathian Basin. Being situated on the western fringe of the Eastern Carpathians, influences from west (inner Transylvania and the Great Hungarian Plain) and east (Moldavia and the northern Pontic area) can be traced through human history. The mountains were never an impenetrable border, and their porosity has made it possible for external cultural influences to expand. As a result southeastern Transylvania can be seen as a “contact zone” between East and West, where the above-mentioned influences have sometimes been weaker, but have never ceased: the continuous contacts and links were always present between the two sides of the Carpathians, something that has been confirmed by the numerous archaeological discoveries. While in recent years more and more 14C data have been reported from central and western Transylvania, this number has been negligible from the study area. In the last three years we have managed to measure 33 samples from 23 key-sites belonging to the Bronze Age, covering the whole period. The results have brought us closer to answering the questions that have preoccupied specialists dealing with the Bronze Age for decades. Many of the dates are the first ones for some of the cultures present in the study area (for example, for the Jigodin and Gáva Cultures), offering new, independent dating. The new results confirm many of the earlier suppositions regarding the Bronze Age chronology of the area, but have also raised some problems, which will need to be clarified in the future.

Biofilm accumulation on complete arch subperiosteal implant-supported prostheses: Effect of pontic type

Statement of problemComplete arch subperiosteal implant-supported prostheses present challenges in terms of effective cleaning, leading to the accumulation of biofilm on their intaglio surfaces. The association between different intaglio surface morphologies and biofilm accumulation on complete arch subperiosteal implant-supported prostheses is unclear. PurposeThe purpose of this in vitro study was to investigate the correlation between the intaglio surface of complete arch subperiosteal implant-supported prostheses and biofilm accumulation. Material and methodsSixty-eight complete arch subperiosteal implant-supported prostheses were fabricated with varying interimplant distances and pontic morphologies. Four different types of pontic morphologies were included: saddle, flat, scalloped, and ovate. To simulate biofilm accumulation, a green aerosol was sprayed onto the intaglio surface. Dental floss was used to clean the colored spray from the intaglio surface. The intaglio surfaces of prostheses were then scanned with an intraoral scanner. The biofilm areas were identified and calculated by using a 3-dimensional macroscopical quantification method. The distances between adjacent implants and transmucosal height were measured. The correlation between interimplant distances and biofilm areas, and the correlation between the biofilm areas and transmucosal height, were analyzed using the Spearman test. Furthermore, a generalized estimating equation (GEE) was employed to examine the relationship between pontic morphology and biofilm area, adjusting for location, cantilever, implant distance, and transmucosal height (α=.05). ResultsA significant correlation was found between the biofilm area and transmucosal height (correlation coefficient=0.208, P<.001). A significant increase in biofilm accumulation was observed in the saddle group compared with the 3 groups in GEE Models I and II. ConclusionsFlat pontics and ovate pontics have significantly lower biofilm retention. Moreover, transmucosal height plays a significant role in biofilm accumulation in the pontic area.

Intrusions of the steppe population into the Balkan-Carpathian region in the Early Bronze Age: factors and aspects

The Budzhak culture of the Northwest Pontic region is a part of the Yamna cultural-historical area. Its social hierarchy and the identification of “ritual groups” within it provide important evidence when considering intrusions of the steppe population into the Balkan-Carpathian region. Certain elite grave goods are often associated with individuals buried in certain positions that allow the identification of “ritual groups”. One of these is characterized by supine inhumation with flexed legs, arms stretched along the body. These had high social status in the context of the Budzhak culture and they are the ones that were widespread in Europe. In addition to the well-known Danubian route, other paths from the steppe to the west can be considered (Carpathian-Transylvanian and Prut-Dnistr routes). The principal aim of the movement to the west was probably to obtain metals, which could be exchanged for salt from the estuaries of the Northwest Pontic area.

Late Antique glass vessels in life context of population of eastern black sea littoral – Colchis (NW Georgia): performance, function and trendy

This article presents typological repertoire of late antique-early byzantine glass vessels from archeological sites of NW Georgia (mainly of historical Apsilia). They show how regional industries responded to the needs of their community in the Black Sea littoral. However, this way I made visible an ideological interaction of regional markets of Pontic areas. While the vessel forms, decoration and impact of new technologies made possible to discuss why they are eventually distinguishable from other parts of the Black Sea region. But my approach to these vessels has been influenced generally by funding context and by different communities of glass owners. Because the glass vessels become a regular part of daily life of special warriors of area and the most spectacular ones entered the wealth of military aristocracy. This gives a fairly accurate picture of their transportation purpose in Colchis. In addition, there is at least five rarest vessels with own specimen which leads to local production. Some attests considerable attention by concept originated in Mesopotamia and leads the new phenomenon attracted people in early Christianity. Out of limited vessels associated different periods, some even owned over the centuries. All this are indication that we still know very little about their specific purposes.

Interactions between Trypillian farmers and North Pontic forager-pastoralists in Eneolithic central Ukraine.

The establishment of agrarian economy in Eneolithic East Europe is associated with the Pre-Cucuteni-Cucuteni-Trypillia complex (PCCTC). PCCTC farmers interacted with Eneolithic forager-pastoralist groups of the North Pontic steppe as PCCTC extended from the Carpathian foothills to the Dnipro Valley beginning in the late 5th millennium BCE. While the cultural interaction between the two groups is evident through the Cucuteni C pottery style that carries steppe influence, the extent of biological interactions between Trypillian farmers and the steppe remains unclear. Here we report the analysis of artefacts from the late 5th millennium Trypillian settlement at the Kolomiytsiv Yar Tract (KYT) archaeological complex in central Ukraine, focusing on a human bone fragment found in the Trypillian context at KYT. Diet stable isotope ratios obtained from the bone fragment suggest the diet of the KYT individual to be within the range of forager-pastoralists of the North Pontic area. Strontium isotope ratios of the KYT individual are consistent with having originated from contexts of the Serednii Stih (Sredny Stog) culture sites of the Middle Dnipro Valley. Genetic analysis of the KYT individual indicates ancestry derived from a proto-Yamna population such as Serednii Stih. Overall, the KYT archaeological site presents evidence of interactions between Trypillians and Eneolithic Pontic steppe inhabitants of the Serednii Stih horizon and suggests a potential for gene flow between the two groups as early as the beginning of the 4th millennium BCE.

Perio-prosthodontic pontic site management, part I: Pontic designs and their current applications.

Emulating natural dentition with dental implant restorations is challenging, increasing its complexity when a pontic area must be restored. Many different methods have been described to solve this problem. The pontic designs which have been proposed have specific indications and may require additional treatments, including soft tissue augmentation procedures, to increase the possibility of an esthetically pleasing and biologically tolerable outcome. Proper conditioning of the soft tissues during the interim restoration stage and adequate communication with the laboratory are also critical factors to a successful outcome. This article describes the different approaches to restoring pontic sites with different degrees of complexity, their clinical indications, and limitations viewed from a perio-prosthodontic approach. Different clinical scenarios for pontic sites require different approaches. Missing hard and soft tissues can be replaced by surgical or prosthetic means. Understanding the clinical indications and implications of the different pontic designs allows the clinician to make good decisions when planning and treating patients that require replacement of pontic spaces leading to more successful outcomes. Different pontic designs have specific indications as well as biologic and esthetic prognoses. Selection of a good design, proper modifications during the provisionalization stage, and adequate communication with the dental laboratory will lead to higher chances of esthetic and biological success. The proper pontic design allows for esthetically pleasing pontic sites which emulate natural emergence from the soft tissues while promoting biological stability.

'Celtoscythians': Ethnical Processes and Cultural Contacts in the Baltic-Black Sea Region (3rd Century BC — 1st Century AD)

The paper deals with the ethnocultural processes that took place in the 3rd century BC – 1st century AD on the territory of Ukraine and neighbouring lands of Central and Eastern Europe. These processes, in particular, have expressed themselves in the emergence of terms ‘Celtoscythians’ and ‘Bastarnae’. The author aims to show that ancient Greeks and Romans used these names to define barbaric population, which, was living on the territory of Scythia according to geographical concepts of those days, but had material culture and customs similar to Celtic and, to some extent, could use Celtic dialects. It is stated that the lands of present-day Ukraine were stretched across the distinct periphery of the ‘Celtic world’.A group of Celtic settlements and burials which occupied the Transcarpathian region was a rather typical sub-group of the La Tene culture, similar to those in nearby regions of Slovakia, Hungary and Romania. There are only traces of the ‘Celtic’ military raids and micro-migrations in the lands eastward of the Carpathian Mountains and they had no significant impact on the cultural situation in the region. At the turn of the eras, in the basins of Dniester and Dnipro, the new Poieneşti-Lukashevka and Zarubyntsi archaeological cultures emerged. Both combined Jastorf and La Tène traditions and local traditions. The Greek and Roman authors used the new ‘umbrella’ ethnic entities ‘Bastarnae’ and ‘Κελτοσκύθαι’. Such mixed groups of the population emerged as a result of intensifying cultural contacts between the Baltic and Pontic areas. One may pay attention to the communication route from Hellespont to the Baltic shores that Plinius the Elder described in his Naturalis Historia (NH. IV. 28). Apparently, the route following Dniester and Vistula played a significant role in exchange of prestigious artefacts, as well as ideas and technologies between various groups of population of the Northern and Eastern fringes of the Celtic world. The contact zone that formed along this route played an important role in the processes of ethnogenesis on the territory of Ukraine over the following centuries.

Minor Inscriptions from The Western Pontic Area Between The 1st-3rd Centuries A.D. Re-Gatherings and Discussions on Their Account

This study deals with a less discussed topic, minor inscriptions, in the literature. It discusses how some minor inscriptions can provide us with information about the economic and commercial situation in the West Pontic area. The results obtained allowed us to identify the economic context of the province and also to observe where these inscriptions are concentrated, mainly in the military environment. It was found once again that the West Pontic towns never formed their own system of distribution of goods and did not benefit from a policy that allowed them to function as an economic system in their own right. We have also attempted to highlight the language and socio-communicative framework in which we arrive at the hypothesis that inscriptions of any kind were a sign of ownership.

A Numismatic Perspective on the Architecture of North and West Pontic Cities in the 1st-3rd Centuries AD. Defensive Systems.

The coins of the Greek cities of the Roman era (the so-called “provincial coins”) become an important source of information about the issuing ancient city through the historical and architectural themes illustrated on their reverse. They allow not only the detection or nuancing of some events, which the passage of time has largely made forgotten, but also show the ancient monuments to the current researcher, unspoiled by the passage of time, in the splendour of the era of their construction. In this work, part of a wider project, we want to address a category of monuments illustrated by provincial coins from the north and west Pontic area, respectively that of defensive constructions, which were included in the composition of the fortified enclosures of the cities from this area. City gates (often monumental or triumphal), portions of walls, and even entire urban enclosures are themes frequently illustrated by the coin engravers in the 2nd-3rd centuries AD. In the following, the monetary issues, which illustrate defensive edifices of the cities of Thrace (Anchialos, Augusta Traiana, Byzie, Hadrianopolis) and Moesia Inferior (Callatis, Marcianopolis, Nicopolis ad Istrum, Tomis) or those of the Bosporan Kingdom, will be analysed from a constructive point of view, as well as from a broader historico-geographical perspective.

The “Ancient World and the North Pontic Area” Section of the 2nd Historical Forum in Saint Petersburg (Saint Petersburg, October 10–16, 2022)

The “Ancient World and the North Pontic Area” Section of the 2nd Historical Forum in Saint Petersburg (Saint Petersburg, October 10–16, 2022)

Single-retainer all-ceramic resin-bonded fixed dental prostheses: Long-term outcomes in the esthetic zone.

To present an update on the concept of cantilevered single-retainer all-ceramic resin-bonded fixed dental prostheses (RBFDPs) first presented 25 years ago in the Journal of Esthetic Dentistry. The initially presented case of the concept was followed clinically over 26 years and is presented along with two additional clinical long-term cases using varying methods to obtain an esthetic and hygienic ovate pontic design. Veneered alumina and zirconia ceramic (3mol% yttria-tetragonal zirconia polycrystalline ceramic; 3Y-TZP) was used and bonded with a phosphate monomer containing luting resin after 50 μm alumina particle air-abrasion at 0.25 MPa pressure. The restorations replacing incisors did not debond and soft tissues in the pontic area were maintained over 26 years. Cantilevered single-retainer all-ceramic RBFDPs today made from veneered 3Y-TZP zirconia ceramic can be considered a standard of care for the replacement of single incisors and provide an excellent esthetic outcome with a long-term preservation of soft tissues in the pontic area. Bonding nonretentive oxides ceramics such as alumina and zirconia ceramic with phosphate monomer containing luting resins after alumina particle air-abrasion is durable over decades. This proves that bonding to zirconia ceramic is not of any problem when adequate methods are used. Single-retainer zirconia ceramic RBFDPs maintain soft tissues in the edentulous area of single missing incisors and often deem implants unessential for this indication.

A SARMATIAN HORSE-RIDER AT THE COURT OF THE DACIAN KINGS. THE SIGN (II)

The present article is the second part of a study dedicated to a cheek-piece discovered in the Dacian fortress from Costești-Cetățuie, in south-western Transylvania. The first paper , published in the same journal, was dedicated to the typology of horse-bits from Dacia, with a focus on the Werner’s types V (variants C-D) and VIII. This time, the spotlight is on a sign incised on the same object, namely a tamga pertaining to the Sarmatian milieu. Various aspects are discussed in this paper: the appearance and characteristics of tamga signs in the north-Pontic area, the association of these signs with certain royal figures and their use in the Dacian environment, the presence of similar horse-bits to the one from Costești in the north Pontic area and, finally, the historical observations this artefact can provide.

Etruscan Bucchero Pottery in the Northern Black Sea Littoral

Abstract Three Etruscan bucchero kantharoi have recently been found in the North Pontic settlements at modern-day Berezan island (ancient Borysthenes), and Taganrog (ancient Kremnoi), both Milesian foundations of the 7th century BC. Both centres yielded several vessels of Greek pottery dated from the early 7th century onwards. As the only finds of Etruscan bucchero in the Northern Black Sea area, the kantharoi are noteworthy. Miletus founded several colonies in the Black Sea and yielded the largest collection of Etruscan bucchero pottery in the eastern Mediterranean, suggesting it may have played the role of a distribution centre for these goods to the North Pontic area.

Immediate Loading Guided Surgery Full Arch with 7 anterior Socket Shields

The aim of this case report is to evaluate guided surgery applied to immediate loading of a full arch with conical connection implants and screw-retained prosthesis delivered the same day of the computer-guided and immediate loading implant surgery. The patient with terminal dentition at the upper jaw was scheduled for a full arch rehabilitation with six immediate implants with guided surgery and immediate loading. Because with guided surgery I could save time to pay attention to other aspects during the surgery I could perform socket shield technique at the frontal elements from 1.4 to 2.3 (7 adjacent sites) to maintain the natural and native architecture both of the bone and the soft tissues of the patient. Into the extraction gaps, I've inserted biomaterial (xenograft) mixed with fibrine sealant. Multi-unit abutments with a very tight and performing connection and immediate screw-retained temporary were delivered the same day of the surgery in the afternoon. The surgery was performed 5 months ago and everything is going well. The final prosthesis will be delivered next month. This case report has many topics to evaluate, starting with the possibility to use computer-guided surgery to deliver the temporary prosthesis on the same day of the surgery, according to the prosthetic project and the bone situation from the CBCT. The use of socket shield technique to perform ridge preservation when there are indications to maintain aesthetics and long-term predictability for the implants and pontic areas (6,7,8,9), especially in adjacent post-extraction sites. The possibility to build the same day the temporary prosthesis with a rigid type of resin pre-built into the laboratory (that still has a little elasticity module for shock-absorbing) that can be substituted with a final prosthesis after 3/6 months according to the healing of the soft tissues. Tight and efficient conical connection (TPIS, two pieces implant system) at the implant/abutment ensures a stable interface between the components and screw-retained at the prosthetic interface ensure to evaluate easily the situation underneath the prosthesis during and after the osseointegration.

A SARMATIAN HORSE-RIDER AT THE COURT OF THE DACIAN KINGS. THE TYPOLOGY (I).

The proposed series of papers will focus on the reinterpretation of a cheek-piece discovered in the Dacian fortress of Costești-Cetățuie during the first systematic excavations undertaken there at the beginning of the XX th c. The iron cheek-piece discovered back then presents a specificity that has not been observed before, namely what seems to be a tamga sign engraved on the exterior of the piece (Fig. 1/1). For unknown reasons, the sign was not observed during the first publication. As such, the general purpose of this effort will be to assess the inherent meaning of this sign and its implications for the typology of such horse-bits. In the first paper I will approach the typology of such cheek-pieces in the Dacian milieu and in the neighbouring western areas. In the second article of the series I will focus on the question of such cheek-pieces in the North Pontic region, as well as the presence of tamga signs on objects from the Dacian and North Pontic areas. All this will be done in order to better understand the historical context that lead to the appearance of a tamga sign on a type VIII cheek-piece in the Dacian fortress at Costești-Cetățuie.