Papers by karl woodmansey

Journal of Endodontics, 2010
Introduction: Vocabulary and writing style have been shown to affect the readability of patient-e... more Introduction: Vocabulary and writing style have been shown to affect the readability of patient-education materials. Readability is generally defined as the ease of understanding or comprehension because of the style of writing. Microsoft Word software (Microsoft Corporation, Bellevue, WA) can quantify and report readability statistics, providing both the Flesch Reading Ease score and the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level score of selected documents. Methods: This study evaluated the readability of 22 endodontic patient education web sites and 15 endodontic patient education brochures. The web sites and brochures were arbitrarily selected based on availability, reputation of the source, and relevance to endodontic patients. Results: The Flesch Reading Ease score and the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level score were determined for the 37 selected materials. The Flesch Reading Ease scores varied between 44.4 and 76.6, and the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level scores ranged between 4.5 and 10.6. Conclusions: These findings remind practitioners that some patients may have difficulty reading some endodontic educational materials. (J Endod 2010;36:1703-1706
Journal of American College Health, 2005
Dental anxiety remains a pervasive barrier to dental treatment for many individuals, including co... more Dental anxiety remains a pervasive barrier to dental treatment for many individuals, including college-age patients. In this article, the author reviews dental anxiety and examines the usefulness of assessment instruments for identifying dental anxiety. Using 2 unique assessment instruments, he examines the prevalence of dental anxiety in his university dental clinic's patient population. The 2 assessment instruments were determined to be equally effective in identifying anxious dental patients. Both instruments revealed that the average patient surveyed had low-to-mild dental anxiety. The results of this survey concur with those of previous studies of college-populations.

Journal of Endodontics, 2009
Endodontic treatment and dental implants are both viable treatment options to restore a compromis... more Endodontic treatment and dental implants are both viable treatment options to restore a compromised dentition. How these treatments impact patients' ability to chew has not been studied. The purpose of this study was to compare various parameters of masticatory function in patients with endodontically treated teeth and single-implant supported prostheses. Fifty patients were included in this study. Twenty-five patients had mandibular molar root canals, and 25 had single implant-supported prostheses in the mandibular molar region. The natural tooth contralateral to the treated side served as the internal control. Maximum bite force, chewing efficiency, and areas of occlusal contact and near contact (ACNC) were recorded for each subject, along with a questionnaire to evaluate subjective chewing ability. When compared with contralateral controls, dental implants were found to have significantly lower maximum bite forces, reduced chewing efficiency, and smaller ACNC. Endodontically treated teeth were not statistically different than their contralateral controls. These results indicate that endodontically treated natural teeth may provide more effective occlusal contact during masticatory function compared with implant-supported restorations, leading to more efficient mastication. (J Endod 2009;35:10 -14)
Journal of Endodontics, 2009
Intraosseous anesthesia is an effective and increasingly used technique with few reported complic... more Intraosseous anesthesia is an effective and increasingly used technique with few reported complications. The technique uses a specialized drill to perforate the osseous cortex where local anesthetic can then be deposited to anesthetize teeth. It has been reported that separation of the perforation drills from their plastic bases can occur because of the friction generated during osseous perforation. Prolonged rotation of the perforator drills in the bone can also cause excessive heat, which can lead to bone necrosis. This report describes a case of focal osteonecrosis subsequent to intraosseous anesthesia and discusses possible etiologies of this sequela. (J Endod 2009;35:288 -291)
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Papers by karl woodmansey