Abstract Objective: To define the prevalence of Molar Incisor Hypomineralization (MIH) in Brazil since the reports ranged from 2.5% to 40.2%. Material and Methods: We studied 407 children from 7 to 14 years of age. MIH was measured using the European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry criteria of 2003. Clinical data were collected by a calibrated dentist (Kappa=0.88) and included affected teeth and degree of MIH severity (mild/severe). Mild MIH cases were considered when the tooth presented demarcated opacity ≥ 1.0mm, without any loss of structure. While severe cases were defined by teeth in which loss of structure was present, or past or current lesion that required treatment, or presence of atypical restorations. In addition, published data (nine studies) reporting MIH in Brazilians were identified, and the heterogeneity of these studies was tested (I2 index/ p≤0.01). Results: In the original sample studied, the majority of patients were males (55.3%; n = 225), with an average age of 10.1 years (± 2.1 years). The prevalence of MIH in this group was 14.5% (59 affected in 407), and most of the affected teeth had a mild degree of alteration (77.4% or 202 in 261 teeth). Conclusion: A meta-analysis including nine published reports, and our original data showed that MIH prevalence in Brazil is 13.48 (95% CI, 8.66% -18.31%).

Abstract Objectives To determine whether Tumor Necrosis Factor alpha (TNFα) –308 G/A polymorphism is associated with oral lichen planus (OLP). Material and Methods A systematic electronic search of the literature was conducted to identify all published studies on the association between TNFα –308 G/A polymorphism and OLP. All case-control studies evaluating the TNFα –308 G/A polymorphisms in OLP were selected. A meta-analysis of the studies that fulfilled the inclusion criteria was performed. Odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were also calculated. Results Seven studies comprising 450 OLP cases and 867 controls were included in the meta-analysis. In the pooled analysis, TNFα –308 G/A polymorphism was associated with OLP with random effects and OR of 2.33 (95%CI=1.07-5.11; p=0.03), assuming a dominant mode of inheritance (AA+GA vs. GG). In the subgroup analysis by ethnicity, TNFα –308 G/A was associated with a significantly increased odds ratio of OLP in mixed ethnicity (OR=5.22; 95%CI=1.93-14.15; p=0.001), but not in Asians (OR=1.57; 95%CI=0.54-4.54; p=0.41) or Caucasians (OR=1.45; 95%CI=0.19-11.22; p=0.72). For subgroup analysis based on HCV (hepatitis C virus) infection status, significant increased risk of OLP was found among patients with mixed HCV infection status (OR=3.77; 95%CI=1.07-13.2; p=0.038), but not in patients without HCV infection (OR=2.09; 95%CI=0.63-6.91; p=0.22) and patients with HCV infection (OR=0.48; 95%CI=0.13-1.69; p=0.25). Conclusion Our results suggest that –308 G/A polymorphism in TNFα is a potential genetic marker for OLP.

Iron nitride films were deposited by radio frequency (RF) reactive magnetron sputtering at different bias voltages. It was found that the composition, structure and magnetic properties of the iron nitride films were strongly dependent on the depositing bias voltage. With a bias voltage of –50 V, the iron nitride film is fully dense and has a homogenous microstructure consisting of α-Fe and Fe16N2, leading to a unique combination of high Ms of 1645 emu/cc, Hc of 5 Oe and μi of 1573.