Comparison of mandibular buccal shelf bone characteristics between two facial types using cone beam computed tomography.

Background: Mandibular buccal shelf (MBS) offers good quality and quantity of bone for orthodontic bone screw (OBS) insertion. Despite several reports of treated patients, there are numerous variables in selecting the exact placement site for OBS placement in the MBS. There are also anatomical variations in this area which must be considered. Objectives: This study aims to measure and compare the MBS bone characteristics for OBS placement using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) between two different facial types. Materials and Methods: Eighty CBCT samples were collected (40 samples of group A horizontal growers and 40 of group B vertical growers). Each CBCT image was reconstructed and oriented with CS 3D CBCT software. The cortical bone thickness, the slope of the MBS, and buccolingual inclination of mandibular second molar were measured and analysed. Result: Cortical bone thickness among horizontal growers was 5.23 ± 0.58 mm and among vertical growers was 4.85 ± 0.37 mm. The slope of MBS among horizontal growers was 60.83 ± 6.15 degrees and among vertical growers was 66.75 ± 6.27 degrees. In both the parameters there was a statistically significant difference between the groups. There was no significant difference between the groups for the buccolingual inclination of 2nd molar. Conclusion: Increased cortical bone thickness and the flatter slope of MBS at the 2nd molar region allows for easier placement of OBS in horizontal growers than in vertical growers.

Comparison of the influence of dental and facial aesthetics in determining overall attractiveness.

OBJECTIVE: Orthodontic treatment aims at improving the perceived aesthetics; hence knowing which characteristics play a significant role in determining aesthetics is an important orthodontic objective. The aim of this study was to evaluate among laypersons, general dentists and orthodontists the importance of dental versus facial aesthetics. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Frontal face smile photographs of eight volunteers (4 males & 4 females), age group ranging from 16 to 24 years were used for the study. One hundred and fifty evaluators (50 - lay people, 50 general dentists and 50 orthodontists) were asked to select which face they found most attractive - an aesthetically pleasing face with a malocclusion evident in their smile or an average face with an aesthetic smile. A questionnaire method was followed. RESULTS: There was a statistical significant difference in the perception of the faces among the group of the evaluators. Crowding and midline diastema have more of an effect on the perception of attractiveness by laypersons than gumminess or increased buccal corridor space. CONCLUSION: Facial attractiveness is the dominating factor compared to dental aesthetics in cases where the malocclusion is less noticeable.

Surgically Assisted Orthodontics: Use of Piezocision in a Case of Oligodontia to Accelerate the Rate of Tooth Movement.

Conventionally the use of surgical assisted tooth movement is to hasten orthodontic tooth movement. In this article, a case of 13 year-old male with oligodontia has been described in whom piezocision has been used to improve bone turnover and remodeling in long standing edentulous spaces which have less medullary bone and more cortical bone.

Mini-implant-supported sliding jig.

Maximum anchorage situations require appropriate anchorage control from the very beginning. This includes control of anchorage in the anteroposterior as well as vertical directions. The requirement is more critical in patients with vertical growth patterns. Loss of anchorage in such situations requires recovery mechanics that will not tax the anchor teeth in any direction while maximizing efficiency. This article describes the use of a mini-implant-supported sliding jig in one such case where unilateral anchor loss in the maxillary arch was observed. A modified sliding jig was supported with Class II elastics stretched from a mini-implant placed in the mandible. With little patient compliance, the mini-implant was used to distalize the maxillary molar to regain the lost space and achieve ideal results in the most efficient way.