Assessment of Reliability of Cone-beam Computed Tomography in Skeletal and Dental Discrepancy.

AIM: The present study was conducted to evaluate the reliability of cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) in dental asymmetry with skeletal midline deviation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was conducted on 124 patients (males 52, females 72) who underwent orthodontic treatment. The CBCT scan was obtained with the Planmica machine. Three maxillofacial radiologists evaluated 10 landmarks and 12 distances on maxillary and mandibular arches on CBCT images in all patients. RESULTS: Interobserver mean difference at point 1 was 0.33; point 2, 0.34; point 3, 0.32; point 4, 0.58; point 5, 0.56; point 6, 0.44; point 7, 0.28; point 8, 0.22; point 9, 0.54; point 10, 0.21; point 11, 0.34; and point 12, 0.36. The discrepancy between intra- and interobserver was not considerable (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Cone-beam computed tomography is useful for diagnosis of skeletal asymmetry. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Cone-beam computed tomography is a reliable and reproducible tool for diagnosis of skeletal asymmetry for successful orthodontic treatment.

Prevalence of areca nut chewing in the middle school-going children of Indore, India.

OBJECTIVES: To assess areca nut chewing habit among middle school-aged children in Indore, India. Areca nut is chewed by itself, and in various scented preparations. It is associated with carcinogenesis, foreign body aspiration in children, and oral submucous fibrosis and may aggravate asthma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective collection of data to evaluate the prevalence of areca nut chewing among 3896 children was done. A simple random sampling was done. Children of both sexes were included in this study. RESULTS: 27.06% of the school-going children (1054/3896) had areca nut chewing habit. More boys chewed areca nut than girls (2:1). 45.42% of school going children of rural area pander to areca nut chewing habit, whereas in urban area 20.09% children are indulged. Government school children are more involved in areca nut chewing habit. 81.02% of the children used sweetened and flavoured form of areca nut. The majority of the users were not aware of harmful effects that the use of areca nut might be harmful for health CONCLUSION: To diminish the use of areca nut, the Indian Government should consider limiting trade, advertising, and actively communicating its health risks to the public and should deem heavy taxes on it.