Evaluation of the relationship between anxiety levels and dental appearance.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between personal traits, dental anxiety level and dental appearance of the individuals. STUDY DESIGN: The study included 431 individuals who completed State Trait Anxiety Inventory-Trait Form (STAI-T) and Corah's Dental Anxiety Scale (CDAS) questionnaires during their first appointment at the orthodontic clinic. The Index of Complexity, Outcome and Need (ICON) index scoring was performed using intraoral frontal photographs by an orthodontist. According to the STAI-T scores, three anxiety groups were formed: mild, moderate, and severe. The Kruskal-Wallis H test was used for intergroup comparisons. Spearman's correlation analysis was performed to evaluate the relationship between STAI-T, CDAS, and ICON scores. RESULTS: It was found that 38.28% of the participants had mild, 34.1% had severe, and 27.62% had moderate anxiety levels. CDAS score was significantly lower in the mild anxiety group (p ≤ 0.0001) compared to the groups showing moderate and severe anxiety. There was no significant difference between the moderate and severe anxiety groups. ICON score was significantly higher in the severe anxiety group (p ≤ 0.0001) than the other groups. It was also significantly higher in the moderate anxiety group (p ≤ 0.0001) than in the mild anxiety group. There was a significant positive correlation between STAI-T and both CDAS and ICON scores. There was no significant correlation between CDAS and ICON scores. CONCLUSION: Dental appearance had a significant effect on the general anxiety of individuals. Improving the dental appearance with orthodontic treatments can have positive effects on reducing anxiety. The low level of dental anxiety in individuals with a high need for treatment will facilitate the work of the orthodontist in the procedures to be applied.

A new perspective on the relationship between anchorage and palatal morphology: Three-dimensional digital model analysis.

Background: The tooth movements were generally analyzed in two dimensions on cephalometric radiographs. Nowaday, 3D digital model analysis, which does not have any harmful effects on patients, can be used to evaluate the palatal morphology and coronal tooth movements in a very comfortable and easy way. Aims: To investigate the effect of palatal morphology on anchorage reinforcement during intraoral molar distalization with pendulum appliance using 3D model analysis. Materials and Methods: The material consisted of before (T0) and after (T1) dental plaster models of Class II malocclusion patients (17 females, 3 males) treated with pendulum appliance for molar distalization and Nance appliance for anchorage. T0 and T1 digital models were superimposed using the palatal area as a reference via three points and surface-matching software, and the changes in teeth movement were calculated for left and right central incisors, first premolars, and first and second molars. Palatal morphology was evaluated at T0 on digital models as palatal inclination, palatal depth angles, and anterior hard palate area. Wilcoxon test was used to evaluate the treatment results and Spearman's correlation analysis was performed to evaluate the relationship between palatal morphology and dental movement. The upper limit for the level of significance was taken as 0.05. Results: Mesial movement of first premolars and distal movement of first and second molars were found to be statistically significant (P < 0.001). A weak negative correlation was found between the palatal inclination and the movement of first premolars (P < 0.045 and P < 0.003). Palatal depth angles and anterior hard palate area had no correlation with dental movements. Conclusion: Presented results supported that the mesial movement of premolar teeth decreased as the inclination of the palate increased.

Nanosilver coated orthodontic brackets: in vivo antibacterial properties and ion release.

INTRODUCTION: Silver nanoparticles are currently utilized in the fields of dentistry. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antibacterial properties and ion release of nanosilver coated orthodontic brackets compared to conventional brackets. METHODS: Nanosilver coating process was applied to standard orthodontic brackets placed on the mandibular incisors of Wistar Albino rats in the study group and conventional brackets in the control group. Dental plaque, mucosal vestibular smears, saliva, and blood samples were collected from rats at various days. The amounts of nanosilver ions in blood and saliva were measured and microbiological evaluation was made for Streptococcus mutans. For testing cariogenicity, all rats were sacrificed at the end of 75 days under anaesthesia. Teeth were stained using a caries indicator, then the caries ratio was assessed. RESULTS: Nanosilver coated orthodontic bracket favoured the inhibition of S.mutans on Day 30 and reduction of caries on the smooth surfaces. The nanosilver amounts in the saliva and serum samples were significantly higher in the study group on Day 7. CONCLUSION: It is suggested that nanosilver coated orthodontic brackets, as an antibacterial agent without patient compliance, could be helpful for the prevention of white spot lesions during fixed orthodontic treatment.

Functional and fixed orthodontic treatment in a child with cerebral palsy.

Cerebral palsy is a permanent neuromuscular motor disorder that results from injury in the developing brain during the prenatal or postnatal period. Common functional and craniofacial problems related to cerebral palsy include impaired swallowing, chewing, and speech; maxillary transverse deficiency; excessive anterior facial height; and Class II malocclusion. This article reports the treatment of a 12-year-old girl with ataxic cerebral palsy; she had a dental and skeletal Class II malocclusion, maxillary transverse deficiency, and severe crowding in both arches. Treatment included rapid maxillary expansion with simultaneous functional therapy and fixed orthodontic extraction therapy in a period of 2 years 3 months. Vertical control was maintained by a vertical chincap. An acceptable occlusion and improvements in facial esthetics, speech, and oral function were achieved.

Frontal sinus: is it a predictor for vertical malocclusions?

The aim of the present study was to evaluate 3D frontal sinus morphology in consideration with different vertical facial developments. The study was conducted with the pre-treatment CBCT images of 87 patients, who were divided into 3 groups according to the sum of the posterior angle. The frontal sinus measurements were performed on the axial, sagittal, and coronal sections of the CBCT images. Craniofacial measurements were performed on the lateral cephalograms, obtained from the CBCT scans. Normal distribution of the data was confirmed by the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. ANOVA, followed by post hoc Duncan tests, was used to compare the differences among the three groups. The relationships between sinus dimensions and craniofacial parameters were assessed by the Pearson's correlation coefficient (P < 0.05). The maximum anterior-posterior dimension of the frontal sinuses (0.017), the width of the right (0.020) and left (0.041) frontal sinuses, and the anterior-posterior dimension of the left (0.038) frontal sinus were significantly smaller in the hyperdivergent group compared to hypodivergent group. There was no significant difference between groups in terms of the height of the frontal sinuses. Significant correlation was noted between the maximum anterior-posterior dimension of the frontal sinus and SN-PP, N-Me, N-ANS, SN-GoGn, Post. sum, and Jarabak's ratio. No significant correlation between the height of the frontal sinuses and the craniofacial measurements was found. Individuals with vertical growth pattern presented decreased anterior-posterior dimension of the frontal sinuses, revealing significant correlations with vertical craniofacial parameters.

Differential Benefit of Two Different Tooth-Borne Rapid Maxillary Expansion Appliances in Female Subjects.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of tooth-borne acrylic-bonded rapid maxillary expansion (RME) appliances with or without the anterior teeth anchorage on the skeletal and dentoalveolar structures, as well as soft tissues. METHODS: This study included 44 patients who were treated with two different tooth-borne bonded acrylic RME appliances. Lateral cephalometric radiographs were taken before the treatment (T0) and in the post-retention (T1) phase of the RME treatment. The posterior-bonded RME appliance group and full-bonded RME appliance group were created as the two different groups of treatment. The following statistical analyses were performed: intra- and inter-group comparisons were made using the paired t-test, Wilcoxon test, independent t-test, and Mann-Whitney U-test for normal and non-normal distribution data. RESULTS: Significant increases were observed in R1-A, R1-ANS, R1-U1, R1-AR, R1-St, R1-Li, and R1-Pn in both groups. R1-PNS, R1-Ls, R1-Sn, and R1-B' were found to be significantly larger at T1 than at T0 in the posterior-bonded RME appliance group. R2-A, R2-ANS, R2-L1, R2-A', and R2-Pn were significantly larger at T1 than at T0 in the full-bonded RME appliance group. The R2-A' was significantly different between the groups. CONCLUSION: The soft tissue A point appears to be the most important differing matter between the two different RME appliances, and a full acrylic-bonded RME appliance may be beneficial for subjects with a maxillary retrognathic profile.

Biocompatibility of nanosilver-coated orthodontic brackets: an in vivo study.

BACKGROUND: Nanosilver particles of which antibacterial and antifungal properties have been shown in various in vitro and in vivo studies are used in many medical and dental fields for the prevention of infection. In this study, it is intended to evaluate the biocompatibility of nanosilver-coated brackets. METHODS: Nanosilver coating process was applied to the standard orthodontic brackets by a physical vapor deposition system. Brackets were coated with nanosilver particles of 1 µ thickness. A total of 12 Wistar Albino rats were included in the study (six) and control (six) groups. For the study and control groups, four nanosilver-coated and four standard brackets were aseptically implanted subcutaneously in the dorsal region of each rat. The brackets were removed with the surrounding tissues on days 7, 14, 30, and 60. The specimens were evaluated for inflammatory response. RESULTS: No significant difference was found in terms of tissue reaction between the study and control groups. On day 7, randomly distributed brown-black granules were seen in the granulation tissue adjacent to the bracket in the study group. These foreign particles continued along the bracket cavity in a few samples, but the inflammatory response was insignificant between the groups. Mast cell count was found to be significantly smaller only on day 7 in the study group than in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Nanosilver-coated orthodontic brackets were found to be similar with the standard type concerning inflammation. Further researches are needed with regard to the assessment of the brown-black granules, especially on the deposition of the vessel walls.