A nasal foreign body detected on routine orthodontic radiographs.

Films used in orthodontics such as lateral cephalograms and orthopantomograms provide excellent visualisation of the maxillary sinuses and the nose, and therefore should be routinely examined for pathology and foreign bodies. We report a case of a long-standing asymptomatic nasal foreign body detected on routine orthodontic films.

The two by four appliance: a versatile appliance.

The 2 x 4 appliance comprises bonds on the maxillary incisors, bands on the first permanent maxillary molars and a continuous archwire. The appliance is used in the early mixed dentition for treatment of both anterior crossbites and alignment of ectopic incisors. Four cases using this appliance are presented. This appliance offers many advantages over alternative techniques as it provides complete control of anterior tooth position, is extremely well tolerated, requires no adjustment by the patient and allows accurate and rapid positioning of the teeth.

How to avoid common errors in clinical photography.

This paper demonstrates some of the errors commonly seen in both conventional and digital photography when used for clinical purposes, and details how some of these mistakes may be avoided.

Optident prize 2000.

This paper describes the orthodontic treatment of two cases, which were awarded the 2000 Optident prize.

Maurice Berman Prize 2003.

A crowded, high angle Class II case is presented and illustrated with stage clinical photographs. It was successfully treated with modified Twin Blocks and high pull headgear, extraction of all four first premolars, and upper and lower pre-adjusted edgewise appliances.

Orthodontic fixation of mandibular fracture: a case report.

The present case illustrates a nonsurgical method of fixing a minimally displaced mandibular fracture with use of an easily prepared orthodontic appliance. This method offers several advantages for both the attending staff and the patient.

Comparison of 2 modifications of the twin-block appliance in matched Class II samples.

The purpose of this study was to compare the skeletal and dental changes contributing to Class II correction with 2 modifications of the Twin-block appliance: Twin-block appliances that use a labial bow (TB1) and Twin-block appliances that incorporate high-pull headgear and torquing spurs on the maxillary central incisors (TB2). After pretreatment equivalence was established, a total of 36 consecutively treated patients with the TB1 modification were compared with 27 patients treated with the TB2 modification. Both samples were treated in the same hospital department and the same technician made all the appliances. The cephalostat, digitizing package, and statistical methods were common to both groups. The results demonstrated that the addition of headgear to the appliance resulted in effective vertical and sagittal control of the maxillary complex and thus maximized the Class II skeletal correction in the TB2 sample. Use of the torquing springs resulted in less retroclination of the maxillary incisors in the TB2 sample when compared with the TB1 sample; however, this difference did not reach the level of statistical significance.

The modified twin block appliance in the treatment of Class II division 2 malocclusions.

Two case reports illustrate the effective treatment of Class II division 2 malocclusion with modifications to the Twin Block appliance. This approach may reduce the total treatment time and reduce the need for extra-oral anchorage. In each of the cases presented treatment has been carried out on a non-extraction basis with full correction of the malocclusion.

Tooth dimensions in hypodontia patients, their unaffected relatives and a control group measured by a new image analysis system.

Tooth dimensions were compared between index patients with severe hypodontia (six or more congenitally missing teeth), their relatives with a full complement of teeth, and a control group. The groups consisted of 12 index cases (seven females and five males), 21 relatives without hypodontia (13 females and eight males), and a control group of 10 males and 10 females with complete dentitions, and no family history of hypodontia. All formed teeth were imaged buccally and occlusally from study models, with a digital camera linked to a computer. The images were acquired and measured using Adobe Photoshop and Image Pro Plus, respectively. Mesiodistal, buccolingual, or occlusogingival area and perimeter measurements were determined from each image. In the index hypodontia group tooth dimensions were significantly smaller (P < 0.001, Bonferroni corrected level) for maxillary and mandibular canines, and first premolars for all dimensions from the buccal view, and for maxillary and mandibular canines and first premolars, maxillary central incisors, maxillary first molars, mandibular lateral incisors, and mandibular second premolars for all dimensions from the occlusal view. In the relatives without hypodontia compared with the control group, mesiodistal dimensions from the buccal view were significantly smaller (P < 0.001) for the central incisors and maxillary first and second premolars, and for the maxillary and mandibular first premolars for all dimensions from the occlusal view. There was a trend for the tooth dimensions of all teeth in the index group to be smaller compared with the control group. The tooth dimensions of the relatives without hypodontia also tended to be smaller than the control group, but were larger than those of the index cases.

Further studies of a model for the etiology of anomalies of tooth number and size in humans.

A multifactorial model based on an underlying continuous distribution of tooth size, with thresholds determining hypodontia and supernumeraries, has been proposed [1]. Our aim is to investigate this model by comparing tooth morphology of affected patients and their first degree relatives with normal controls. An image analysis system [2] was used to measure teeth on study models of controls, patients with hypodontia of varying degrees and location, first-degree relatives of hypodontia index cases, and patients with supernumerary teeth in the maxillary incisor region. Mesio-distal crown size in hypodontia patients was smaller than controls, and this difference was significant for all tooth types. There was a general pattern: the more severe the hypodontia, the smaller the size of the tooth formed. Patients with supernumerary teeth had permanent maxillary central and lateral incisors and canines that were significantly larger in mesio-distal width than controls. The maxillary central incisors also differed in taper in supernumerary patients compared to controls. Hypodontia prevalence was higher in first-degree relatives (22%) of hypodontia index cases than in the general population (4.4%), and unaffected relatives had smaller teeth than controls. Thus, there were generalized and localized effects within the dentition, and these findings are compatible with the statistical expectations of the proposed multifactorial model.