The prevalence of malocclusion and oral habits among 5-7-year-old children.

BACKGROUND: Digit sucking, tongue thrust swallowing, and mouth breathing are potential risk factors for development of malocclusion. The purpose of this study was to verify the prevalence of different occlusal traits among 5-7-year-old children and assess their relationship with oral habits. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included 503 pre-school children (260 boys and 243 girls) with a mean age of 5.95 years. Different occlusal traits were verified by intraoral examination. Oral habits were diagnosed using data gathered from clinical examination of occlusion and extra-oral assessment of the face, combined with a questionnaire for parents. RESULTS: The study demonstrated that 71.4% of the children presented with 1 or more attributes of malocclusion and 16.9% had oral habits. The vertical and sagittal malrelation of incisors, as well as spacing, were the predominant features. This study showed that digit suckers have higher incidence of anterior open bite (P=0.013) and posterior crossbite (P=0.005). The infantile type of swallowing demonstrated strong association (P=0.001) with anterior open bite. CONCLUSIONS: Non-nutritive sucking habits and tongue thrust swallowing are significant risk factors for the development of anterior open bite and posterior crossbite in pre-school children.

A randomized double-blind clinical trial of tourniquet application strategies for total knee arthroplasty.

PURPOSE: The optimal timing of pneumatic lower limb tourniquet application during primary elective total knee arthroplasty surgery (TKA) is a matter of debate. Most previous reports have failed to show significant differences between different tourniquet timings. The aim of the work was to determine how three strategies of lower limb pneumatic tourniquet application affect the outcome for TKA patients. METHODS: Forty-three patients who undergo TKA were randomized into one of the three groups, and 36 of these patients completed the study. The tourniquet was inflated just before incision and deflated after the hardening of the cement for twelve patients (Group 1), it was inflated just before cement application and deflated after its hardening for another twelve patients (Group 2), and it was inflated before incision and deflated after the last suture of the skin for a further twelve patients (Group 3). Fit-to-discharge criteria and six methods for calculating estimated blood loss were used. RESULTS: The estimated blood loss in Group 1 was lower than in Group 2, as determined by six methods of calculation (p < 0.05). Estimated blood loss in Group 3 was lower than in Group 2, as determined by one method (p = 0.050). The mobilization performance in Group 1 was better than in Group 2 (p = 0.023) and in Group 3 (p = 0.033). Group 1 was better fit to discharge than Group 3 (p = 0.030). CONCLUSIONS: Inflation of an automatic pneumatic lower limb tourniquet before skin incision and its deflation after hardening of cement tends to give better outcomes in TKA patients during six postoperative days. The estimated blood loss was highest when the tourniquet was inflated just before cement application and deflated after its hardening.