Conservative and minimally invasive approaches to control idiopathic condylar resorption: a scoping review.

Idiopathic condylar resorption (ICR) is an uncommon disease with multiple names that challenges orthodontic and surgical treatments. The aim of this study was to investigate the existing conservative and minimally invasive approaches to controlling ICR. A scoping literature review was conducted. Inclusion criteria were young patients with degenerative joint disease based on the Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders or Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (DC/TMD) protocols, or ICR based on the DC/TMD expanded taxonomy protocol. Six electronic databases and the grey literature were searched, without restriction on year or language. Two reviewers independently performed the study selection and data extraction. Ten studies were selected from the 13,953 records identified. The total sample size was 424 patients; the female-to-male ratio was 7:1 and the mean age of the patients was 25.7 years. The main primary outcomes were pain, mandibular dysfunction, and condylar resorption. There is no guarantee of definitive success in the early management of ICR, despite the promising approaches studied, and there is no specific protocol to be followed. Therefore, close post-surgical follow-up is still required. This study highlights the need to standardize the nomenclature and diagnostic criteria, and assess the status of condylar activity/severity in future research.

Reliability and validity of two software systems used to measure the pharyngeal airway space in three-dimensional analysis.

The aim of this study was to test the reliability and validity of two software systems used to measure the pharyngeal airway space three-dimensionally. A sample of 40 cone beam computed tomography images from adult patients was taken from a database. The cone beam computed tomography images were analysed by InVivoDental and Dolphin 3D software systems by two calibrated examiners. Three nasopharynx and oropharynx prototypes were used as a reference standard to validate the software systems. The volume, minimum area and minimum area localization were the measurements tested. Measurements were compared using a paired t-test; correlated using Pearson's correlation and linear regression. Bland-Altman analysis was also used. We found significant differences in the oropharynx volume (P=0.002) and nasopharynx minimum area localization (P=0.009). The Dolphin 3D software presented higher-volume values than the ones found in the prototype, while the InVivoDental software presented lower values. Strong (r>0.7; P>0.001) or very strong (r>0.9; P>0.001) correlations were observed between the software systems. Bland-Altman analysis found good agreement between prototypes and the software systems. The measurements obtained from the Dolphin 3D and InVivoDental software systems are both reliable, strongly correlated, but should not be assumed as equal. Dolphin 3D software overestimates the nasopharynx and oropharynx volumes, while the InVivoDental software underestimates them.

Detection of periodontal bone loss using cone beam CT and intraoral radiography.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare periapical radiographs with cone beam CT (CBCT) imaging in detecting and localizing alveolar bone loss by comparing linear measurements of the height, depth and width of the defects and identifying combined bone defects in tomographic images. METHODS: The images were selected from a secondary database containing images of patients referred for periodontal evaluation. The sample consisted of 51 sites showing both horizontal and vertical bone loss, assessed by 3 trained examiners. RESULTS: The results showed that there were no statistically significant differences between the imaging methods in terms of identification of the pattern of bone loss. However, there were differences between the two methods when the distance between the cemento-enamel junction (CEJ) and the alveolar crest (AC) was measured. When the distance between the CEJ and the deepest point and width of the defect were measured, the methods showed no statistically significant difference. In this study, 30.8% of the 39 teeth evaluated had combined bone defects. CONCLUSIONS: The two methods differ when detecting the height of the alveolar bone crest but present similar views of the depth and width of bone defects. CBCT was the only method that allowed for an analysis of the buccal and lingual/palatal surfaces and an improved visualization of the morphology of the defect.