Prevalence of Sleep-Disordered Breathing in Children Ages Seven to 10 Years: A Comparative Study Before and After COVID-19 Lockdown.

Purpose: To investigate the prevalence of positive or potential sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) in children ages seven to 10 years during two time periods: pre- and postCOVID-19 lockdown. Methods: Two groups of children with mixed dentition were consecutively recruited from two private pediatric dental practices in Southwestern Pennsylvania. All parents or guardians of the children were asked to complete the 22-question Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire (PSQ) as part of the routine medical history examination. High risk was defined as positive answers to 33 percent or more of the questions answered. Results: The overall sample had 183 males and 183 females. Between August 2016 and December 2017, the pre-COVID-19 lockdown period (PREL), 218 children were surveyed consecutively; 148 children were surveyed consecutively between September 2020 and March 2021, in the post-COVID-19 lockdown period (POSTL). Screening utilizing the PSQ identified 16.2 percent as high risk of SDB POSTL in contrast to 5.0 percent observed PREL (95 percent confidence interval [95% CI]=1.6 to 6.4; Pearson's chi-square test, P<0.001). There were no associations between sex or body mass index and high risk of SDB due to the lockdown. Conclusion: The results suggest a three-fold increase in the prevalence of positive or potential SDB subsequent to the commencement of the COVID-19 lockdown for this age group.

Prevalence of white spot lesions and risk factors associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the prevalence and persistence of white spot lesions (WSLs) among patients treated with traditional braces. METHODS: A group of 434 consecutively finished cases who had pretreatment and post-treatment digital photographs taken were included in this study. Each set of photographs was evaluated by two investigators to determine prepandemic and postlockdown WSLs, in addition to changes in oral hygiene (OH) and other risk factors. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant difference in the development of WSLs pre-COVID-19 lockdown (PRL) versus post-COVID-19 lockdown (POL) (P < 0.001). The overall prevalence for the development of WSLs increased to 52.8% POL. For patients with good pretreatment OH, the risk of developing WSLs POL (42.0%) was two times greater than the rate in PRL (20.1%). For patients whose OH worsened during treatment, 81.2% of POL patients developed WSL compared with 69.6% of PRL patients. The incidence of WSLs was statistically greater in the maxillary anterior region POL than PRL, whereas the incidence in the mandibular anterior region did not reach statistical significance. The distribution of WSLs was greater POL for each tooth irrespective of the arch. CONCLUSIONS: Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the prevalence of visible WSLs increased from 29.5% to 52.8%. Patients whose hygiene worsened during orthodontic treatment are at an increased risk of developing WSLs.

Influence of genotype and perioral musculature on maxillary and mandibular development.

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether there is an association between skeletal jaw position and perioral musculature, and if genotypes can predict skeletal growth. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective study on 42 patients over 1 year was performed. The study included 22 females and 20 males with and average age of 28.5 years. Lip strength was compared to radiographic cephalometric measurements. Allelic and genotypic frequencies from polymorphisms rs678397 and rs1815739 in ACTN3 and rs10850110 in MYO1H were compared to each variable. Chi-square and Fisher exact tests were used to determine if differences were statistically significant (alpha = 0.05). RESULTS: The data showed significant differences between rs678397 genotype and allele frequencies and SNA angle (P = .01; P = .003, respectively); between rs1815739 allele frequency and SNA angle (P = .01); between rs678397 allele frequency and ANB angle (P = .049); between rs678397 genotype and allele frequencies and lip strength in females (P = .045; P = .02); and between rs678397 allele frequency and overall lip strength (P = .049), after mean strength values used as cut off being customized by sex. CONCLUSIONS: Polymorphisms in ACTN3 are associated with weak lips and larger SNA and ANB angles.

Genetic polymorphisms influence shear bond resistance of orthodontic brackets.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to determine if shear bond resistance of orthodontic brackets bonded to enamel is associated with genes implicated in the enamel mineralization process. METHODS: Ninety-two permanent, caries-free premolars extracted for orthodontic purposes and their associated saliva samples were obtained. Eighteen single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were studied for association with shear bond resistance. The genes of interest in this study were those previously associated with dental caries by our group. All tooth samples were bonded on the buccal surface with metallic lower lateral brackets, and then subjected to physical debonding. The force required to debond the bracket was recorded in Newtons (N) and converted to a shear bond resistance value in Megapascals (N/mm2). The data were analyzed for statistical significance as compared with the mean shear bond resistance value via PLINK whole genome analysis software. RESULTS: Associations were found between the SNPs for tuftelin (rs7526319, P = 0.004) and amelogenin (rs17878486, P = 0.04) and a higher shear bond resistance. CONCLUSION: The collected data support the proposed hypothesis that genes involved in the mineralization process affect the bonding of orthodontic brackets, and such an association is of value for the field of orthodontics, particularly in evaluating the efficacy of enamel-resin bond strength for patients receiving treatment.