Assessment of Skeletal Age Using Hand-Wrist Radiographs following Bjork System.

The knowledge of the skeletal maturation and the stage of the growth of the patients seeking orthodontic treatment are of great value in planning efficient orthodontic therapy. However, different craniofacial structures of patient show variation in growth potential. The routine use of hand-wrist radiograph for growth prediction exposes the patient to extra radiation. Cervical vertebrae in the lateral cephalograph have been recommended as an alternative method. The pubertal growth spurt is a vital period in the orthodontic treatment and should be kept in mind when planning orthodontic treatment in growing children. One of the main objectives of taking hand and wrist radiograph is to determine the amount of growth and get used of it in patients with skeletal discrepancy during adolescence. Further, this will help in the selection of the appliances required, the course of the treatment and the retention after active orthodontic therapy.

Bolton tooth size ratio among qatari population sample: An odontometric study.

OBJECTIVES: To establish the overall and anterior Bolton ratio among a sample of Qatari population and to investigate whether there is a difference between males and females, as well as to compare the result obtained by Bolton. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The current study consisted of 100 orthodontic study participants (50 males and 50 females) with different malocclusions and age ranging between 15 and 20 years. An electronic digital caliper was used to measure the mesiodistal tooth width of all maxillary and mandibular permanent teeth except second and third molars. The Student's t-test was used to compare tooth-size ratios between males and females and between the results of the present study and Bolton's result. RESULTS: The anterior and overall ratio in Qatari individuals were 78.6 ± 3.4 and 91.8 ± 3.1, respectively. The tooth size ratios were slightly greater in males than that in females, however, the differences were not statistically significant (P > 0.05). There were no significant differences in the overall ratio between Qatari individuals and Bolton's results (P > 0.05), whereas statistical significant differences were observed in anterior ratio (P = 0.007). CONCLUSIONS: Within the limitation of the limitations of the present study, definite conclusion was difficult to establish. Thus, a further study with a large sample in each malocclusion group is required.

Prevalence of hypodontia in a sample of Sudanese orthodontic patients.

OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of hypodontia in the permanent dentition in a sample of Sudanese patients who sought orthodontic treatment and to compare the results with the reported findings of other populations. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Orthodontic files including orthopantomographs of 1069 patients (760 females and 309 males - more than 8 years old) were examined and inspected for evidence of hypodontia. RESULTS: The prevalence of hypodontia of the present sample was 5.1%. Hypodontia was found considerably more frequently in the mandible than in the maxilla. The distribution of missing teeth was noticed in the left side more than in the right side. The most frequently missing teeth were the maxillary lateral incisors, followed by the mandibular second premolars, maxillary second premolars and mandibular left lateral incisor. The majority of patients had two or three teeth missing, but rarely more than 5 teeth missing. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of hypodontia of this study was within the range of that reported in the literature. The incidence of hypodontia in the anterior segment requires great need for orthodontic and prosthodontic treatment. With early detection of hypodontia, alternative treatment modalities can be planned and performed with a multidisciplinary team approach restoring the esthetic and function.

Management of complete impacted maxillary second deciduous molar with the aid of cone-beam computed tomography: Case report and a review of the literature.

Complete impaction of primary teeth is a very rare condition and less seen at the dental office compared with permanent dentition. To report the use of cone-beam computed tomography in the management of a 7-year-old boy with completely impacted maxillary second deciduous molar due to the presence of odontoma and a cystic lesion.

Management of crowded class 1 malocclusion with serial extractions: report of a case.

AIM: The purpose of this article is to show the value of serial extractions in a young patient with severe crowding. BACKGROUND: Serial extraction is a technique advocated for use by Kjellgren in 1948 due to a shortage of orthodontists at the time. This form of treatment was intended to facilitate the treatment of orthodontic cases by general dentists to minimize the demand upon the orthodontist. CASE DESCRIPTION: An eight-year-old Sudanese female did not like the appearance of her anterior teeth. Clinical examination revealed a Class I molar relationship, severe crowding of the maxillary and mandibular arches, minimum overjet, and minimum overbite. RESULTS: The patient's treatment included serial extractions. The treatment resulted in improved esthetics, good arch alignment, and occlusion while maintaining her Class I molar relationship, overjet, and overbite. SUMMARY: This case demonstrated that despite the criticism some may direct toward this interceptive technique, good clinical results can be achieved in carefully selected cases. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: There are certain clinical situations when treatment planning the use of serial extractions can prove beneficial to young patients.

Bolton tooth-size ratio revisited.

AIMS: To (1) establish tooth-size ratios in a Saudi sample with Class I normal occlusion; (2) compare tooth-size ratios between the present study and Bolton's study and between genders; and (3) investigate whether there was a correlation between the interincisal angle and the anterior ratio. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Dental casts and cephalometric radiographs of 65 subjects (37 males and 28 females) were used in this study. The age range was 18 to 25 years. All subjects had normal Class I occlusion, with no history of orthodontic treatment. RESULTS: Student's t test was used to compare tooth-size ratios between the present study and the Bolton study, and between genders. Pearson's correlation coefficient was computed between the anterior ratio and interincisal angle. Results indicate that there were no statistically significant differences between the mean values of the anterior ratio and the overall ratio of the present study and the mean values reported by Bolton and also between genders. Further, the results revealed a low correlation between the anterior ratio and the interincisal angle. CONCLUSION: It is suggested that Bolton's prediction tables can be used for Saudis until a large enough representative sample is studied to allow the drawing of prediction tables.

Orthodontic treatment of fused and geminated central incisors: a case report.

A 10-year old Egyptian male presented with a geminated upper right central incisor along with a fused and rotated upper left central incisor in cross bite. He also had severe crowding in the maxillary arch and a congenitally missing lower right first permanent premolar. Orthodontic treatment was carried out to align upper right and left central incisors, lateral incisors, and canines. Treatment options were discussed.

Prediction of the size of un-erupted permanent cuspids and bicuspids in a Saudi sample: a pilot study.

The purpose of this study was to produce an estimated equation for the prediction of unerupted cuspids and bicuspids for the Saudi population. In this study, dental casts of 65 Saudi subjects (37 males and 28 females) were used. The subjects' age ranged from 18 to 25 years. The mesiodistal width of all permanent teeth was measured. The data was subjected to regression analysis. Results showed the Tanaka and Johnston equations overestimate the predicted tooth width of the un-erupted cuspids and bicuspids in Saudis. Results showed the predicted tooth width of Saudis (males and females) is closer to the 50% level of confidence in Moyer's chart. Multiple regression equations were estimated including the sex factor. Accordingly, two equations were estimated for the prediction of the tooth width of the un-erupted cuspids and bicuspids for the Saudi males and females. Based on the results, it can be concluded the 50% data is more accurate than the commonly used percentage Moyer's table (75%) when both sexes are combined. Further studies are needed to confirm the findings of this study.