Evaluation of Styloid Process Elongation in Madinah, Saudi Arabia: A Retrospective Radiographic Investigation.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to identify the prevalence of an elongated styloid process and analyze the presence of its calcification in the Saudi population using panoramic radiographs. METHODS: The Taibah Outpatient Dental Clinic's OPG radiographs for 962 patients who attended screening clinics between December 2022 and October 2023 were all included in the study. Patients' demographics, such as age, gender, and nationality, as well as radiological data, were included in the following study variables: the presence of an elongated styloid on both sides of a panoramic radiograph, right side styloid length, left side styloid length, right side distal end thickness, and left side distal end thickness. RESULTS: The study evaluated 438 (45.5%) processes found in individuals aged 16-80 years old. The elongated process length ranged from 30.0 to 40.1 mm, and the diameter ranged from 0.81 to 7.79 mm at the origin to 0.56-3.79 mm at the end. There was no statistically significant difference in process length across genders or age groups. The diameters of the styloid bones on the left side vary significantly across genders at the start and completion of the process. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of elongated styloids in the studied population was 4.26%. The radiological evaluation of the styloid process is a crucial stage in dental surgery planning.

Quantitative and qualitative 3D analysis of mandibular lingual concavities: Implications for dental implant planning in the posterior mandible.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to investigate the type of ridge (degree of angulation of the lingual concavity) and the buccolingual dimensions in the area of the first and second molars in both genders of different ages and how this will affect implant placement in the posterior mandible. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective cross-sectional study comprised cone beam computed tomography images of 150 dental patients (75 males and 71 aged ≥30). The following were measured/reported: type (morphology) of the ridge (convex [C], parallel [P], or undercut [U]), buccolingual width at the base and the crest of the ridge, and ridge height. The concavity angle, depth, and length of the U-shaped ridge were measured too. RESULTS: The prevalence of type U ridge ranged from 32.7% in the first molar region to 62.7% in the second molar region. Almost all measurements and ridge type distributions were comparable amongst the age groups (p > .05). Very few significant differences were found when comparing #36 versus #37 and #46 versus #47 teeth, with no differences in the distribution of the ridge types (p > .05). Quite the inverse, all measurements were statistically different when comparing #36 versus #37 and #46 versus #47 teeth, and type U ridge was more frequent in second molar compared to the first molar regions, respectively (p < .05). Many measurements were statistically higher in females; the inverse was true for a few measurements (p < .05). Type U ridge in #36 and #37 was found more frequently among males (p < .001). In contrast, the ridge types in #37 and #47 were not statistically different gender-wise. CONCLUSIONS: The U type of ridge was more prevalent in the investigated population, encountered more frequently in the second molars generally and in the first molars of males than females. Most posterior mandibular measurements are similar age- and side-wise but seem different gender- and tooth-wise.

Is Online Patient-Centered Information About Implant Bone Graft Valid?

Background A dental implant is one of the most commonly used treatments to replace missing teeth. A reasonable number of implant cases necessitate using a bone graft before or at the time of implant placement. This study aims to evaluate the quality and readability of online patient-centered information about implant bone grafts. Methodology This cross-sectional study used Google, Yahoo, and Bing search engines. The keywords were entered to screen 900 websites. The DISCERN, Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), and Health on the Net (HON) code tools evaluated the included websites for quality. The Flesch reading-ease score (FRES), Flesch-Kincaid grade level, and simple measure of gobbledygook tests measured readability. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 25 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). Results A total of 161 websites were included; 65 (40.4%) of the included websites belonged to a university or medical center. Only five (3.1%) websites were exclusively related to dental implant treatments. DISCERN showed moderate quality for 82 (50.9%) websites. There was a statistical difference between commercial and non-profit organization websites. In the JAMA evaluation, currency was the most commonly achieved in 67 (41.6%) websites. For the HON code, four (2.5%) websites were certified. Based on FRES, the most common readability category was "fair difficult," accounting for 64 (39.8%), followed by "standard" in 56 (34.8%) websites. Conclusions The study findings suggest that English-language patient-centered information about implant bone grafts is challenging to comprehend and of low quality. Hence, there is a need to establish websites that provide trustworthy, high-quality information on implant bone grafts.