Facial morphology and obstructive sleep apnea.

Objective: This study aimed at assessing the relationship between facial morphological patterns (I, II, III, Long Face and Short Face) as well as facial types (brachyfacial, mesofacial and dolichofacial) and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in patients attending a center specialized in sleep disorders.

Methods: Frontal, lateral and smile photographs of 252 patients (157 men and 95 women), randomly selected from a polysomnography clinic, with mean age of 40.62 years, were evaluated.

From conventional to self-ligating bracket systems: is it possible to aggregate the experience with the former to the use of the latter?

Introduction: Orthodontics, just as any other science, has undergone advances in technology that aim at improving treatment efficacy with a view to reducing treatment time, providing patients with comfort, and achieving the expected, yet hardly attained long-term stability. The current advances in orthodontic technology seem to represent a period of transition between conventional brackets (with elastic modules) and self-ligating brackets systems. Scientific evidence does not always confirm the clear clinical advantages of the self-ligating system, particularly with regard to reduced time required for alignment and leveling (a relatively simple protocol), greater comfort for patients, and higher chances of performing treatment without extractions - even though the number of extractions is more closely related to patient's facial morphological pattern, regardless of the technique of choice.