Comparison of chairside rectangular chain retainers and multi-stranded conventional retainers: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: While retention appliances are widely used in orthodontics, there is still no evidence-based consensus regarding the optimal type of appliance or time of retention.

Objectives: To compare chairside rectangular chain retainers, which can be placed in one sitting, with conventional multi-stranded bonded retainers regarding their levels of stability, biological side effects, complications, and patient experiences.

Trial Design: A single-centre, two-arm, parallel-group randomized controlled trial.

Pre-fabricated chain retainers as an alternative to traditional retainers.

Background/purpose: Preserving the outcome of orthodontic treatment is both important and challenging. However, there is insufficient evidence regarding the best way to ensure long-term treatment outcome. The aim of this study was to evaluate a pre-fabricated chain retainer (PFCR) in terms of: ability to maintain satisfactory treatment outcomes; periodontal and dental health; complications; and patient satisfaction.

Effect of drops containing Lactobacillus reuteri (DSM 17938 and ATCC PTA 5289) on plaque acidogenicity and other caries-related variables in orthodontic patients.

Background: The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of probiotics on biofilm acidogenicity and on the number of salivary Streptococcus mutans and lactobacilli in orthodontic patients.

Methods: This RCT was conducted on 28 young adults who were undergoing orthodontic treatment. The short-term prospective clinical trial lasted for three weeks.

Oral Colonisation after the Administration of Drops Containing Lactobacillus reuteri.

Purpose: To investigate the oral colonisation potential after four weeks' administration of Lactobacillus reuteri and to examine the short-term effect of probiotics on salivary Streptococcus mutans and lactobacilli.

Materials And Methods: The study group comprised 13 young adults who volunteered after receiving verbal and written information. The short-term prospective clinical trial lasted 9 weeks, consisting of a 4-week intervention period with administration twice daily and a 5-week post-administration follow-up period with no probiotic consumption.

The effect of retraining hypofunctional jaw muscles on the transverse skull dimensions of adult rats.

Objective: To experimentally investigate the effects of increased masticatory muscle function on the transverse cranial dimensions on adult rats with an earlier reduced masticatory muscle function.

Material And Method: Sixty young male rats were used. The experimental group received soft diet for a prolonged period, so that the animals developed weak masticatory muscles.

Effect of different masticatory functional demands on the 3D mandibular condyle morphology of growing rats using posterior bite-blocks.

Background And Objectives: Apart from the primary effect of bite-blocks on tooth position, they may also influence the mandibular condylar growth. Our aim was to investigate their influence on the condylar morphology, with variable masticatory forces.

Material And Methods: Fifty-two 4-week old male rats were divided into hard and soft diet groups in order to create individuals with different masticatory muscle capacity.

Cone-beam computed tomographic evaluation of the long-term effects of orthodontic retainers on marginal bone levels.

Introduction: Fixed retainers are widely used after orthodontic treatment, sometimes for extended periods, despite insufficient knowledge of their possible long-term adverse effects on the periodontium. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether bonded orthodontic retainers have an adverse long-term effect on the marginal bone levels of the mandibular front teeth.

Methods: The study included 62 consecutive patients in 3 groups: (1) patients who underwent orthodontic treatment and wore a fixed retainer for 10 years, (2) patients who underwent orthodontic treatment but did not have a fixed retainer, and (3) untreated controls.

The influence of altered functional loading and posterior bite-blocks on the periodontal ligament space and alveolar bone thickness in rats.

Objectives: Posterior bite-blocks are resin-based structures elevating the occlusion and creating intrusive force on the posterior teeth. Bite-blocks were applied to the molars of growing rats and a hard and soft diet was used to create altered functional masticatory forces. The aim of the present investigation was to study the effect of this appliance on the periodontal ligament space and alveolar bone thickness when combined with altered masticatory forces.

Digital casts in orthodontics: a comparison of 4 software systems.

Introduction: The introduction of digital cast models is inevitable in the otherwise digitized everyday life of orthodontics. The introduction of this new technology, however, is not straightforward, and selecting an appropriate system can be difficult. The aim of the study was to compare 4 orthodontic digital software systems regarding service, features, and usability.

Diagnosing the severity of buccal caries lesions in orthodontic patients at de-bonding using digital photographs.

Objective: The aims of this study were (1) to evaluate the severity of buccal caries lesions according to the International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS) criteria via scoring buccal caries lesions on digital photographs at the time of de-bonding and (2) to compare this method with clinical examination.

Materials And Methods: In total, 89 patients treated with upper and lower fixed appliances were clinically examined immediately after de-bonding by the first author and buccal caries were scored according to the ICDAS-II. Close-up digital photographs were taken of 245 teeth with different buccal caries lesion scores according to the ICDAS-II.

Influence of masticatory hypofunction on the alveolar bone and the molar periodontal ligament space in the rat maxilla.

Previous studies have established that complete absence of masticatory function results in a narrower alveolar process and periodontal ligament (PDL). The aim of our study was to investigate, for the first time, both the alveolar process and the PDL in masticatory hypofunction. Twenty-six rats, 3 wk of age, were randomly assigned to either a hard- or a soft-diet group (n = 13 each group).

Functional influence on sutural bone apposition in the growing rat.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to quantify the influence of reduced masticatory muscle function on sutural bone apposition in the growing rat.

Methods: Twenty-six growing male albino rats were randomly divided into 2 equal groups; 1 (hard-diet group) received the ordinary diet of hard pellets, and the other (soft-diet group) received the powdered form of the ordinary diet mixed with water. The experimental period started when the rats were 4 weeks old and lasted 42 days.

Masticatory demands induce region-specific changes in mandibular bone density in growing rats.

This study investigates the structural adaptation of the mandibular bone when subjected to different masticatory functional and mechanical demands during growth. The effect of two experimental factors, the insertion of a bite block and the alteration of food consistency, on the bone mineral density (BMD) of the mandible was investigated in growing rats. Fifty-two male albino rats were divided into two equal groups, fed with either the standard hard diet or soft diet, at the age of four weeks.

Morphometric analysis of the mandible in growing rats with different masticatory functional demands: adaptation to an upper posterior bite block.

Functional appliances displace the mandible forward and/or downward, causing a stretching of the orofacial soft tissues, muscles included. The resulting forces are directly or indirectly transmitted to the underlying dento-skeletal tissues. The hypothesis underlying the present investigation was that the insertion of a bite-opening appliance influences the lateral morphology of the rat mandible during growth, and that, moreover, this influence depends on the masticatory functional demands.

Dento-skeletal adaptation after bite-raising in growing rats with different masticatory muscle capacities.

The aim of this study was to analyse the effects of normal and hypofunctional masticatory muscles on dento-skeletal adaptation to posterior bite blocks in growing rats. Fifty-two young male rats were divided into two groups, fed a hard and soft diet, respectively, to develop different functional capacities in the masticatory muscles. Bone markers were inserted in the mandible on day 0.