Scoping review of systematic review abstracts about temporomandibular disorders: Comparison of search years 2004 and 2017.

Introduction: The purposes of this study were to determine how many systematic reviews and meta-analyses relating to temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) had been published as of 2017 compared with those published as of 2004 and then to summarize the findings, based on an analysis of the abstracts from those studies.

Methods: A PubMed search was initiated on May 1, 2017. There were 2 separate searches.

Orthodontics and temporomandibular disorders: a curriculum proposal for postgraduate programs.

In a previous article, we reported the results of a survey of American and Canadian orthodontic postgraduate programs to determine how the topics of occlusion, temporomandibular joint, and temporomandibular disorders were currently being taught. Based on the finding of considerable diversity among those programs, we decided to write a curriculum proposal for temporomandibular disorders that would be compatible with and satisfy the current curriculum guidelines for postgraduate orthodontic programs. These guidelines arose from a combination of the requirements published by the American Dental Association's Commission on Dental Accreditation and the written guide (July 2010) of the American Board of Orthodontics for the its clinical examination.

Modification of the bidimensional system.

In the mid 1970s, Schudy and Schudy developed and described an edgewise bimetric system in which there were brackets with 0.016-inch slots on the incisors and canines and brackets with 0.022-inch slots on the premolars and molars.

Survey of orthodontic residency programs: teaching about occlusion, temporomandibular joints, and temporomandibular disorders in postgraduate curricula.

Introduction: Teaching orthodontic postgraduate students about occlusion and the temporomandibular joint is a fundamental component of their education, but faculty members are confronted with disputes and controversies about these topics. The purpose of this study was to ascertain where the orthodontic teaching community currently stands on the topics of occlusion, temporomandibular joint, and temporomandibular disorder.

Methods: A 46-question survey was sent to every orthodontic program director in the United States and Canada (n = 69).

Evidence-based orthodontics. Current statistical trends in published articles in one journal.

Objective: To ascertain the number, type, and overall usage of statistics in American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial (AJODO) articles for 2008. These data were then compared to data from three previous years: 1975, 1985, and 2003.

Materials And Methods: The frequency and distribution of statistics used in the AJODO original articles for 2008 were dichotomized into those using statistics and those not using statistics.

A clinical trial to evaluate the effects of prophylactic fluoride agents on the superelastic properties of nickel-titanium wires.

Aim: To study the effects of a prophylactic fluoride regimen on the mechanical properties of nickel-titanium (Ni-Ti) archwires under clinical conditions.

Method: The unloading properties of 100 Ni-Ti wires were tested using a three-point bending test at five deflections (0.5 mm, 1.

Implications of the inclination of the mandibular first molars in the extractionist versus expansionist debate.

Some orthodontic expansionists (versus extractionists) hold a notion that in the decision to treat nonextraction, expansion treatment can be predicated and dictated based on the degree of facial-lingual inclination of the mandibular molars (particularly the mandibular first molars). For instance, some modern-day expansionists argue that mandibular first molars with a facial crown lingual inclination of approximately -30 degrees (based on Andrews' measurement) indicate that the mandibular arch, and subsequently the maxillary arch, needs to be developed or expanded to allow for more arch and tongue space. However, this thinking is based on a false premise; the mandibular first molars are normally lingually inclined approximately -30 degrees and not naturally found in an upright facial-lingual position of approximately -12 degrees.

Deconstructing evidence in orthodontics: making sense of systematic reviews, randomized clinical trials, and meta-analyses.

Much has been written in support of systematic reviews and the randomized clinical trials and meta-analyses upon which they are based. Clearly, the medical profession (as opposed to the dental profession) has been the leader in publishing the benefits of systematic reviews over the traditional, qualitative narrative reviews. At the same time, the medical profession also appears to be ahead of the dental profession in recognizing the limitations of such reviews.

Orthodontic informed consent for impacted teeth.

Orthodontists routinely refer patients to oral surgeons or periodontists for exposure of impacted or ectopic teeth. Although other specialists perform these procedures, the orthodontist could have a legal responsibility to obtain informed consent, depending on how the referral orders are written. The purpose of this article is to discuss some considerations of the informed consent process for surgical exposure and alignment of impacted or ectopic teeth, and to suggest a template for an informed consent form for this use.

Orthodontic treatment of patients using bisphosphonates: a report of 2 cases.

The pharmacologic agent bisphosphonate has recently received much attention in the dental literature. Bisphosphonates in oral or intravenous forms are used to treat various diseases such as certain cancers, bone- and calcium-related disorders, osteoporosis, and osteopenia. Bisphosphonates inhibit bone turnover and result in increased bone-mineral density.