Psychosocial reward of orthodontic treatment in adult patients.

The purpose of this study was to assess the short-term psychosocial impact of dental aesthetic improvement in adult subjects. Sixty-nine adult patients (61 females and 8 males, aged 21-59 years) requesting aesthetic dental improvement were prospectively and randomly recruited for the study in a private orthodontic office. A general interview included patient motivation and expectations from treatment.

Quantitative evaluation of lip symmetry in skeletal asymmetry.

The objective of this study was to investigate whether skeletal mandibular asymmetry associated with unilateral and anterior crossbite will lead to lip asymmetry. The subjects were 26 females, 13 controls and 13 true skeletal asymmetric age-matched patients (24-50 years). The study group was diagnosed as asymmetric according to visual and panoramic radiographic examination and exhibited a unilateral anterior crossbite, an asymmetric mandible, and a deviation of the chin.

Centric slide, bite force and muscle tenderness changes over 6 months following fixed orthodontic treatment.

Objective: The postorthodontic change of the masticatory muscles was evaluated using three parameters: maximal voluntary bite force (MVBF), slide in centric (difference between maximal intercuspation and retruded contact position), and muscle sensitivity to palpation.

Materials And Methods: MVBF was measured with a custom-made rubber tube bite force device, centric slide with a digital caliper, and sensitivity to palpation of the masseter and temporalis muscles (scale 0-3) during application of standardized digital force (10 N). Data were collected at four time points: T0, before bracket removal; T1, immediately after bracket removal; T2, after 3 months of retention; and T3, after 6 months of retention.

Effect of controlled masticatory exercise on pain and muscle performance in myofascial pain patients: A pilot study.

The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that strengthening masticatory muscles using a controlled chewing exercise protocol improves muscle function, as evaluated quantitatively by electromyogram, and reduces pain at rest and during function. The study included 20 patients diagnosed with myofascial pain according to the Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders with low masseter volume increase during maximal clench. The exercise group (ten patients) was subjected to a controlled gum chewing exercise protocol for eight weeks: the control group (ten patients) received only support and encouragement.

Quantitative evaluation of lip symmetry in functional asymmetry.

The objectives of this study were to quantitate lip symmetry/asymmetry from clinical photographs; to demonstrate that asymmetry due to functional side shifts (functional asymmetry) leading to unilateral crossbites including the canines, results from measurable thinning of the upper lip and thickening of the lower lip on the side of the crossbite when viewed in the intercuspal contact position; and to show that orthodontic treatment aimed at eliminating the functional shift and crossbite would achieve lip symmetry, both visually and quantitatively. The study consisted of 26 patients, who were divided into two groups: a study group of 13 patients (eight females, five males, aged 8-17 years) with a functional asymmetry, and a control group of 13 age- and gender-matched subjects with other forms of malocclusion without functional asymmetry. All patients in the study group exhibited unilateral crossbites including the canines in intercuspal contact position.

An innovative orthodontic-prosthetic approach for a patient with dental and skeletal asymmetry.

A 26-year-old woman with dentofacial asymmetry shown by hemimandibular elongation and dental asymmetry was treated with a conservative orthodontic-prosthetic approach. The mechanics and sequence of treatment are described.

Experimental chewing in myofascial pain patients.

Aims: To evaluate the potential capacity of a chewing exercise to differentiate chronic myofascial pain (MFP) patients from healthy controls and to test whether there are distinct pain response differences among MFP patients.

Methods: Eighty-nine subjects participated in the study; 49 were diagnosed as belonging to the MFP subgroup of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) and had suffered from MFP for at least 6 months, and 40 healthy age- and gender-matched subjects comprised the control group. After completion of a clinical examination, all subjects performed a chewing exercise.