Long-term periodontal status after orthodontic treatment.

This study evaluated the clinical periodontal status of persons who had completed orthodontic therapy at least 10 years previously (study) and compared the findings to those of adults with untreated malocclusions (control). Subjects in the study (n = 112; 63 female subjects, 49 male subjects; mean age 29.3 +/- 4.

Bitewing radiographs and dentists' treatment decisions.

A study involving twenty-one general dentists in private practice in Rochester, New York, was performed to assess the relationship between radiographic evidence of caries and restorative intervention in permanent teeth. Seven thousand three hundred thirty-eight bitewing radiographs taken of 387 patients over the most recent 10-year period were obtained and independently examined by six Eastman Dental Center faculty members as to presence of restorations and caries status of nonrestored proximal surfaces. Patients 20 years of age and younger had significantly lower mean maximum caries penetration scores before restorative treatment when compared to older patients.

Use and quality of bitewing films in private dental offices.

Patient records (387) were obtained from twenty-five dentists in private practice in Rochester, New York. The number and types of radiographs taken at each recall examination in the most recent 10-year period were recorded. Bitewing radiographs were taken at 50.

Genetic counseling of asymptomatic carriers in a primary care setting. The effectiveness of screening and counseling for beta-thalassemia trait.

In a prospective, controlled, stratified, experimental effectiveness study of screening and counseling, 25 000 consecutive adults were screened for thalassemia trait. Eight hundred forty-three adults had a mean corpuscular volume less than 77 fL; 192 (22% of those with microcytosis) had hemoglobin A2 greater than 3.5%, proving beta-thalassemia trait.

Adolescent coitus and infant birthweight.

Seventy-nine percent of a group of adolescent mothers reported coitus during pregnancy. There was a significant difference between the mean birthweight and gestational age of infants born to mothers who reported coitus within 90 days of delivery compared to the mean birthweight and gestational age of infants of mothers who reported no gestational age of infants of mothers who reported no coitus within 90 days of delivery. Thirty-nine percent of the variance in birthweight was explained by maternal factors alone, but only 1.