Comparison between Two Methods of Skeletal Growth Evaluation: Cervical Vertebrae Maturations and Middle Phalanx Maturation.

Aim: Growth measurement has always been essential to identify the best time to employ orthopedic or orthodontic appliances. Optimal timing for orthodontic treatment is strictly linked to the identification of periods of craniofacial growth when treatment is more effective.The aim of this study was to compare two different methods, middle phalanx maturation (MPM) and cervical vertebrae maturation (CVM), used to evaluate the stage of facial growth.

Correlation between a Force-Sensing Oral Appliance and Electromyography in the Detection of Tooth Contact Bruxism Events.

Background: Oral appliances embedding sensors can be interesting tools for monitoring tooth contact bruxism in a home environment, as they address some of the usability limitations of portable electromyography (EMG) systems. In this study, an oral appliance for sleep bruxism monitoring was compared to an electromyograph.

Methods: Simulated bruxism events with tooth contact, specifically clenching and grinding, and other occlusal activities unrelated to bruxism, were measured in 23 subjects with the two instruments simultaneously.

Immediate Autotransplantation of Molars with Closed Apex.

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate clinical features that might be related to success rates of autotransplantation of molars with complete root formation.

Materials And Methods: A group of 60 patients with completely formed third molars autotransplanted to a different molar socket was followed for a medium period of 5 years and 5 months. Extreme care was used in order to preserve the vitality of the periodontal ligament cells.

Assessment of Electromyographic Changes in a Patient with Masseter Hypertrophy and Muscle Pain after Botulinum Injections: A Case Report and 5 Months Follow-up.

Aim: To determine if botulinum injections in masseters could be an option to avoid surgery and prolonged treatment with occlusal splints and/or drugs to care for both painful bruxism and cosmetic improvement in a patient with a square jaw, bruxism, and orofacial pain.

Background: Masseter muscle hypertrophy (MMH) is a benign, unilateral, or bilateral, painless enlargement in the lower face. It presents as a symmetrical or asymmetrical increase in the masseter muscle.

Vertical Bone Augmentation with GBR Pocket Technique: Surgical Procedure and Preliminary Results.

Aim: Nowadays, guided bone regeneration (GBR) is a predictable technique in both vertical and horizontal bone defects treatment. GBR Pocket Technique is an original surgical approach adopted in order to reduce the invasiveness of traditional procedures. The aim of this work is to describe the surgical procedure of GBR Pocket Technique in vertical bone augmentation and to compare the clinical outcomes of this technique with the results reported in literature of vertical bone augmentation and crestal bone remodeling achieved after 1 year after implants insertion.

sCD14 Level in Saliva of Children and Adolescents with and without Dental Caries, a Hurdle Model.

Objective: Soluble CD14 (sCD14) plays an important role in the innate immune response of the oral cavity. The investigation of this biomarker for detection of carious lesions is an even more actual procedure due to its non-invasiveness and the ease of withdrawal. The purpose of the present observational case-control study was to evaluate whether the quantification of sCD14 in children and adolescent's saliva can discriminate healthy subjects from those suffering from tooth decay.

Electromyographic Evaluation of Masticatory Muscles in a Young Patient with Crossbite Treated with Rapid Palatal Expander: A Case Report.

Aim And Objective: The purpose of this work is to investigate by electromyographic (EMG) surface analysis whether and how the variations in the occlusion due to the correction of the posterior crossbite using a rapid palatal expander (RPE) is accompanied by changes in the activity of the elevator muscles in the pediatric patients.

Background: Posterior crossbite is a disgnathic jaw relationship common in patients undergoing growth. In the last 10 years, several studies demonstrated the effectiveness and reproducibility of surface EMG in the objective evaluation of temporal muscle and masseter activity and how this evidence can be an interesting aid in dental clinical practice.

Evaluation of the Oropharyngeal Airway Space in Class II Malocclusion Treated with Mandibular Activator: A Retrospective Study.

Aim: The development of a class II malocclusion is usually related to a reduced oropharyngeal airway space. In order to prevent airway obstruction, functional appliances are commonly used for orthodontic therapy. The aim of the article is to verify if these appliances could positively influence oropharyngeal diameters preventing the onset of future respiratory disorders.

Second Class Functional Treatment: Andreasen Activator vs Twin Block.

Aim: The purpose of this research is to analyze and compare the dental and skeletal changes induced by two functional devices, Andreasen Activator and Clark's twin block, on the sagittal and vertical plane, by means of cephalometric analysis, of the lateral cephalograms prescribed at the beginning and at the end of the treatment for a second skeletal class, first division with normal or deep bite.

Materials And Methods: Twenty patients, 8 females and 12 males, fulfilling criteria for inclusion, were divided randomly into two groups: group I was treated with Andreasen activator, the second group with Clark's twin block. The duration of the therapy was about 18 months plus less 2 months.

Radiographic Evaluation of the Bone Remodeling on Tilted Osseointegrated Implants: Follow-up at 1 Year.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the degree of vertical peri-implant resorption around implants inserted with an inclination increased more than 10° at a distance of at least 1 year from insertion.

Materials And Methods: For the realization of the study, a sample consisting of 47 patients for a total of 115 implants was selected. We excluded all those subjects whose conditions could have compromised the outcome of the treatment.

Evaluation with Micro-CT of the Canal Seal Made with Two Different Bioceramic Cements: GuttaFlow Bioseal and BioRoot RCS.

Aim: The aim of this work is to investigate the quality of root canal seals obtained by comparing two bioceramic cements, GuttaFlow bioseal and BioRoot RCS, focusing on the presence of voids created during the canal obturation procedure.

Materials And Methods: The voids are analyzed using a micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) device. The study will be performed using images of the endodontic space before and after filling of a selected group of elements.

Relationship between the Position of the Incisors and the Thickness of the Soft Tissues in the Upper Jaw: Cephalometric Evaluation.

Aim: The aim of this study is to verify if the thickness of soft tissues and inclination of the incisors have some relation with profile, to analyze its relevance considering these two parameters separately and to screen how the combination of different inclinations and different thickness can generate different facial patterns.

Materials And Methods: The study was performed on 47 Caucasian patients aged between 6 years and 16 years of divided into 24 males and 23 females. None of the patients presented craniofacial changes of syndromic nature.

Treatment of Temporomandibular Disorders of Muscular Origin with a Silicon Oral Device (Alifix®): Electromyographic Analysis.

Aim: The aim of this work was to evaluate if the use of a silicone device for muscular rebalancing (Alifix®) can be useful in treating of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) of muscular origin and improving the electromyographic indexes of the chewing muscles.

Materials And Methods: Thirteen patients (11 F and 2 M aged between 24 years and 65 years) with TMD of muscular origin according to diagnostic criteria (DC)/TMD were involved. At the first visit (T0), each patient reported the pain intensity of masseters and temporal muscles.

Minimal Invasive Flapless Piezotome Alveolar Crest Horizontal Split Technique: Preliminary Results.

Introduction: Alveolar split crest is an established surgical technique to enable implant insertion into narrow and atrophic alveolar crest. This surgical technique is adopted to position standard or large implants so that postextractive anatomy compromises with this attempt. The aim of this study was to evaluate the horizontal alveolar bone augmentation and its stability along time with a minimally invasive flapless technique.

Dentofacial Effects of Modified Alt-RAMEC Protocol Combined with the Facial Mask for Treatment of Preadolescent Caucasian Class III Patients.

Introduction: In this study we analyzed dentoskeletal effects of orthopedic therapy with rapid palatal expander (RME), used according to modified Alt-RAMEC protocol, followed by facial mask in preadolescent patients with class III malocclusion.

Materials And Methods: The sample consisted of 10 patients treated consecutively with the alternate rapid maxillary expansions and constrictions (Alt-RAMEC) protocol and facial mask before the pubertal growth spur the patients were re-evaluated after about one year of treatment. We compared the cephalometric analyses at T0 (before the treatment) and T1 (just after the end of the treatment-about 1 year), evaluating 18 parameters.

Cone-beam computed tomography accuracy in pulp chamber size evaluation: An ex vivo study.

This study aimed to assess ex vivo the accuracy of cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT), as compared to operative microscope, for evaluating pulp chamber size. A total of forty teeth were extracted for periodontal reasons and a horizontal section was done at the most apical level of the cement-enamel junction. The pulp chamber was photographed using a digital camera connected to an optical microscope.

Digital Orthopantomography vs Cone Beam Computed Tomography-Part 2: A CBCT Analysis of Factors Influencing the Prevalence of Periapical Lesions.

Aim: Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) is the most refined and affordable method available today for the examination of an incoming patient for different dental pathologies. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the significance of some factors influencing the prevalence of apical periodontitis.

Materials And Methods: An ortopantomography (OPT) and CBCT scan of the dental arches were examined for each of the selected 45 patients.

Digital Orthopantomography vs Cone Beam Computed Tomography-Part 1: Detection of Periapical Lesions.

Aim: Digital orthopantomography (OPT) is usually the first examination step in supervising an incoming patient. Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) is the most refined and affordable method to search for different dental lesions. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of OPT and CBCT in detecting periapical lesions in different dental groups.

Do the intracanal medicaments affect the marginal adaptation of calcium silicate-based materials to dentin?

Background/purpose: In order to prevent reinfection of the pulp canal space and dressing for regenerative purpose, the coronal seal should have a perfect marginal adaptation. Mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) and Biodentine are among the most popular sealing materials. These are commonly used in combination with antibiotic medicaments, to ensure disinfection.

Treatment of Osteoradionecrosis of the Jaw with Ozone in the Form of Oil-based Gel: 1-year follow-up.

Aim: Osteoradionecrosis of the jaws (ORNJs) is aseptic bone necrosis that develops in post-irradiated bone tissue of patients who underwent radiotherapy for head-neck tumors. The present study aims to clinically assess the regenerative ability of the ozone in the form of oil-based gel applied to the exposed bone area in the treatment of ORNJ.

Materials And Methods: Eight patients who underwent radio- therapy for the treatment of cervical or neck cancer were diagnosed with ORN of the jaws at our Department, for a total of 11 sites of necrotic bone exposure (3 patients were diagnosed with more than one site of osteoradionecrosis).

Evaluation of Surgical Options for Supernumerary Teeth in the Anterior Maxilla.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the surgical options for supernumerary teeth (SNT) in the premaxillary region of children.

Materials And Methods: A total of 69 patients with 82 partially or completely formed SNT in the anterior maxillary region were identified over a 3-year period. All selected patients were assessed for the number, location, and family history of SNT, damage to adjacent roots, and associated symptoms.

Long-term stability of autologous bone graft of intraoral origin after lateral sinus floor elevation with simultaneous implant placement.

Background: Lateral approach to maxillary sinus floor elevation (LSFE) with autologous bone grafts and simultaneous implant insertion is a widespread technique for prosthetic rehabilitation of the atrophic maxilla.

Purpose: To analyze implant survival and autologous bone graft resorption after LSFE, in patients with at least 5 years follow-up.

Materials And Methods: Thirty-three patients (mean age 56 years, range 46-68 years) who had undergone LSFE with intraoral autologous bone graft from mandibular ramus and simultaneous implant insertion were included.

Persistent hiccup reflex activation as a complication of dental implant surgery: a case report.

Persistent hiccup can conceal life-threatening clinical conditions of highly heterogeneous nature. Here, we report a case of a persistent hiccup that has been temporally associated with dental implant insertion in a patient with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. This 67-year-old patient underwent dental implant in area 36 and the procedure was performed without acute complications.

Recurrences of surgery for antrochoanal polyps in children: A systematic review.

Objectives: The main purpose was to evaluate the recurrence rate after surgery for antrochoanal polyps (ACPs) in children; secondly, we have analyzed the rate of recurrence for different types of surgery and the risk factors involved.

Methods: We performed a systematic review searching PubMed and MEDLINE databases including English-language published studies from June 1989 to October 2017 regarding surgical treatment of ACPs in children.

Results: We included thirteen studies, eight were retrospective and five prospective, with 285 participants, the mean rate of recurrence after ACPs surgery was 15.

Clinical Evaluation of Bond Failures and Survival of Mandibular Canine-to-canine Bonded Retainers during a 12-year Time Span.

Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the 3-3 mandibular lingual stainless steel retainer to prevent a relapse of orthodontic treatment during the 12-year time span of the survey.

Materials And Methods: Fifty patients with canine-to-canine bonded retainers (placed at least 10 years earlier) were recalled. All patients had been followed up annually during this period.