The Degree of Overjet and Anterior Traumatic Dental Injury in the Mixed Dentition: A Single-Center Experience.

. The objective of this retrospective chart review study was twofold. The first was to determine whether there is a correlation between the degree of overjet and the type of anterior traumatic dental injury (ATDI) in the mixed dentition.

Rapid Coating Process Generates Omniphobic Dentures in Minutes to Reduce Biofouling.

Localized infections caused by biofilm formation on dentures pose a serious health risk for patients, especially the elderly, as they can lead to complications such as pneumonia. Daily enzymatic denture cleaners do not fully prevent biofilm formation on dentures. Here we developed a rapid coating process to apply a liquid repellent surface to dentures in ∼5 min and demonstrated a significant 225-fold reduction of adhesion over 6 days, compared to uncoated dentures.

Longitudinal trends in discharge patterns of orthognathic surgeries: is there a regionalization of procedures in teaching hospitals?

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine if there is regionalization of orthognathic surgeries to teaching hospitals during the study period.

Study Design: The Nationwide Inpatient Sample for years 2000-2008 was used. Every hospitalization that had an orthognathic surgery was selected.

The human capital crisis in orthodontics.

The economics of dental practice are changing. The author reflects on the loss of a long-term, highly effective, and dedicated assistant in an orthodontic practice. Changes in technology, numbers of dentists, expected benefit levels, and a competitive workplace environment are combining to put pressures on the traditional model of oral health care.

Posttreatment compliance with removable maxillary retention in a teenage population: a short-term randomized clinical trial.

Removable retainer wear is most related to patient comfort and acceptance. Patient compliance is essential for retention and maintenance of the orthodontic treatment results. Even though patients are educated about the need for prolonged retention after active treatment and asked to sign informed consent regarding the risk of noncompliance (relapse) prior to treatment, most orthodontists would estimate that at least half of their teenage patients do not comply at optimal levels.

Selling orthodontic need: innocent business decision or guilty pleasure?

The principal objective for most patients seeking orthodontic services is a detectable improvement in their dentofacial appearance. Orthodontic treatment, in the mind of the patient, is something that makes you look better, feel better about yourself, and perhaps enhances your social possibilities, ie, to find a companion or make a positive impression during a job interview. Orthodontics, as a speciality, has collectively advanced the idea that enhanced occlusion (bite) improves the health and longevity of the dentition, and as a result many patients seeking orthodontic services affirm that their secondary goal of treatment is an oral health benefit.

Microsensor technology to help monitor removable appliance wear.

Retention is routinely prescribed after orthodontic treatment to prevent relapse. Orthodontists often notice a discrepancy between what a patient reports about retainer wear and what a clinical examination shows. In these cases, is the patient misreporting wear, or is the retainer at fault? Scientific Compliance (Atlanta, Ga) has invented, patented, and produced the Smart Retainer environmental microsensor that can be easily incorporated into many types of removable orthodontic appliances to monitor compliance.

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.

Hard- and soft-tissue contributions to the esthetics of the posed smile in growing patients seeking orthodontic treatment.

Introduction: The purpose of this investigation was to broaden the understanding of how various skeletal, dental, and soft-tissue relationships are related to the esthetics of the smile in patients with malocclusions before orthodontic treatment.

Methods: Images of the posed smile were captured from digital video clips of 60 growing patients (33 girls, 27 boys) seeking orthodontic treatment; they were judged by panels of laypersons and orthodontists. Discriminant analysis identified determinants of the "pleasing smile" from the results of a visual analog scale.

Pitch, roll, and yaw: describing the spatial orientation of dentofacial traits.

The value of systematically enhancing the Angle classification by including transverse and vertical characteristics in addition to anteroposterior relationships for the face and the dentition is universally accepted. Three aeronautical rotational descriptors (pitch, roll, and yaw) are used here to supplement the planar terms (anteroposterior, transverse, and vertical) in describing the orientation of the line of occlusion and the esthetic line of the dentition. Each of the latter traits affects the modern clinical practice of orthodontics because of its greater focus on dentofacial traits beyond the correction of malocclusion.