Predictors of favorable soft tissue profile outcomes following Class II Twin-block treatment.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine cephalometric factors that help predict favorable soft-tissue profile outcomes following treatment with the Class II Twin-block appliance.

Methods: Pre- and post-treatment lateral cephalograms of 45 patients treated with the Class II Twin-block appliance were retrospectively analyzed. Profile silhouettes were drawn from the cephalograms and evaluated by three orthodontists in order to determine the extent of improvement.

Analysis of midpalatal miniscrew-assisted maxillary molar distalization patterns with simultaneous use of fixed appliances: A preliminary study.

Skeletal anchorage-assisted upper molar distalization has become one of the standard treatment modalities for the correction of Class II malocclusion. The purpose of this study was to analyze maxillary molar movement patterns according to appliance design, with the simultaneous use of buccal fixed orthodontic appliances. The authors devised two distinct types of midpalatal miniscrew-assisted maxillary molar distalizers, a lingual arch type and a pendulum type.

Uprighting mesially impacted mandibular molars with 2 miniscrews.

Mesially tilted or impacted mandibular molars cause occlusal disharmony and periodontal problems. For proper restoration of the occlusion and to prevent further periodontal damage, uprighting of tilted molars is the recommended treatment option. Although several orthodontic methods including miniscrews have been proposed, most of them have innate limitations and problems such as the possibility of unwanted tooth movement.

Induction of S100A4 in periodontal ligament cells enhances osteoclast formation.

Background: An increase in the expression of S100A4 has been reported in various inflammatory diseases. However, little is known about the association between periodontal inflammation and S100A4 expression. The aims of this study were to investigate changes in S100A4 expression in human periodontal ligament (hPDL) cells in response to inflammatory stimuli and to describe a possible mechanism underlying the change.

Effects of moderate intensity static magnetic fields on human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells.

This study aimed to explore effects of static magnetic fields (SMFs) of moderate intensity (3-50 mT) as biophysical stimulators of proliferation and osteoblastic differentiation of human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). MSCs were exposed to SMFs of three intensities: 3, 15, and 50 mT. Proliferation was assessed by cell counting and bromodeoxyuridine incorporation, and differentiation by measuring alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, calcium content, mineralized nodule formation, and transcripts of osteogenic markers.

Alveolar bone turnover and periodontal ligament width are controlled by Wnt.

Background: The molecular signals responsible for maintaining homeostatic control over the periodontal ligament (PDL) are unknown. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of Wnt signaling in this process using gain- and loss-of-function approaches.

Methods: The function of endogenous Wnt signal in the PDL was evaluated in Lrp5(ACT) mice in which a mutation in the low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 5 Wnt coreceptor causes constitutive activation of Wnt signaling, and in adenovirus Dkk1-treated mice in which overexpression of the Wnt inhibitor Dkk1 causes transient Wnt signal inhibition.

Downregulation of Wnt causes root resorption.

Introduction: There are multiple causes of external root resorption, but absent a disease state, it is most often observed when excessive physical force is used during orthodontic treatment. Even without mechanical stimulation, however, root resorption can still occur. The purpose of this study was to test whether Wnt signaling plays a role in pathologic root resorption, by conditionally deleting Wntless (Wls) from odontoblasts and osteoblasts and then evaluating the phenotypic effects on the maintenance of the root surface.

Asymmetric transverse control of maxillary dentition with two midpalatal orthodontic miniscrews.

There have been several orthodontic modalities for maxillary transverse control with most addressing symmetric control. The asymmetric transverse control of maxillary dentition is challenging to orthodontists due to the lack of certain modalities and possible dental side effects. Skeletal anchorages provide biomechanics without orthodontic side effects, but reports of their utilization for transverse control of maxillary dentition are scarce.

The molecular and cellular effects of ageing on the periodontal ligament.

Aim: Many in vitro studies have investigated age-related biological changes in cells comprising the periodontium but the basic question of whether the periodontium can maintain its integrity with age remains unanswered. Thus, the aim of this study was to understand how, in the absence of disease, advancing age impacts the structure of the periodontium.

Materials And Methods: Of 4, 10, 25, and 50-week-old mice were examined using histology and immunohistochemical analyses for cell proliferation, cell turnover, collagen quantity and quality, osteogenic markers, bone turnover, and cytokine expression.

The effects of TMJ symptoms on skeletal morphology in orthodontic patients with TMJ disc displacement.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) symptoms on skeletal morphologies of orthodontic patients with TMJ disc displacement (DD).

Materials And Methods: The sample consisted of 197 women seeking orthodontic treatment. The subjects were divided into two groups according to the presence of TMJ symptoms: the presence and absence of TMJ symptoms.

Wnt signaling regulates pulp volume and dentin thickness.

Odontoblasts, cementoblasts, ameloblasts, and osteoblasts all form mineralized tissues in the craniofacial complex, and all these cell types exhibit active Wnt signaling during postnatal life. We set out to understand the functions of this Wnt signaling, by evaluating the phenotypes of mice in which the essential Wnt chaperone protein, Wntless was eliminated. The deletion of Wls was restricted to cells expressing Osteocalcin (OCN), which in addition to osteoblasts includes odontoblasts, cementoblasts, and ameloblasts.