Age-related changes in the midpalatal suture: Comparison between CBCT staging and bone micromorphology.

The age-related maturation of the human midpalatal suture is challenging to predict, but critical for successful non-surgical rapid maxillary expansion (RME). While cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) can be used to categorize the suture into stages, it remains unclear how well the stages predict the actual micromorphology of the palate. To address this clinically relevant question, we used CBCT together with three-dimensional micro-computed tomography (μCT) analysis on 24 human palate specimens from individuals aged 14-34 years.

Perception of facial and dental asymmetries and their impact on oral health-related quality of life in children and adolescents.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the perception of facial and dental asymmetries in children and adolescents and how these asymmetries affect their psychosocial and emotional well-being.

Methods: The study included 66 children and adolescents (7-15 years) with a deviation between the maxillary and mandibular dental midlines of > 0.5 mm.

Linking the Mechanics of Chewing to Biology of the Junctional Epithelium.

The capacity of a tissue to continuously alter its phenotype lies at the heart of how an animal is able to quickly adapt to changes in environmental stimuli. Within tissues, differentiated cells are rigid and play a limited role in adapting to new environments; however, differentiated cells are replenished by stem cells that are defined by their phenotypic plasticity. Here we demonstrate that a Wnt-responsive stem cell niche in the junctional epithelium is responsible for the capability of this tissue to quickly adapt to changes in the physical consistency of a diet.