Evaluation of physiological tooth movements within clinically normal periodontal tissues by means of periodontal pulsation measurements

The three-dimensional physiological tooth movement synchronized with heartbeat, periodontal pulsation, has already been demonstrated by previous researchers. The purpose of this study was to estimate physiological tooth movements within clinically normal periodontal tissues, thus establishing periodontal pulsation standards. The measuring device consisted of an amorphous sensor and a small magnet, which could detect tooth displacement without coming into contact with the tooth surface. The samples consisted of the left maxillary central incisors of 23 adult subjects. Three points on the labial surface were used as reference points to measure the labial-lingual movement range, and a point on the incisal edge was used for measuring the incisal-apical movement range. Periodontal pulsation and electrocardiogram measurements were recorded simultaneously for six minutes. The results showed that the mean amplitude of periodontal pulsation concerning the labial-lingual movement range was equal at the three labial points (0.59 microm) and tended to be smaller than that of the incisal-apical movement range (0.87 microm). There were no significant differences in the mean amplitude of periodontal pulsation at any of the four reference points. Significant correlations of the amplitude of periodontal pulsation existed among the three labial points. Though most teeth pulsated uniformly to the labial direction, some teeth moved in a complex manner including rotation with an axis among the three labial points. These results suggest that the values of periodontal pulsation amplitude which were recorded employing the amorphous sensor device are reliable standards of periodontal pulsation within clinically normal periodontal tissues.     

The oral manifestations of 4p- syndrome

The oral manifestations of 80 reported cases of 4p- syndrome are analyzed and a new case is reported. Results indicate that the common pattern of cheilognathopharyngeal disorders in 4p- syndrome is an isolated cleft palate or a high-arched palate with micrognathia. Cases of cleft lip are only about 10% of the total. The significance of other reported aberrant phenomena cannot yet be estimated.     

A clinical report on distraction osteogenesis applied for Apert syndrome

This case report describes the orthodontic treatment done to an 11-year-old female patient having Apert syndrome, a genetic disorder manifested by craniofacial and limb anomalies. The orthodontic treatment was accompanied with distraction osteogenesis for forward advancement of the correction of midfacial hypoplasia. After the active treatment, a better facial profile and occlusion were achieved. The occlusion remained stable during the 2 years and 8 months follow-up.     

Release phenomena of insulin from an implantable device composed of a polyion complex of chitosan and sodium hyaluronate

An implant controlled-release system for protein drug delivery based on a polyion complex device composed of chitosan (CS) and sodium hyaluronate (HA) was investigated. The conditions which generated the greatest amount of the polyion solid complex were studied to ascertain the formation of polyion complex between CS and HA. The greatest amount of the polyion complex was formed at the weight ratio of 3 to 7 (CS:HA) at pH 3.5. Furthermore, the CS–HA pellets were prepared and then drug release from CS–HA pellets was evaluated using insulin as a model drug. The results demonstrated that the insulin release from CS–HA pellets was markedly influenced by both the change in the polymer mixing ratio and the total pellet weight, whereas the compression pressure did not affect the release significantly. An artificial neural network (ANN) and biharmonic spline interpolation (HSI) were employed to predict the actual relation between causal factors and the release rate constant of insulin. Although both the ANN and HSI successfully represented a non-linear relationship between the formulation factors and the release rate constant, HSI methodology gave a better estimation than that of the ANN.