Treatment co-operation in orthodontic patients

The aim of the present investigation was to determine the reasons for lack of patient co-operation and premature termination of orthodontic treatment. Over a period of 10 years files at the School of Dentistry, Huddinge, Sweden, showed that 80 patients (4 per cent) terminated treatment prematurely. These patients were interviewed regarding their reasons for not completing treatment. Lack of motivation was the most common reason given. Insufficient information about orthodontic treatment and lack of communication between the orthodontist and patient were the basis for the reasons given. Orthodontists require more knowledge of psychology and should have some training in information communication in order to further reduce the level of discontinued treatments.     

Smoking patterns in adolescent orthodontic patients and school children

Smoking is known to be widely practised by young adults and teenagers, a fact that is of immediate importance to the orthodontic profession as it is now well accepted that smokers have poorer periodontal health than non-smokers. The aim of the present study was to determine the level of smoking in teenage orthodontic patients and compare it with that in the general teenage population and, further, to examine how these smoking habits are influenced by the subjects' attitudes. Patients were surveyed as to their smoking habits and attitudes. All were between 10 and 18 years of age and undergoing active fixed-appliance therapy. The same survey was distributed to a local primary (elementary) school and local secondary (high) schools. Of the 729 school respondents, 29 per cent were classified as smokers; of the 333 respondents in the orthodontic group, 11 per cent were classified as smokers. Although the level of smoking amongst orthodontic patients appears to be lower than that for the general adolescent population, significant numbers of patients smoke on a regular basis, and a small proportion of these is under 13 years of age. Because they have regular contact over a number of years with their adolescent patients, orthodontists are in a favourable position to reinforce non-smoking behavior.     

Trends in dental caries experience of school children in Australia - 1977 to 1993

Data on the dental health of Australian school children from 1977 to 1985 have previously been reported. Significant features included a secular decline in caries experience as defined by the number of decayed, missing and filled teeth in both the deciduous dentition (dmft index) and permanent dentition (DMFT index), and a change in the distribution of caries experience within the child population in Australia, indicated by increasingly smaller percentages of children accounting for greater proportions of total disease experience. The aim of the present paper was to extend the annual reporting on caries experience in Australia up to and including 1993, and to document the change in the distribution of caries within the child population since 1977. In addition, the data are compared with dental targets for children for the year 2000 in Australia and internationally. Caries data were obtained for the years 1977–1993 for children who were patients at School Dental Services in each State and Territory of Australia. Caries experience was recorded by uncalibrated dentists and dental therapists during routine dental examinations. From 1977-89 data were weighted by State and Territory estimated resident populations. From 1989, the data were stratified according to age, year, and State, and weighted to reflect proportions in the national estimated resident population for each State/age stratum. Between 1977 and 1993 there has been a decline in caries experience for 6 year old children from a dift? of 3.13 to a dmft of 1.90, and an increase in the per cent with dmft=0 from 33.1 per cent to 53.2 per cent with dmft=0 in 1993. Over the same time period the DMFT for 12 year olds reduced from 4.79 to 1.10 and the per cent while DMFT=0 increased from 10.5 per cent to 53.1 per cent. Projection of the decline in DMFT indicates the dental health target for 12 year old children of DMFT=1.0 by the year 2000 should have been achieved by the end of 1995     

Relationship between orthodontic treatment and dental caries: results from a national survey

Objectives: Orthodontic treatment has been suggested to increase the risk of dental caries. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between orthodontic treatment and the likelihood of dental caries. Methods: The study included data for adults aged ≥ 19 years who participated in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in 2013–2015. The participants’ demographic, socio-economic, and general and oral health-care data were collected by trained interviewers using a structured questionnaire. The number of decayed teeth (DT) and the decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT) index score on oral examinations performed by dentists were compared between subjects who underwent orthodontic treatment and those who did not, using the chi-squared test and logistic regression analysis. Results: All logistic regression analysis models showed a significant association between orthodontic treatment and untreated dental caries. The likelihood of having untreated dental caries was lower in subjects who had received orthodontic treatment than in those who had not, regardless of confounding factors (P < 0.001). After adjustment for confounding factors, the mean number of DT was lower in subjects who had received orthodontic treatment than in those who had not (0.66 vs. 0.94; P < 0.001). There was no statistically significant difference in the DMFT index score between the two groups. Conclusions: Orthodontic treatment was associated with a decreased likelihood of untreated dental caries. Moreover, there was no evidence indicating a link between the DMFT index score and orthodontic treatment.Key words: Dental caries, DMFT index, DT index, epidemiology, orthodontic treatment     

Nickel in dental plaque and saliva in patients with and without orthodontic appliances

The aim of this study was to compare the content of nickel in the saliva and dental biofilm in young patients with and without orthodontic appliances. The possible influence of a dietary intake of nickel on recorded nickel levels was examined. Nickel content in unstimulated whole saliva and in dental plaque of 24 boys and girls (mean age 14.8 years) with intraoral fixed orthodontic appliances was compared with 24 adolescents without such an appliance. Sample collection was set up to exclude nickel contamination. Diet intake was recorded for the preceding 48 hours to account for the influence of recent nickel content in food. Saliva and plaque were analysed for nickel content using an electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometric (ETAAS) method. The acidified saliva samples were analysed as Millipore-filtered saliva with filter-retained fractions and plaque following dissolution in acids. No significant difference in nickel content of filtered saliva was found between the test and the control samples (P = 0.607); the median values of nickel content were 0.005 and 0.004 mug/g saliva, respectively. On the other hand, a significant difference was found for the filter-retained fraction (P = 0.008); median values for nickel were 25.3 and 14.9 mug/g, respectively. A significant difference in nickel content between test and control samples was also found in plaque collected at various tooth sites (P = 0.001; median values 1.03 and 0.45 mug/g, respectively). A stronger difference was found when comparing plaque collected from metal-covered tooth surfaces than from enamel surfaces of orthodontic patients. No association could be found between calculated dietary intake of nickel and recorded nickel in the test and control samples. It is concluded that nickel release occurs into the dental plaque and components of saliva of orthodontic patients, a situation that may reflect time dependence of its release from orthodontic appliances into the oral cavity and an aggregation of nickel at plaque sites.     

Left-handedness in dental undergraduates and orthodontic specialists

A questionnaire was devised involving a group of dental students (n = 70) and a group comprising all consultant orthodontists in the UK (n = 170) to investigate the prevalence and the role of handedness in dental specialisation. Subjects were classified as being pure left-, mixed- or pure right-handed according to responses to a hand preference questionnaire and the results were compared with a very similar previous study of the general population. The prevalence of sinistrality (classified by writing) was recorded as 8.6% among dental students and 17.2% among orthodontists; this compares with 7.4% among the general population. More mixed-handers presented in both the dental groups compared to the general population. This agreed with the right shift theory of laterality. No significant correlation was noted between handedness and any other variable between the two dental groups.     

Descriptive epidemiology of dental malocclusion in Najran patients seeking orthodontic treatment

BackgroundUntreated malocclusion can lead to compromised aesthetic function, depression, and low self-esteem. The aim of this study was to evaluate dental malocclusion in Najran, Saudi Arabia as no data existed before.MethodThis was a retrospective study analyzing the casts of all patients in Najran, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, seeking orthodontic management for malocclusion between 2017 and 2019.MeasurementsThe consultant orthodontist is the single investigator involved in collecting the details of demographics followed by molar relationships, overjet, overbite, crowding and spacing using digital caliper on each dental cast. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for IOS Version 25 (Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.ResultsA total of 326 patients sought treatment for different types of malocclusion. There were 143 males and 183 females with an M:F ratio of 1:1.3. Age ranged from 6 to 55 years with a mean SD of 22.6 ± 8.98. The prevalence for Class I, II and III malocclusions at 95% CI was (0.76 (0.757, 0.774)), 0.251 (0.243, 0.260) and 0.529 (0.519, 0.539) respectively. Fifty-one (15.6%) patients had reversed overjet, 65 (19.9%) reduced overjet, and 86 (26.4%) increased overjet. One hundred and sixty-four (50.3%) cases of reduced overbite and 99 (30.4%) cases of deep overbite were also observed. Tooth size arch length discrepancy were noticed with crowding and spacing in 83 (26.4%) and 71 (21.8%) patients, respectively.ConclusionsThis study has shown the prevalence of Class I, Class II, and Class III malocclusion to be 72.7%, 11.6% and 15.6% respectively. Increased over jet and crowding was demonstrated in more patients, though it is not statistically significant.     

Periodontal awareness, health, and treatment need in dental school patients. III. Treatment need

The need for periodontal treatment in a group of dental school patients was estimated by means of the periodontal treatment need system (PTNS). The findings were related to information about the regularity of dental visits, awareness of own disease, and periodontal treatment experience. All the patients required motivation and oral hygiene instruction (treatment need, class A). All their quadrants needed scaling or adjustment of subgingival restorations (treatment need, class B). As many as 71% of the patients and about 49% of the quadrants needed periodontal surgery (treatment need, class C). The mean periodontal treatment time per patient was 279 min (4 h 39 min). The middle age group (30-59 years) required more treatment time than the oldest group (greater than or equal to 60 years). This was probably due to more missing teeth in the oldest age group. There were no significant differences in treatment need between males and females. The regular dental visitors had a greater periodontal treatment need than the individuals visiting their dentist less frequently. This finding emphasizes the responsibility of the general practitioner in diagnosing and treating periodontal disease.     

正畸治疗中上前牙的美学因素

正畸治疗是改善牙列美观的重要手段。在正畸治疗中,除了排平排齐错位的前牙之外,还有其他的一些影响上前牙美观的因素值得关注。本文就正畸治疗中上前牙美观的影响因素及相应治疗措施作一综述。