Correlates of dentists' attitudes toward continuing education in TEAM.

All dentists in active practice in Rhode Island were surveyed to determine their attitudes toward continuing education in TEAM. A total of 74.6 percent of those surveyed responded to the questionnaire. Only one variable, location in a building with other dental offices, was found to be associated with a perceived need for training in TEAM. Demographic background, practice busyness, practice efficiency, and knowledge and attitude profiles were found to be associated with an interest in attending such continuing education courses.     

Criteria and procedures for cast trimming

Other techniques for cast preparation have been described.^1–4 However, the techniques for trimming unmounted and mounted casts described in this article (1) allow fabrication of casts which fulfill the needs of most practicing dentists, (2) offer accuracy for examination, treatment planning, and consultation, and (3) offer professionally appealing dental casts. Only standard and commonly used dental materials and instruments are necessary. Criteria are defined which aid in evaluation of completed casts.     

Occlusion and malocclusion in Lagos

Examination of 300 young inhabitants of Lagos left a profound impression of a population with large teeth in generous arches with frequent spacing of the upper anterior teeth, especially between the central incisors. Spacing of the lower incisors is less frequent, and spacing between the lower canine and first premolar is a transient feature at the age of 13–14 years. Characteristic rotations of the upper canines and lower second premolars are common. There is a tendency towards bimaxillary proclination with minimal overbite and a shift in the incidence of occlusal anomalies towards the Class III end of the scale. Class III molar relationships are, however, compatible with normal incisal relationships. Most of the classic malocclusions occur in Lagos but their incidence differs from that in other parts of the world. The date of eruption of the permanent teeth does not differ appreciably from Europe except that early eruption of the third molars is common.     

Production of a nasoantral window with an Ar+-laser.

In vitro experiments on perforating and cutting 14 human nasoantral walls using an argon laser are described. The drilling velocity is proportional to the power density up to 100 W/mm2. The cutting velocity is measured using focussed spots of 40 micrometer diameter and powers from 5 to 40 W. Histological studies were performed at the edges of the lesion. The experiments show that the technical problem for producing a window in the nasoantral wall using a laser can be solved.     

Relationship between dietary habits and caries increment assessed over two years in 405 English adolescent school children

The study was conducted in seven schools on children initially aged 11.5 years. They recorded their diet on five occasions, each of three days, and received an annual dental examination, including radiography. Caries increments were low, mostly (58 per cent) in fissure surfaces. Correlations between caries increment and dietary factors were low due to the low caries increments observed and the large error associated with dietary data where analyses attempt to discriminate between individuals. The highest correlation was between caries increment and weight of daily intake of sugars (+ 0.143, p < 0.01). Multivariate analyses revealed that this relationship could not be explained by differences in sex, social class, tooth-brushing habits or level of plaque as measured by gingival inflammation. Weight of sugar intake appeared to be more strongly correlated to caries than frequency of intake; concentration of sugars in foods was positively related, and sugars in snacks were more strongly related to caries than total dietary sugars. The 31 children who consumed most sugar (> 163 g/day) developed 5.0 DMFS during the 2 years, 0.9 DMFS per year more than the 31 children (3.2 DMFS during 2 years) who had the lowest sugar intake (< 78 g/day).     

Maxillary dental arch growth in different types of cleft

A total of 45 subjects, 15 complete unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP), 15 complete bilateral cleft lip and palate (BCLP), and 15 cleft palate only (CPO) were studied. Measurements of alveolar points on maxillofacial models were taken of each subject at 5 months, 19 months and 4 years of age. The results revealed different types of growth retardation among the cleft groups. A comparison with 10 controls at 4 years of age showed that the dimensions of the three cleft groups were smaller than the controls, especially at the anterior region of the maxilla. These findings suggest that the relation of the nasal septum to the palatal processes may play an important role in the underdevelopment of the maxilla in the cleft lip and palate patients.