Traumatic dental injuries in children: experience during the Covid-19 pandemic and parents' knowledge about their management

Abstract The social isolation measures adopted during the critical phase of the COVID-19 pandemic led children to spend most of their time at home. Isolation may alter the pattern of traumatic dental injury occurrences, inasmuch as studies point out that most traumatic accidents occur at home. Considering this scenario and the influence of emergency management on the prognosis of the injury, the aim of this study was to evaluate the experience of traumatic dental injuries in children before and during the pandemic, and the knowledge of this topic by the children's guardians. This cross-sectional study was conducted with guardians of children aged 0 to 6 years, residing in Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil. The guardians answered an online questionnaire addressing personal information, traumatic dental injury experience before and during the pandemic, and knowledge of this topic. Descriptive and statistical analyses were performed using Pearson's chi-square test at a 5% significance level. The total sample consisted of 343 volunteers. A total of 95 and 92 injuries were reported before and during the pandemic, respectively; the home was the place of greatest occurrence. Most volunteers (88.1%) agreed that traumatic dental injuries are emergency situations, and were aware that the tooth/fragment had to be taken to the dentist after a fracture or avulsion (97.4%). This study revealed that the traumatic dental injury experience was similar before and during the pandemic, and that the volunteers had satisfactory knowledge, especially in recognizing the importance of immediate attention for a more favorable prognosis of these injuries.

Estudo da relação entre a morfologia crânio-facial e o diâmetro do espaço aéreo faríngeo por meio de cefalometria / Study of relationship between craniofacial morphology and pharyngeal airway space by means of cephalometry

Este estudo avaliou a relação entre a morfologia crânio-facial e o diâmetro do espaço aéreo faríngeo por meio de cefalometria. Foram obtidas radiografias cefalométricas laterais de 52 voluntários (18 - 28 anos), com a cabeça em posição natural. A partir destas, foram obtidas medidas lineares e angulares referentes à morfologia crânio-facial e ao espaço aéreo faríngeo. Os diâmetros faríngeos posteriores ao palato mole e à língua apresentaram relação significativa com diversas características da morfologia facial, principalmente com o comprimento intermaxilar e o eixo de crescimento. A variável do espaço faríngeo que apresentou relação mais forte com o esqueleto facial foi o diâmetro posterior à língua, que se relacionou mais fortemente com o comprimento intermaxilar e com o eixo de crescimento.

Solução protética em paciente desdentado total em idade púbere / Prosthetic solution to edentulous patient in puberty

A indicação de prótese total na idade púbere é rara, porém se faz necessária quando ocorre perda prematura de todos os dentes. É grande a preocupação no que concerne à indicação e confecção de próteses totais para pacientes em fase de crescimento, visto que a prótese é um fator limitante do crescimento dos maxilares. A proposta deste trabalho é descrever o caso clínico de um paciente com 13 anos de idade reabilitado com próteses totais com expansores localizados de acordo com os mamelões de crescimento. A proservação protética foi periódica para ajuste das próteses, permitindo o crescimento dos maxilares. Como resultado, as próteses foram essenciais no restabelecimento da função e da estética, proporcionando ao paciente um convívio social saudável.

Evaluation of the reproducibility of two techniques used to determine and record centric relation in angle's class I patients

The centric relation is a mandibular position that determines a balance relation among the temporomandibular joints, the chew muscles and the occlusion. This position makes possible to the dentist to plan and to execute oral rehabilitation respecting the physiological principles of the stomatognathic system. The aim of this study was to investigate the reproducibility of centric relation records obtained using two techniques: Dawson's Bilateral Manipulation and Gysi's Gothic Arch Tracing. Twenty volunteers (14 females and 6 males) with no dental loss, presenting occlusal contacts according to those described in Angle's I classification and without signs and symptoms of temporomandibular disorders were selected. All volunteers were submitted five times with a 1-week interval, always in the same schedule, to the Dawson's Bilateral Manipulation and to the Gysi's Gothic Arch Tracing with aid of an intraoral apparatus. The average standard error of each technique was calculated (Bilateral Manipulation 0.94 and Gothic Arch Tracing 0.27). Shapiro-Wilk test was applied and the results allowed application of Student's t-test (sampling error of 5 percent). The techniques showed different degrees of variability. The Gysi's Gothic Arch Tracing was found to be more accurate than the Bilateral Manipulation in reproducing the centric relation records.