Mesiodens - etiology, prevalence, diagnosis and management

Mesiodens is a supernumerary tooth located in the premaxilla between the two central incisors that causes a variety of dental problems such as impaired dentofacial aesthetics, malocclusion, and sometimes may lead to cyst formation. The prevalence of mesiodens ranges from 0.15% to 1.9%. The current literature review focuses on the etiology, prevalence, diagnosis and management of this problem. Several electronic data bases were selected. Hand searching was done to short list relevant articles. A total of 65 studies were initially retrieved out of which 53 relevant studies were selected for the review. Mesiodens is the most common type of supernumerary tooth that may cause impaired dentofacial esthetics and malocclusion. Males are more prone to be affected than the females. Mesiodens is the most common reported type of supernumerary tooth occurring in permanent dentition. An in-depth evaluation of mesiodens would be helpful to develop significant clinical management of the affected patients

Arch widths in adults with class I normal occlusion and class III malocclusion

The purpose of this study was to compare dental arch widths in Class III malocclusion with Class I normal occlusion subjects. Methodology: The Intercanine, Interpremolar and Intermolar widths were measured on 70 dental casts [35 class I and 35 class III malocclusion subjects]. The data was developed on SPSS 16 for windows. Independent-samples t-test was applied for comparing the two groups. Upper interpremolar and intermolar widths were narrower and lower Intercanine and Intermolar width was larger in class III malocclusion group. Upper intercanine and lower Interpremolar width between the two groups did not reveal any significant difference. In class III malocclusion, almost all the dental arch width measurements in maxilla were smaller and mandibular dental arch width measurements were lager as compared to normal class I normal occlusion

Self perception of malooclusion among dental and medical students

The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of malocclusion and its self-perception among medical and dental students of FMH College of Medicine and Dentistry and its correlation with understanding of treatment need. The total sample size was 385 [67% females, 23% males], aged from 18-25. Examination was conducted using a CPI probe according to DAI score and a questionnaire was filled by each participant. Chi-square and t-test were used to find relationship between malocclusion, its perception and treatment need with different independent variables. 60.3% of participants had no abnormality or minor malocclusion who needed no or minor treatment whereas, only 26.5%, 9.1% and 4.2% of subjects had definite, severe and very severe or handicapping malocclusion respectively to whom treatment was elective, highly desirable and mandatory. Out of there only 10.9% wanted to get treatment. It was concluded that there was adequate self-perception of malocclusion in the students but understanding for treatment need was very low

descriptive study of perceptions and behavior of water pipe smoking among students in Lahore institutes

In the background of increasing popularity of shisha smoking, there is an urgent need for shisha to be better understood and acknowledged. Shisha is rapidly penetrating in young adult community especially students which is of a great public health concern. Shisha smoking is now suspected to be a risk factor for a number of systemic diseases including cancer. The objective of this study was to determine prevalence of shisha smokers among medical and dental students of a college of Lahore and also determine their knowledge, attitude and behavior towards shisha smoking. A cross sectional study was conducted in Fatima Memorial College of medicine and dentistry, Lahore which included medical and dental undergraduates. Convenience sampling technique was used to collect the data of 425 respondents. Data were analyzed using SPSS 20.0. Results demonstrate that approximately 32% of the medical and dental undergraduate students smoke shisha. Male to female ratio of water pipe smoking was found to be surprisingly high as 1:1. Results also suggested that there are a number of established correlates of water pipe smoking, including peer and social pressure and lack of awareness about harmful effects of shisha smoking. Despite its harmful effects shisha smoking is quite common among medical and dental undergraduate students mainly because of the social pressure and lack of awareness about its toxic effects

Dental crowding and its relationship to arch dimensions - gender dimorphism

This study was conducted on a sample of 120 individuals [60 male and 60 female individuals] with dental Class I malocclusion selected from different dental institutions of Lahore, Pakistan. The patients were divided into crowed and non crowed groups with equal numbers of males and females. The sample age ranged from 12-18 years with mean age of 15.2 years. Arch width and arch length were measured in upper and lower arches at inter-canine, inter-premolar, inter-molar distances. All measurements were taken from study dental casts by a calibrated operator using vernier caliper. Data were analyzed by using SPSS 16 version for windows. The paired t-test was used to evaluate the differences between males and females and average values of the sample. The results showed that the average inter molar width in upper arch was 35.74mm to 36.95mm in females and males respectively in non crowded group. Average arch length was found 77.4mm to 82.7mm in upper arch with no crowding and 72.5mm to 76.1mm in crowded group. Males generally showed higher values in all dimensions but the differences were not statistically significant in comparison to females