Correlation between skeletal maturation and developmental stages of canines and third molars among Saudi subjects.

AIMS: The present study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of using the developmental stages of the canines and third molars to predict the timing of skeletal maturity in the Saudi population. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The lateral cephalometric radiographs and orthopantograms of 239 Saudi patients, 106 males and 133 females, aged 9 to 21 years, were collected from several dental centers. Orthopantograms were used to assess the developmental stages of the upper and lower canine teeth and third molars using two popular methods: that of Nolla and that of Demirjian. Cervical vertebral maturation (CVM) stage was assessed on the lateral cephalometric images according to the method of Baccetti et al. Trained observers with no knowledge of patient age or gender performed assessments. Data were analyzed with Spearman's rank correlation coefficient at a significance level of P ≤ .05. RESULT: Skeletal CVM stages III and IV had a stronger correlation with mandibular left canine developmental stage than with maxillary canine developmental stage in the two methods used (correlation with Nolla stage 10 and Demirjian stage H: root completely formed with apex closed), especially for male patients (r = 0.700, P < .001). In contrast, the maxillary third molars at Nolla stages 5 and 7 (crown completed to 1/3 of the root formed) showed an association with CVM stages III and IV (r = 0.540 for females and r = 0.639 for males, P ≤ .001 for both) and with Demirjian stages D, E, and F. Males had slightly higher correlation values than females (r = 0.578 and 0.5010, respectively; P ≤ .001) at CVM stages III and IV. Interestingly, canine teeth showed a stronger correlation than third molars with skeletal maturation in Saudi children. CONCLUSION: Dental developmental stages were highly correlated with CVM stages III and IV among Saudi subjects.

Microbiome of dental implants and its clinical aspect.

Although dental implants are most common prosthetic treatment used to replace missing tooth, it gained considerable importance over a decade owing to the availability of advanced imagery techniques that can help in achieving a greater success rate and much better osseointegration. However, the chances that the implanted tooth can be rejected due to inflammation caused by oral microflora still persist. This review gives the viewers an overall idea of the dental implants, role of advanced imaging in implantation and instances of peri-implantitis that occur after implantation process. This review also entails the latest research on the different treatment modalities against peri-implantitis documented in peer-review journals.

Pain and distress induced by elastomeric and spring separators in patients undergoing orthodontic treatment.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The objective of the present investigation is to evaluate patients' pain perception and discomfort, the duration of pain and the level of self-medication over time during tooth separation, and the effectiveness of elastomeric and spring types of orthodontic separators in Saudi population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study group consisted of 30 female adolescent patients who had elastomeric/spring separators as part of their orthodontic treatment. A self-administrated questionnaire comprising 16 multiple choice questions and another with visual analog scale were used to record the patient's pain perceptions at 4 hours, 24 hours, 3 days, 5 days, and 7 days from the time of insertion. The level of pain and discomfort during these time periods were assessed by a visual analog scale. After a separation period of 7 days, the amount of separation was measured with a leaf gauge. Type and frequency of analgesic consumption was also recorded. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20 (IBM SPSS -Chicago, IL: SPSS Inc.,) was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: The data showed significant increase in the level of pain at 4 hours, 24 hours, and 3 days from separator placement. The elastomeric separators produced significantly more separation than the spring separators and also caused maximum pain during the first 3 days after insertion. However, there was no significant difference between the score of pain between two separators at all time intervals. CONCLUSION: Both elastomeric and spring separators showed comparative levels of pain and discomfort during the early phase of separation. Elastomeric separators were found to be more effective in tooth separation than spring separators. However, further studies are necessary to substantiate this preliminary observation.

Patient preferences in selecting a dentist: survey results from the urban population of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

INTRODUCTION: Awareness of gender- or nationality-driven preconceptions can help dentists to have a better interpretation of the dentist-patient relationship. It is even more noteworthy to understand these predilections in Saudi society, where women and men are usually segregated due to religion- and culture-based considerations. This study is one of the first to explore the preferences of patients when selecting a dentist with respect to gender and nationality in the city of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 445 community residents residing in Riyadh were randomly selected for a cross-sectional study. The participants completed a survey designed to assess which of two factors (gender and/or nationality) were perceived as most relevant in choosing a dentist. Statistical analysis of the data was performed using the SPSS 11.5 software. RESULTS: Female participants did not show any preference for the gender of the dentist, whereas 40% of the male participants preferred a male dentist. Participants also favored male dentists in the felds of oral surgery (78.9%), implants (74.1%), endodontics (67.5%), orthodontics (65.8%) and prosthodontics (64.2%). An exception was noted in pediatric dentistry, for which female dentists were favored by 52.8% of the participants. Additionally, most (66.1%) participants did not have any preference for the nationality of the dentist. CONCLUSION: Riyadh residents showed a general preference for a male dentist but demonstrated no preference for nationality when selecting a dentist.