ABSTRACT
AIM: The aim of this study was to assess the dental age in Saudi children aged 8.5 to 17 years using the Demirjian method. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Four hundred ninety panoramic radiographs of boys and girls were reviewed retrospectively. All children were placed in the age group closest to their chronological age. The dental age was scored on all seven left mandibular teeth by one examiner. RESULTS: Both boys and girls in age groups nine to 14 years showed advanced dental age compared to their chronological age which was found to be statistically significant except in age groups nine and 13 years. Saudi boys were 0.3 years and Saudi girls 0.4 years ahead, on average, of French-Canadian children as analyzed by the Demirjian method. CONCLUSION: The standard values for French-Canadian children provided by Demirjian vary slightly for application to Saudi children. As a result, new graphs and tables were produced to convert these maturity scores, calculated by the Demirjian method, to the dental age for Saudi children.
Subject(s)
Age Determination by Teeth , Adolescent , Age Determination by Teeth/methods , Arabs , Child , Female , Humans , Logistic Models , Male , Reference Standards , Retrospective Studies , Saudi Arabia , White PeopleABSTRACT
AIM: The objective of this article is to present a simple technique for stabilizing a lingual fixed retainer wire in place with good adaptation to the teeth surfaces and checking for occlusal interferences prior to the bonding procedure. BACKGROUND: Bonding of an upper or lower fixed lingual retainer using stainless steel wires of different sizes and shapes is a common orthodontic procedure. The retainer can be constructed in a dental laboratory, made at chair side, or it can be purchased in prefabricated form. All three ways of creating a fixed retainer are acceptable. However, the method of holding the retainer wire in place adjacent to the lingual surfaces of the teeth before proceeding with the bonding process remains a problem for some practitioners. REPORT: The lingual fixed retainer was fabricated using three pieces of .010" steel ligature wire which were twisted into a single strand wire. Another four to five 0.010" pieces of steel ligature wires were twisted in the same way to serve as an anchor wire from the labial side of the teeth. The retainer wire was bonded using the foible composite. SUMMARY: The technique presented here for stabilizing the retainer wire prior to bonding provides good stabilization, adaptation, and proper positioning of the retainer wire while eliminating contamination of etched surfaces which might arise during wire positioning before bonding. This technique also allows the clinician the opportunity to check the occlusion and adjust the retainer wire to avoid occlusal interference prior to bonding maxillary retainers. This same clinical strategy can be used to stabilize wires for splinting periodontally affected teeth and traumatized teeth.
Subject(s)
Orthodontic Appliance Design , Orthodontic Retainers , Dental Bonding , Esthetics, Dental , Humans , Orthodontic WiresABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To provide growth reference values in body height, to determine the specific age at peak height velocity for Saudi male and female adolescences aged 9-18 years and to evaluate the appropriateness of using the Centers for Disease Control/National Center for Health Statistics (CDC/NCHS) growth standards in body height for the assessment of Saudi adolescents. METHODS: A cross-sectional anthropometric survey was conducted in 1053 Saudi male and female school children living in Riyadh city. The study sample was collected in the year 2000 and data were completed and refined in the year 2002. Standing height measurements were recorded for each subject using standard measuring techniques. The 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th percentiles for body height were calculated separately for boys and girls in one year intervals. The median reference values were compared with the corresponding values in the CDC/NHCS and with other similar studies on Saudi population. RESULTS: The results revealed that the age at peak height velocity for Saudi boys is 13-14 years and for Saudi girls is 10-11 years. The median value for body height at 18 years old for male and female was comparable with other studies reported in similar ethnic group. CONCLUSION: The use of the CDC/NCHS growth standard for height does not appear appropriate for the assessment of growth of Saudi children aged 9-18 years.
Subject(s)
Adolescent Development , Body Height/physiology , Adolescent , Age Factors , Anthropometry/methods , Child , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Humans , Male , Reference Values , Saudi ArabiaABSTRACT
Twenty-one digit-sucker children aged 4-12 old years participated in the assessment of a new reminder therapy technique called "long sleeve sleeping gown ". The result of this study indicated that fifteen children (71.4%) out of 21 were able to stop digit-sucking habits after the application of long sleeve's gown during child's bedtime for 6 weeks. The children who failed to cease this digit-sucking habit (28.6%) were found to not accept to complete the trial period or their mothers thought that they were too young to stop the habit. Among the success group no child was reported to return to digit-sucking 3 months after implementation of long sleeves gown.
