Assessment of Diverse Frenal Morphology in Primary, Mixed, and Permanent Dentition: A Prevalence Study.

AIM: The maxillary labial frenum is a normal anatomic structure with inherent morphological variations. It has various morphologies and types depending on the attachment of fibers. This study was conducted to access the frenal morphology and frenal attachment in primary, mixed, and permanent dentition. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study includes 1,800 patients, in which 969 were males and 831 females, with 3-17 years of age and is equally divided into primary, mixed, and permanent according to age and dentition of patients. Morphology of maxillary labial frenum was examined and classified according to Sewerin's frenum typology and type of frenal attachment according to Placek's attachment. Data collected were entered into SPSS version 16 and were subjected to statistical analysis. RESULTS: Simple frenum is most prevalent in all the age groups followed by persistent tectolabial frenum (PTF) in primary dentition, frenum with a nodule in mixed dentition, and frenum with an appendix in permanent dentition. Type III frenal attachment is found in primary dentition followed by type II and type I in mixed and permanent dentition, respectively. There is a highly statistically significant difference in the type of frenal morphology and frenal attachment in all groups of dentition. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of simple frenum is increasing from primary dentition to permanent dentition, whereas PTF decreases as age increases. This study reveals a high prevalence of gingival attachment followed by papillary attachment. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The examination of frenal morphology and attachment is important before planning for any dental procedures to rule out the misdiagnosis and unnecessary surgical interventions.

Age estimation by modified Demirjian's method (2004) and its applicability in Tibetan young adults: A digital panoramic study.

CONTEXT: Estimation of the age is a procedure adopted by anthropologists, archeologists and forensic scientists. Different methods have been undertaken. However none of them meet the standards as Demirjian's method since 1973. Various researchers have applied this method, in both original and modified form (Chaillet and Demirjian in 2004) in different ethnic groups and the results obtained were not satisfactory. AIMS: To determine the applicability and accuracy of modified Demirjian's method of dental age estimation (AE) in 8-18 year old Tibetan young adults to evaluate the interrelationship between dental and chronological age and the reliability between intra- and inter observer relationship. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Clinical setting and computerized design. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A total of 300 Tibetan young adults with an age range from 8 to 18 years were recruited in the study. Digital panoramic radiographs (DPRs) were evaluated as per the modified Demirjian's method (2004). STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Pearson correlation, paired t-test, linear regression analysis. RESULTS: Inter -and intraobserver reliability revealed a strong agreement. A positive and strong association was found between chronological age and estimated dental age (r = 0.839) with P < 0.01. Modified Demirjian method (2004) overestimated the age by 0.04 years (2.04 months)in Tibetan young adults. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that, the modified Demirjian method of AE is not suitable for Tibetan young adults. Further studies: With larger sample size and comparision with different methods of AE in a given population would be an interesting area for future research.

Comparison of diagnostic accuracy of conventional intraoral periapical and direct digital radiographs in detecting interdental bone loss.

BACKGROUND: Periodontitis is an inflammatory disease of the supporting tissues of the teeth caused by specific microorganisms, resulting in destruction of the periodontal ligament and alveolar bone. Progressive loss of alveolar bone is the salient feature of periodontal disease. Accurate detection of periodontal disease with the use of radiographs helps in diagnosis, treatment and prognosis. AIMS: The present study aims to compare the efficacy of conventional intraoral periapical (IOPA) and direct digital radiographs (RVG) in detecting interdental alveolar bone loss using intrasurgical (IS) measurements as the gold standard. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty patients elected to undergo periodontal flap surgery with periodontitis computing to 60 interdental alveolar defects on mandibular first molars were considered. IOPA and RVG were captured using standardized techniques. Bone loss measurements in IOPA and RVG were compared to the IS measurements. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Statistical analysis was carried out using student t test and ANOVA with the help of SPSS software and p-value <0.05 was considered as significant. RESULTS: Both IOPA and RVG underestimated the bone loss measurements when compared to IS measurements which was statistically significant (p<0.0001). Bone loss measurements in RVG were closer to IS measurements than IOPA. CONCLUSION: Both the radiographic techniques IOPA and RVG underestimated bone loss by 1.5-2.5 mm. RVG was superior to IOPA for the detection of interdental bone loss due to reduced time and radiation exposure to obtain the same diagnostic information.