Morphometric Analysis of Permanent Canines: Preliminary Findings on Odontometric Sex Dimorphism.

AIM: This study aims to investigate the morphometrics of permanent canines in establishing sexual dimorphism in the native Arabian population. METHODS: Thirty (male = 12; female = 18) native Arabian subjects, with ages ranging between 20-45 years. The mesiodistal (MD), cericoincisal (CI) and labiolingual (LL) widths of the teeth 13, 23, 33, and 43 and the inter-canine distance in maxillary (MaxICW) and mandibular (ManICW) arches were measured using a digital caliper. The gran method was used for establishing sex dimorphism among the study subjects. Descriptive statistics were employed using SPSS version 20.0 (Armonk, NY, USA, IBM Corp.). RESULTS: The comparison of either of the measurements (MD, CI, LL, MaxICW and ManICW) were shown to be statistically significant (p > 0.05). The overall mean values of teeth 13, 23, 33, and 43 for CI, LL, MaxICW, and ManICW were lower for females than males (p > 0.05). The MD width was higher in females than that of males (p > 0.05). The sex dimorphism value for teeth 13, 23, 33, and 43 were 0.98, 0.99, 1, and 0.99, respectively. The standard canine index was high for mandibular teeth and lower for mandibular teeth, and SCI values for teeth 13, 23, 33, and 43 were 0.219, 0.218, 0.257 and 0.256, respectively. CONCLUSION: The morphometrics of permanent canines are helpful in sex determination with the aid of odontometric analysis.

The Role of Faculty Development in Improving the Quality of Multiple-Choice Questions in Dental Education.

Valid and reliable assessment of students' knowledge and skills is integral to dental education. However, most faculty members receive no formal training on student assessment techniques. The aim of this study was to quantify the value of a professional development program designed to improve the test item-writing skills of dental faculty members. A quasi-experimental (pretest, intervention, posttest) study was conducted with faculty members in the dental school of Majmaah University, Saudi Arabia. Data assessed were 450 multiple-choice questions (MCQs) from final exams in 15 courses in 2017 (prior to the intervention; pretest) and the same number in 2018 (after the intervention; posttest). The intervention was a faculty development program implemented in 2018 to improve the writing of MCQs. This training highlighted construct-irrelevant variance-the abnormal increase or decrease in test scores due to factors extraneous to constructs of interest-and provided expert advice to rectify flaws. Item analysis of pre- and post-intervention MCQs determined the difficulty index, discrimination index, and proportion of non-functional distractors for each question. MCQs on 2017 and 2018 exams were compared on each of these parameters. The results showed statistically significant improvements in MCQs from 2017 to 2018 on all parameters. MCQs with low discrimination decreased, those with high discrimination increased, and the proportion of questions with more than two non-functional distractors were reduced. These results provide evidence of improved test item quality following implementation of a long-term faculty development program. Additionally, the findings underscore the need for an active dental education department and demonstrate its value for dental schools.

Evaluation of Bond Failure Rate of Orthodontic Brackets Bonded with Green Gloo-Two Way Color Changes Adhesive: A Clinical Study.

BACKGROUND: Bonding is an important step in fixed orthodontic mechanotherapy. Many new materials introduced an adhesive for bonding. This study was designed to evaluate the clinical bond failure rate of orthodontic brackets bonded with green glue: two way color changes adhesive and transbond XT adhesive paste. METHODS: Eighteen male patients with a mean age of 16 years were included in the study. Convenience sampling technique was used to select the sample for this study. The split-mouth design was used to bond 360 brackets by one operator and both adhesives were used in each patient. Bond failure rates were estimated with respect to bonding procedure, dental arch, tooth type (incisor, canine, and premolar). The results were evaluated using the chisquare test. Kaplan - Meier analysis and the log rank test were used to estimate the survival rate of the brackets. Bracket failure rates for each system were analyzed, and failure causes as reported by the patients and the quadrant of each tooth in which brackets failed were recorded. RESULTS: The bond failure rate was 5.00% and 4.44% for green gloo and transbond XT group. No significant difference was found in the bond failure rate between transbond XT and Green gloo group. No significant difference was found in the bond failure rate between the two groups, in relation to right and left side and the type of teeth. CONCLUSION: Green gloo adhesive can be effectively used to bond orthodontic brackets.

Evaluation of bond failure rate of orthodontic brackets bonded with green gloo-two way color changes adhesive: a clinical study

BACKGROUND: Bonding is an important step in fixed orthodontic mechanotherapy. Many new materials introduced an adhesive for bonding. This study was designed to evaluate the clinical bond failure rate of orthodontic brackets bonded with green glue: two way color changes adhesive and transbond XT adhesive paste. METHODS: Eighteen male patients with a mean age of 16 years were included in the study. Convenience sampling technique was used to select the sample for this study. The split-mouth design was used to bond 360 brackets by one operator and both adhesives were used in each patient. Bond failure rates were estimated with respect to bonding procedure, dental arch, tooth type (incisor, canine, and premolar). The results were evaluated using the chisquare test. Kaplan ­ Meier analysis and the log rank test were used to estimate the survival rate of the brackets. Bracket failure rates for each system were analyzed, and failure causes as reported by the patients and the quadrant of each tooth in which brackets failed were recorded. RESULTS: The bond failure rate was 5.00% and 4.44% for green gloo and transbond XT group. No significant difference was found in the bond failure rate between transbond XT and Green gloo group. No significant difference was found in the bond failure rate between the two groups, in relation to right and left side and the type of teeth. CONCLUSION: Green gloo adhesive can be effectively used to bond orthodontic brackets

Effect of cleft lip palate repair on craniofacial growth.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to compare craniofacial growth among operated and unoperated unilateral cleft lip and palate non-syndromic subjects. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A sample of 180 subjects of Indian origin was selected. Of them, 90 were operated, and 90 were unoperated complete unilateral cleft lip and palate individuals. The subjects were divided into three age groups of 3-5, 8-10, and 20-25 years comprised of 30 patients in each group. The following measurements were evaluated: Angle and length of the cranial base; maxillary spatial positioning and length; mandibular spatial positioning; morphology and length; maxillomandibular relationship. Comparative analysis of the means between the groups was performed with Student's t-test at the significance levels of 5%. The ANOVA test has been performed to test the effect of time. RESULTS: No significant differences were observed between the measurements that represented the angle and length of the cranial base of unoperated and the operated patients (P>0.05). There was statistically significant decrease (P˂0.05) in the maxillary length (Co-A; 69.00 mm in 3-5 years, 68.33 mm in 8-10 years, and 67.17 mm in 20-25 years age group), and SNA angle (74.83° in 3-5 years, 74.17 ° in 8-10 years and 73.17 ° in 20-25 years age group) in operated group. No significant difference noticed on cephalometric values of the mandible, except Ar-Go-Me angle (P˂0.05), which showed vertical growth pattern in unoperated patients (132.50 ° in 3-5 years, 132.00 ° I 8-10 years and 138.33 ° in 20-25 years age group). CONCLUSION: Lip and palate repair has a significant influence on the maxilla and resulting in retarded growth of maxilla, which causes midface deficiency beyond acceptable sagittal limits. The Gonial angle showed vertical growth pattern in unoperated patients, but the cranial base angle and length of unoperated and the operated patients were similar.

Changes in the morphology of the labial alveolar bone of protruded permanent maxillary incisors secondary to orthodontic alignment.

AIM: Treatment of protruded maxillary incisors involves retraction. Lingual positioning of protruded incisors improves the width of the attached gingiva. This study was conducted to document changes in the buccal alveolar bone upon retraction of protruded permanent maxillary central incisors. METHODS: Cephalometric radiographs of 13 patients, ages 12 to 18 years, whose orthodontic treatment involved lingual positioning of protruded permanent maxillary central incisors were selected. RESULTS: Comparison of tracings from radiographs taken before and after treatment indicated that the alveolar bone height increased in 76.9% of cases. In addition, a significant positive correlation (r = 0.95) was found between the changes in the distance from the M point to the incisal edge and alveolar bone height. CONCLUSION: The present study indicated that an increase in the amount of buccal alveolar bone was a result of orthodontic treatment that involved lingual positioning of protruded maxillary permanent central incisors.

Perception of Facial Profile: How You Feel About Yourself.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine how aware the individuals were of their own profile and to compare the orthodontist's perception of an attractive facial profile with those of laypeople, dental students and orthodontic patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study comprised of a total of 200 subjects divided into four groups of 50 subjects each: Laypeople, first-year dental students, final-year dental students and orthodontic patients. Participants answered a questionnaire regarding facial profile and their expectations from orthodontic treatment. The facial profile photographs of participants were analyzed by two orthodontists separately who matched the individual to the depicted silhouettes. Agreement between participants and orthodontists was evaluated by using the statistic χ(2) test. RESULTS: Dental students and orthodontic patients were more aware of their facial profile as compared to the laypeople. The four groups were different in their abilities to recognize their own profiles. The difference in profile perception between orthodontists and subjects was statistically significant (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Class I profiles were perceived to be the most attractive by all the groups and profiles with a protrusive mandible were perceived to be the least attractive. Final-year dental students and orthodontic patients were more accurate in identifying their own profile.