Effects of the Orthognathic Surgery on the Voice Characteristics of Skeletal Class III Patients.

OBJECTIVES: To analyze the effects of the bimaxillary orthognathic surgery on the voice characteristics of skeletal Class III cases, and to evaluate correlations between acoustic and skeletal changes. METHOD: Skeletal Class III adult patients (7 male, 18 female) were asked to pronounce the sounds "[a], [ɛ], [ɯ], [i], [ɔ], [œ], [u], [y]" for 3 seconds. Voice records and lateral cephalometric x-rays were taken before the surgery (T0) and 6 months after (T1). Voice records were taken for the control group with 6 months of interval (n=20). The formant frequencies (F0, F1, F2, and F3), Shimmer, Jitter and Noise to Harmonic Ratio (NHR) parameters were considered with Praat version 6.0.43. RESULTS: In the surgery group, significant differences were observed in the F1 of [e], F2 and Shimmer of [ɯ] and F1 and F2 of [œ] and F1 of [y] sound, the post-surgery values were lower. F3 of [u] sound was higher. In comparison with the control group, ΔF3 of the [ɔ], ΔF3 of the [u] and ΔF1 of the [y] sound, ΔShimmer of [ɛ], [ɯ], [i], [ɔ], [u] and [y], and the ΔNHR of [ɔ] sound significantly changed. The Pearson correlation analysis proved some correlations; ΔF2 between ΔSNA for [ɯ] and [œ] sounds, ΔF1 between ΔHBV for [y] sound. CONCLUSION: Bimaxillary orthognathic surgery changed some voice parameters in skeletal Class III patients. Some correlations were found between skeletal and acoustic parameters. We advise clinicians to consider these findings and inform their patients.

Maturity evaluation of orthodontically important anatomic structures with computed tomography.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The success of the orthopaedic treatment is closely related to the patient's skeletal maturation. This study aimed to evaluate the midpalatal suture (MPS), the zygomaticomaxillary suture (ZMS) maturation, and the closure degree of the spheno-occipital synchondrosis (SOS) in patients of different age groups. The presence of a correlation between these parameters and the palatal dimensions was also verified. SUBJECTS/METHODS: The study was based on computed tomography images of 314 patients between 7 and 30 years of age with no orthodontic treatment history. The images were retrieved from the archive of the Radiology Department of Bezmialem Vakif University Hospital and divided into six groups according to the patient's age: 7-10, 11-13, 14-16, 17-20, 21-25, and 26-30 years. The maturation scores of ZMS, SOS, and MPS were determined, and palatal thickness and length were recorded. The data were analysed by using Statistical Package for Social Sciences for Windows 22.0. RESULTS: A positive relationship was found between SOS closure degree and MPS/ZMS maturation (MPS-ZMS: r = 0.816, MPS-SOS: r = 0.736, ZMS-SOS: r = 0.868, P = 0.000). The degrees of ZMS and MPS maturation were significantly increased as the SOS closure degree increased. The MPS maturation score was significantly lower in patients with a short and thick palate (MPS-palatal thickness: r = 0.405, MPS-palatal length: r = 0.387, P = 0.000). CONCLUSIONS: A positive correlation indicated the simultaneous progress in the maturation of the SOS, MPS, and ZMS. Moreover, the ANS-PNS length increase was found to be correlated with the increase of the MPS, ZMS, and SOS maturation scores. In contrast, a negative correlation was observed between the palatal thickness and the maturation stage of these structures.

Injectable platelet-rich fibrin and microneedling for gingival augmentation in thin periodontal phenotype: A randomized controlled clinical trial.

AIM: The aim of this present study was to evaluate the effect of gingival thickness (GT) and keratinized tissue width (KTW) using injectable platelet-rich fibrin (i-PRF) alone and with microneedling (MN) in individuals with thin periodontal phenotypes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this split-mouth study, 33 systemically healthy patients with thin periodontal phenotypes were randomly treated with MN + i-PRF and i-PRF. I-PRF was injected on one side, and MN + i-PRF was performed on the other side of the same patient at 4 sessions with 10-day intervals. Clinical periodontal measurements, GT and KTW were assessed before the treatment and every month for six months after the final injection. RESULTS: After the evaluation of GT between the groups, a statistically significant difference was found in MN + i-PRF group at the sixth month. In the intra-group comparisons, a statistically significant increase in GT was observed within both i-PRF [from 0.43 mm ± 0.14 to 0.62 mm ± 0.11 (p < .001)] and MN + i-PRF [from 0.4 mm ± 0.14 to 0.66 mm ± 0.12 (p < .001)] groups at the sixth month. CONCLUSIONS: In individuals with thin periodontal phenotypes, standalone i-PRF and i-PRF with MN may have an influence in increasing GT. The results suggest that application of i-PRF and MN may be a first step of non-surgical method for increasing gingival thickness.

Occurrence of Pneumatic Cavities Surrounding the Temporomandibular Joint.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence, the location, and the characteristics of the pneumatic cavities (PCAs) surrounding the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) by using cone-beam computed tomography. METHODS: A retrospective study was performed by using the three-dimensional data archives from Faculty of Dentistry, Bezmialem University, Istanbul, Turkey. The age and sex had been previously recorded for all of the patients. The location and the morphologic characteristics of the PCAs were documented. RESULTS: Pneumatic cavities were found in 18 patients (15%): 11 women (61%) and 7 men (39%). Eleven (57.9%) of the patients showed unilocular pneumatic air cells and 8 (42.1%) of them showed multilocular ones. The unilateral-to-bilateral ratio was 2.3:1. The age range was 8 to 76 years (mean 29.5 ±â€Š21.86 years), and the female-to-male ratio was 1.57:1. CONCLUSION: Cone-beam computed tomography provides images without superimposition that allows accurate and easy evaluation of the PCAs surrounding the TMJ. Our results suggest that the occurrence of PCAs is higher than has been previously reported; therefore, it is recommended for clinicians who are planning to perform TMJ surgery to think about the PCAs to understand the exact morphology for avoiding intraoperative complications.