A Classical Wooden Vaginal Speculum Mentioned in Old Medical Manuscripts.

The subject of this paper is the story of an ancient medical instrument. This instrument is a wooden vaginal speculum used in classical and Islamic medicine. Its drawings can be found in Abulcasis al-Zahrawi's and Serefeddin Sabuncuoglu's illustrated books of surgery.

A new measurement protocol to differentiate sources of halitosis.

OBJECTIVE: Three sources of halitosis exist, potentially in any combination: mouth, nasal cavity or alveolar breath. There has been no universally accepted protocol which differentiates and quantifies each odour source separately. In this study a new gas measurement protocol is described and tested to determine whether each odour source can be separately detected without contamination. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ninety healthy volunteers were divided into three groups. Hydrogen sulphide (H2S), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and hydrogen (H2) were artificially generated in the mouth, nose and pulmonary alveoli, respectively. VOC, ammonia (NH3), sulphur dioxide (SO2), H2S and H2 gas readings from mouth, nose and alveolar air were measured and compared. Measurements were taken before and during gas generation. RESULTS: Contamination of nasal air (2.8%) and alveolar air (5.0%) by oral H2S; alveolar air (2.06%) and oral air (4%) by nasal organic gas; nasal air (18.43%) and oral air (9.42%) by alveolar H2 was calculated. CONCLUSION: The results demonstrated that artificially generated oral H2S nasal VOC and alveolar H2 can be individually quantified. This gas measurement protocol can be used diagnostically or to gauge response to therapy in any medical or dental setting.

Two different applications of Class II elastics with nonextraction segmental techniques.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the relative effects of Class II elastics applied directly with utility arches (UAs) or with the Reciprocal Mini-Chin Cup (RMCC) appliance. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty patients with Class II division 1 malocclusion were included. Fifteen of them were treated with the RMCC appliance and the other 15 treated with Class II elastics on UAs. Lateral cephalograms of an additional 15 untreated persons having the same characteristics as the treatment groups were used as a control group. RESULTS: The mean control period was 10 months. Class I molar and canine relationships were achieved in a mean treatment time of 4.6 months with the RMCC appliance and in 8.5 months with the elastics on UAs. The amount of overjet reduction was 4.7 mm in the RMCC group (87.87% dental) and 5.2 mm in the UA group (80.76% dental). The molar correction was 4.5 mm in the RMCC group (87.36% dental) and 2.0 mm in the UA group (51.47% dental). The anterior lower facial height increased in both of the treatment groups. CONCLUSIONS: The RMCC appliance is a valuable alternative for Class II elastic use in Class II cases in which the upper molars need to be moved to the distal more than the upper incisors.

Cephalometric evaluation of patients with Sagliker syndrome: uglifying human face appearance in severe and late secondary hyperparathyroidism in chronic renal failure patients.

It is well known that secondary hyperparathyroidism may be an extremely severe condition in chronic renal failure, and almost all patients with chronic kidney disease, even in the well-developed countries, encounter every kind of bone abnormalities if they are not treated properly. Although some sporadic cases have been reported of unique facial bone changes, the largest collection of this phenomenon has been reported by Sagliker et al. We also have found 6 of 9 patients who have these changes (Sagliker syndrome) to manifest class II malocclusion of the upper and lower jaws according to dental universally accepted criteria by performing cephalometric studies, x-ray plain films, tomographic procedures, and drawing technology.

Temperature rise during orthodontic bonding with various light-curing units--an in vitro study.

The purpose of this in vitro study was to investigate the temperature changes in the pulp chamber during bracket bonding using three different light sources. Bracket bonding was performed on one lower first premolar and one lower central incisor at two different distances (surface and 10 mm). The measurements were taken with a J-type thermocouple wire, placed in the pulp chamber and connected to a data logger. Analysis of variance revealed that pulp chamber temperature changes were influenced by the light source, the tooth type, and the distance from the tip of the light guide to the bracket surface. Halogen induced significantly higher intrapulpal temperature changes than light-emitting diode and Xenon Plasma Arc (PAC) (P = .000). The temperature increase was significantly higher when the light-guide tip was positioned at the surface of the teeth than at the 10-mm distance with all light-curing units (P = .000). All light-curing units produced higher intrapulpal temperature increase in the mandibular incisor than in the premolar. Power PAC produced significantly higher heat changes in the incisor than in the premolar. Orthodontic bonding with different light-curing units did not exceed the critical 5.5 degrees C value for pulpal health.

Orthopaedic techniques of Sabuncuoglu in the 15th century Ottoman period.

Serefeddin Sabuncuoglu (1385-1468) was the author of the surgical textbook Cerrahiyyetü'l-Haniyye (Imperial Surgery). It was the first illustrated surgical textbook in the Turkish-Islamic medical literature. Cerrahiyyetü'l-Haniyye is significant because it includes Sabuncuoglu's color illustrations of surgical procedures, incisions, fracture dislocation reduction techniques, and instruments. There are only three handwritten copies. Two originally were written by Sabuncuoglu and are exhibited in Paris and Istanbul. The book was rediscovered in 1936, but some parts are suspected to be missing. The book currently consists of three chapters divided into 193 sections. The third chapter includes orthopaedics and traumatology, reduction techniques of lower and upper extremities, fractures and dislocations, and relevant Greek, Arabic, and Persian textbooks are cited. Sabuncuoglu also wrote about surgical treatment of congenital hand anomalies. He was the first to advise placing a wooden splint under the palmar side after hand surgery. We reviewed the sections of Cerrahiyyetü'l-Haniyye related to orthopaedics and traumatology. Compared with previous writings by Hippocrates, Ibn-i Sina, and Al-Zahrawi, there are no major differences in the treatment of fracture dislocations.

Tooth-size ratio for patients requiring 4 first premolar extractions.

INTRODUCTION: The relationship between total mesiodistal widths of the maxillary and mandibular teeth is an important factor in orthodontic treatment planning. The purposes of this article are to report a mathematical tooth-size ratio specifically designed for patients needing the extraction of 4 first premolars and to compare the anterior "6" and overall "12" ratio values reported by Bolton with the calculated anterior "6" and overall "10" ratio values obtained from data in this study. METHODS: This study was conducted in 3 phases. In the first 2 phases, we used the peer assessment rating and ideal cephalometric norms to select 53 ideal posttreatment models of patients who had had 4 premolars extracted. In the third phase, the mean overall "10" ratio and the mean anterior "6" ratio were calculated for the selected models. Bolton's mean overall "12" (91.3%) and anterior "6" ratios (77.2%) were compared statistically with calculations derived from this study by using 1-sample t test. RESULTS: The mean overall "10" ratio and the mean anterior "6" ratio were found to be 89.28 +/- 1.07% and 77.68 +/- 1.12%, respectively. Although the difference in anterior ratio was not significantly different from Bolton's anterior "6" ratio, there was a statistically significant difference between Bolton's study and our study in overall ratio. CONCLUSIONS: The mathematical tooth size overall ratio of 89.28% was determined for patients requiring the extraction of 4 first premolars and is recommended for use in diagnosis and treatment planning.

Ophthalmic techniques described by Serefeddin Sabuncuoglu (1385-1468 AD).

Serefeddin Sabuncuoglu (1385-1468 AD) was a Turkish surgeon who lived in the Ottoman Empire during the fifteenth century, a time of progressive expansion. When in his eighties, he wrote Cerrahiyyetü'l-Haniyye, which means Imperial Surgery. His book is the first example of an illustrated surgical textbook in the Turkish-Islamic medical literature. The importance of his book rests upon the inclusion of colour miniatures of the surgical procedures, incisional techniques and instruments, all drawn by Sabuncuoglu himself. Only three hand-written copies exist, two of which were originally written by the author and are currently exhibited in Paris and Istanbul. The book was rediscovered in 1936, but some parts of it are still suspected to be missing. At present, the book consists of three chapters divided into 193 known sections. The sections deal with all fields of surgery including ophthalmology, and cite relevant Greek, Arabic and Persian textbooks. In this historical article the sections of Cerrahiyyetü'l-Haniyye pertinent to ophthalmology are critically reviewed, including a selection of the coloured drawings.

Asymmetric maxillary expansion (AMEX) appliance for treatment of true unilateral posterior crossbite.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of an asymmetrical maxillary expansion (AMEX) appliance. Patients with true unilateral posterior crossbites were included in the study. The treatment group consisted of 18 patients who had a mean age of 14 +/- 2.3 years. Treatment effects were evaluated on posteroanterior radiographs, dental casts, and photographs of the dental casts. All unilateral posterior crossbites were corrected in a mean expansion treatment time of 3.3 +/- 0.48 months. As a result of expansion, maxillary interfirst molar, interfirst and second premolar, and intercanine arch widths increased significantly. Comparison of the 2 sides showed that the teeth on the crossbite side moved and tipped more buccally than the teeth on the noncrossbite side. Of the total expansion gained, 75.8% to 91.7% was due to the buccal movements of the teeth on the noncrossbite side. The AMEX appliance was found to be effective in correcting true unilateral posterior crossbites, and therefore it can be recommended for clinical use.