Demirjian and Cameriere methods for age estimation in a Spanish sample of 1386 living subjects.

Currently, human identification is a challenge. Migration due to war, economic crisis or other factors is frequent. The wisdom teeth are the last teeth to initiate and complete development therefore, are fundamental for determining the legal age of majority in different countries. The aim of the study is to determine the validity of two methods based on mineralisation of the third molar to predict the ages of majority of individuals in a Spanish population. Orthopantomographies of 636 men and 750 women (mean age, 16.5 years) were analysed. The Demirjian and Cameriere methods were used, and each tooth was assigned a value according to the degree of mineralisation and maturation. The level of significance used in the analyses was 5% (α = 0.05), with a power of 96.2%. The predictive ability of the Demirjian method to determine 18 years of age in the lower wisdom teeth 93%, respectively. The Cameriere method has a predictive capacity of 88%. There are no statistically significant differences between men and women. Stage H and a cut-off point of 0.08 were the guiding values for determining the age of majority of the study population. For other proposed age ranges (14 and 16 years), both methods were useful in determining the actual age of individuals, with the Demirjian method having a sensitivity of 97.5% with and Cameriere having a predictive capacity of 95%. Both methods can be used with high reliability to determine the age of individuals where reliable documentation is unavailable. Stage H with the Demirjian method and a cut-off point of 0.08 with the Cameriere method can determine the age of majority of the Spanish population. The combination of the two methods does not substantially increase predictive ability.

Early diagnosis of atherosclerosis with panoramic radiographs: a review / O diagnóstico precoce de aterosclerose através de radiografias panorâmicas: uma revisão

Abstract Carotid artery disease has been linked with cerebral vascular accident, also known as stroke, cerebral hemorrhage, or cerebral ischemia. It is caused by narrowing or obstruction of arteries in the neck (the carotid arteries) that are responsible for transporting blood from the aorta to the brain. Panoramic radiographs are used in dentistry to show both dental arches as a supplement to the clinical dental examination. The objective of this study is to highlight the importance of panoramic radiographs for diagnosis of arterial disease, by means of a bibliographic review. The PubMed database was searched using the keywords “atherosclerosis” and “panoramic”, with the filters “last 5 years” and “humans”. Twenty articles were identified, six of which were chosen for this study because they were open access. The review concluded that panoramic radiographs enable early diagnosis of carotid artery calcification, resulting in earlier interventions, and offer an accessible cost.

Resumo Doenças das artérias carótidas estão associadas a casos de acidente vascular cerebral, também chamados de derrame ou isquemia cerebral. Ocorrem devido ao estreitamento ou obstrução das artérias do pescoço, ou artérias carótidas, responsáveis por levar o sangue da aorta para o cérebro. A radiografia panorâmica é um exame de ambos os arcos dentários que ajuda no exame clínico odontológico. Destacar a importância da radiografia panorâmica no diagnóstico de doença arterial é o objetivo deste trabalho, que foi realizado através de pesquisa bibliográfica na PubMed, com as palavras-chave “atherosclerosis” e “panoramic”, e os filtros: últimos 5 anos e humanos. Vinte artigos foram elencados, dos quais seis formaram a base para este estudo, graças ao acesso livre ao seu conteúdo. Conclui-se que a radiografia panorâmica permite o diagnóstico precoce de calcificação da artéria carótida, levando a uma intervenção precoce a um custo acessível.

Reconstrucción mandibular: pasado, presente y futuro / Mandibular reconstruction: past, present and future

La reconstrucción mandibular continua siendo uno de los grandes retos para el cirujano de cabeza.y cuello. Presentamos en este trabajo una revisión de los métodos empleados en nuestro Servicio en los últimos quince años en la reconstrucción mandibular, sus ventajas, inconvenientes y los éxitos de cada técnica. Revisamos el colgajo osteomiocutáneo trapecial como colgajo pediculado regional, las indicaciones actuales de los colgajos microquirúrgicos, peroné, cresta ilíaca y escapular, sin hacer una descripción exhaustiva de los mismos sino haciendo hincapié en las indicaciones, las controversias y nuestros propios resultados en cada colgajo en la última década. Exponemos unas guías clínicas para el estudio de cada defecto que nos ayuden a la selección de uno u otro colgajo. La superioridad de la reconstrucción primaria y de los colgajos microquirúrgicos, sobre los métodos tradicionales, unidos a los implantes osteointegrados nos ha permitido proporcionar una adecuada calidad de vida (estética y función) a los pacientes mandibulectomizados (AU)

History of panoramic radiography.

The first attempts to image the whole jaw were made with intraoral radiation sources at the beginning of this century. The narrow-beam principle was described in 1922. Experimental work and development of equipment in the 1950s resulted in commercially available machines in the early 1960s. The panoramic technique originated from the need to image the jaws, but it was also applied to other anatomic regions, before CT became available. Panoramic radiography is an essential element in oral radiology today.