Robotic Archwire Bending in Orthodontics: A Review of the Literature.

Malocclusion is a widespread oral health issue that adversely affects individuals' health and well-being. Currently, fixed orthodontics is considered the most efficient treatment for correcting malocclusion, with archwire bending playing a key role in orthodontic treatment. Traditionally, orthodontists manually performed archwire bending using various handheld pliers and other mechanical tools, requiring a significant amount of time, precision, and specialized training yet being unable to guarantee appliance accuracy. The process of shaping orthodontic wire is challenging due to its high stiffness and superelasticity, resulting in a time-consuming, laborious process that is prone to human errors. With advancements in orthodontics, traditional methods have taken a backseat, making way for innovative technologies that provide more accurate and personalized treatment options. The continuous efforts to enhance treatment efficiency, accuracy, efficacy, and patient experience have led to the integration of robotics into various orthodontic procedures. The use of robotics in archwire bending represents a breakthrough in orthodontics, offering unparalleled precision, consistency, and efficiency. This technology reduces treatment time and patient discomfort, overcoming the limitations of manual bending and enhancing orthodontic treatment overall. Hence, the present study aims to review the literature on robotic archwire bending in orthodontics, including their drawbacks and their impact on orthodontic treatment.

Comparison of Shear Bond Strength of Three Self-etching Adhesives: An In-Vitro Study.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to determine and compare the shear bond strength of brackets bonded with Adper Promt self-etching adhesive (3M ESPE), Xeno III self-etching adhesive (DENSPLY), Transbond plus self-etching adhesive (3M) with that of conversional bonding procedure, and to calculate the adhesive remnant index (ARI). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Totally, 60 maxillary premolar teeth were collected, and divided into Group I (Blue): Transbond™ XT primer, Group II (Purple): Adper™ Prompt™ self-etching adhesive, Group III (Orange): Xeno III® self-etching adhesive, Group IV (Pink): Tranbond™ Plus self-etching adhesive. RESULTS: The results of the study showed there was no statistical significance in the shear bond strength according to an analysis of variance (P = 0.207) of the four groups. The mean shear bond strength of Groups I, II, III, IV were 14.56 ± 2.97 Megapascals (MPa), 12.62 ± 2.48 MPa, 13.27 ± 3.16, and 12.64 ± 2.56, respectively. Chi-square comparison for the ARI indicated that there was a significant difference (P = 0.003) between the groups. CONCLUSION: All the four self-etching adhesives showed clinically acceptable mean shear bond strength. The ARI score showed a self-etching adhesive the debonding occurred more within the adhesive interface leaving less composite adhesive on the tooth surface making it easy to clean up.

Assessment of Image Distortion from Head Rotation in Lateral Cephalometry.

BACKGROUND: The patient's head can be slightly rotated sagitally vertically or transversely within the head holding device. Because of such improper positions due to the head rotation, an error can occur in cephalometric measurements. The purpose of this study was to identify the potential projection errors of lateral cephalometric radiograph due to head rotation toward X-ray film in the vertical Z-axis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Totally, 10 human dry skulls with permanent dentition were collected from the Department of Anatomy, J.J.M.C. Medical College, Davanagere. Each dry skull was rotated from 0° to -20° at 5° intervals. A vertical axis, the Z-axis, was used as a rotational axis to have 100 lateral cephalometric radiographs exposed. Four linear (S-N, Go-Me, N-Me, S-Go) and six angular measurements (SNA, SNB, N-S-Ar, S-Ar-Go, Ar-Go-Me, AB-Mandibular plane angle) were calculated manually. RESULTS: The findings were that: (1) Angular measurements have fewer projection errors than linear measurements; (2) the greater the number of landmarks on the midsagittal plane that are included in angular measurements, the fewer the projection errors occurring; (3) the horizontal linear measurements have more projection errors than vertical linear measurements according to head rotation. CONCLUSION: In summary the angular measurements of lateral cephalometric radiographs are more useful than linear measurements in minimizing the projection errors associated with head rotation on a vertical axis.

Incidence of Tooth Size Discrepancy in Different Groups of Malocclusion and its Relation to Extraction.

BACKGROUND: For proper intercuspation, the teeth must be proportional in size. If teeth are mismatched, with unusually large teeth in one arch compared to the other, then an ideal occlusion cannot be attained. This study has been done to determine the prevalence of tooth size discrepancies among orthodontic patients in general and also between different malocclusion groups, sex, and to analyze the change in the degree of severity in Bolton discrepancy before and after the hypothetical premolar extraction. METHODS: The study was carried out on randomly collected 100 pre-treatment dental casts. Tooth size analyses were performed on these pre-treatment models and Mesio distal tooth size ratios were measured as described by Bolton before and after various patterns of hypothetical extraction. RESULT: The results were statistically evaluated using ANOVA and paired samples t-test. 5 out of 100 patients are seen with severe Bolton discrepancy with Bolton values (BV) ranging above and below 2 standard deviation. Statistically insignificant difference is seen between males and females and also between various groups of malocclusion. The difference between the pre-treatment and post extraction BV was found statistically significant for the first premolar extraction and insignificant for others. CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate a new point of view to the question of which teeth to extract when evaluated for tooth size aspect only.