RESUMO
AIM: To translate the orthodontic experience questionnaire into Malayalam, an Indian language, and assess its validity and reliability in the Kerala population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The original questionnaire, which was developed in English, was translated into Malayalam. Face validity was assessed, and minor changes were made, followed by a content validity assessment by an expert panel. The final version was given to 324 patients who marked their responses on a Likert scale. Internal consistency reliability was tested using Cronbach's alpha, and test-retest reliability was tested using the intraclass correlation coefficient. Principal component factor analysis was performed to regroup the valid items. RESULTS: The principal component factor analysis revealed three domains. Reliability assessed by Cronbach's alpha of the whole questionnaire was 0.799, and that of the three domains was 0.73, 0.71, and 0.71, respectively. The test-retest reliability was found to be good (0.798). CONCLUSION: The Malayalam version of the orthodontic experience questionnaire was found to be content valid with good reliability. To obtain a successful treatment result, an orthodontist must be aware of these and this questionnaire, with adequate validity and reliability, has been designed to achieve this in the Malayalam-speaking population.
RESUMO
OBJECTIVES: This investigation aimed to evaluate the most common orthodontic urgencies, their management, and changes in routine biosafety measures and the total income of the dental office in South India during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A questionnaire was drafted using Google Forms with questions in four domains pertaining to orthodontic urgencies, biosafety measures, treatment duration, and income. After validation, this questionnairewas sent to 750 orthodontists via WhatsApp messenger (WhatsApp Inc, Menlo Park, Calif) over a period of 14 days.Descriptive statistics and comparisons were performed using independent t- and Chi-square tests. RESULTS: Majority of the orthodontists (62.3%) had closed their clinics only during the first lockdown. Many (63%) had scheduled urgent appointments along with routine limited patients per day. The most frequent urgencies were related to the breakage of brackets, archwires, molar tubes, bands, and temporary anchorage devices. Aligners were the least problematic. The treatment time was also prolonged. Telephonic advice and virtual assistance via WhatsApp messages/videos were found to be successful in the management of urgencies.Most orthodontists had strengthened their routine biosafety measures.The financial impact of this pandemic was considerable, with nearly 50% reduction in total income. CONCLUSIONS: Urgencies linked to preadjusted edgewise appliances, such as breakage of brackets and tubes, and archwire-related injuries were the most common. Prolongation of treatment time and negative financial impact were the other problems encountered during this pandemic. Drastic changes had occurred in routine biosafety measures, which prevented the spread of infection among orthodontists and patients.
RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To develop a tool to facilitate simple, easy and rapid assessment of the level of difficulty in disimpaction of an impacted canine using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). DESIGN: A cross-sectional study. METHODS: A panel of four experienced orthodontists formulated a questionnaire capable of portraying the limits of a three-dimensional (3D) area around impacted maxillary canines on CBCT images, which would determine the disimpaction difficulty level. In total, 14 experienced orthodontists graded each item in the questionnaire and assigned scores in the range of 0-5. Average scores obtained outlined the limits of a 3D area, within which an impaction was deemed favourable. This area was termed 'Easy box'. The disimpaction difficulty level of 170 impacted maxillary canines was then assessed using 'Easy box' and the existing tool KPG index for convergent validation. RESULTS: Perfect inter-examiner agreement was obtained as evidenced by Fleiss kappa value of 0.984 for the tool 'Easy box' and 0.948 for the KPG index. There was also perfect agreement between the two methods of assessment (Cohen weighted kappa, k>0.86). The average time taken for assessment using 'Easy box' was 3.3 min compared to 8.8 min for the KPG index. CONCLUSION: 'Easy box' proves to be a simple, accurate and rapid assessment tool for the prognostic evaluation of impacted canines, using CBCT images. Impacted maxillary canines with cusp tips that lie beyond the limits of the 3D 'Easy box' area with a beta angle greater than 45°, were rated to be more difficult to align.
