Correction of late adolescent skeletal Class III using the Alt-RAMEC protocol and skeletal anchorage.

This case report describes skeletal anchorage-supported maxillary protraction performed with the Alternate Rapid Maxillary Expansion and Constriction (Alt-RAMEC) protocol over a treatment duration of 14 months in a 16-year-old female patient who was in the late growth-development period. Miniplates were applied to the patient's aperture piriformis area to apply force from the protraction appliance. After 9 weeks of following the Alt-RAMEC protocol, miniplates were used to transfer a unilateral 500-g protraction force to a Petit-type face mask. A significant improvement was observed in the soft tissue profile in measurements made both cephalometrically and in three dimensional photographs. Subsequently, the second phase of fixed orthodontic treatment was started and the treatment was completed with the retention phase. Following treatment completion, occlusion, smile esthetics, and soft tissue profile improved significantly in response to orthopedic and orthodontic treatment.

A novel approach to radiographic detection of growth development period with hand-wrist radiographs: A preliminary study with ImageJ imaging software.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to determine whether or not the ImageJ program can be used to automatically determine the growth period of the hand and wrist which have different growth-development periods according to the density values in the phalanges in radiographs. SETTING AND SAMPLE POPULATION: Our study included hands-wrist radiographs of 270 individuals aged 8-17 years. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study's participants were classified into 7 groups according to their skeletal maturation stage (PP2=, MP3=, MP3cap, DP3u, PP3u, MP3u, and Ru) which included pre-peak, peak, and post-peak periods. The total density values (TDV) and pure density values (PDV) in the distal, medial, and proximal phalanges were calculated using each radiograph in the ImageJ program. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to evaluate the density values and chronological age, and pairwise comparisons were made using the post-hoc LSD test. RESULTS: The total density value was graphically zigzagged in the mesial, distal, and proximal phalanges. However, the pure density value increased continuously until the post-peak period and decreased after the DP3u period until the Ru period. While no significant difference in total density values was observed between the growth periods for all three phalanges, a significant difference in pure density values was observed. CONCLUSION: It has been demonstrated in the ImageJ program that the peak growth period can be distinguished using the pure density values obtained from all phalanges of the third finger and that this method can be used as an alternative to the growth period detection through artificial intelligence.

Evaluation of Pharyngeal Airway Dimensions and Hyoid Bone Position in Children After Adenoidectomy or Adenotonsillectomy: A Cephalometric Study.

Background. The study aimed to compare the airway morphology and hyoid bone position in children undergoing adenoidectomy or adenotonsillectomy with healthy individuals with no skeletal problems in similar age and development period. Methods. The subjects in the study were divided into three groups. These groups were defined as those having undergone adenoidectomy (53 children), those having undergone adenotonsillectomy (48 children), and the systemically healthy control group (63 children). Seventeen pharyngeal airway, nine hyoid, and four area measurements were used in the cephalometric radiographs of the children in all the groups. One-way analysis of variance was used to evaluate the children in each group. In addition, Tukey tests were used for a bilateral comparison of significant parameters. The results were considered statistically significant at P<0.05. Results. The mean age of 164 patients in the study group was 12.76±2.85 years. The vertical airway length significantly decreased in the adenotonsillectomy group compared to other groups, while the epiglottic pharyngeal length significantly increased in the former than in the latter (P<0.05). The area measurements showed that although the oropharynx area significantly increased in the adenotonsillectomy group compared to other groups, the hypopharynx and total area measurements were significantly different compared with the control group (P<0.05). No statistically significant difference was found between the three groups in all measurements of the hyoid bone position (P>0.05). Conclusion. The study showed that adenotonsillectomy operations caused more increases in the oropharynx and hypopharynx parts of the pharyngeal airway. Adenoidectomy and adenotonsillectomy operations did not contribute significantly to the hyoid bone position.

Correction to: Evaluation of pharyngeal airway dimensions and hyoid bone position in children after adenoidectomy or adenotonsillectomy: A cephalometric study.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.34172/joddd.2022.013.].