Journal of Dentomaxillofacil Radiology, Pathology and Surgery
Volume:11 Issue: 3, Summer 2022

This cross-sectional research compares the changes in quality of life (QoL) in adolescents experiencing growth modification therapy affected by the COVID-19 pandemic from 2019 to 2020. The participants were among those referring to the orthodontic department of Hamadan Dental School. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of growth modification on oral health related quality of life of adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This cross-sectional study was conducted from July 2020 to March 2021. The participants included 34 individuals (18 boys and 16 girls) with skeletal class II cases aged 10-13 years old undergoing removable growth modification treatment in Hamadan university of medical sciences. We measured the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) before therapy and six months later. Persian translation of the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP‑14) survey was employed to assess the OHRQoL. Data were analyzed by paired t-test, Pearson correlation coefficients, and T-test at a P-value of 0.05.

Total OHIP did not show significant changes in any domains of functional limitation, social disability, mental disability, mental distress, physical pain, physical disability, and social disability during 6 months (ANOVA test P = 0.05).

Growth modification in adolescents with class II malocclusion did not show a significant short-term impact on patients’ QoL within the first 6 months of therapy.

The demand of patients for tooth-colored restorations is increasing, and the need for proper dental bonding agents is undeniable. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the knowledge of general dentists practicing in Rasht city about dental bonding agents in 2020.

In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 161 dentists working in Rasht city were selected by simple random sampling. A researcher-designed questionnaire was used for data collection. The Chi-square test was applied for statistical analysis.

Of 161 dentists participating in the study, 79 were males and 82 were females. The mean knowledge score was 10.34±1.21 out of 15. The majority of dentists (n=73) had been graduated from Guilan University of Medical Sciences. The mean age of dentists was 38.35±8.36 years. The knowledge score was higher in the age groups under 30 and between 30 to 40 years. Also, the knowledge score of new graduates and dentists with less than 10 years of experience was higher than others. Moreover, 100 general dentists practicing in Rasht city had participated in continuing education courses regarding dental bonding agents after 2016, and this group had a higher knowledge score than dentists who had participated in continuing education courses on dental bonding agents before 2016.

The knowledge of general dentists practicing in Rasht city in 2020 regarding different types of dental bonding agents was good.

Deep margin elevation is a technique to solve the problem of localized sub-gingival margins of a tooth. It facilitates isolation and allows the use of adhesive materials. Otherwise, the tooth may not be restorable and the outcome of marginal integrity may remain questionable. Different methods have been suggested previously but they have disadvantages. This article describes the use of an aluminum shell as a matrix to restore a tooth with a sub-gingival margin. The aluminum shell is adapted to the remaining tooth contour and also extends beyond the margins to ensure the isolation and provide a matrix to restore the tooth.

Reactive soft tissue lesions are common in the oral cavity. These lesions usually occur as a painless non-neoplastic proliferation. Surgical excision of these lesions will cause aesthetic and mucogingival problems in the area. In this case, a prominent lesion in the anterior maxilla of a 40-year-old woman had recurred after two years. Surgical treatment was performed with complete excision of the lesion, curettage and reconstruction by free gingival graft.

Psychiatric disorders such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia cause vascular, neurological, and neurobiological changes. On other hand, salivary glands are influenced by changes in the autonomic nervous system. Therefore, this  hypothesis was formed that psychiatric disorders can affect salivary glands through neurological pathways. This study aimed to evaluate if schizophrenia and bipolar disorder can cause xerostomia and lip dryness in patients who are not using psychiatric drugs.

This study included 54 bipolar and 50 schizophrenia whose disorder was confirmed, and the control group included 60 healthy individuals whose mental health was evaluated through GHQ21 questionnaire and a psychiatrist. The FOX questionnaire was also completed to diagnose Xerostomia and lip dryness. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 22 using Chi-square, t-independent, logistic 
regression, ANOVA, Tukey test, Kruskal–Wallis, Mann–Whitney and Spearman 
correlation.

In this study, xerostomia was found in the bipolar group (57/40%), 
schizophrenia group (66%) and control group (18/33%). Xerostomia and dry lips were significantly higher in psychiatric patients than in the control group, but there was no significant difference between bipolar patients and schizophrenia patients. In this study, there was no significant relationship between Xerostomia and age and gender.

Neurological changes are factors that affect salivary secretions causing Xerostomia. Dentists must always consider psychological factors as a causative agent of Xerostomia.

This study aimed to determine the prevalence of dental caries and plaque in patients undergoing removable orthodontic treatment.

In this cross-sectional study, 57 patients were selected and examined for dental caries (clinically and radiographically) and plaque (O’Leary Index) on permanent and primary teeth. Data were analyzed using chi-square and Fisher at the significance level of 0.05.

The prevalence of dental caries in participants was 21.2%. The proximal surfaces were more commonly decayed. The most prevalent state of caries in permanent and primary teeth was incipient and advanced, respectively. The relation between dental caries and age was significant. (P<0.001) The most frequent teeth with dental caries were first molars in permanent and primary teeth. (P<0.001) Plaque accumulation in permanent teeth was 68.59% and in primary teeth was 61.24%. Labial surfaces had dental plaque more commonly. The most frequent teeth with dental plaque were incisors in permanent and primary teeth. (P<0.001)

Dentists should make the necessary recommendations to the patients so they can maintain good oral hygiene during their orthodontic treatment.