Journal of Dental Materials and Techniques
Volume:3 Issue: 1, winter 2014

Bilateral sagittal split osteotomy (BSSO) of mandible is vastly used in treatment of mandibular deficiencies and discrepancies. Since this method could affect esthetic as well as function, evaluating these effects from various aspects is crucial. This study assessed the effects of this technique on the function of masseter muscle, jaw movements, and sensory changes along with failures in screws used for fixation. 48 patients with mandibular prognathism participated. Electromyography (EMG) of the masseter muscle; limits of jaw movements including maximum opening (MIO), protrusive (PM), lateral movements (LLE and LRE); presences of sensory changes and two point discrimination test; and number of removed screws were recorded at the baseline, 3 months, and 6 months after surgery. EMG activity of masseter decreased significantly 3 months after the surgery. However, after 6 months the masseter activity revealed no statistically significant difference with baseline activity. There was a significant decrease in MIO and PM after 3 months. The 6 month measurement of MIO and PM was also lower than baseline. However, no difference was observed between LRE and LLE in both follow up sessions. Among 46 patients, 27 patients developed lip paresthesia 3 months after surgery. After 6 month, lip paresthesia remained in 11 patients. Among 276 screws used for fixation 3 screws removed due to exposure to oral cavity and 2 due to patient discomfort. As BSSO in patients with mandibular prognathism revealed temporary functional and sensory changes, it is a safe and appropriate method in orthognathic surgery.

Some clinicians use a handheld screw driver instead of a torque wrench to definitively tighten abutment screws. The aim of this study was to compare the removal torque of one-piece and two-piece abutments tightened with a handheld driver and a torque control ratchet. 40 ITI implants were placed in acrylic blocks and divided into 4 groups. In groups one and two, 10 ITI one-piece abutments (Solid®) and in groups three and four, 10 ITI two-piece abutments (Synocta®) were placed on the implants. In groups one and three abutments were tightened by 5 experienced males and 5 experienced females using a handheld driver. In groups two and four abutments were tightened using a torque wrench with torque values of 10, 20 and 35 N.cm. Insertion torque and removal torque values of the abutments were measured with a digital torque meter. The insertion torque values (ITVs) of males in both abutments were significantly higher than those of females. ITVs in both Solid® and Synocta® abutments tightened with a handheld screwdriver were similar to the torque of 20 N.cm in the torque wrench. Removal torque values (RTVs) of solid® abutments were higher than those of synocta® abutments. The one- piece abutments (solid®) showed higher RTVs than the two-piece abutments (synocta®). Hand driver does not produce sufficient preload force for the final tightening of the abutment

Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is defined as burning and pain in the oral mucosa usually without any clinical and laboratory findings. It has a negative effect on patients'' quality of life and can be a significant health problem. The aim of this study was to identify major risk factors associated with BMS in menopausal and non-menopausal women at dental clinics of Gorgan, Iran. This cross-sectional study was performed on 450 elderly female patients attending Gorgan dental clinics, Iran. Questionnaires were completed for all the patients by the examiner. For those with burning mouth, intraoral examination was performed to make sure of lacking any clinical pathoses. In addition to descriptive statistics, t-student, Chi-square, Fisher exact test, Mann-Whitney U tests, and Logistic Regression were used for data analysis. In total, 13.8% of patients (n=62) suffered from BMS. Level of education (OR=4.67) and menopause (OR=4.45) were found to be a as predictors of increased prevalence of BMS in women of 30 to 60 years of age. According to Logistic Regression analysis, educational level, menstrual status, antidepressants, and systemic disease were significantly related to BMS. The prevalence of BMS among women in Gorgan (Iran) was relatively high, and the major risk factors were high level of education and menopause.

This study aimed to measure the changes in oral health-related quality of life of the patients, referred to Shahid Chamran Hospital in Shiraz before and after the orthognathic surgery. This prospective study was performed using the 14-item oral health impact profile (OHIP-14) questionnaire. The questionnaires were given both before and four months after the orthognathic surgery to all the patients referred to Shahid Chamran Hospital of Shiraz between 20th of November 2012 and 20th of February 2013. The patients were asked about their motivation for surgery and the responses were classified as functional, esthetic or a combination of functional and esthetic problems. The data achieved from all the questions before and after the surgery were analyzed using repeated measures test. Twenty eight patients including 10 men and 18 women participated in this study. The mean scores of quality of life after the surgery decreased significantly compared to that before the treatment (P<0.001). The quality of life was not significantly different among patients with different reasons to undergo orthognathic surgery (P=0.290). The results of this study indicated that the oral-health related quality of life of the patients significantly improved following surgical-orthodontic treatment.

It has been shown that joint click, an initial and common finding in internal derangement (ID), respond to neither conservative treatment nor surgical intervention. This raises the question as to whether it must be treated in the absence of other pertinent signs and symptoms, so the aim of this study was to investigate and compare the MRI findings of TMJ in both normal subjects and patients with click, in order to determine the importance of click in predicting TMJ pathological changes. A total of 26 patients with clinical symptoms of disk displacement with reduction (DDwR) according to RDC/TMD were compared to 14 normal subjects in terms of their MRI findings, including disk displacement, effusion, condylar osteoarthritic changes and disk deformities. Out of 80 joints in total (52 affected joints in 26 patients and 28 joints in control group), 48 were shown with normal disk position in MRI whereas 28 (35%) and 4 (5%) were categorised as DDwR and (disk displacement without reduction) DDwoR, respectively. Statistically significant correlations were established between the following pairs of variables in order: Click and disk displacement, effusion and disk displacement, disk displacement and effusion with disk deformity. The correlation between the presence of click and disk displacement, disk deformity and effusion emphasizes the importance of MRI for an accurate diagnosis and development of an appropriate treatment plan in these cases and shows that clinical examination is not sufficient for these purposes.

Amelogenesis imperfecta is a group of genetic disorders that affects both the morphology and quality of tooth structure. Although the disease entity is primarily associated with abnormalities of dental and oral structures, it has been reported to be associated with a few syndromes. A 9-year-old girl with minor thalassemia referred to the Department of Pediatric Dentistry of the Mashhad Faculty of Dentistry with a complaint of sensitivity of first permanent molars. Dental findings consisted of amelogenesis imperfecta, microdontia, posterior cross bite and taurodontism. This is the first report of thalassemia accompanied with amelogenesis imperfecta. Although the patients often are non-symptomatic, the trait can be passed on to a child and if both parents carry the trait, the child could develop a more severe form of the disease; therefore, early diagnosis is important.

A 16-year-old Class II female patient was treated without tooth extraction. The upper first molars were distalized by the Pendulum appliance. After six months، the molars tipped significantly to the distal. To correct this side effect، we decided to upright the molars using skeletal anchorage. On each side، a mini-screw was inserted between first and second premolars in the buccal cortical plate. An auxiliary spring was placed between the mini-screw head and the molar buccal tube. The resultant moment made the first molar upright. In addition، the side effects of this mechanic، i. e. molar intrusion and molar buccal tipping، counteract the extrusion and medial movement caused by the Pendulum Appliance. The aim of this case report was to present an innovative method for molar uprighting using skeletal anchorage.