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Objectives: Unilateral condylar hyperplasia (UCH), marked by progressive condylar growth, occurs between ages 11-30 with unclear etiology. This retrospective study aims to clarify the clinical, radiographic, and demographic features of UCH to improve its diagnosis and treatment., Material and Methods: Data for all patients included in this study were retrieved from the archive. Inclusion criteria were the diagnosis of UCH supported by a positive bone scan above 10% of condylar uptake in SPECT/CT, the patient's history of progressive facial asymmetry, symptoms confirmed by the orthodontist during follow-up, and clinical and radiological evaluation. Demographic characteristics, along with volumetric and linear measurements, were statistically evaluated., Results: Forty-one patients were included in this study with 70.73% female predominance. Patients were classified as transverse and vertical type condylar hyperplasia (CH) according to their prominent asymmetry characteristics. Eighteen patients were classified as vertical type CH and 23 patients were classified as transverse type CH. Twenty had left-side condylar overgrowth, and 21 had right-side overgrowth. Condylar volume difference was significantly higher in vertical type CH patients compared to transverse type CH (p = 0.004). No correlation was found between growth rate (bone scan uptake ratio) and condylar volume difference in patients with vertical type and transverse type CH patients (p = 0.205)., Conclusion: Particularly in cases that exhibit a pronounced vertical growth tendency, volumetric and linear measurements can guide the timing and treatment planning process., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Background: Surgery First Approach (SFA) and Surgery Early (SE) are considered promising alternatives, compared to the conventional three-stages orthodontic-surgical approach, for treatment of dento-maxillofacial deformities. However, many features need further study, like the role of the orthodontist. Aim of the study was to analyse the clinical characteristics of patients who underwent SFA and SE, and if differences in duration of orthodontics could be influenced by clinical features., Methods: A retrospective research was performed on patients who met the inclusion criteria for SFA (31) and SE (12), of the total of patients affected by dento-facial deformities in our Unit (191) in the period 2012-2017. After collection of clinical data, duration of orthodontics, age, pre-treatment PAR Index, ANB angle, amount of the curve of Spee were compared. A regression analysis evaluated if these clinical parameters, together with type of bracket and type of intervention, could influence the duration of post-surgical orthodontics., Results: All patients who performed the SFA/SE were affected by class III, II and active Unilateral Condylar Hyperplasia (22% of total population). Pre-treatment mean differences of age (p = 0.0518), PAR Index (p = 0.0916), curve of Spee (p = 0.1006) between groups were not statistically significant. A statically significant difference was found for the overall duration of therapy, for the significant shorter duration of pre-surgical orthodontics, while the difference of post-surgical orthodontics duration was not significant (p = 0.4753). Type of bracket (rho=-0.19039, p = 0.266) and intervention performed (rho=-0.11522, p = 0.5034) were not correlated with duration of post-surgical orthodontics, as well as pre-treatment PAR Index, ANB angle and depth of the curve of Spee., Conclusions: Surgery First/Early Approach is a therapeutic choice that could be performed only in patients affected by specific malocclusions and who exactly meet indications. Protocol and post-surgical occlusal stability are factors that should influence the duration of therapy more than clinical characteristics., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest Declarations of competing interest: none for all the Authors., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: The mounting of the plaster casts on articulator procedure is routinely performed in orthognathic surgery to assess canting of the maxillary occlusal plane, but the currently used protocols and reference plane could be source of errors which affect reliability. Nowadays the assessment of canting of the maxillary occlusal plane could be also performed with an entirely digital protocol. Aim of the study was to propose a method to evaluate canting in patients affected by Unilateral Condylar Hyperplasia, comparing the measurements performed on digital models matched on CBCT with those made on traditional articulator., Materials and Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was designed on 20 patients affected by vertical Unilateral Condylar Hyperplasia treated in the Units of Orthodontics and Maxillo-Facial Surgery. The canting of the maxillary occlusal plane was measured on plaster casts mounted on the conventional articulator and the measures were compared with those made on digital models matched on CBCT, according the protocol developed in our Unit. Molar, canine and basal difference were measured. To compare the two protocols and to test the agreement, we performed descriptive statistics, comparison between means and Bland Altman analysis. P value was set at 0.05., Results: Statistic comparison demonstrated agreement between measurements performed with the digital protocol and conventional physical method., Conclusion: Measurements of canting with digital protocol are comparable to the physical standard method. A total digital protocol allows faster availability and storage of patient's data and better communication between orthodontist and maxillo-facial surgeon, especially in patients affected by three-dimensional malocclusions., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest None., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)