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Introduction: The evaluation of flapless corticision in conjunction with the conventional treatment in the non-extraction decrowding of lower anterior teeth has not been performed yet in any randomised clinical trial, particularly in terms of treatment time and periodontal indices. Aim: The aim of the study was to compare the duration of leveling and alignment of mild and moderate crowding cases in the lower dental arch between the corticision-assisted fixed orthodontic treatment and the traditional method; and to compare the periodontal indexes between the two groups. Materials and Methods: A parallel-group Randomised Controlled Clinical Trial (RCT) was conducted on 60 patients (mean age 2 1.40±1.63 years). Patients were randomly assigned to either the corticision group or the control group (30 each). Immediately after fixed appliance bonding, three radiographicguided incisions were performed on the labial surfaces of the alveolar bone between lower anterior teeth by reinforced scalpels and mallets in order to accelerate alignment for patients in the corticision group. Patients in the control group were treated with conventional orthodontics. The outcome measures were the overall time needed for leveling and alignment, periodontal parameters such as Plaque Index (PI), Probing Depth (PD), Gingival Index (GI), and the width of the attached gingiva. Results: The overall treatment time was significantly shorter in the corticision group than the control group. The average leveling and alignment period for the corticision group was 116.46±15.97 days, while it was 159.69±13.76 days in the control group. Comparing the groups, a significant reduction of about 27% was found in the leveling and alignment duration of the corticision group. There were no significant differences in the periodontal parameters (PI, PD, GI, the width of attached gingiva) at the end of leveling and alignment phase in both the groups. Conclusion: Corticision seems to be an effective method to accelerate leveling and alignment in cases of mild and moderate crowding. It did not cause negative effect on the periodontal tissues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Bone-Anchored Intermaxillary Traction (BAIMT) is a relatively new method for class III treatment in growing patients, therefore evidence about their acceptably as well as the levels of pain, discomfort and functional impairments among orthodontic patients is still lacking. Aim: To evaluate levels of pain, discomfort and acceptance between the BAIMT system and a commonly used treatment modality in the correction of Class III malocclusion. Materials and Methods: Two-arm parallel-group randomised controlled trial was conducted at the Department of Orthodontics, Al-Baath University Dental School. Fifty-six patients who met the inclusion criteria were distributed randomly and equally into two groups: the bone-anchored intermaxillary traction group (the BAIMT group with a mean age of 11.3 years) and the removable mandibular retractor group (the RMR group with a mean age of 11.5 years). A special questionnaire (originally designed by Sergl) was used and included six questions regarding patients' feelings of appliancerelated tension/pressure, pain, impaired speech, swallowing difficulty, oral constraint and lack of confidence in public. This questionnaire was administered at T1 (1 day), T2 (1 week), T3 (6 weeks), T4 (3 months) and T5 (6 months) following appliance initial wear. Results: Fifty-one patients were included in the analysis (BAIMT group: 26; RMR group: 25). Patients treated with the BAIMT system had higher levels of pressure, tension (p<0.001) and pain (p<0.001) compared to those in the control group. No statistically significant differences were found between the two groups in relation to impaired swallowing, whereas the RMR caused more constraint in mandibular movements (p<0.05) and more speech impairment (p<0.001) in addition to increased levels of lack of confidence (p<0.001). Conclusion: The BAIMT system caused more pain than the RMR but the levels of pain gradually decreased especially after one week following application. RMR caused more mandibular restriction and more speech impairment because of the presence of the reverse bow, and it caused relatively high levels of social avoidance and lack of confidence for the patient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: CBCT imaging recently has become a very common diagnostic tool in the orthodontic literature. Recent research work has shown that CBCT imaging would give additional information regarding the volumetric assessment of the craniofacial structures. However, the previous published work has not considered the impact of the anterior-posterior skeletal classification and the vertical skeletal pattern on the volumetric assessment of the maxillary and mandibular bones. Aim: To evaluate maxillary and mandibular volumes (MxV and MdV, respectively) in hyper-divergent skeletal Class II (CII) and normo-divergent skeletal Class I (CI) patients and to investigate any possible correlation between CBCT derived lateral cephalometric variables and the calculated volumes. Materials and Methods: CBCT images of 60 patients (30 patients: CI, 30 patients: CII) were obtained and processed with Mimics® 17 software (Materialise, NV, Belgium). the Three dimensional models of both jaws were reconstructed and the related volumes were calculated using a novel approach. CBCT based cephalograms were also derived and linear and angular measurements of the craniofacial complex were obtained. Significance tests were based on t-tests (alpha set at 5%) and Pearson's correlation coefficients were calculated. Results: No significant differences were detected between the two groups in the MxV (p=0.435) and the MdV (p=0.507). In the CI group, no or weak correlations were found between the volumetric measurements and the 2D variables. In the CII group, there was a strong correlation between both MxV and MdV and both the posterior facial height (r=0.60, 0.78 respectively) and the facial height index (r=0.62, 0.72 respectively). A negative moderate correlation was found between both MxV and MdV and the mandibular plane angle (r=-0.48,-0.44 respectively) and Bjork's sum (r=-0.48,-0.44 respectively). Conclusion: There were no significant differences in the MxV and MdV between CI and CII skeletal patterns. Some cephalometric variables had moderate to strong correlation with the MxV and MdV in the CII group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Periodontal pain caused by elastomeric separators is a very common problem in the commencement of orthodontic treatment. Previous studies have shown good results in reducing this pain by Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) and different protocols of application have been suggested in the literature. Aim: This trial aimed to evaluate LLLT on managing orthodontic pain caused by elastomeric separators and to compare single versus double irradiation in possible pain reduction. Materials and Methods: A clinical randomized compound (parallel-group and split-mouth design) trial was conducted on 36 patients between 12 and 26 years of age. Elastomeric separators were placed at the mesial and distal surfaces of the first molars in one jaw (upper or lower) for each patient and in only one side of the mouth (the other side served as the placebo side).The trial had two groups: the first group received single irradiation of LLLT [Gallium Aluminum Arsenide (GaAlAs): 830 nm, 4J/cm2, 100mW] immediately after separators insertion, where as the second group received double irradiation immediately after separators insertion and after 24hours. All patients were instructed to rate the level of pain at 1, 6, 24, 48, 96 hours on a Visual Analog Scale (VAS). The student 't' tests, repeated measures ANOVA and LSD post-hoc tests were employed. Results: LLLT was successful in reducing post-separation pain when the experimental side was compared to the placebo side at all assessment times in each group (p<0.05). There were no statistically significant differences between single and double irradiation groups in terms of pain reduction (p>0.05). Conclusion: GaAlAs LLLT application reduced early orthodontic pain caused by elastomeric separators by single or double irradiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]