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Objective: To evaluate the Bolton ratio in the Maratha population in Pune with near ideal occlusion. Materials and Methods: Fifty study casts were made from impression obtained from patients (25 males and 25 females) aged between 15 and 30 years visiting the Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics at Sinhgad Dental College and Hospital, Pune. The mesiodistal widths of all maxillary and mandibular teeth from right first molar to left first molar were measured with a digital caliper to calculate the Bolton ratio. The readings were then used to compute the anterior and total Bolton ratios. t-test was used for the statistical analysis. Results: The mean overall and anterior ratios were found to be 92.73 and 80.48 with standard deviation of 2.69 and 2.86, respectively. The range of overall ratio was 81.91–96.75, and the range of anterior ratio was 74.75–86.45. The values obtained from this study indicated that there was a statistically significant difference between the overall and anterior ratios of Maratha and Caucasian participants. Conclusion: It can be suggested that new values should be obtained for the Maratha population as the values were found to be significantly different from the Bolton values obtained for Caucasian population. Hence, population-specific standards are necessary to be formed for clinical assessment.

Introduction : The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the shear bond strength between the bracket and acid etched enamel, enamel treated with self-etch primer and laser irradiated enamel and to analyze the interface of the enamel bracket bond. Materials and methods : Around 60 noncarious human premolars were divided randomly into three groups of 20 each and etched using 37% phosphoric acid, self-etch primer and Er:YAG laser. Stainless steel brackets were then bonded using Transbond XT following which all the samples were stored in distilled water at room temperature for 24 hours. Shear bond strength was tested using a chisel edge, mounted on the crosshead of Universal Testing Machine. After debonding, the teeth were examined under 10Χ magnification with a stereomicroscope and ARI score determined. Shear bond strengths of the three groups were then compared using ANOVA test (multiple comparisons, Tukey′s correction). Comparison of the ARI scores was done using Chi-square test. Result : The acid etched group yielded the highest mean debonding force (13.34 Mpa) followed by self-etch group (12.15 Mpa) and laser etch group (12.10 Mpa). No significant difference was found between the three groups. On comparison of the ARI scores, it was found that the adhesive left on the enamel surface after debonding was significantly higher in the acid etched group than the self-etch group (p = 0.009). There was no significant difference in the ARI scores between the other two groups. Conclusion : These results indicate that the shear bond strength of all the three groups was clinically acceptable with no significant difference between them but more adhesive was left on enamel treated with acid and laser as compared to self-etch primer treated enamel.

Orthodontic treatment enhances smile and improves facial esthetics, thus patient expectations from an orthodontist are much more. But sometimes orthodontic failure can occur leading to dissatisfied patient which can be a legal challenge for an orthodontist. Therefore, one must be aware of the potential hazards of orthodontic treatment and explain it to patients as well as it is imperative that all orthodontist should be aware of medicolegal aspect of orthodontic practice.