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Aim: Dental agenesis is one of the most frequent dental anomalies, with a prevalence varying from 1.6% to 36.5%, depending on the populations studied. The patient's age at diagnosis, sex, and ethnic differences are considered possible influenting factors that can explain such a wide range of prevalence. The objective of the study was to define the frequency of dental agenesis in a sample of subjects living in Piedmont and Lombardy regions of Italy., Materials: X-rays, already taken for other diagnostic purposes, were collected. Orthopantomographies belonging to subjects born after 1995 and aged between 7.9 and 16.9 years were selected. It was assessed the presence of each tooth, except for third molars since they are frequently absent due to their variability. If a tooth was missing and the patient had additional radiographs, the other radiographs were evaluated to confirm the diagnosis or to rule out a delayed calcification or the presence of a malposition tooth., Results: Orthopantomographies were collected from 1,020 subjects and 98 of them presented agenesis, with a prevalence of 5% for females and 4.61% for males. The most affected teeth were 35 and 45, followed by 12 and 22. The lower arch was more frequently involved by agenesis: there were 107 teeth absent in the mandibular arch and 83 in the maxillary arch.

Aim: Aim of the study was to evaluate if self-ligating brackets (SLB) and conventional brackets (CB) have the same degree of second order root control in closing extraction spaces., Methods: Two resin models, left and right sides of an upper arch, with two wells in the premolar area, were used. Wells have been filled with wax and resin premolars with anatomic root structure were placed in them. Resin premolars were bonded with CB and SLB. We performed 20 pairwise runs: CB on one side against SLB on the other side. We tested 0.018 and 0.016x0.022 stainless steel arches. Models were put in warm water to allow teeth to move in the softened wax by the force excerpted by NiTi coils. Root control in the second order was evaluated with the aid of metallic markers on the roots and digital radiographies taken before and after each run., Results: On 0.018 wires CB moved 4.0 mm (SD 1.06 mm), mean root control angle was 14.8° (SD 9.15°), while SLB moved 4.1 mm (SD 1.33 mm), mean angle in the second order was 11.8° (SD 5.01°). On 0.016x0.022 wires CB moved 3.6 mm (SD 1.24 mm), mean angle in the second order was 9.7° (SD 5.48°) while SLB moved 3.4 mm (SD 1.05 mm), mean angle was 10.7° (SD 3.92°)., Conclusion: It seems that, on typodont, CB and SLB are equally efficient in moving teeth crowns and have the same degree of second order root control, both when 0.018 and 0.016x0.022 stainless steel wires are used.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate possible links between competitive swimming during the growth phase and the development of the dentoalveolar arches., Methods: The study sample included 100 swimmers and a control group of 100 age-matched non-swimmers who had never practised swimming or related sports. Subjects who had had previous orthodontic treatment were excluded. Overjet, overbite, sagittal and transverse parameters, arch dimension, crowding and oral habits were recorded., Results: In the swimmers, there was a significantly higher frequency of molar symmetry (P=0.04), together with a greater number of Class I subjects. The overjet in the swimmers was mainly normal, but the arch dimensions were significantly wider (+10% in the upper arch; P<0.001). Similarly, the swimmers showed significantly less severe crowding (P<0.001) and significantly reduced oral habits (P<0.001)., Conclusions: Our data and analysis demonstrate that competitive swimming during the growth phase has a favourable effect on dental arch development in the sagittal, vertical and transverse planes.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of the Levandoski Panoramic Analysis in the diagnosis of dental and mandibular asymmetries and its contribution to clinical patient's evaluation and treatment planning. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-one randomly selected panoramic radiographs of children from 7 to 14 year old were analysed using 10 linear measurements. Right and left values were compared with Student's paired T tests. For each value, mean and standard deviation were computed separately for each side., Results: Statistics. A dominance for the left side over the right side was observed. The data obtained were not statistically significant with the exception of maxillary length: the right side length of the maxilla was shorter (p<0.05) compared to the left side., Conclusions: Levandosky Panoramic Analisys represents a useful screening method in the diagnosis of dental and mandibular asymmetries.

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to test the accuracy of Cameriere's European formula for age assessment in a large sample of Mexican children. The accuracy of dental age estimation was defined as how closely real age, measured as the difference between chronological age (CA) and dental age (DA), could be predicted. Digitalized orthopantomographs of 502 Mexican children (254 girls and 248 boys), aged between 5 and 15 years, were analyzed. The seven left permanent mandibular teeth were evaluated using Cameriere's method. Intra- and inter-observer variability for this technique was tested on a small random sample. Dental age was estimated for each individual and compared with known chronological age. Accuracy was measured as the difference between known chronological age and dental age and tested for significance with the mean prediction error (ME). The standard deviation and 95% confidence interval of the mean difference were also calculated. ME was 0.63 years for girls and 0.52 years for boys. ME was found to be slightly overestimated by 0.10 years for girls, but was correctly estimated for boys with an accuracy of 0.00. In conclusion, this method is very useful and may be recommended for practical application both in clinical dentistry and forensic procedures on the Mexican population., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Aim: The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of space closure of two bracket systems, self-ligating and conventional ones, considering two systems with the same design and prescription. The experimental model of this study aims to identify in general if one type of system is more suitable for planning the extractive therapy, without considering the clinical aspect necessary for an adequate orthodontic approach., Methods: A resin maxilla without the first premolars was used to test the self-ligating and conventional brackets system. Space closure was achieved on 0.016x0.022" in stainless steel wires with nickel-titanium coil springs 150 grams in strength and 10 mm in length. Two experiment settings have been prepared. The first setting was made bonding conventional bracket on the right side and self-ligating on the left; the last one was made bonding self-ligating bracket on the right side and conventional on the left. All measurements (runs) have been repeated seven times for both settings., Results: During the closing phase of extraction spaces both systems are equable since there are no significant statistical differences (P=0.70)., Conclusion: Our typodont model showed no significant difference in the efficiency of space closure between the self-ligating bracket and conventional bracket tied with stainless steel ligatures.

Background: Traumatic injuries to primary teeth represent one of the most common aetiologic factors of time-related eruption disturbances of permanent teeth. These include premature eruption, delayed eruption or impactions., Case Report: A case of a 7.5-year-old male with delayed eruption of the maxillary permanent left incisor is presented. The case history revealed a trauma around the age of 3 involving its primary tooth predecessor and its extraction by a dentist about one year later due to frequent abscesses. The clinical examination showed an early mixed dentition and the single presence of tooth 11 in the dental arch, with an obvious aesthetic problem that affected the child's self image. The periapical x-ray ruled out any dimorphism on the impacted tooth, and it showed a root developed by two thirds. About 2 months after the examination, a simple gingivectomy was carried out, and the tooth could erupt completely 3 months later without any need for orthodontic traction. One year after surgery, a complete root development could be observed, as well as the presence of the lateral incisors with a moderate crowding.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the awareness of sports as risk factor of dental injuries, the emergency management when a tooth avulsion occurs and the compliance about mouthguards., Materials and Methods: Two hundred children and youngsters 8- to 15-year-old (147 boys and 53 girls) attending Sports Societies in Isernia, a town in Southern Italy, participated to the investigation. The sports involved were soccer, martial arts, tennis, swimming, volleyball, basketball and cycling. The questionnaire was structured into three parts: 1) questions about age, sex, type and time of sports practice; 2) questions about dental injuries, particularly personal experience, awareness of first aid and procedure about tooth avulsion; 3) questions about knowledge and use of mouthguards., Results: Sixty-five per cent of the athletes were aware of the possibility of oral injuries during sports practice and 8.5% referred an experience of dental trauma; 71.5% of the participants think that the immediate management of dental injuries by a dentist is very important to increase the rate of success; 31% know that the avulsed tooth may be reimplanted: 33.9% would reimplant the tooth within an hour and 62.9% would keep it in a wet storage medium. Finally, 80.5% of the athletes knew about mouthguards as protective devices, but only 5% actually used them; eight out of ten were provided by the dentist., Conclusion: Educational programs organized by the sports dentistry community are needed to inform coaches, teachers, athletes and parents about dental injuries and to promote the mouthguards use, especially in contact sports practice.

Aim: Mixed dentition analysis allows the prediction of the tooth width of non erupted permanent canines and premolars (SPCP). It is an essential factor in treatment planning since it could predict a tooth-size to arch-length discrepancy. The aim of this study was to determine which group of permanent teeth presented the best prediction capability for the width sums of the unerupted canine and premolars in an Italian sample., Materials and Methods: A total of 150 subjects with complete permanent dentition were selected. Their dental casts were measured to 0.01 mm with a digital caliper. Pearson correlation and T-test were used for the statistical analysis., Results/statistics: The combination of the sums of the four lower incisors and the first upper molars showed the best prediction capability for the SPCP in the Italian sample. Moreover new regression equations were formulated including sex and arch as additional predictor variables. In 80% of the cases estimated differences between the predicted and the actual values were smaller than 1 mm., Conclusion: It can be concluded that the new regression equations proposed seemed to show good accuracy.

The aim of this study was to determine if Häävikko's maturation standards are applicable to Italian children. The sample included 500 healthy Caucasian children 3.9-15.4 years of age: 267 girls [mean age 9.6 years, standard deviation (SD) 2.1] and 233 boys (mean age 9.9 years, SD 2.1), living in Italy. All dental ages were assessed from panoramic films by one examiner using Häävikko's method. A second examiner independently scored 48 panoramic films to evaluate the reproducibility of the dental age measurements. A good correlation (0.95) was found, as shown by Cohen's kappa. To evaluate the relationship between dental age estimated by Häävikko's standards and the chronological age of the Italian sample, Bland and Altman's graphical method was employed. Moreover, centiles of dental age were constructed both for girls and boys using the LMS (L=skewness, M=median, S=coefficient of variation) method of Cole and Green. It was found that Häävikko's standards tended to underestimate chronological age in this Italian sample. Dental maturation standards as described by Häävikko do not appear suitable for Italian children; instead, centile curves constructed for girls and boys using the LMS method could be used for the estimation of dental age in the Italian population.

Unlabelled: The aim of this study was to compare the intra-examiner reliability of measurements made on plaster cast and dental digital models., Material and Methods: Five young patients with different occlusal patterns were selected and their dental casts and corresponding digital models were obtained. Twenty expert orthodontists were asked to measure two times both the traditional and digital models. The measurements taken included: lower inter-canine distance, lower inter-molar distance, lower right first molar mesio-distal length, lower right lateral incisor mesiodistal length and overbite. The absolute differences between the two sets of repeated measurements were computed for each of the five couples of parameters and compared with Student's paired T tests., Results: Four parameters showed no statistical difference when the error of measurement of the traditional models was compared to the error of measurement of the digital models. They where the lower inter-canine distance (p = 0.11), the lower inter-molar distance (p = 0.24), the lower right first molar mesio-distal length (p = 0.4), the lower right lateral incisor mesio-distal length (p = 0.39). On the contrary, the error of measurement for the overbite was lower (P < 0.001) for digital models (Mean = 0.24, SD = 0.21) compared to traditional models (Mean = 0.69, SD = 0.53)., Conclusions: Digital and traditional casts offer the same intra-examiner reliability in most cases, but for some measurements, when digital cross sections could help, digital models seem to produce a smaller error.

Objectives: The aim of this work was to evaluate whether the protrusion of nose and chin influence the perception of the ideal tooth anterior limit line. The orthodontic, or combined orthodontic-surgical diagnosis, and the following treatment plan are in close correlation with a patient's requirements for aesthetic facial balance. This requires consideration of the position of the maxillary incisors which is often modified by treatment; it is obvious how important it is to clarify which are the facial features which determine the aesthetically ideal anteroposterior position of the incisors., Materials and Methods: Photographs of a female and a male patients' smiling profiles, carried out in natural head position (NHP), were modified progressively with respect to the protrusion of nose and chin. The altered images (17 images for each subject) were viewed and analysed by a panel made up of 19 resident orthodontists and 12 orthodontists who had more than 10 years experience., Results and Conclusions: The hypothesis that the perception of the tooth anterior limit line is not influenced by the protrusion of nose and chin was statistically confirmed. The judgement of the tooth anterior limit line was independent of the protrusion of the nose and chin. We were not able to pinpoint a correlation between the entity of the protrusion or retraction of nose and chin and the changes of the ideal position of the maxillary incisor.