Dental arch dimensions and tooth wear in two samples of children in the 1950s and 1990s

The Association Between Transverse Maxillary Deficiency and Septal Deviation in Adults with Obstructive Sleep Apnea

OBJECTIVES

Recent evidence suggests that environmental factors impact craniofacial development. Specifically, the height and width of the maxilla may impact the degree of septal deviation. We sought to determine the relationship between transverse maxillary deficiency and severity of septal deviation.

METHODS

A prospective cohort of adult sleep surgery patients were evaluated by standardized CT imaging. Primary outcomes evaluated the relationship of a narrow, high-arched palate (the palatal height to width ratio) with the degree of septal deviation at the level of the 1st premolar and 1st molar. Secondary outcome evaluated the relationship of the palatal height-to-width ratio and nasal obstruction. Both adjusted and unadjusted linear regression were performed, including correction for multiple hypothesis testing.

RESULTS

Ninety-three patients were included. On average, the cohort was middle aged (54.7 ± 12.7 years), obese (BMI 30.1 ± 4.5 kg/m2), predominantly male (74.2%), White (73.1%), and with severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) (AHI 30.0 ± 18.7 events/h). A moderate correlation was observed between both the relative and absolute inter-premolar palatal height and the degree of septal deviation at the inter-molar region. No significant correlation was observed between palatal dimensions and NOSE score.

CONCLUSION

This study found that transverse maxillary deficiency is moderately associated with greater degree of septal deviation among a sample of OSA patients. This contributes to the concept that craniofacial development impacts the nasal airway, promoting a comprehensive evaluation of both endonasal and extranasal structures.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

4 Laryngoscope, 134:2464-2470, 2024.

Dental wear and oral pathology among sex determined Early Bronze-Age children from Franzhausen I, Lower Austria

The physical properties of diet and oral health throughout childhood play an important role in the development of human dentition, and differed greatly before the industrial revolution. In this study we examined dental wear and oral pathology in a sample of children from the Early Bronze-Age to investigate the physical and mechanical properties of childhood diet and related oral health. We explore cross-sectional age and sex-based variation of children in the sample. The analysis was carried out on the dentitions of 75 children, 978 teeth, excavated from the Early Bronze-Age cemetery Franzhausen I in Lower Austria. Presence of dental caries and calculus was recorded. Dental wear was measured using dentine exposure, occlusal topography, and dental microwear texture analysis. Sex determination was carried out using amelogenin peptide analysis. Caries were found in only 4 individuals (crude prevalence rate-5%, 95% CI 1% to 13%), affecting only 5 teeth (true prevalence rate-less than 1%). Dentine exposure was observed in over 70% of deciduous molars and dental wear measurements indicate a comparatively strong dental wear accumulation especially, among younger children, when compared to modern-day and later pre-industrial populations. Microwear textures presented a high complexity (Asfc > 2)/low anisotropy (epLsar < 1) profile, especially in older children. Differences between male and female children were not generally significant but increased dentine exposure was observed in the lower molars of younger female children. Our results suggest that the Early Bronze-Age children at Franzhausen I consumed a non-cariogenic diet, more abrasive and inclusive of harder/polyhedral foodstuffs than present-day children and some later Medieval children. Differences in dental wear accumulation were observed between children within the population, but with minimal variation between the sexes mostly occurring among younger children.

Prevalence of Malocclusion in Mewat District of Haryana: A Cross-sectional Study

Aim and objective

To determine the prevalence of malocclusion in the Mewat district of Haryana.

Materials and methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted in government/private schools of Mewat district. A total of 3,042 subjects were selected, age ranging from 11-18 years. Parameters studied were molar relationship, facial profile, overjet, overbite, reverse overjet, open bite, and supernumerary teeth. The Chi-square test was used for calculating the p -value.

Results

The prevalence of normal occlusion was seen in 77.4%, Angle's class I malocclusion was present in 13.5%, class II in 7.7%, and class III was seen in 2.8% of the study population which is statistically significant. Straight facial profile was observed in 91%, 7.9% had convex and 1.08% had a concave profile. Increased overjet was present in 33.5% of cases and reverse overjet was seen in 1.08%. The normal overbite was recorded in 70%, increased bite was seen in 29% and the open bite was present in 0.95% of the examined population, supernumerary teeth were seen in 18 children.

Conclusion

There is a high prevalence of normal occlusion in the Mewati population. The results may provide baseline data for research and planning orthodontic services.

How to cite this article

Sharma A, Bihani T. Prevalence of Malocclusion in Mewat District of Haryana: A Cross-sectional Study. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2022;15(1):90-93.

The role of craniofacial maldevelopment in the modern OSA epidemic: a scoping review

STUDY OBJECTIVES

There is increasing recognition that environmental factors affect human craniofacial development and our risk for disease. A scoping review of the literature was performed looking at environmental influences on craniofacial development to better understand this relationship and investigate what further study is needed to determine how this relationship may impact obstructive sleep apnea.

METHODS

A comprehensive literature search was performed using the Ovid Medline database from inception to May, 2020 with relevance to craniofacial development in 5 clinically-oriented variables: diet, secular change, breastfeeding/non-nutritive sucking habits (NNSH), nasal obstruction/mouth breathing, and masticatory muscle function. The Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine Levels of Evidence (LoE) was used to assess studies based on study design.

RESULTS

18,196 articles were initially identified, of which 260 studies were fully reviewed and 97 articles excluded. The remaining 163 articles were categorized as follows: Secular change (n = 16), Diet (n = 33), Breastfeeding/NNSH (n = 28), Nasal obstruction/Mouth breathing (n = 57), and Masticatory muscle function (n = 35). 93% of included studies reported a significant association between craniofacial morphology and environmental factors. The majority of studies were characterized as low LoE studies with 90% of studies being LoE 4 or 5.

CONCLUSIONS

The studies in this review suggest that environmental factors are associated with changes in craniofacial development. However, most studies were heterogeneous and low-level studies, making strong conclusions about these relationships difficult. Future rigorous studies are needed to further our understanding of environmental influences on craniofacial development and OSA risk.

Tooth wear patterns in subjects with class II division 1 and class II division 2 malocclusion

INTRODUCTION

There is an increasing trend of malocclusion among children, so it is necessary to identify the cause of the tooth wear so that the orthodontist can treat the patient accordingly. It is necessary to determine the wear patterns of different malocclusions. Therefore, the aim of our study was to compare the patterns of tooth wear among two categories of Angle's class II malocclusions, i.e. class II division 1 and class II division 2.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The sample consisted of 100 pretreatment orthodontic patients in the age group of 15-25 years with Angle's class II malocclusion and were divided into following two groups: (a) Group 1: 50 subjects with full cusp Angle's class II division 1 malocclusion. (b) Group 2: 50 subjects with full cusp Angle's class II division 2 malocclusion. Clinical examination of the patients for tooth wear was done supplemented with dental casts, intraoral photographs and intraoral radiographs. Then each group was assessed for severity of tooth wear according to modified tooth wear index (TWI) given by de Carvalo Sales-Peres et al. Scores were subjected to statistical analysis and the pattern of tooth wear among the two groups of class II malocclusion was compared. A correlation between the gender of the patient and the tooth wear was also determined. The level of statistical significance (p-value) was less than 0.05.

RESULTS

The class II division 1 subjects showed statistically greater wear on the occlusal surfaces of the maxillary canines, first, second premolar and first molar, and the occlusal surfaces of the mandibular first molars. The class II division 2 subjects showed statistically greater tooth wear on the labial surfaces of the mandibular central and lateral incisors, the incisal surface of maxillary and mandibular incisors, the palatal surfaces of the maxillary second premolars, first and second molars. In class II division 1 subjects, the tooth wear was significant on the buccal surface of maxillary canines, occlusal surface of mandibular first premolars and second molars in males. In class II division 2 subjects, the tooth wear was significant on the buccal surface of mandibular canines, palatal surface of maxillary central incisors in females and palatal surface of maxillary first premolars in males.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study suggested that the two categories of Angle's class II malocclusion have different tooth-wear patterns. The wear patterns were different in both the sexes. Men showed higher occlusal wear scores than did women. The findings also suggest that tooth wear in relation to malocclusion is physiologic and is due to dissimilar interocclusal arrangement.

The effect of chewing exercise in preschool children on maximum bite force and masticatory performance

BACKGROUND

Mastication is a developing function affected by various factors. There is a need for further research on methods of promoting masticatory function in young children.

AIM

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of gum chewing exercise on the maximum bite force (MBF) and the masticatory performance of preschool children.

DESIGN

The study population included 98 preschool children age 4-6years. MBF was measured by Occlusal Force-Meter(®) , and masticatory performance values were evaluated by using the colour-changeable chewing gum. The examinations were performed four times with an interval of 4weeks. An exercise group of 70 subjects was instructed to chew the exercise gum twice daily for 5min during a 4-week period. The chewing gum used for this study was specially developed with the physical property of maintaining hardness during chewing. A control group of 28 subjects was instructed not to chew any gum during the study period.

RESULTS

No significant differences were found between the exercise group and the control group in MBF and a* values at the start of the study. After 4weeks of chewing exercise, MBF and a* values were significantly increased in the exercise group compared with those of the control group. These increases were maintained for 4weeks after exercise had finished.

CONCLUSIONS

Gum chewing exercise is effective to increase MBF and a* values of preschool children and the effects are maintained after exercise completion.