Residents’ journal review

Dentoalveolar characteristics of adolescents born prematurely

Rythén M, Thilander B, Robertson A. Dento-alveolar characteristics in adolescents born extremely preterm. Eur J Orthod 2013;35:475-82

Extremely preterm (EPT) children born before 29 weeks gestation often suffer from medical complications and growth restrictions, including decreased weight and height and smaller head circumference. The purpose of this study was to determine whether there were differences in dentoalveolar variables in EPT children vs children born at term when compared as adolescents. The study included 40 EPT children and 40 control children matched for age and sex. The children were further divided into chronologic age (13 and 16) and sex groups. Medical and neurologic diagnoses were recorded. A dental health examination was performed, and dental casts and bitewings were collected. Malocclusion, crowding, tooth size, arch length, arch width, and palatial height were recorded for each subject. The results showed important medical and dentoalveolar distinctions between the adolescents born EPT and the controls. Angle Class II malocclusion was twice as common in the EPT children, as well as increased overbite and overjet. The frequency of crowding did not differ between the 2 groups. In both the maxilla and the mandible, the EPT children had significantly smaller incisors, canines, and molars. The authors recommended cephalometric studies in addition to clinical studies in a larger population to gather further knowledge about facial and dentoalveolar development in EPT children.

Reviewed by Nicole DeShon

Social effects of esthetic crown lengthening

Malkinson S, Waldrop TC, Gunsolley JC, Lanning SK, Sabatini R. The effect of esthetic crown lengthening on perceptions of a patient’s attractiveness, friendliness, trustworthiness, intelligence, and self-confidence. J Periodontol 2013;84;1126-33

Gingival display is an important component of smile esthetics. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether altering the amount of gingival display would affect dental professionals’ and laypersons’ perceptions of friendliness, trustworthiness, intelligence, and self-confidence. A survey was created by using preoperative facial frontal smiling photographs of 10 subjects, cropped to include only the mouth. These pictures were used as the control group. A photo-editing program was used to alter these images to simulate how the patient would look after esthetic crown-lengthening surgery. Forty-three senior dental students and 34 laypersons were asked to fill out a paper questionnaire. Each of the 20 photographs had 5 questions related to the social parameters listed previously. A visual analog scale was used to quantify each examiner’s response. Despite a small sample, the results showed that the test pictures with less gingival display rated higher for all social parameters compared with their control counterparts ( P <0.0001). African Americans were judged to be more trustworthy ( P = 0.0467) and self-confident ( P = 0.0490) than were white persons. Women were judged to be more trustworthy and intelligent than men. Excessive gingival display negatively affects attractiveness, friendliness, trustworthiness, intelligence, and self-confidence. There was no difference in the perceptions of gingival display by senior dental students and people without dental training.

Reviewed by Nick Maddux

Social effects of esthetic crown lengthening

Malkinson S, Waldrop TC, Gunsolley JC, Lanning SK, Sabatini R. The effect of esthetic crown lengthening on perceptions of a patient’s attractiveness, friendliness, trustworthiness, intelligence, and self-confidence. J Periodontol 2013;84;1126-33

Gingival display is an important component of smile esthetics. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether altering the amount of gingival display would affect dental professionals’ and laypersons’ perceptions of friendliness, trustworthiness, intelligence, and self-confidence. A survey was created by using preoperative facial frontal smiling photographs of 10 subjects, cropped to include only the mouth. These pictures were used as the control group. A photo-editing program was used to alter these images to simulate how the patient would look after esthetic crown-lengthening surgery. Forty-three senior dental students and 34 laypersons were asked to fill out a paper questionnaire. Each of the 20 photographs had 5 questions related to the social parameters listed previously. A visual analog scale was used to quantify each examiner’s response. Despite a small sample, the results showed that the test pictures with less gingival display rated higher for all social parameters compared with their control counterparts ( P <0.0001). African Americans were judged to be more trustworthy ( P = 0.0467) and self-confident ( P = 0.0490) than were white persons. Women were judged to be more trustworthy and intelligent than men. Excessive gingival display negatively affects attractiveness, friendliness, trustworthiness, intelligence, and self-confidence. There was no difference in the perceptions of gingival display by senior dental students and people without dental training.

Reviewed by Nick Maddux

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Apr 7, 2017 | Posted by in Orthodontics | Comments Off on Residents’ journal review

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