Thesis (M.Sc.D.)--Boston University School of Graduate Dentistry, 1972. (Orthodontics) / Bibliography included. / The present study was undertaken to document the incidecnce of the relapse phenomena taking place up to two years after completion of active orthodontic therapy. This paper was limited specifically to the post treatment changes of the mandibular plane. The study was carried out on the records of thirty-six patients treated in the orthodontic clinic at Boston University School of Graduate Dentistry. Original, final, and two year post treatment cephalograms, pano-graphs, and study models were evaluated and compared for each patient. Observations of the compiled data revealed that twelve of the thirty-six patients showed a decrease in the mandibular plane angle during treatment, while ten patients showed an increase. Further analysis of the results revealed that the majority (70%) of the patients with the increased mandibular plane angle showed a decrease during the retention period, reverting back to or toward pretreatment values. Of the twelve patients experiencing a decrease during treatment, the post treatment results were more varied, and no definite trends could be observed. Further study is needed to determine if an increase in the mandibular plane angle during orthodontic treatment is nonphysiologic and, therefore, more susceptible to relapse.

Thesis (M.Sc.D.)--Boston University School of Graduate Dentistry, 1972 (Orthodontics) / Bibliography included. / The present study was undertaken to compare the efficiency of three different biomechanical mechanisms in preserving mandibular molar anchorage. Thirty-five patients were treated with intercanine coil, lip bumper, 9r mandibular cervical traction through the end of cuspid retraction. Midtreatment cephalograms were then taken. Superimposition of these midtreatment cepbalograms with the pretreatment cephalograms provided the author with the net mesial or distal movement of the mandibular first molar in each case. The data obtained from each case was accordingly placed in the appropriate biomechanical group. Each group was then statistically related to one another by means of the Mann-Whitney U Test. It was found that a stastically significant difference existed between lower cervical traction and the intercanine coil. The confidence level obtained (P < .02) indicated that less than two cases out of a hundred had a chance of coming from the same population. This data also showed a mean increase in mandibular anchorage with lower cervical traction ( +.062 mm. gained) indicating that there may be very good possibilities for this system to be used in orthodontic cases when anchorage is of a critical nature.

No description available.

Objective: The purpose was to compare orthodontists’ and parents’ perception of orthodontic treatment outcomes in the anterior-posterior (AP) dimension. Assessment of treatment time and compliance were also investigated. Material and Methods: Parallel surveys for orthodontists (n=1000) and parents (n=750) displayed occlusions from 3 mm Class III (Cl III:3) to 3 mm Class II. Participants rated occlusal relationships on a 100 mm VAS from least to most acceptable (0-100). Results: 233 orthodontists (23%) and 243 parents (32%) responded. Orthodontists (mean=93.9, 25.9) and parents (mean=80.7, 40.9) rated Class I (Cl I) occlusion most and Cl III:3 least acceptable. No significant difference was found between outcomes at 18 months versus 24 months. For all cases, parents were willing to extend treatment duration longer than orthodontists. Conclusions: Orthodontists and parents viewed treatment outcomes in the AP dimension differently, rating Cl I as most acceptable. Parents were willing to extend treatment longer than orthodontists.

Medicaid orthodontic patients have been shown to miss more appointments and break more appliances than self-pay patients, indicating a greater tendency toward non-compliance. Lack of compliance during the post-treatment phase can be detrimental to retention. The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a difference in PAR score changes between Medicaid and non-Medicaid patients during and after orthodontic treatment. PAR scores were determined using study models of 43 Medicaid and 39 non-Medicaid patients before and at the end of active treatment, and 24 Medicaid and 42 non-Medicaid patients at the end of treatment and at an average of 13 months post-treatment. PAR scores generally reduce during treatment and will increase if relapse occurs. Rates of PAR score change during and after treatment were compared between Medicaid and non-Medicaid patients using the Mann-Whitney U-test. The mean initial PAR score was greater in the Medicaid group (31.95 versus 23.28; p=0.003) while there was no significant difference found between the two groups for the end of treatment PAR scores (3.22 versus 2.93; p=0.451). The rates of PAR score improvement during treatment (14.07/year versus 12.14/year; p=0.203) and worsening after the removal of orthodontic appliances (2.04/year versus 2.91/year; p=0.872) were found not to differ between the two groups. It was found that the rate of PAR score improvement during treatment did not differ between Medicaid and non-Medicaid patients. During the post-treatment period, the rate of PAR score worsening was also found not to differ.

State Medicaid programs were established to care for the poor by eliminating financial barriers and increasing their ability to be treated within the mainstream of the heath care system. The number of children eligible for Medicaid services is increasing, yet the number of Medicaid providers remains low. Health care providers cite failed appointments as being a major problem with Medicaid patients and one of the largest deterrents to participating. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a difference in appointment keeping behavior exists between Medicaid and non-Medicaid orthodontic patients. During a twelve-month period, a tally of appointments was kept for 707 active patients at Virginia Commonwealth University's Department of Orthodontics. Patients were categorized as either Medicaid or non-Medicaid and their appointment keeping behavior was evaluated. The results revealed that a significant difference does exist in the number of failed appointments between the groups (P<0.0001). The Medicaid patients failed 247(15.4%) of 1609 appointments and non-Medicaid patients failed 367(8.3%) of 4438 appointments. Additionally, these data show that although Medicaid patients accounted for only 26.6% of all appointments, they were responsible for about 40% of all appointment failures. The findings from this study support the concern among dental practitioners that Medicaid patients have higher rate of appointment failures than non-Medicaid patients.

The aim of this study was to evaluate how Asians, non-Asians, and orthodontists in America view esthetic soft tissue Asian lip profiles. The null hypothesis was that there was no difference in the perception of lip profile esthetics of Asian patients between Asian laypersons, non-Asians laypersons, and orthodontists. A survey was constructed using the profile photographs of one adult male and one adult female Asian American patient taken from the VCU Orthodontics Clinic records. Using Dolphin Imaging 3D, the original photographs were digitally altered. The lips in each photograph were moved in increments forward and backwards to produce 5 images (-4mm, -2mm, 0mm, 4mm, 8mm). Only the lips were modified. Each evaluator was asked to rank, from 1 to 5, each collection of photographs where 1 was most preferable and 5 was least preferable. There were a total of 10 survey questions. The survey was administered to 111 Asian Americans, 115 Caucasians, and 389 Orthodontists. Results suggested that all three groups were similar in their assessment. A retrusive lip profile for the Asian male was preferred, and a slightly protrusive lip profile for the Asian female was preferred across all groups. Generally, orthodontists preferred slightly more retrusive lips compared to the other two groups. The groups of evaluators that showed statistical differences were Chinese and Filipino laypersons. Cluster analysis also revealed tremendous variation in the results, giving credence to the belief that individual patient preference should be assessed in addition to understanding social norms.

The purpose of this study was to examine the orthodontic patient experience with braces compared to Invisalign® by means of a large-scale Twitter sentiment analysis. A custom data collection program was created to collect tweets containing the words “braces” or “Invisalign.” A hierarchal Naïve Bayes sentiment classifier was developed to sort the tweets into one of five categories: positive, negative, neutral, advertisement, or not applicable. Among the 419,363 tweets applicable to orthodontics collected, users posted significantly more positive tweets (61%) than negative tweets (39%) (p-value = ® tweets (p-value=0.4189). In conclusion, Twitter users express more positive than negative sentiment about orthodontic treatment with no significant difference in sentiment between braces and Invisalign® tweets.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of MI Paste Plus™ in increasing remineralization and improving the esthetic appearance of white spot lesions in patients who have been treated with fixed orthodontic appliances. Material and Methods: A total of twelve subject participants aged twelve to twenty years were selected in this pilot study. The six treatment group subjects were treated with MI Paste PlusTM every three weeks in-office (4 applications) and via invisible retainer every night for a total of 12 weeks. The in-office application consisted of a 1 minute 35% phosphoric acid and a 5 minute MI Paste PlusTM contact time. At home, the subjects went about their routine oral hygiene practices, but added MI Paste PlusTM to their invisible retainer before bedtime which was worn throughout the night. Photographs and quantitative light-induced fluorescence (QLF) were used to calculate white spot lesion area and ∆F values respectively. Results: A significant difference was found in the control group for the area of the white spot lesion in antimere teeth #6 and #11. When analyzing the white spot lesion area in the treatment group, significant differences were found in tooth #6, antimere teeth #6 and #11, antimere teeth #8 and #9, as well as all teeth. ∆F values for all teeth in both the control and treatment groups were significant. Conclusion: In-office and at home treatment with MI Paste Plus™ showed a statistically significant reduction in photographic lesion area when compared to controls. Both MI Paste Plus™ and a fluoride toothpaste will provide some remineralization of white spot lesions.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to determine the eruption patterns of maxillary and mandibular first molars from the first occlusal contacts to adulthood. Previous studies have failed to obtain measurements into adulthood or have not been longitudinal in design. By using a measurement during the subjects' adulthood, a better estimate of the changes that occur between the tooth and the gingival margin throughout growth and aging can be obtained. METHODS: The material for this research project was obtained from the Meredith Facial Growth Study from the University of Iowa Orthodontics Department. Records from a set of 64 subjects (35 males and 29 females) were used. Each of these patients had intraoral models taken throughout adolescence into adulthood. A final model was available for each subject in their twenties. Twenty-eight subjects had final records available in their forties (14 males and 14 females). Measurements were recorded for the maxillary first molars (Teeth 3 and 14), and the mandibular first molars (Teeth 19 and 30). Measurements were taken at eleven time points for all sixty-four subjects starting at year 8 and yearly until age 18 with a final measurement taken on a model from the patient's twenties. A subset of twenty-eight subjects contained measurements in their forties. Bitewing Radiographs were also used to measure changes in alveolar bone height at 12, 20, and 40. RESULTS AND CONCUSIONS: Alveolar bone heights and their changes over time measured from the CEJ indicate that the sample population had a stable periodontium. Crown heights at age 20 and 40 were significantly greater than age 11. At age 40, crown heights were significantly greater than age 20. Teeth continue to erupt into a patient's forties in the absence of bone loss and attrition.