Objective: To investigate the effect of using mobile applications active reminders to improve oral hygiene in comparison to verbal oral hygiene instructions. Design: Two-arm parallel randomised controlled trial. Setting: orthodontic clinics at two branches of a university hospitals of the college of dentistry of Riyadh Colleges of Dentistry and Pharmacy, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Participants: Forty-four 12-year-old and older subjects. Method: Subjects undergoing orthodontic treatment with fixed appliances were randomly assigned to one of two groups using simple randomisation. Group I: subjects received a mobile application that sends active reminders of oral hygiene three times a day (n = 22). Group II: subjects received verbal oral hygiene instructions verbally during their routine orthodontic visits (n = 22). Two primary outcomes were assessed using plaque index (PI) and gingival index (GI) for Ramfjord teeth to evaluate the level of oral hygiene at baseline and after 4 weeks. Results: Mean differences for PI and GI for group I were reduced from T1 to T2 (P < 0.05, P < 0.05) but did not significantly change for group II (P > 0.05, P > 0.05). Both PI and GI significantly reduced for group I compared to group II between T1 and T2 (P < 0.05, P < 0.05). Conclusions: PI and GI all significantly decreased after 4 weeks of using active reminders of oral hygiene instructions on mobile application compared to verbal oral hygiene instructions. The study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov with number: NCT03109769.

Objective. The aim of this study was to investigate the arch dimensions (width, length, and depth) in Saudi Arabia.Materials and Methods. 169 orthodontic models (73 males and 96 females) made of white stone were selected according to inclusion criteria. Measurement of arch dimensions was taken including width, length, and depth at different reference points. Differences between males and females were tested using independent samplest-test.Results. The sample comprised subjects aged 18–33 years old. Most measurements showed higher values for males compared to females. Saudi males showed smaller intercanine widths compared to Caucasians and Southern Chinese but larger widths in females compared to Caucasians and smaller widths compared to Southern Chinese. Saudi males and females showed larger intermolar widths compared to Caucasians but smaller intermolar widths compared to Southern Chinese. For arch length, Saudis showed longer arches compared to Yemenis for both males and females but smaller palatal depths compared to Yemenis.Conclusions. Differences in intercanine width, intermolar width, and palatal length and depth were found between Saudis and other nationalities. Male and female participants had differences in most of the measurements.

Objectives: To perform a comprehensive review of the literature to compare the effects of slow maxillary expansion (SME) and rapid maxillary expansion (RME) on maxillary arch width in patients with bilateral cleft palate. Methods: The databases include Medline, PubMed, Cochrane (CENTRAL) and (CDSR), OpenGrey, and ClinicalTrials.gov were searched for relevant studies that met the eligibility criteria published before or on 31 October 2022. The search was confined to the English language. The selection of eligible studies and collection of data were performed independently. Risk of bias assessment was conducted using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool 2.0. Results: Two randomized controlled trials were available based on the search in the published literature. Both studies compared arch width between SME and RME in cleft palate patients and digitals casts and three-dimensional images used for the evaluation. A moderate risk of bias was evident in the available studies. Conclusions: Both SME and RME can achieve similar amounts of maxillary expansion in patients with bilateral cleft palate.

Objective: This study aims to determine the difficulty of communication between deaf-mute and hearing-impaired individuals, and their dentists and the need for an application to facilitate communication. Materials and methods: This is a cross-sectional study. A self-reported questionnaire was distributed among individuals with hearing disability. We measured demographic data, deaf-mute and hearing-impaired patients experience at the dental office, their interest and ability to use modern means of communication, and their willingness to use smartphones, tablets or computers to communicate with their dentists. Fisher's Exact test was used to determine association between different variables with cut-off point (P < 0.05). Results: 58.5% of individuals with deafness or hearing impairment have visited dental offices. 51% of individuals reported they could not understand their dentists during visits. 45.3% stated that their complaints were understood. 30.2% of the information given by dentists were clear to them and only 24.5% of individuals were given all necessary information. 73.58% of all individuals are willing to use mobile applications to facilitate communication if recommended by their dentists. Conclusions: Many individuals with hearing disability are facing difficulties in communication in the dental office. The majority of them are willing to use a mobile application to help them communicate better with their dentists.

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of parafunctional oral habits in school children in Saudi Arabia. Methods: A cross-sectional study conducted in October 2015. Sample included 507 children ranged in age from 7 to 15 years old who were attending private/ government schools in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia using systematic random sampling. Data was recorded by anamnestic questionnaire. Clinical examination was carried out by 6 examiners following WHO guidelines to detect the presence and the type of parafunctional oral habits. Questionnaire included personal data and presence or absence of oral habits like tongue thrust, mouth breathing, and thumb sucking. All examiners took part in a course on the methods of "Functional Analysis" breathing and sucking habits. The interview and examination of a single study subject took 3 to 4 min. Prevalence rates of different oral habits studied were calculated. Chi-square test was done to compare the prevalence of oral habits among different sexes with a cutoff point of (p<0.05). Results: Sample consisted of 190 (37.5%) males and 317(62.5%) females. Tongue thrusting showed out to be the most prevalent oral habit (25.0%) followed by thumb sucking (21.1%). However, mouth breathing (12.0%) was found to be the least prevalent oral habit. Thumb sucking and mouth breathing was more prevalent in males while tongue thrusting was more prevalent in females. Conclusion: There is an increased prevalence of oral habits among schoolchildren in Saudi Arabia.