Objective: This study aimed to compare the effects of orthodontic treatment on the same patients using aligners (upper arch) versus traditional fixed appliances (lower arch) on oral hygiene and periodontal health. Materials and Methods: A total of 90 patients, all treated by the same orthodontist and with an average age of 26 years, were included in the study. The research focused on factors predisposing patients to periodontitis, as well as plaque and tartar accumulation. Statistical analysis was performed using the paired-samples Student’s t-test, with values of p < 0.05 deemed statistically significant. Results: Patients treated with fixed orthodontic appliances generally showed increased plaque accumulation (+10% PI) and a decline in periodontal health compared to those treated with aligners (40% presented a high level of S.Mutans and Lactobacilli). In patients who did not maintain proper oral hygiene, the initial conditions of the upper arch remained stable, while the lower arch exhibited significant deterioration, with increased plaque buildup and greater tissue inflammation. Conclusions: The findings emphasize the critical role of individual oral hygiene practices during orthodontic treatment in preserving periodontal health. Aligners appear to be more favorable in protecting periodontal tissues, improving plaque control, and reducing gingival inflammation. Various supplementary approaches for plaque management and microbial colonization in saliva should be implemented based on the type of orthodontic appliance used.

Background: The use of human dentin matrix could serve as an alternative to autologous, allogenic, and xenogeneic bone grafts due to its osteoinductive characteristics. The limitations of its use is tooth availability and that it is often necessary to mix it with a biomaterial. Aim: The aim of this study was to analyze a mix of two different graft materials with different reabsorption ranges when the dentin graft material was not sufficient for full socket preservation. Methods: Seven socket preservation surgeries were carried out employing a mixed graft material containing 50% dentin and 50% xenograft. After four months of recovery, the implants were positioned. At the time of the prosthesis placement and implant surgery, bone samples were collected. Results: The histologic analysis revealed no inflammatory or infective reaction against the seven biopsies. The histomorphometric graft analysis revealed an amount of New Bone of 29.03 ± 6.57% after 4 months and 34.11 ± 5.02% after 8 months. Conclusions: The two graft materials had a different volume reabsorption rate: 71% after 4 months and 90% after 8 months for dentin, and 6% after 4 months and 26% after 8 months for the xenograft. The space created by the dentin reabsorption increased the quantity of new bone.

Introduction: The study of facial profiles in the dental field is very important for the diagnosis and the dental and orthodontic treatment plan. The aim of this study is to analyze the three-dimensional morphology of the faces of 269 growing patients with Class I and II occlusions, focusing on children aged between 6 and 9 years old. The analysis was conducted using a non-invasive computerized system, which allowed for the automatic collection of facial landmarks and the subsequent reconstruction of three-dimensional coordinates. Materials and methods: The sample comprised 269 children within the specified age range. Each child’s facial features were captured using the non-invasive computerized system, which utilized two infrared CCD cameras, real-time hardware for label recognition, and software for three-dimensional landmark reconstruction. Sixteen cutaneous facial landmarks were automatically collected for each participant. From these landmarks, 10 angular and 15 linear measurements, as well as five direct distance rates, were derived. The mean values for each age class were calculated separately for children with bilateral Angle Class I occlusion and compared with those for children with bilateral Class II occlusion. In all children, the left and right occlusal classes were measured as suggested by Katz. Results: The analysis revealed notable differences, primarily in the three-dimensional angular measurements between children with Class I and II occlusions. Specifically, Class II children exhibited more convex faces in the sagittal plane and a less prominent lower jaw compared to Class I children. However, no significant differences were observed in linear measurements, except for the lower facial height rate, which varied inconsistently across age groups between the two occlusion types. Discussion and Conclusions: the findings of this research highlight distinct three-dimensional facial morphological differences between children with Class I and II occlusions. While Class II children tended to have more convex facial profiles and less prominent lower jaws, linear measurements showed minimal variation between the two occlusion types. These results underscore the importance of three-dimensional analysis in understanding facial morphology in growing patients with different occlusal patterns.

Retention constitutes a fundamental phase of orthodontic treatment, of which the patient must be made aware from the outset. Retention, which can be fixed or movable, has the task of maintaining over time and stabilising the results obtained during treatment. This study assessed the efficacy of using removable restraints versus fixed solutions for maintaining long-term outcomes. A comprehensive search across major databases—Pubmed, Web of Science, Scopus—used ‘relapse’ and ‘orthodontic’ as keywords to gather articles on relapse discussions. The primary focus was relapsed cases in post-fixed orthodontic therapy. Both fixed and removable retainer systems prove effective in preserving orthodontic achievements. While fixed devices require regular wire integrity checks, mobile devices require patient compliance, proper usage, and a recommended wear time. Studies indicate that fixed retainers are generally successful, with relapse rates varying based on the retainer type. Full-time use of removable devices surpasses night-only wear. Vacuum-formed and Hawley retainers offer similar effectiveness. Fixed retainers excel in long-term alignment stability, whereas removable ones have higher failure rates yet remain beneficial.

Background/Objectives: Three-dimensional (3D) analysis of maxillofacial structures in dysmorphic patients offers clinical advantages over 2D analysis due to its high accuracy and precision in measuring many morphological parameters. Currently, no reliable gold standard exists for calculating 3D volumetric measurements of maxillofacial structures when captured by 3D surface imaging techniques. The aim of this scoping review is to provide an overview of the scientific literature related to 3D surface imaging methods used for volumetric analysis of the dysmorphic maxillofacial structures of patients affected by CL/P or other syndromes and to provide an update on the existing protocols, methods, and, when available, reference data. Methods: A total of 17 papers selected according to strict inclusion and exclusion criteria were reviewed for the qualitative analysis out of more than 4500 articles published between 2002 and 2024 that were retrieved from the main electronic scientific databases according to the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. A qualitative synthesis of the protocols used for the selection of the anatomical areas of interest and details on the methods used for the calculation of their volume was completed. Results: The results suggest a great degree of heterogeneity between the reviewed studies in all the aspects analysed (patient population, anatomical structure, area selection, and volume calculation), which prevents any chance of direct comparison between the reported volumetric data. Conclusions: Our qualitative analysis revealed dissimilarities in the procedures specified in the studies, highlighting the need to develop uniform methods and protocols and the need for comparative studies to verify the validity of methods in order to achieve high levels of scientific evidence, homogeneity of volumetric data, and clinical consensus on the methods to use for 3D volumetric surface-based analysis.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the etiologic agent of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Besides virus intrinsic characteristics, the host genetic makeup is predicted to account for the extreme clinical heterogeneity of the disease, which is characterized, among other manifestations, by a derangement of hemostasis associated with thromboembolic events. To date, large-scale studies confirmed that genetic predisposition plays a role in COVID-19 severity, pinpointing several susceptibility genes, often characterized by immunologic functions. With these premises, we performed an association study of common variants in 32 hemostatic genes with COVID-19 severity. We investigated 49,845 single-nucleotide polymorphism in a cohort of 332 Italian severe COVID-19 patients and 1668 controls from the general population. The study was conducted engaging a class of students attending the second year of the MEDTEC school (a six-year program, held in collaboration between Humanitas University and the Politecnico of Milan, allowing students to gain an MD in Medicine and a Bachelor’s Degree in Biomedical Engineering). Thanks to their willingness to participate in the fight against the pandemic, we evidenced several suggestive hits (p < 0.001), involving the PROC, MTHFR, MTR, ADAMTS13, and THBS2 genes (top signal in PROC: chr2:127192625:G:A, OR = 2.23, 95%CI = 1.50–3.34, p = 8.77 × 10⁻⁵). The top signals in PROC, MTHFR, MTR, ADAMTS13 were instrumental for the construction of a polygenic risk score, whose distribution was significantly different between cases and controls (p = 1.62 × 10⁻⁸ for difference in median levels). Finally, a meta-analysis performed using data from the Regeneron database confirmed the contribution of the MTHFR variant chr1:11753033:G:A to the predisposition to severe COVID-19 (pooled OR = 1.21, 95%CI = 1.09–1.33, p = 4.34 × 10⁻¹⁴ in the weighted analysis).