Introduction: Pursuing an esthetically-pleasing orthodontic outcome, orthodontic patients must consider and choose from the different available options of orthodontic appliance. Practitioners need to be better informed of their customers’ preferences to make better practice management decisions and satisfy their patients’ needs. Purpose: To explore adult laypeople’s perceptions of the attractiveness, acceptability, preference and economic value of different orthodontic appliances when they consider these appliances for themselves and for their children. Patients and methods: This cross-sectional survey included 199 adults (110 females). The average age of participants was 27.7 years. Participants answered a questionnaire evaluating and comparing multiple smiling images of an adult wearing different orthodontic appliances. Participants rated each appliance for: (1) attractiveness on a Likert scale; (2) acceptability of having the appliance placed for themselves and their children (with a yes/no response); (3) preference (by ranking all appliances in order); and (4) economic value (by providing the additional amount they are willing to pay for each appliance for themselves and their children). Results: We found a statistically significant difference in the attractiveness scores between the different orthodontic appliances (p< 0.0001). The most attractive appliances were clear aligners and lingual brackets. The least attractive appliances were colored o-tied-brackets followed by shaped-brackets. Clear aligners were the most acceptable appliances among our participants to have placed on themselves (86.9%) and their children (84.9%). Shaped brackets were the least acceptable appliances among our participants to have placed on themselves (24.1%) and their children (36.2%). The most preferred appliances were lingual brackets (39.2%), followed by clear aligners (34.17%). The least preferred appliances were colored o-tied-brackets (4%). Participants varied with regards to how much more they were willing to pay for each of the different orthodontic appliances. The majority were willing to pay more for clear aligners and lingual brackets to have them placed on themselves but not to have them placed on their children. Conclusion: Adults preferred more innovative esthetic appliances over traditional ones and were willing to pay more to have them placed on themselves but not on their children.

Objectives: Many countries have enforced lockdowns on their populations due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic. This study aimed to assess the effects of the lockdown on dental students.Methods: A longitudinal, repeated cross‐sectional study was conducted to evaluate psychological problems experienced by dental students during the COVID‐19 lockdown in Saudi Arabia. The dental students were selected from different universities using 2‐stage cluster sampling. The validated Arabic version of the 21‐item depression, anxiety, and stress scale questionnaire was distributed at the beginning and end of the lockdown. Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallis tests were used as appropriate. Chi‐square test was used to compare the proportions between the sociodemographic data, and logistic regression analysis was used to identify variables associated with the students’ responses.Results: A total of 1287 respondents participated in this study (695 first‐survey respondents, 592 second‐survey respondents). There were longitudinally significant differences in the students’ mental health outcomes based on gender, university, class year, and survey time during the COVID‐19 lockdown. The lockdown increased the likelihood of female, single, and junior students experiencing stress. The students who lived alone recorded a high chance of elevated levels of depression, anxiety, and stress, which showed a significant longitudinal reduction during the lockdown. Moreover, the lockdown increased the likelihood of mental health problems among the students staying in households of two persons or two‐five persons.Conclusions: This study indicates the importance of considering the detrimental mental health consequences on dental students in the event of future pandemics.

Background: The knowledge of dimensions of the symphysis is important for morphological and orthodontic studies. This research evaluates the association between mandibular symphysis dimensions and anteroposterior and vertical skeletal patterns in adults. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional cephalometric study included 90 lateral cephalograms of untreated subjects presenting for orthodontic treatment. The inclusion criteria were adults with lateral cephalograms showing the symphyseal region and anterior cranial base. One investigator traced and analyzed all cephalograms. Symphyseal height, thickness, and ratio between height and thickness were measured in relation to seven anteroposterior and vertical skeletal measurements in females and males. Results: Symphyseal measurements were associated with SNA^o (anteroposterior) in females and Gonial angle (vertical) in males. When analyzed by anteroposterior skeletal classification (ANB^o), no significant differences in symphyseal dimensions were found. Multiple linear regression analyses showed that Gonion-Nerve (mm) and Gonial angle were significantly associated with symphyseal height. Gonion-Nerve (mm), basal bone width (mm), and alveolar bone height (mm) were associated with symphyseal thickness. Basal bone width (mm) and alveolar bone height (mm) were associated with symphyseal ratio. Conclusions: Symphyseal dimensions were significantly associated with vertical but not anteroposterior skeletal patterns. Future studies are warranted to evaluate the Gonion-nerve measurements concerning the symphysis in relation to vertical and anteroposterior skeletal patterns. Background: The knowledge of dimensions of the symphysis is important for morphological and orthodontic studies. This research evaluates the association between mandibular symphysis dimensions and anteroposterior and vertical skeletal patterns in adults. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional cephalometric study included 90 lateral cephalograms of untreated subjects presenting for orthodontic treatment. The inclusion criteria were adults with lateral cephalograms showing the symphyseal region and anterior cranial base. One investigator traced and analyzed all cephalograms. Symphyseal height, thickness, and ratio between height and thickness were measured in relation to seven anteroposterior and vertical skeletal measurements in females and males. Results: Symphyseal measurements were associated with SNA^o (anteroposterior) in females and Gonial angle (vertical) in males. When analyzed by anteroposterior skeletal classification (ANB^o), no significant differences in symphyseal dimensions were found. Multiple linear regression analyses showed that Gonion-Nerve (mm) and Gonial angle were significantly associated with symphyseal height. Gonion-Nerve (mm), basal bone width (mm), and alveolar bone height (mm) were associated with symphyseal thickness. Basal bone width (mm) and alveolar bone height (mm) were associated with symphyseal ratio. Conclusions: Symphyseal dimensions were significantly associated with vertical but not anteroposterior skeletal patterns. Future studies are warranted to evaluate the Gonion-nerve measurements concerning the symphysis in relation to vertical and anteroposterior skeletal patterns.

This study compared tooth color and enamel and dentinal thickness between orthodontically treated and untreated individuals. (1) Methods: A matched case–control study was conducted. The sample included 26 patients who had received orthodontic treatment and 31 matched controls. The color assessment was performed subjectively using the VITA 3D-Master (VM) shade guide and objectively using the VITA Easyshade (VE) spectrophotometer. Differences in L*, a*, and b* (lightness, red/green, and blue/yellow) were calculated. The color change was evaluated using ΔE*ab and the whiteness index (WID). Tooth structure thickness (labiolingual, labial enamel, and labial dentin) was evaluated using cone-beam computerized tomography. The correlations between overall tooth color and tooth structure thickness were evaluated. (2) Results: A total of 228 teeth were evaluated. Color assessment using VM showed significant differences between orthodontically treated and untreated teeth (p < 0.001), while VE revealed no significant differences. Both groups showed no difference in tooth enamel and dentinal thickness. Significant differences in tooth color (p < 0.05) were observed between genders. Both VM and VE showed weak to moderate correlations with tooth color and enamel and dentinal thickness (p < 0.05). (3) Conclusions: Orthodontic treatment may demonstrate visually perceptible but acceptable and clinically undetectable tooth color alteration.

The purpose of this study was to predict the annual growth rate of the mandible and total anterior facial height using IGF-1 levels together with cervical stage, skeletal classification, and gender. Twenty-five orthodontic patients (12 females and 13 males) had their cervical stages, blood-spot IGF-1 levels, and cephalometric parameters measured at 1-year intervals. The number of years each patient was followed up varied between 1 and 5 years resulting in 43 12-month intervals collected from 77 observations. Descriptive, bivariate, and regression analyses were used to analyze this data. The linear regression model for predicting the annual mandibular growth rate was significant at p < 0.01 with an R-square value of 0.52. We found that the average IGF-1 level for the interval, the change in IGF-1 level, and the presence of a skeletal class III pattern were statistically significant predictors of mandibular growth. The regression model for predicting the annual change in anterior facial height was significant at p < 0.01 with an R-square value of 0.42. We found that the change in IGF-1 level was the only statistically significant predictor of this outcome. The proposed method which combines IGF-1 levels with information that is readily available to clinicians can be used to predict the timing and intensity of the growth spurt. These factors together explain more of the observed individual variation in growth rate than any of the factors used in isolation.