This study aimed to assess orthodontic postgraduate students’ use of social media during the COVID-19 lockdown. Ninety-four postgraduate students (67 master’s students and 27 doctoral students) were enrolled in the study and asked to fill in an online questionnaire by answering questions regarding their use of social media during the COVID-19 lockdown. The frequency distributions and percentages were calculated using SPSS software. The results showed that 99% of the students used social media. The most frequently used type of social media was Facebook, 94%, followed by YouTube, 78%, and Instagram, 65%, while Twitter and Linkedin were used less, and no one used Blogger. About 63% of the students used elements of social media to learn more about orthodontics staging, biomechanics, and various approaches in managing orthodontic cases. About 56% of students tried uploading and downloading scientific papers, lectures, movies, presentations, and e-books from social media, while communication with professionals and searches about orthodontic products were reported in 47% of students’ responses. On the other hand, 43% of the responses favored sharing orthodontic information and posts for teaching and discussion purposes. Generally, social media plays leading roles in the communication with, learning of, sharing of information with, and supervision of patients from a far during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Herbs are used widely in medicine. The purpose of the present study was to assess the ion release from gold-plated orthodontic bracket compared with other stainless steel brackets, and based on the findings of the study, the orthodontists can choose the most biocompatible brackets and mouthwashes useful in the clinical practice. A total of 150 orthodontic brackets from Orthotechnology™ Company, USA (50 stainless steel one-piece brackets, 50 stainless steel two-piece brackets, and 50 gold brackets) were immersed in four mouthwashes in addition to distilled water. Ten of each type of brackets in every media were immersed under 37°C for 45 days. Ions released in these mouthwashes were measured, and comparisons among different bracket types and among various mouthwashes were done by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and then with Games-Howell tests. Increased amounts of ions released in herbal mouth-washes were recorded in gold and two-piece brackets in comparison with one-piece stainless steel brackets. Herbal mouthwashes must be used with caution as they showed an increased amount of ions released in comparison with chlorhexidine. One-piece stainless steel bracket system is the most compatible bracket type, as they released the least amount of ions. One-piece stainless steel brackets are better than two-piece brackets in terms of ions released.

Purpose: Dental arch length, width, and perimeter are considered to be important for the diagnosis and treatment of orthodontic cases. This study aimed to utilize dental arch width and length to create an equation for predicting dental arch perimeter. Materials and methods: Sixty-seven pairs of study models for patients with normal occlusion who received dental treatment were included in this study. Dental arch width at the level of the canines, first premolars, and first molars, in addition to dental arch length and perimeter, were measured using a digital vernier with 0.01mm accuracy. Data were subjected to step-wise regression analysis to determine the major predictors of arch perimeters and develop regression equations for both arches. The predicted arch perimeters were compared with the actual measured values using paired sample t-test. Results: For both arches, the perimeter showed a direct, moderate to strong, highly significant correlation with the length and width measurements. Findings from step-wise regression analysis indicated that there was a strong correlation between arch perimeter and the inter-canine width and arch length, which explained 67.7% of the variation in arch perimeter in the maxillary arch. In the mandibular arch, inter-molar width, inter-canine width, and arch length explained 55.1% of the variation in the dental arch perimeter. The arch perimeter values predicted from the developed equations were not significantly different from the actual values that were measured. Conclusion: New regression equations based on dental arch width and length at the level of the premolars, molars, and canines were developed to predict dental arch perimeters for both the mandibular and maxillary arches.

Background: This study is aimed to assess the maxillary incisors' root position, angulation, and buccal alveolar bone thickness in both genders and different classes of malocclusion using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Materials and Methods: Two hundred and six CBCT images were gathered and analyzed by three-dimensional On-Demand software to measure the variables of 803 maxillary central and lateral incisors. Genders and class difference was determined by unpaired t-test, one-way ANOVA, and Chi-square tests. Results: Buccal root position of the maxillary incisors accounted for in the majority of the cases followed by the middle and palatal positions. The thickness of alveolar bone appears to have nearly the same pattern of decreasing in the mean values above the level of 2 mm from the crest of the bone up to the 6 mm level then increase in the apex of the root. The angle between the long axis of the maxillary incisors and the corresponding alveolar bone is higher significantly in class II followed by class I and III with no significant gender difference. Conclusions: most of the maxillary incisors examined were located in a very close position to the buccal cortical plate and covered by a thin buccal bone wall. The apparent association was noted between the incisors' root position and angulation in the alveolar bone with the buccal bone thickness.

This study aims to test the effect of body mass index on certain facial soft tissue measurements. Three hundred Arab Iraqi young adults with different body mass indexes were randomly selected from the population in Basrah city. Different horizontal and vertical soft tissue measurements were obtained using different calipers. Sex differences were verified by an independent sample t-test, while the effect of different body mass index categories was evaluated by one way ANOVA and Tukey tests. Obese males showed significantly higher mean values for weight, nose width, face width, head circumference, and lower facial third length (p≤0.001). Obese females shared these parameters with obese males in addition to mouth width. Regarding sex differences, nearly all measurements were significantly higher in males than in females. Obese individuals had wider faces, noses and mouths; larger head circumferences and facial indexes; and longer lower facial third lengths. Moreover, they possessed smaller inner canthal widths as well as upper and middle facial thirds in comparison to normal and overweight subjects.

Background. Root canal sealers with high alkaline (pH more than 11) and bioactive properties (release ions) are more effective for healing the apical area and preventing reinfection in root canals. Pure calcium silicate‐based bioceramic premixed injectable sealers lead to change the obturation technique because it depends on maximizing amount of sealer and single cone gutta‐percha as a carrier. This retrospective clinical study aimed at demonstrating the effect of single cone gutta‐percha with a calcium silicate‐based filling, used to fill the root canal in a single visit, on the apical healing with different lesion size. Materials and Methods. 195 patients needing root canal treatment were treated at the Al‐Jazaer private clinic in southern Iraq. Cases were obtained during the 2017–2021 period (retrospective study). All patients were treated with a simple hydraulic condensation technique that used calcium silicate‐based filling materials as the sealer with single cone gutta‐percha as the carrier, with a minimum follow‐up period of approximately one year. Both treatment‐ and patient‐related factors were evaluated. The clinical outcomes depended on classification with respect to complete (success) or incomplete (failure) healing. Statistical analysis was performed using a chi‐square test to compare different related factors. Results. Radiographs for 195 patients were examined, and the average follow‐up time was 20.44 months. The complete healing success rate was 164 (84.1%), and 31(15.9%) patients were not healed. The highly significant success rate was 88.7% for the initial treatment compared with 63.9% for retreatment. Small and medium lesions (5 mm diameter). Sealer extrusion was found in 68.7% of cases, but it did not have any significant effect on the treatment result. Conclusions. The bioceramic calcium silicate‐based filling sealer used with single‐cone gutta‐percha led to increased success of apical healing with a simple hydraulic condensation technique without multiple visit treatments and premedication material.