The aim of this study was to characterize dental anomalies. The pretreatment records (photographs and radiographs) of 2897 patients (41.4% males and 58.6% females) were utilized to detect dental anomalies. The dental anomalies studied were related to number, size and shape, position, and eruption. A Chi-square test was carried out to detect associations between dental anomalies, jaw, and sex. A total of 1041 (36%) of the subjects manifested at least one dental anomaly. The prevalence of all dental anomalies was jaw-dependent and greater in the maxilla, except for submerged and transmigrated teeth. The most frequently missing teeth were the maxillary lateral incisor (62.3%) and the mandibular second premolars (60.6%). The most frequent supernumerary teeth were the incisors in the maxilla (97%) and the first premolars in the mandible (43%). Dental anomalies are more frequent in the maxilla and mainly involve the anterior teeth; in the mandible, however, it is the posterior teeth. These differences can be attributed to the evolutionary history of the jaws and their diverse development patterns.

(1) Background: The aim of the study was to assess the dental age of the subjects and compare it to their chronological age; to assess the dominant tooth for evaluation of dental age; and to investigate possible individual differences between the left and right side of the dental arch. (2) Methods: This study involved evaluating panoramic radiographs of patients aged 7–13 years. A separate assessment was performed for each tooth according to the degree of germ development. Each subject’s dental age was estimated. (3) Results: The study involved evaluating 349 panoramic radiographs. No difference was found between stages of tooth development on the right side and left side. Correlation between the stages of tooth development and the chronological age was found to be highest in the second permanent molar teeth. The age can be predicted with the estimated age of tooth #37 and the gender of the patient. (4) Conclusions: The chronological age of children aged 7–13 may be estimated based on a modified seven-stage London Atlas of tooth development, where the most accurate landmark(s) of use are second molars.

Introduction: The mass-harvesting of digitized medical data has prompted their use as a clinical and research tool. The purpose of this study was to compare the accuracy and reliability of artificial intelligence derived cephalometric landmark identification with that of human observers. Methods: Ten pre-treatment digital lateral cephalometric radiographs were randomly selected from a university post-graduate clinic. The x- and y-coordinates of 21 (i.e., 42 points) hard and soft tissue landmarks were identified by 6 specialists, 19 residents, 4 imaging technicians, and a commercially available convolutional neural network artificial intelligence platform (CephX, Orca Dental, Hertzylia, Israel). Wilcoxon, Spearman and Bartlett tests were performed to compare agreement of human and AI landmark identification. Results: Six x- or y-coordinates (14.28%) were found to be statistically different, with only one being outside the 2 mm range of acceptable error, and with 97.6% of coordinates found to be within this range. Conclusions: The use of convolutional neural network artificial intelligence as a tool for cephalometric landmark identification was found to be highly accurate and can serve as an aid in orthodontic diagnosis.

Objectives: To investigate the effect of Class II intermaxillary elastics on the functional occlusal plane (FOP) of growing patients. Materials and Methods: A total of 50 participants aged 11 to 16 years were selected from a university clinic archive > 1-year after treatment and after undergoing 6 months of Class II elastic wear, taking pretreatment (T0) and posttreatment (T1) lateral cephalometric radiographs, and consenting to participate at recall (T2). Participants were divided into 3 groups according to skeletal pattern or into 2 groups according to treatment with extraction (E) or nonextraction (NE). Angular changes of FOP relative to the Sella-Nasion (SN), mandibular plane (MP), and Frankfort horizontal (FH) were compared within and between groups. Results: A statistically significant reduction of FOP-SN/FH, but not of FOP-MP, was found from T0–T1–T2 when all patients were grouped together. FOP-SN/MP/FH was significantly the largest in the patients with a hyperdivergent skeletal pattern, but lowest in the patients with a hypodivergent skeletal pattern at T0, T1, and T2 ( P < .032). FOP-MP at T0–T2 was statistically larger in group E than in group NE ( P < .02). No differences were found for FOP changes (change before treatment minus after treatment and change after treatment minus 1 year after treatment) between different skeletal patterns ( P > .433) and treatment groups ( P > .193). Conclusions: Use of Class II elastics during the growth period was not found to show adverse effects on FOP rotation. Neither skeletal pattern nor treatment modality differed in the response to Class II elastics with regard to FOP changes. Individual patient growth pattern must be taken into consideration when treatment planning the use of Class II elastics. Orthodontists should take into account individual skeletal and growth patterns while using Class II elastics.

Accurate assessment of dental student performance during preclinical operative mannequin courses is an essential milestone within the educational process. Training on novel, multicolored 3D-printed teeth resulted in higher performances of the students in comparison to training on standard, monochromatic plastic teeth. However, low reliability of students’ grading using standard, monochromatic plastic teeth was reported. The aim of this study was to verify whether the use of 3D multicolored teeth can (1) provide better inter- and intra-examiner reliability, and (2) assess the effect of instructors’ experience on their reliability. The novel tooth analogs consisted of digitally planned and 3D-printed plastic teeth containing green, yellow, and red stratifications according to increasing depths of preparation. Thirty-seven dental students performed three Class I preparations on the 3D-printed teeth, and these underwent blind evaluation by two examiners of varied experience at two timepoints. The data were compared with preparations done on conventional (monochromatic) plastic teeth. Results indicated excellent inter-examiner reliability on 3D-printed teeth (0.768 < ICC < 0.929), but only moderate reliability with conventional plastic teeth (0.314 < ICC < 0.672). The examiner having more experience was found to show higher intra-examiner reliability (ICC = 0.716 and 0.612 using 3D-printed teeth and conventional teeth, respectively) than the less experienced examiner (ICC = 0.481 and 0.095 using 3D-printed teeth and conventional teeth, respectively). The novel, multicolored 3D-printed teeth can provide more objective evaluation of cavity preparation compared with conventional plastic teeth.

The current study aimed to characterize the activity in orthodontic clinics during the COVID-19-induced lockdown and the inter-lockdown periods, as well as to evaluate patients’ perspectives with respect to their fears, their extent of cooperation with treatment, and their emergency needs during the lockdown. The data were gathered from 11 private orthodontic clinics from 1 January 2020 to 8 March 2021, which included three lockdowns and inter-lockdowns. Information specifying the number of admissions, missed appointments, and emergency visits was gathered. Four hundred and twenty-nine orthodontic patients treated in those clinics agreed to complete a questionnaire that evaluated their concerns and expectations, the treatment emergency issues, implementation of the orthodontist’s instructions, and contact with the clinical staff during lockdowns. There was a significant increase in the number of scheduled appointments during the inter-lockdown periods, compared with the pre-pandemic period (p = 0.001). No difference in the number of missed/canceled or emergency appointments was found between the different periods (p > 0.420). The majority (89.6%) of the emergency visits involved issues with appliances; 68.7% of the subjects were advised to present themselves at clinics. During the peaks of the waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, a sharp rise in the number of missed and urgent appointments was not found. Reducing the number of orthodontic emergencies may assist in reducing patient fears.