Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) has emerged as a promising tool for the analysis of the upper airway, leveraging on its ability to provide three-dimensional information, minimal radiation exposure, affordability, and widespread accessibility. The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in CBCT for airway analysis has shown improvements in the accuracy and efficiency of diagnosing and managing airway-related conditions. This review aims to explore the current applications of AI in CBCT for airway analysis, highlighting its components and processes, applications, benefits, challenges, and potential future directions. A comprehensive literature review was conducted, focusing on studies published in the last decade that discuss AI applications in CBCT airway analysis. Many studies reported the significant improvement in segmentation and measurement of airway volumes from CBCT using AI, thereby facilitating accurate diagnosis of airway-related conditions. In addition, these AI models demonstrated high accuracy and consistency in their application for airway analysis through automated segmentation tasks, volume measurement, and 3D reconstruction, which enhanced the diagnostic accuracy and allowed predictive treatment outcomes. Despite these advancements, challenges remain in the integration of AI into clinical workflows. Furthermore, variability in AI performance across different populations and imaging settings necessitates further validation studies. Continued research and development are essential to overcome current challenges and fully realize the potential of AI in airway analysis.

Introduction: Invasive surgical procedures in the oral cavity inevitably cause trauma to the soft and hard tissues. The healing process in the oral cavity tissue occurs in a complex manner involving different types of cells, maturation process, and the time of healing. Salvadora persica (miswak) has been found to exert various positive effects on the oral cavity, including antimicrobial, anti-gingivitis, anti-cariogenic, gingival healing, and teeth whitening properties. This study aims to investigate the potential of miswak as an adjunctive therapy in promoting wound healing. Materials and methods 30 live Sprague-Dawley rats were used in this study. The rats’ mandibular first molar tooth was extracted, and an incision wound was made on the tongue. The extraction socket and incision wound were irrigated using normal saline and different concentrations of locally processed miswak plant extracts (0.05%, 10%, and 20%) for 7 days. The rats were sacrificed for gross examination of the tooth socket and tongue healing. Both soft tissue and alveolar bone were examined microscopically. Results: Complete closure of the incision wound was observed on all rats’ tongues; miswak groups showed better wound healing than control and placebo groups in the oral mucosa overlying the alveolar bones. 0.05% and 20% miswak extracts showed prominent wound healing effects in the sagittal sections of the tongue, with moderate formation of connective tissue under the wound site and notable wound contraction. The 20% miswak extract group showed the highest percentage of healed oral mucosa on the alveolar bone and higher bone deposition at the alveolar base. Conclusion: A concentration of 20% miswak extract enhances the initial phase of wound healing both in oral soft and hard tissues. Miswak extract at this concentration was not toxic to the tissues and had potential therapeutic effects in oral tissue healing.

This surgical field has now progressed and becoming an established subspecialty involving various surgical disciplines worldwide. Various complex CMF syndromes reported in syndromic craniosynostosis include Crouzon, Apert and Pfeiffer syndromes. These syndromes carry specific functional discrepancies associated with the affected structural anomaly and may therefore have functional issues involving the brain, eye and airway among others. As corrective surgery is often indicated depending on the affected vital functions, other factors that need to be considered are patient’s age, comorbidities, urgency, available expertise and patient’s overall prognosis based on the degree of anomaly. As such, the corrective surgery can be categorized into; (1) intermediate which is performed at an early phase and aimed to improve or salvage important vital functions such as the brain, eye, airway or feeding which are important for the child’s development and, (2) definitive treatment aimed at permanently correct the functional discrepancies. Intermediate corrective surgery may include invasive procedures such as ventriculo-peritoneal (VP) shunts, tarsorrhaphy, adenotonsillectomy and tracheostomy whereas definitive corrective surgery may include surgical procedures such as monobloc, Le Fort III osteotomy, posterior cranial vault expansion and mandibular advancement. This chapter will elaborate on the indications, types, challenges in the management and the proposed prevention measures in corrective surgery for specifically for syndromic craniosynostosis patients.