Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) enables the radiographic examination and evaluation of osseous changes in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of various bony changes in TMJ in patients from a wide age range as well as to evaluate the CBCT findings of TMJ osteoarthritis (OA) and correlate them with age. The study included the CBCT images of 150 patients (43 males and 107 females) who were refferred to the Department of Dentomaxillofacial Radiology for the evaluation of TMJs. Each TMJ was evaluated separately for the presence of any osseous changes in the condylar head or articular fossa/eminence, and for joint space narrowing. The mean age of the sample was 37.26 years (range: 10-90 years). A total of 101 (67.3%) patients presented 1 or more osseous changes. No significant differences were found between the right and left TMJs concerning the prevalence rates of osseous changes. Significant differences were found in the mean ages with regard to the absence and presence of the following findings: condylar erosion, osteophytes, loose bodies, erosion in the articular fossa, and joint space narrowing. Degenerative changes in TMJ may reflect an age-related bone remodeling process. Older patients may have more common findings of OA, such as condylar and articular erosion, osteophytes, loose joint bodies, and joint space narrowing.

Introduction: Surgically assisted rapid palatal expansion (SARPE) has been the treatment of choice in subjects presenting skeletally mature sutures. Objective: The purpose of this study was to analyze stress distribution and displacement of the craniofacial and dentoalveolar structures resulting from three types of palatal expanders with surgical assistance using a non-linear finite element analysis. Material and Methods: Three different palatal expanders were designed: Model-I (tooth-bone-borne type containing four miniscrews), Model-II (tooth-bone-borne type containing two miniscrews), and Model-III (bone-borne type containing four miniscrews). A Le Fort I osteotomy was performed, and a total of 5.0 mm palatal expansion was simulated. Nonlinear analysis (three theory) method (geometric nonlinear theory, nonlinear contact theory, and nonlinear material methods) was used to evaluate stress and displacement of several craniofacial and dentoalveolar structures. Results: Regardless of the maxillary expander device type, surgically assisted rapid palatal expansion produces greater anterior maxillary expansion than posterior (ANS ranged from 2.675 mm to 3.444 mm, and PNS ranged from 0.522 mm to 1.721 mm); Model-I showed more parallel midpalatal suture opening pattern - PNS/ANS equal to 54%. In regards to ANS, Model-II (1.159 mm) and Model-III (1.000 mm) presented larger downward displacement than Model-I (0.343 mm). PNS displaced anteriorly more than ANS for all devices; Model-III presented the largest amount of forward displacement for PNS (1.147 mm) and ANS (1.064 mm). All three type of expanders showed similar dental displacement, and minimal craniofacial sutures separation. As expected, different maxillary expander designs produce different primary areas and levels of stresses (the bone-borne expander presented minimal stress at the teeth and the tooth-bone-borne expander with two miniscrews presented the highest). Conclusions: Based on this finite element method/finite element analysis, the results showed that different maxillary expander designs produce different primary areas and levels of stresses, minimal displacement of the craniofacial sutures, and different skeletal V-shape expansion.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‑19) continues to affect dental emergency services worldwide. Dental anxiety (DA) is described as a common and distressing problem in terms of oral health maintenance. The present study aimed to evaluate DA levels as well as the COVID‑19 fear and perception of control (COVID‑19 FPC) in patients attending dental emergency clinics during the COVID‑19 pandemic. Sociodemographic, dental and medical data was obtained from the participants. A face-to-face questionnaire with questions referring to the reasons for the emergency dental visit, the visual pain scale, the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS), and the COVID‑19 Fear and Perception of Control Scale (COVID‑19 FPCS) as well as additional questions concerning bruxism and a previous diagnosis of anxiety/panic attacks or depression was administered. The χ2 test was used to analyze the data. A total of 1,439 patients were included in the study. The most common reason for the dental visit was pain (47.5%). The prevalence of DA was 5.1% (74/1,439). A significant association was found between DA and gender (p = 0.020). The incidence of severe pain was higher in patients with DA than in those without DA (p = 0.002). No significant differences in the MDAS scores were found between patients with and without a chronic disease (p = 0.804), with regard to the educational status (p = 0.364), or between the age groups (p = 0.600). The prevalence of a 'strongly agree' response to all questions in COVID‑19 FPCS was higher in patients with DA as compared to those without DA. Females and patients with severe pain were more likely to exhibit DA. In general, patients with DA strongly agreed with the statements of COVID‑19 FPCS, which may indicate a correlation between the 2 scales.

The mandibular cortical index (MCI) is a measurement based on the visual assessment of changes in the morphology of the mandibular cortex on panoramic radiographs. The present study aimed to investigate age, gender, dental status (DS), occlusal function, and presence of torus mandibularis (TM) as variables that might have a possible effect on MCI. A total of 381 patients (155 men and 226 women) aged 21-84 years (mean age: 43.8 ±14.5 years) were included in this study. Age, gender and DS were recorded for each patient. The occlusal function was evaluated using the Eichner index (EI). The presence of tori was assessed by visual inspection and digital palpation. The MCI assessments were done based on Klemetti's classification (C1-C3). Statistical comparisons were performed using the χ2 test, independent samples t-test and multiple logistic regression analysis (p < 0.05). Significant differences were observed between the MCI categories regarding age, gender, DS, EI, and TM. The likelihood of the MCI categories C2 and C3 was increased in males (odds ratio (OR) 9.33; p < 0.001), when TM was absent (OR 2.73; p < 0.001), in EI Class B (OR 2.68; p = 0.027), and in the age group 50-70 years (OR 2.5; p = 0.018). Morphological changes of the mandibular cortical bone are related to gender, presence of TM, occlusal function expressed as EI, and age.