Traditional biometric analysis of size confirms that the degree of vermian herniation and cervicomedullary junction herniation are independent variables in Chiari-II malformation. Posterior fossa size is an important factor in explaining the variability of vermian herniation. The relationship between IPN position and vermian herniation suggests the possibility of a common etiology. The phenomenon of cervicomedullary junction descent appears to be independent, suggesting a different etiology. Analysis of shape indicated that shape changes in bone and brain are related, and that the Chiari-II-associated abnormalities vary greatly in their degree of abnormality. The extreme morphological variability argues against the use of mean differences as a statistical technique in analyzing morphological abnormalities in the structures we investigated.

The instruction to use warm saline mouth rinse is beneficial in the prevention of alveolar osteitis after dental extractions. There is no significant difference in the efficacy of the twice-daily warm saline mouth rinse regimen compared to the six times daily regimen. The twice-daily saline mouth rinse regimen is more convenient, and patient compliance may be better than with the six times daily rinse routine.

For this group of patients, it was important to remove dental amalgam restorations. However, it remains uncertain of how critical this actually was in relation to their experienced changes in health complaints, as they did not feel that they could credit all positive change to the amalgam removal. For some participants it meant this was no longer a source of worry and for others it helped them move towards accepting their health status.