No abstract

In this study, the instructional interactive multimedia program was found to be at least as effective as the standard lecture of the orthodontic curriculum for undergraduate training in orthodontics.

Aim:To investigate the added-value of using CBCT in the orthodontic treatment method of maxillary impacted canines and treatment outcome.Materials and Methods:The sample consisted of 118 treated patients. The CBCT group (n = 58) (39 females/19 males with the mean age of 14.3 years) included those with conventional treatment records consisting of panoramic and cephalometric radiographs, intra-and extra-oral photographs, and dental casts and complemented with a CBCT scan for additional diagnostic information. The conventional group (n = 60) (31 females/29 males with mean age 13.1 years) included those with similar conventional treatment records but without CBCT imaging.Results:There were significant differences in the canine-related variables between both groups. The CBCT group had the higher level of difficulty and more severely displaced canines when compared with the conventional group. However, no significant difference was found between groups either in the number of treatment methods used or in the use of interceptive methods combined with other treatment modalities or choice of extraction versus non-extraction. In terms of treatment success and interval duration, no significant differences were found. However, treatment duration was significantly (4 months) shorter in the CBCT group compared with the conventional group (P = 0.023).Conclusion:CBCT has been used in cases with more severe symptoms of maxillary canine impaction. The use of CBCT improved the diagnostic capabilities and improved the chances of success in the more difficult cases to a level similar to that of simpler cases treated on the basis of 2D information.

The program provides both undergraduate and postgraduate dental students with a useful interactive means of self-study and self-evaluation.

Purpose: This study was conducted to objectively and subjectively compare the accuracy and reliability of 2-dimensional (2D) photography and 3-dimensional (3D) soft tissue imaging. Materials and Methods: Facial images of 50 volunteers (25 males, 25 females) were captured with a Nikon D800 2D camera (Nikon Corporation, Tokyo, Japan), 3D stereophotogrammetry (SPG), and laser scanning (LS). All subjects were imaged in a relaxed, closed-mouth position with a normal smile. The 2D images were then exported to Mirror ® Software (Canfield Scientific, Inc, NJ, USA) and the 3D images into Proplan CMF ® software (version 2.1, Materialise HQ, Leuven, Belgium) for further evaluation. For an objective evaluation, 2 observers identified soft tissue landmarks and performed linear measurements on subjects' faces (direct measurements) and both linear and angular measurements on all images (indirect measurements). For a qualitative analysis, 10 dental observers and an expert in facial imaging (subjective gold standard) completed a questionnaire regarding facial characteristics. The reliability of the quantitative data was evaluated using intraclass correlation coefficients, whereas the Fleiss kappa was calculated for qualitative data. Results: Linear and angular measurements carried out on 2D and 3D images showed excellent inter-observer and intra-observer reliability. The 2D photographs displayed the highest combined total error for linear measurements. SPG performed better than LS, with borderline significance (P = 0.052). The qualitative assessment showed no significant differences among the 2D and 3D imaging modalities. Conclusion: SPG was found to a reliable and accurate tool for the morphological evaluation of soft tissue in comparison to 2D imaging and laser scanning.