Introduction: Age estimation can be based on tooth formation stages seen on the radiographs. Demirjian’s method is widely used to assess age of individuals with developing dentition. There are not many documented studies of age estimation amongst Nepali population.Objective: To assess the applicability of Demirjian’s method for dental age estimation in Nepali children.Materials & Method: The sample of the study consisted of 186 subjects between 7-16 years of age. Dental age estimation was based on Demirjian’s method and scored by a single observer.Result: The mean and mean differences in chronological and dental ages were calculated, which revealed the overestimation in age groups of 7 and 9 years, whereas there were underestimations in other age groups. The mean differences in age groups 12-16 were highly significant (p-Value <0.05) whereas the mean difference in age groups 7-11 years were not statistically significant.Conclusion: Since there is underestimation range from 0.5 years to 1.23 years, the standards of dental maturity described by Demirjian may not be suitable for Nepali children.

Background: Mandibular condyle has a variety of morphology. The changes in their shape and size has been attributed to ageing process, developmental abnormalities, distinct diseases, trauma, endocrine shock, radio therapy etc. Panoramic radiographs remain the easiest, safest and most cost-effective screening modality for temporomandibular joint abnormalities. The study aimed to assess the different shapes of condyles using orthopantomograms from the archives of the hospital data. The variations among the sexes and between the right and left sides of an individual were also determined. Methods: This retrospective study was conducted at People’s Dental College and Hospital within the time period of 1 year (November 2019- November 2020). Orthopantomogram of patients falling within the inclusion criteria were studied.  The different shapes of condylar process were traced using marker pencil for both right and left sides. Data collected was entered in Microsoft Office Excel sheet 2013-- and calculated in SPSS version 24 and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: Out of the 874 mandibular condyles of 437 patients, the most common was the oval shaped in both the right (275) and the left sides (277), followed by bird beak, diamond, flat and crooked finger respectively. The oval shaped condyle appeared to be predominant in both sexes. The flat shaped and diamond shaped condyle appeared to be a rarity. Conclusions: The most common shape of condyle was found to be oval shape bilaterally and in both genders.  Least observed shapes of condyle were flat shape in female patients and diamond shape in male patients.

Introduction: Third molars are common teeth to be impacted. The position of mandibular third molar is such that it is in close contact with inferior alveolar canal which may lead to nerve damage during its removal. So, this study was conducted to find out the prevalence of compression of inferior alveolar canal by mandibular third molars. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on images collected from Dental Imaging Centers of Nepal from 25th June 2020 to 15th February 2021 after obtaining ethical clearance from Nepal Health Research Council (Reference number: 2100). A convenience sampling method was used to collect 433 cone-beam computed tomography images showing the relation between the third molars and inferior alveolar canal. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 16. Point estimate at 95% confidence interval was calculated along with frequency and proportion for the binary data. Results: Out of 433 images, 135 (31.17%) (26.80-35.53 at 95% Confidence Interval) images showed compression of inferior alveolar nerve by mandibular third molar. The study result indicated that 16 (11.85%) buccally placed, 50 (37.03%) lingually placed and 69 (51.11%) inferiorly placed inferior alveolar canal were compressed by apices of mandibular third molars. Conclusions: The prevalence of compression of inferior alveolar canal by mandibular third molar was found to be similar to other studies done in similar settings. Compression of the canal was more evident when inferior alveolar canal is situated lingually.

Background: The success of root canal therapy depends on proper knowledge of root canal system, presence of extra canals, complete debridement and three-dimensional obturation of the entire root canal system. Previous studies have reported three to five canals in mandibular first molars.  There might be chance of missing the canal that may lead to root canal failure, because of the variability in the number of root canals. The objective of this study was to determine the percentage of extra canal in the permanent mandibular first molar in patients undergoing root canal treatment. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics of Peoples Dental College and Hospital over a period of ten months from 6th September 2021 to 31st July 2022  after receiving ethical clearance from Institutional review Committee (IRC) Peoples dental college on 5th September 2021 (ref no1/ch no 5,2078/2079). About 350 mandibular first molar was selected by convenient sampling. After access preparation, all canal orifices were located and data were recorded. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0 with frequency table. Results: Out of 350 patients, the percentage of three canals, four canals and five canals were respectively 273(78%), 76(21.7%) and 1(0.3%). Conclusions: The finding of this study supports the presence of extra canals in mandibular first molar.  Thus, the clinicians require more diagnostic approaches, access modifications, and skills to locate, clean and shape the entire root canal system.