Hard palate is regarded as an important part of the human skull, which contributes to the separation of the oral and nasal cavities. The aims of the study were to investigate the morphology of the hard palate in order to create a general guideline of three-dimensional values of the palate in a Kurdish sample in the city of Sulaimani as well as determining the possible correlations between different palatal parameters in class I malocclusion with the maxillary arch form and perimeter. A retrospective study design was adopted by collecting 100 study models of orthodontic patients aged 16–24 years old attending different private dental clinics in the city of Sulaimani seeking orthodontic management. In this study, three-dimensional palatal measurements including depth, length, and width were measured in an attempt to discover their correlation with each maxillary arch form and perimeter. Additionally, measurements of inter-molar width, inter-canine width, and arch perimeter were carried out. About two-thirds of those seeking orthodontic treatment were females. Nearly 80% of the study sample had narrow palate followed by 15 and 5% of intermediate palate and broad palate, respectively. In regard to arch form, almost 90% of subjects were with tapered maxillary arch form and 10% of them with oval arch form. Males had increased dimensions compared to females, with significant differences, except in palatal depth in the molar area, and palatine height index, in which females showed increased dimensions than males but the differences were statistically non-significant. A strong positive correlation was observed between arch form and canine depth. In regard to arch perimeter, a strong negative correlation was found with molar depth and a medium positive correlation with each of canine depth, palatal width, and palatal length.

Objective. To evaluate the in vivo tooth volume through VRMesh and 3Matic programs and to compare the measurements to the physical volume. So, the aim of the study was to ensure the reliability and sensitivity of the three-dimensional software (VRMesh and 3Matic) in measuring tooth volume. Material and Methods. The volume of 26 extracted upper first premolars from orthodontic patients who had CBCT before orthodontic treatment were measured. Two different commercial programs, which were VRMesh and 3Matic, were used to calculate the volume of the segmented upper first premolar from CBCT. The in vivo tooth volume was compared to the physical tooth volume to examine the accuracy of the two software in measuring the tooth volume. Results. The difference between the mean of the in vivo and in vitro tooth volume measurements was too small, making it clinically nonsignificant. ANOVA test was used as a statistical tool, and no statistically significant difference was noticed among the measurements. The values were normally distributed when tested for normality by Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Shapiro-Wilk test. P value less than or equal to 0.05 ( P ≤ 0.05 ) was considered statistically significant. Conclusion. The assessment of the in vivo tooth volume measurement with different three-dimensional imaging software (VRMesh and 3Matic) programs in comparison with the tooth physical volume is reliable. The use of a mouse pen during the refining stage of the segmentation may have increased the accuracy of the procedure. The determined in vivo tooth volumes are dependable and can be applied in orthodontic diagnosis and treatment planning.

Aims: Orthodontic treatment is known as a painful procedure among patients. They feel varying degrees of pain during orthodontic treatment from the stage of initial examination till the end of the treatment. The aims of this study are to explore pain experience among patients undergoing orthodontic treatment with the fixed appliances by comparing two different arch wires sizes. Materials and Methods: The study group consisted of 60 patients (26 males, 34 females) with a mean age of 17.6 years and 20.5 years consequently. Insertion of either 0.014 or 0.016-inch wire was by random selection of patients. Patients were asked to fill out a series of questionnaires for five consecutive days after the insertion of orthodontic initial arch wire, and after the arch wire activation for 4 hours, 6 hours, 24 hours, and till 5 days. The intensity (weak, mild, moderate, severe, and intensive) of the pain symptoms in connection with ten items (Biting on a hard/soft food, sensitive to hot or cold food/drink, mastication of food, fitting anterior and fitting posterior teeth together, cheeks, lips, and tongue pain) have been evaluated. Results: No significant differences were found between age groups, and between the two arch wire groups. Pain perception was more significant in females than in males and the pain perceived at the anterior teeth was greater than posterior teeth. Pain percentage level increased gradually till reaching the peak within 24 hours after the insertion of arch wire and retained the same level in the 2nd day, then decreased till the 5th day. Perceptions of pain by fitting anterior teeth were exactly the same within the period of the first few hours in both arch wire groups, and decreased over the following hours. Conclusion: No age discrimination was found for perception of pain in the two different arch wire groups, with no significant correlation for the time with initial pain that perceived after the insertion of two different initial arch wire sizes then the intensity of pain reduced over the time. Pain was perceived as being greater at the anterior than the posterior teeth and females experienced more pain than males.

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