The risk for paediatric obstructive sleep apnoea in rural Queensland

The importance of assessing patients for paediatric obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) cannot be more highly stressed and orthodontists may play an essential role in risk screening. The Paediatric Sleep Questionnaire (PSQ) is a validated tool to identify whether a child is at risk for paediatric OSA. The likelihood of paediatric OSA in school-aged children residing in Far North Queensland (FNQ) will be assessed using the PSQ. Parents of children aged between 4 and 18 years were invited to participate through schools and social media messaging to complete an online PSQ questionnaire to assess their OSA risk and demographics. The final sample consisted of 404 school-aged children of whom 62.5% were found to be at a high-risk for paediatric OSA. The high risk was significantly associated with males and those of overweight/obese BMI status (p 0.05). Within the contributing sample of school-aged children in FNQ, a significant number were found to be at high-risk of paediatric OSA. Males and overweight/obese children were measured risk factors

Oral appliance-generated malocclusion traits during the long-term management of obstructive sleep apnea in adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objectives: To identify malocclusion characteristics generated after using oral appliances (OAs) for at least 5 years for the management of snoring and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in adults. Materials and Methods: PubMed, MEDLINE (Ovid), Scopus, CINAHL, and Informit were searched without language restrictions through January 20, 2021. Unpublished literature was searched on ClinicalTrials.gov, the National Research Register, and the Pro-Quest Dissertation Abstracts and Thesis database. Authors were contacted when necessary, and reference lists of the included studies were screened. Risk of bias was assessed through the revised Cochrane Risk of Bias tool for randomized controlled trials (RoB2) and Non-Randomized Studies of Interventions for non- RCTs and uncontrolled before-after studies (ROBINS-I). A random-effects meta-analysis was conducted only on studies that used the same OAs to exclude biomechanical differences. Risk of bias across studies was assessed with the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation tool. Results: A total of 12 studies were included in the final qualitative synthesis. Eight included studies had high, one had moderate, and three had low risks of bias. Significant progressive decreases of overjet (OJ;-1.43 mm; 95% confidence interval [CI], -1.66 to-1.20) and overbite (OB;-1.94 mm; 95% CI, -2.14 to -1.74) associated with maxillary incisor retroclination and mandibular incisor proclination were reported long term. Although most studies showed no sagittal skeletal changes, some degree of vertical skeletal changes were noted. Conclusions: Based on a very low evidence level, inevitable anterior teeth positional changes seem to be a common long-term adverse effect of OAs. The magnitude of those changes could be considered clinically irrelevant for most pretreatment occlusions, but in occlusions with limited OJ and OB, it may be worth clinical consideration

Effects of long-term occlusal hypofunction and its recovery on the morphogenesis of molar roots and the periodontium in rats

Objectives: To investigate the effects of long-term, artificially created, hypofunctional occlusion and its recovery on the morphology of rat molar roots.\ud \ud Material and Methods: Eighteen 5-week-old Wistar-strain male rats were randomly divided according to their periodontal conditions into normal, hypofunctional, and recovery groups (n  =  6 in each). In the experimental hypofunctional and recovery groups, a bite-raising appliance was set to produce hypofunction at the molar region. All groups were analyzed at 16 weeks of age using three-dimensional micro-computed tomography. Root length, width, and area as well as the thickness and the area of the periodontal ligament (PDL) space of the maxillary first molar were calculated.\ud \ud Results: Roots were longer and narrower in the hypofunctional group than in the control group. The mesial root in particular showed a dramatic change. Root area also decreased significantly in the hypofunctional group compared to the other groups. Moreover, the PDL thickness and area decreased significantly in the hypofunctional group compared to the control group, but increased in the recovery group compared to the hypofunctional group.\ud \ud Conclusions: These findings suggest that root size and PDL structure may be reduced due to disuse atrophy resulting from a defect in occlusal function, but may be recovered following a gain of occlusal stimuli.\u

Effect of fluoride on root resorption following heavy and light orthodontic force application for 4 weeks and 12 weeks of retention

Objective: To evaluate the null hypothesis that fluoride intake via drinking water has no effect on orthodontic root resorption in humans after orthodontic force application for 4 weeks and 12 weeks of retention.\ud \ud Materials and Methods: Forty-eight patients who required maxillary premolar extractions as part of their orthodontic treatment were selected from two cities in Turkey. These cities had a high and low fluoride concentration in public water of ≥2 pm and ≤0.05 pm, respectively. The patients were randomly separated into four groups of 12 each: group 1HH, high fluoride (≥2 ppm) and heavy force (225 g); group 2LH, low fluoride (≤0.05 ppm) and heavy force; group 3HL, high fluoride and light force (25 g); and group 4LL, low fluoride and light force. Light or heavy buccal tipping force was applied on the upper first premolars for 28 days. At day 28, the left premolars were extracted (positive control side); the right premolars (experimental side) were extracted after 12 weeks of retention. The samples were analyzed with microcomputed tomography.\ud \ud Results: On the positive control side, under heavy force application, the high fluoride groups exhibited less root resorption (P  =  .015). On the experimental side, it was found that fluoride reduced the total volume of root resorption craters; however, this effect was not statistically significant (P  =  .237). Moreover, the results revealed that under heavy force application experimental teeth exhibited more root resorption than positive control groups.\ud \ud Conclusion: The null hypothesis could not be rejected. High fluoride intake from public water did not have a beneficial effect on the severity of root resorption after a 4-week orthodontic force application and 12 weeks of passive retention.\u