American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics

This study aimed to assess the reliability of measurements obtained after superimposing 3-dimensional (3D) digital models by comparing them with those obtained from lateral cephalometric radiographs in patients with lateral agenesis space closure by mesialization.

Facial esthetics have always received much attention in orthodontic treatment, especially in young adult female patients. Three-dimensional (3D) soft-tissue changes after orthodontic extraction have not been fully explained. This study evaluated the 3D morphologic changes after orthodontic extraction in young female patients using a structured light scanner.

Little is known about how precisely orthodontists in the United States (US) assess crowding or at what range of crowding they recommend extraction. This study aimed to assess the relationship between estimated crowding in patients with a Class I relationship and extraction recommendation by orthodontists in the US. The secondary aims were to evaluate the accuracy and precision of clinician estimations and determine if clinician background traits play a role in extraction decision-making.

Near-infrared imaging (NIRI) has been proposed as an alternative to radiographs and uses nonionizing radiation in the near-infrared spectrum to differentially scatter light off tooth surfaces and generate images allowing interproximal caries detection. The new iTero 5D Element Scanner (Align Technology, Santa Clara, Calif) has integrated NIRI capture and viewing technology but has not been specifically studied in a pediatric population. Therefore, this study aimed to assess clinicians’ abilities to detect and characterize caries in pediatric patients using this instrument.

This study aimed to evaluate mandibular asymmetry in unilateral posterior crossbite (UPXB) patients and compare the asymmetry between adolescents and adults with UPXB.

Despite its influence on occupational performance and team dynamics, there has been little research into the personality of dental professionals. Existing research does not typically use the prevailing five-factor model of personality. We aimed to measure the personality of dental professionals in the United Kingdom and investigate differences among groups.

Direct printing of clear aligners could be the next paradigm shift in modern orthodontics and can potentially overcome the limitation of the indirect production method. This study investigated the effects of 1 week of intraoral usage on the surface roughness parameters of directly printed aligners (DPAs) and commercially produced Invisalign aligners compared with their unused control counterparts using confocal laser scanning microscopy.

This study aimed to investigate changes in bite force (BF) and occlusal contact area after anterior open-bite (AOB) treatment and compare the changes in surgical vs nonsurgical treatment.

This study investigated the effects of different timings of orthodontic treatment on the root development of impacted anterior teeth in children.

To evaluate the accuracy of three-dimensionally (3D) printed aligners compared to conventional vacuum-formed thermoplastic aligners with varying levels of dental crowding.

Different types of intraradicular restorations and their insertion have an impact on teeth biomechanics. This study aimed to analyze the biomechanical behavior of maxillary central incisors restored with glass fiber post (GFP) and cast metal post and core (CMP) subjected to buccolingual and mesiodistal orthodontic forces using the finite element method.

Regarding the recent publication (Bastiani C, Bellini-Pereira SA, Aliaga-Del Castillo A, Chiqueto K, Castanha Henriques JF, Janson G. Twin-block and mandibular anterior repositioning appliances effects in Class II malocclusion correction. Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop 2023;163:181-90) published in February 2023, I congratulate the authors for their commendable work, but I have encountered some doubts in the Material and Methods section, which are as follows:

Mrs Palmer is your last new examination of the day. She is widowed and has not gotten over the death of her husband of 52 years, who passed away almost a year ago. Her main orthodontic concern is progressive crowding of her mandibular incisors. Despite her mental anguish, her only medical complication is Parkinson’s disease. You suspect it as soon as you review her erratic handwriting which documents the list of her current medications. Although there is no question that her husband’s passing had totally changed her life, she also explains that her neurologist retired abruptly without naming a successor.

We thank Dr Mota-Júnior and colleagues for their kind words about our article. We agree with the authors that, as with all aspects of orthodontic treatment planning, the decision whether or not to extract premolars should only be undertaken after a careful and comprehensive assessment and diagnosis of each patient.

Regarding the recent publication by Benson et al (Benson PE, Alshawy E, Fenton GD, Frawley T, Misra S, Ng T, et al. Extraction vs nonextraction of premolars for orthodontic treatment: a scoping review examining the extent, range, and characteristics of the literature. Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop 2023;164:368-76) published in March 2023, we would like to congratulate the authors on their interesting and relevant study. However, we would like to raise some questions for further discussion.

We thank the readers for their interest in our research study and their insightful questions, which we will address below.

We appreciate and congratulate the authors on their interesting research (Peres LR, Rossouw PE, Cousley R, Corsetti MA. Mini-implant assisted posterior intrusion: a quantification of anterior bite closure in nongrowing subjects. Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop 2023;163:465-74). We have a few queries about this article that are worthy of discussion.

One of our readers wrote me the other day with an interesting question; it went like this.LarryAre you aware of any research on how long the average treatment time is for traditional braces? Insurance companies usually pay out over 24 months so they must base that policy on something.I have a situation where an insurance company is fighting with me because I refused to start a child who is living in foster care. I asked for documentation that the child will be in the same home for 2 years in order to be able to treat him without lapses in treatment which is why I’m looking for some kind of “proof” that the average case takes about 24 months to treat.

We would like to congratulate Bastiani et al for their work published in February 2023 (Bastiani C, Bellini-Pereira SA, Aliaga-Del Castillo A, Chiqueto K, Castanha Henriques JF, Janson G. Twin-block and mandibular anterior repositioning appliances effects in Class II malocclusion correction. Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop 2023;163:181-90). We would appreciate it if the authors could clarify some of our queries related to this research.

We appreciate the readers’ comments on our article (Soheilifar S, Nouri M, Safari M, Soheilifar S, Soheilifar S, Nowzari M, et al. Perception of laypersons, orthodontists, and oral and maxillofacial surgeons about the transverse occlusal plane. Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop 2023;164:386-94).

Big data is a relatively recent term that has emerged because of the rapid collection and generation of data, the increase in storage and computing capacity, and the rise of a new generation of machine learning algorithms. It is generally characterized by 3 “V’s.” The first “V,” volume, refers to the size and scale of the data. This can be the number of subjects (observations) or variables (covariates, features) in the dataset. Velocity, the second “V,” stands for the rate at which the data are generated and the speed of analysis.

Thank you very much for your interest in our article and the opportunity to address your concerns.

We are grateful for your interest and questions regarding this study. Thank you for the opportunity to address your concerns.

We have read with great interest the article by Soheilifar et al (Soheilifar S, Nouri M, Safari M, Soheilifar S, Soheilifar S, Nowzari M, et al. Perception of laypersons, orthodontists, and oral and maxillofacial surgeons about the transverse occlusal plane. Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop 2023;164:386-94). We would like to congratulate the authors for their valuable contribution to the field. However, we have some questions regarding the topic that we hope the authors can address only for supplementary purposes.

This study evaluated the effects of 2 different adhesive-precoated (APC) bracket systems on white spot lesions (WSLs).

The objective of this study was to determine and compare the moment-to-force (Mc/F) ratio and the type of tooth movement generated in the anterior and posterior segments in orthodontic space closure with stainless steel and titanium-molybdenum alloy loop archwires.

This retrospective study aimed to investigate the association between the extent of the bridging and dimensions of sella turcica and the impaction severity of palatally displaced canines. Secondarily, any possible association between skeletal age and gender was evaluated.

Periodontal health and biofilm control are primordial to success in orthodontic treatment. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of chlorhexidine (CHX) mouthwashes on periodontal status and extrinsic tooth staining in orthodontic patients.

This study aimed to compare the skeletal and dental modifications in adults with different sagittal facial patterns by a personalized miniscrew-assisted rapid palatal expander (pMARPE).

Correction to: Xiaoxia Feng, Yiru Jiang, Yafen Zhu, Lingling Hu, Jue Wang, Yezi Qi, and Siyao Ma. Comparison between the designed and achieved mesiodistal angulation of maxillary canines and posterior teeth and influencing factors: First premolar extraction treatment with clear aligners. Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop 2022;162:e63-e70.

Extrusion of maxillary lateral incisors during aligner treatment is a difficult movement to achieve accurately. Despite recommendations regarding attachment design, few studies and no prospective trials compare predictability among attachments. This study aimed to compare the efficacy between optimized and horizontal attachment designs for achieving maxillary lateral incisor extrusion during clear aligner treatment.

Class II elastics, in combination with clear aligners (CA), are efficient for molar distalization. However, the effects of this combination on intermaxillary molar relationship correction have yet to be investigated. This study aimed to investigate the actual contribution ratio of the maxillary and mandibular molars for total molar relationship correction during maxillary molar distalization using Class II elastics with CA and further explore therapeutic recommendations for clinical practice.

This study compared the Salzmann Index (SI) to the American Association of Orthodontists–proposed Automatic Qualifying Conditions (AQC) list in determining eligibility for medically necessary orthodontic care (MNOC). In Pennsylvania, The SI must reflect a score of ≥25, whereas the AQCs are considered binary indicators of a treatment need—the presence of any AQC qualifies a patient for treatment under Medicaid. This study was designed to determine whether the same patients are selected as eligible for MNOC regardless of which selection method is used.

This study aimed to quantify the outcomes of adolescent patients with Class II malocclusion treated with the Carriere Motion 3D Appliance (CMA) combined with full fixed appliances.

This research aimed to evaluate the impact of orthodontic treatment on a young person’s oral health–related quality of life, self-esteem, and esthetics concerning hypodontia.

Coloring solutions—such as coffee and cola, frequently consumed daily—cause coloration of attachments made with resin composites. This may reduce the motivation for clear aligner treatment, often preferred by patients with esthetic concerns. This study aimed to compare color changes of orthodontic attachments made with 3 different composite resins.

This study aimed to evaluate if there were differences between anterior and posterior anatomic boundaries used for the 3-dimensional determination of pharyngeal airway.

This study aimed to compare the characteristics of pleasant and unpleasant smiles from the perception of laypeople.

Artificial intelligence (AI) developed rapidly in orthodontics, and AI-based cephalometric applications have been adopted. This study aimed to assess AI-assisted cephalometric technologies related knowledge, experience, and attitude among orthodontists and orthodontic students; describe their subject view of the applications and related technologies in orthodontics; and identify associated factors.

This study aimed to examine the stability of anterior open bite (AOB) treatment with clear aligners.

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of dental bleaching with hydrogen peroxide 35% on the surface below the attachments.

Recently I received 2 e-mails from readers recounting different in-office scenarios, both of which have the potential to be quite problematic. The first was from Dr S, who asked what to do about a particular vendor; it could have been an adult patient, or anyone else for that matter, who consistently “hits on” one of his front desk staff. The staff member has tried to tell this person that she is not interested, but he keeps “coming on” and now this receptionist is complaining to the doctor and wants to know if he can do something to make this guy stop.

This study aimed to compare postsurgical stability between conventional (CSA) and surgery-first (SFA) approaches and investigate its prognostic factors in patients with a skeletal Class Ⅲ extraction.

This study compared treatment efficacy for specific tooth movements between 2 clear aligner systems (Clarity [3M Oral Care Solutions, St Paul, Minn] and Invisalign [Align Technology, San Jose, Calif]).