Environmental footprints in orthodontics: The World Federation of Orthodontists' white paper on sustainable practices, challenges and research imperatives.

This World Federation of Orthodontists (WFO) white paper addresses the escalating environmental impact of orthodontic practices, synthesizing expert perspectives on sustainable transformation. The paper critically evaluates the environmental footprints associated with orthodontic materials, energy consumption, and waste management across diverse global settings. It examines the impact of both traditional and emerging digital technologies, highlighting the challenges of material selection, recycling limitations, and energy-intensive procedures.

3-Dimensional Evaluation of Enamel Thickness to Guide Orthodontic Interproximal Reduction: A CBCT-Based Study Across Gender and Ethnicity.

Objective: This study aimed to explore variations in enamel thickness to provide guidelines for optimal interproximal enamel reduction in an untreated population using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT).

Methods: CBCT scans of 100 orthodontic patients (51 Caucasian, 49 patients of Somalian descent; aged (12-18) were analyzed retrospectively. Enamel thickness was measured at the mesial and distal contact points of teeth from the second molar to the central incisor in both the maxillary and mandibular arches.

Long-term relapse of anterior teeth in orthodontic patients treated with and without premolar extractions using a 3-dimensional surface mesh analysis.

Introduction: The study evaluated the long-term postretention changes in patients with borderline crowding treated with and without premolar extractions using 3-dimensional surface registration analyses and 2-dimensional (2D) conventional measurements.

Methods: The study sample comprised 29 nonextraction patients (nonextraction group [NG]) and 33 extractions (extraction group [EG]). Cephalometric radiographs and dental models of the included patients were used from pretreatment, posttreatment, and postretention.

The Use of Clear Aligners for Orthognathic Surgery: A Systematic Review.

Purpose: Clear aligners, known for their esthetic appeal, are now increasingly utilized in orthognathic surgery treatment, offering preoperative and postoperative benefits. This systematic review aims to answer the research question: Are clear aligners as effective as traditional fixed appliances in achieving dental and skeletal changes, improving oral health, and enhancing patient-reported satisfaction in patients requiring orthognathic surgery?

Methods: We conducted a systematic review following a predefined protocol. We searched databases including MEDLINE, Web of Science, EMBASE, Scopus, and Cochrane's CENTRAL from inception until September 2024, with no language or date restrictions.

MARPE Improves Long-Term Stability of Maxillary Expansion in Adolescents.

Objective (s): To evaluate and compare the long-term skeletal and dentoalveolar outcomes of conventional rapid palatal expansion (RPE) and mini-screw-assisted RPE (MARPE) in adolescent patients.

Materials And Methods: Fourteen patients were recruited from a cohort of patients previously treated with RPE or MARPE appliances with a history of > 10 years post-treatment. Of the initial larger sample population, these 14 patients agreed to return for a follow-up appointment.

Skeletal versus conventional anchorage in dentofacial orthopedics: an international modified Delphi consensus study.

Background: To establish consensus of skeletal anchorage versus conventional anchorage in treating: 1. Maxillary transverse deficiency in growing and adult patients, 2. Class II skeletal disharmony due to mandibular retrusion in growing patients, 3.

The Effectiveness of Functional Clear Aligners for Class II Correction in Growing Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Recent developments in aligner materials have enabled them to be a feasible choice for children and adolescents. Aligners offer a treatment modality for Class II correction in growing patients claiming to address a mandibular deficiency. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of functional aligners in skeletal Class II treatment through a systematic review and meta-analysis of the existing literature.

Innovative Orthodontic-Restorative Treatment With Customized CAD/CAM Smartwires.

Background: The demand for discreet and low-compliance appliances has driven innovation in orthodontics, particularly with technological advances in artificial intelligence, robotics, and CAD/CAM technology. The evolution of Programmed Non-Sliding Mechanics for precise, automated tooth movement is the latest innovation.

Aim: In this article, we aimed to demonstrate the application of a novel orthodontic lingual appliance, The Gen 2 InBrace system (InBrace, Irvine, CA), in the orthodontic-restorative treatment of an adult patient with anterior tooth-size discrepancies, anterior openbite, and incisor proclination.

Esthetic outcomes in orthodontics through digital customization with a lingual appliance system.

Background: Contemporary fixed orthodontic appliances are shifting from non-customized pre-adjusted appliances to custom-designed and printed appliances with novel digital setup systems. We are one step closer to precision dentistry and orthodontics using personalized mechanics and custom appliances. However, despite the evidential enhancement and other improvements to fixed appliances, tooth movement is still limited to five degrees of freedom.

Nonextraction anterior open bite treatment with distalization and intrusion.

This case report describes successful orthodontic retreatment for vertical control with nonextraction orthodontic therapy. A 31-year-old woman complained of anterior open bite and crowding. She had slightly protrusive lips but wanted to correct her malocclusion without extraction.

Evaluation of Dental Root Development Regarding Maxillary Canine Eruption Status after Secondary Alveolar Bone Grafting in Patients with Cleft Lip and Palate.

In children born with cleft lip and palate, the timing of the secondary alveolar bone graft (SABG) is crucial to its success; this involves estimating the eruption of the permanent maxillary canine. Altered dental eruption in this patient group gives impetus to the identification of dental developmental factors concerning maxillary canine eruption, which may steer the clinical decision of SABG timing. Records of over nine hundred patients who received SABG with pre- and post-operative cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans were analyzed for inclusion and divided into two groups (erupting or non-erupting canine after SABG).

Clinical advances in maxillary skeletal expansion and introduction of a new MARPE concept.

Background: Transverse maxillary deficiency, typically characterized by the clinical manifestations of unilateral or bilateral crossbite, is a common orthodontic discrepancy. The primary goal of maxillary expansion should be to obtain a nearly maximum width increase in the basal bone of the constricted maxilla and to avoid the dental expansion of the anchor teeth. The introduction of miniscrew anchorage-supported rapid maxillary expansion (MARPE) devices has helped increase the feasibility of obtaining nonsurgical transverse correction in late adolescents and young adults with optimum orthopedic effects.

Evaluation of current additive manufacturing systems for orthodontic 3-dimensional printing.

Introduction: The objective of this research was to evaluate and compare linear and surface accuracy of dental models fabricated using 3 different vat photopolymerization printing units: digital light synthesis (M2 Printer; Carbon, Redwood City, Calif), digital light processing (Juell 3D Flash OC; Park Dental Research, New York, NY), and stereolithography apparatus (Form 2; Formlabs Inc, Somerville, Mass), and a material jetting printing unit: PolyJet (Objet Eden 260VS; Stratasys, Eden Prairie, Minn).

Methods: Maxillary and mandibular dental arches of 20 patients with the American Board of Orthodontics Discrepancy Index scores ranging between 10 and 30 were scanned using an intraoral scanner. Stereolithographic files of each patient were printed via the 3-dimensional (3D) printers and were digitized again using a 3D desktop scanner to enable comparisons with the original scan data.

Functional characterization of ATF1, GREM2 AND WNT10B variants associated with tooth agenesis.

Objective: To determine the functional effects of ATF1, WNT10B and GREM2 gene variants identified in individuals with tooth agenesis (TA).

Settings And Sample Population: Stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED) were used as an in vitro model system to test the effect of TA-associated variants.

Materials And Methods: Plasmid constructs containing reference and mutant alleles for ATF1 rs11169552, WNT10B rs833843 and GREM2 rs1414655 variants were transfected into SHED for functional characterization of variants.

Should dentistry be a specialty of medicine? Two viewpoints.

Dentistry and dental education are well-established domains with deep-rooted institutions, educational programs, organizational structures, and advanced specialty fields. Almost 100 years ago, Dr. William Gies, founder of the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine, stated that to best serve the oral health needs of the population, dentistry should be considered a specialty of medicine, and dental students should have the same solid foundation in the basic and clinical sciences as medical students.

Referral patterns of pediatric dentists and general practitioners to orthodontists based on case complexity.

Objective: The objectives of this research were to investigate and compare general and pediatric dentists' subjective judgments of orthodontic case complexity and to determine how their perceptions of case complexity influence their decisions to refer the patient to an orthodontist.

Methods: Twenty pediatric dentists and 21 general dentists participated in the study. Pretreatment orthodontic records of 20 patients with a variety of malocclusions and a range of American Board of Orthodontics Discrepancy Index (DI) scores were used.

Specialist training influences the ability to recognise orthodontic case complexity.

General dentists and other dental specialists may be treating orthodontic cases without a proper understanding of the key components of malocclusion. This mini-review aims to identify the discrepancies in recognition of orthodontic case complexity and to give an insight as to why advanced speciality training is a must for the provision of comprehensive orthodontic care.

Further evidence for the role of WNT10A, WNT10B and GREM2 as candidate genes for isolated tooth agenesis.

Objective: To investigate the association of single nucleotide variants in the candidate genes WNT10A, WNT10B and GREM2 with isolated tooth agenesis.

Setting And Sample Population: A total of 435 Caucasian individuals (88 cases with isolated tooth agenesis and 347 unrelated controls) were ascertained at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Dentistry. Clinical and radiographic examination by orthodontists confirmed the diagnosis of tooth agenesis.

Evaluation of miniscrew-supported rapid maxillary expansion in adolescents: A prospective randomized clinical trial.

Objectives:: To evaluate and compare the dental and skeletal changes with conventional and miniscrew-supported maxillary expansion appliances in adolescents.

Materials And Methods:: Forty patients were divided into two groups, with one group receiving a tooth-borne expander and the other group receiving an expander supported by four miniscrews (bone-borne). Multiplanar coronal and axial slices obtained from cone-beam computed tomography images were used to measure the changes in transverse skeletal widths, buccal bone thickness, tooth inclination, and root length.

Colorectal Cancer-Associated Genes Are Associated with Tooth Agenesis and May Have a Role in Tooth Development.

Previously reported co-occurrence of colorectal cancer (CRC) and tooth agenesis (TA) and the overlap in disease-associated gene variants suggest involvement of similar molecular pathways. Here, we took an unbiased approach and tested genome-wide significant CRC-associated variants for association with isolated TA. Thirty single nucleotide variants (SNVs) in CRC-predisposing genes/loci were genotyped in a discovery dataset composed of 440 individuals with and without isolated TA.