During his lifetime, Charles Darwin sent at least 7,591 letters and received 6,530. Albert Einstein, in turn, sent over 14,500 and received more than 16,200.1 This means that they wrote, respectively, 0.59 and 1.02 letters every day in the last 30 years of their lives. Such impressive display of discipline compels one to imagine that the number of messages exchanged by them would be particularly astronomical if they had lived in the age of email and social networks. In 2010, it is estimated...

In the last few years, there has been a growing concern about the amount of X-rays to which patients are exposed during radiographic examinations requested by the dentists responsible for their treatments. This concern has been identified in Reference Centers of Orthodontics all over the world. Evidence of that is an Editorial published in 2008,1 in which the Editor of the American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics (AJODO), David Turpin, analyzed the guidelines of the...

The mechanisms of root resorptions are known, and their causes are well defined. They areclinically asymptomatic and do not induce pulp, periapical or periodontal changes; rather,they are usually consequences of these phenomena. Root resorptions are local and acquireddefects, and not dental signs of systemic diseases. Root resorptions occur when structuresthat protect teeth from bone remodeling, particularly cementoblasts and epithelial rests ofMalassez, are eliminated.

The only child of a small family in Florence, Tiziano Baccetti grew up surrounded by the most important works of art of the Italian Renaissence. He always enjoyed writing and, in youth, worked as a reporter for a university newsletter. However, he ended up entering the University of Florence to study Dentistry. Nothing raised his interest much until the day when he started studying facial growth. At that time, he decided to go deep into it, and set out to take his PhD in the same university....

Introduction: Cephalometrics may have limited use in orthodontics because of its subjective interpretation. An Artificial Intelligence (AI) system, the Decodify® System, was developed to allow the customized quantitative assessment of contextualized cephalometric data. In this article, the system is tested as an administrative tool in orthodontic offices. Methods: The development of algorithms includes the norms and standard deviations modeling of Brazilians’ cephalometric data, measured...

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess the surface friction produced between selfligating stainless steel brackets equipped with a resilient closure system and round and rectangular orthodontic wires made from the same material. Methods: Thirty maxillary canine brackets were divided into six groups comprising Smartclip and In-Ovation R self-ligating brackets, and conventional Gemini brackets tied with elastomeric ligatures. This investigation tested the hypothesis that...

Objective: To analyze orthodontists’ and laypersons’ perceptions of facial asymmetries caused by mandibular changes. Methods: The faces of two patients, a man and a woman, were photographed in natural head position, and additional photographs were produced with progressive mandibular shifts of 2, 4 and 6 mm from maximum habitual intercuspation (MHI). Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and weighted kappa coefficients were used to test method reproducibility. The differences in...

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the friction forces on brackets (Roth, Composite, 10.17.005, 3.2 mm, width 0.022x0.030-in, torque -2º and angulation +13º, Morelli®, Brazil), with stainless steel orthodontic rectangular wire (Morelli®, Brazil) and nickel-titanium superelastic Bioforce wires with and without IonGuard (Bioforce, GAC®, USA). Methods: Twenty-four brackets/segment of wire combinations were used, distributed into 3 groups according to the orthodontic wire....

Objective: The objective of the present study was to compare two types of fixed orthodontic retainers (a multi-stranded wire retainer and a modified retainer) in relation to established periodontal parameters. The multi-stranded wire retainer is commonly used, and the modified retainer has bends to enable free access of dental floss to interproximal areas. Methods: For this cross-over study, 12 volunteers were selected and used the following retainers for six months: (A) a multi-stranded...

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to histologically evaluate the influence of phenobarbital on orthodontic tooth movement. Methods: Twenty-two New Zealand rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) were divided into three groups: normal or non-tested (N), control (C), and experimental (E). In Group N (n = 2) no procedure was carried out, except to verify the condition of normality before treatment. In Groups C (n = 10) and E (n = 10) an orthodontic appliance was inserted between the first...

Objective: To develop a method to manufacture austenitic-ferritic stainless steel orthodontic wires (SEW 410 Nr. 14517) using conventional rolling and wiredrawing processes. Methods: Austenitic-ferritic steel was produced in an induction furnace. Tensile tests and microhardness measurements were used to evaluate the wires quality. Orthodontic components were fabricated to assess ductility and malleability. Results and Conclusions: Austenitic-ferritic stainless steel wires meet the BS...

Objective: To assess agreement among orthodontists trained in facial pattern diagnosis through the morphological evaluation of the face. Methods: Facial photographs were taken in front and side views, as well as photographs of the smiles of 105 individuals randomly selected among patients seeking orthodontic treatment. The photographs were sent to orthodontists trained in facial pattern classification. Intra-rater agreement, agreement between raters and the Gold Standard, as well as...

Objective: To evaluate the shear bond strength of metallic brackets using the self-etching system after its activation and storage for 2, 5 and 9 day periods. Methods: A total of 64 bovine teeth were divided in four groups and prepared to receive the brackets. Initially (T1), 7 self-etching primer blisters were activated and used to bond the brackets of group I. The blisters were stored at a constant temperature of 4ºC for 2 (T2), 5 (T3) and 9 (T4) days and used to bond the brackets of...

This study describes a new fixation system for removable appliances that does not require the fabrication of clasps and is specially recommended for patients whose teeth provide little or no retention. This fixation system, called GCS, uses attachments fabricated with orthodontic buttons bonded to the teeth. It provides excellent mechanical retention, and the removable appliances, in this case an expander, can be activated as if they were fixed appliances cemented or bonded to teeth. An...

Objective: To identify malpositioned teeth in patients referred to periodontal treatment in the Brazilian Association of Dentistry, Pernambuco Division and evaluate the association of these irregularities with periodontal health. Methods: The sample comprised 90 individuals aged 15 to 69 years. First, each participant was examined to identify the types of abnormal tooth positions by means of visual inspection. After that, their periodontal health was assessed according to the following...

Objective: To evaluate the efficiency of infrared diode laser on pain reduction during canine initial retraction. Methods: Twelve patients in need of canine retraction were selected. The canines were retracted with closed NiTi coil springs activated to 150 g per side. One canine of each patient was randomly selected for laser irradiation immediately after activation and after 3 and 7 days. The contralateral canines were taken as control group and were submitted only to simulation of laser...

Objectives: To compare subjective and objective pain intensity and associated characteristics in myofascial pain (MFP) patients with and without migraine. Methods: The sample was comprised by 203 consecutive patients, mean age of 40.3 years (89.2% of females), primarily diagnosed with MFP, who presented to the UCLA Orofacial Pain Clinic. Patients with secondary diagnosis of migraine (n=83) were included and comprised group 2. In order to compare group 1 (MFP) with group 2 (MFP + migraine)...

Objectives: To determine the biometric dimensions of human teeth in the mesiodistal, buccolingual and occlusal/incisal-cervical directions. Methods: It was used a sample of dental casts from 57 patients, i.e., 31 females with a mean age of 15 years and 5 months, and 26 males with a mean age of 16 years and 6 months. The sample was previously qualified by adopting the criteria established by Andrews’ six keys to normal occlusion, whose values were matched to the variations obtained by...

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of malocclusion in a group of 3,466 children aged 7 to 12 years enrolled in public schools in the cities of Lins and Promissão, in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Methods: The sagittal relationships between dental arches, the transverse relationship between arches, and the vertical and horizontal relations of incisors were analyzed. The prevalence of diastemas, crowding and tooth losses were evaluated. Results: Among the types of malocclusion, 55.25% of...

This study describes a case with an impacted right mandibular second molar which was distalized using miniplates for skeletal anchorage. Uprighting impacted mandibular second molars has been a great challenge for orthodontists and oral surgeons because of the scarcity of anchorage options. Skeletal anchorage was first used in clinical orthodontics in the middle of the 1980s. Since then, several devices have been developed for that purpose, such as mini-screws, tooth implants and, lately,...

Orthodontic planning for patients with agenesis of lateral incisors should include extremely relevant esthetic and functional considerations so that a satisfactory clinical result is achieved. Both space closure and space opening or maintenance have advantages and disadvantages that should be evaluated according to the patient’s individual characteristics. Some of the important factors that affect planning are the skeletal pattern, the type of malocclusion and the color and shape of canines....

The Brazilian Board of Orthodontics and Facial Orthopedics (BBO) is the institution that certifies the standards of clinical excellence in the practice of this specialty. This article describes the history of BBO’s creation and the examination structure and phases to obtain the BBO Certification. It also presents a detailed report of the first exam applied in Brazil. Its purpose is to expand the knowledge, among professionals in the area, about the importance of BBO Certification as...