Undoubtedly this title question is the one that most often echoes in our ears and reverberates in our minds. Trying to predict the duration of an orthodontic treatment is an invitation to commit mistakes, a path we insist on trekking.

Premaxilla, in its early descriptions, had the participation of Goethe. In our face, in a certain period of growth and development processes, premaxilla is an independent and, then, a semi-independent bone to finally be totally integrated to the maxilla. Formation of the premaxilla acts as a stabilization element inside the facial skeleton comparable to the cornerstone of a Roman arch and is closely related to the development of human face and its abnormal growth with characteristic...

Social networks grow exponentially by disseminating knowledge and relevant information in all areas of knowledge. Among social networks, Twitter stands out as a tool for long-range and rapid exchange of interpersonal information. These characteristics make Twitter an important orthodontic scientific tool, which can be used in the search for answers regarding orthodontic treatments and their results. Using this media, American researchers developed a study1 with the proposal of evaluating the...

I have been blessed to have had the opportunity of knowing Paul A. Gange for a long time and becoming a good friend of his. Paul is the founder and President of RELIANCE ORTHODONTIC PRODUCTS, INC. He holds a B.S.B.A. in marketing – from the John Carroll University. Paul has had a career in the orthodontic industry that spans over three decades. He has been directly involved with the development of orthodontic adhesives, sealants and cements for over thirty-four years. Some of the...

Objective: The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the duration of the retention period in growing patients undergoing maxillary expansion and its relation with posterior crossbite stability. Methods: Search strategies were executed for electronic databases Cochrane Library, Web of Science, PubMed and Scopus, which were completed on January 15, 2016. The inclusion criteria included randomized, prospective or retrospective controlled trials in growing subjects with posterior...

Objective: The aim of the present study was to evaluate color changes and force degradation of orthodontic elastomeric ligatures in different stretching patterns during a 8-weeks period. Methods: Two elastomers with the minimum and two with the maximum color changing, and gray elastomers of two brands (American Orthodontics and Ortho Technology) were selected according to an opinion poll with clinicians and color changes after 4 weeks of intraoral use were evaluated. These elastomers were...

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess in vitro the influence of the CO2 laser and of the type of ceramic bracket on the shear bond strength (SBS) to enamel. Methods: A total of 60 enamel test surfaces were obtained from bovine incisors and randomly assigned to two groups, according to the ceramic bracket used: Allure (A); Transcend (T). Each group was divided into 2 subgroups (n = 15): L, laser (10W, 3s); C, no laser, or control. Twenty-four hours after the bonding protocol using...

Objective: The aim of this randomized clinical trial was to evaluate the dental, dentoalveolar, and skeletal changes occurring right after the rapid maxillary expansion (RME) and slow maxillary expansion (SME) treatment using Haas-type expander. Methods: All subjects performed cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) before installation of expanders (T1) and right after screw stabilization (T2). Patients who did not follow the research parameters were excluded. The final sample resulted in 21...

Introduction: The use of flowable composites as an orthodontic bonding adhesive merits great attention because of their adequate bond strength, ease of clinical handling and reduced number of steps in bonding. Objective: The aim of this Randomized Controlled Trial was to comparatively evaluate over a 6-month period the bond failure rate of a flowable composite (Heliosit Orthodontic, Ivoclar Vivadent AG, Schaan) and a conventional orthodontic bonding adhesive (Transbond XT, 3M Unitek). Methods:...

Objective: This study aims at comparing the perception of orthodontists, maxillofacial surgeons, visual artists and laypersons when evaluating the influence of sagittal position of the mandible — in lateral view — in facial attractiveness; at a job hiring; and in the perception of socioeconomic profile. Methods: A black male, a white male, a black female and a white female with harmonic faces served as models to obtain a facial profile photograph. Each photograph was digitally...

Introduction: Subjective facial analysis is a diagnostic method that provides morphological analysis of the face. Thus, the aim of the present study was to compare the facial and dental diagnoses and investigate their relationship. Methods: This sample consisted of 151 children (7 to 13 years old), without previous orthodontic treatment, analyzed by an orthodontist. Standardized extraoral and intraoral photographs were taken for the subjective facial classification according to Facial...

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to determine the perception of smile esthetics among orthodontists and layperson, with respect to different maxillary central incisors vertical positions in full-face and close-up smile analyses. Methods: Frontal photographs of the smiles of two adult women were used. Images were altered to create a symmetrical image with the gingival margin levels of the maxillary canines matching the central incisors and a 1.0-mm central-to-lateral incisal step....

The present study reports the treatment carried out in a patient with mandibular second premolar agenesis associated with early loss of a deciduous second molar, deep overbite, severe overjet and dentoalveolar bimaxillary protrusion, which led to lip incompetence and a convex facial profile. The main objectives of this treatment were: to eliminate the spaces in mandibular arch, correct overbite, as well as eliminate bimaxillary protrusion and lip incompetence, thus leading to a balanced...

Even though few technological advancements have occurred in Orthodontics recently, the search for more efficient treatments continues. This paper analyses how to accelerate and improve one of the most arduous phases of orthodontic treatment, i.e., correction of the curve of Spee. The leveling of a deep curve of Spee can happen simultaneously with the alignment phase through a method called Early Vertical Correction (EVC). This technique uses two cantilevers affixed to the initial flexible...