The aim of this study was to systematically investigate the literature for articles referring exclusively to the duration of orthodontic therapy and to explore the various factors that could affect this. A Medline search from 1990 to the first week of March 2005 was conducted, the Cochrane Database for Systematic Reviews was utilized, five orthodontic journals were hand searched, the abstracts of related articles were reviewed to search for any relevant studies that might have been missed, and the reference lists of the retrieved articles were hand assessed. Eligibility was determined by reading the reports identified by the search. The end result of this search provided 41 articles. Although there is a need for more conclusive research, the present review revealed several conclusions concerning the duration of orthodontic treatment: (1) there are indications that extraction treatment lasts longer than the non-extraction therapy; (2) age does not seem to play a role provided the patients are in the permanent dentition; (3) when Class II division 1 malocclusions are considered, there is evidence that the earlier the orthodontic treatment begins the longer its duration; (4) there is conflicting information regarding treatment duration within public health systems; (5) combined orthodontic-surgical treatment duration is variable and appears to be operator sensitive; (6) various factors, such as the technique employed, the skill and number of operators involved, the compliance of the patients, and the severity of the initial malocclusion, all seem to play a role; and (7) impacted maxillary canines appear to prolong treatment.

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The aim of the study was to evaluate the precision of a reflectance spectrophotometer during longitudinal assessment of tooth colour in vivo. The spectrophotometric data of five standardized circular areas on the labial surfaces of six teeth (four upper and two lower), from 22 dental students, were recorded on three separate days (1st, 3rd and 30th) employing a repeated-measuring design (n = 3). Total colour differences were calculated according to the equation DeltaEpsilon = [(DeltaL*)(2) + (Deltaa*)(2) + (Deltab*)(2)](1/2). It was found that all measured teeth areas, recorded by the same examiner (DeltaEpsilon(INTRA)), demonstrated minor colour changes during the three different time intervals, which did not exceed in every case the 50:50% perceptibility threshold of DeltaEpsilon = 1, thus indicating a good match. The smallest DeltaEpsilon values were recorded for the upper central incisors, whereas lower central incisors and upper first premolars revealed the most significant colour differences (0.68 +/- 0.21 and 0.70 +/- 0.25 DeltaEpsilon-units, respectively). The central zone of the middle third of each labial tooth surface exhibited the most precise recordings. With regard to interexaminer reproducibility (DeltaEpsilon(INTER)), the mesial and distal areas of all measured teeth presented the most statistically significant colour differences (0.48 +/- 0.15 and 0.50 +/- 0.17 DeltaEpsilon-units, respectively). It is concluded that the spectrophotometer tested in the present study can provide a precise measurement of tooth colour in vivo. However, in rejection of the null hypothesis, the type (posterior teeth, mandibular incisors) and the mesial and distal areas of natural teeth affected the repeatability and reproducibility of intraoral spectrophotometric measurements.

A case of non-catheter-related bacteremia caused by Chryseobacterium indologenes in a nonneutropenic man with a solid tumor is described. The patient was successfully treated with piperacillin-tazobactam

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