Background:Rugae are the anatomical folds that are located on the anterior third of palate behind the incisive papillae. They are also known as “Plica palatine,” and the study of these patterns is called palatoscopy. It can be used in various fields such as sex determination, orthodontics and forensic odontology.Objective:To investigate palatal rugae patterns in females and males and to evaluate the stability of these patterns in pre- and post-operative orthodontic cases.Materials and Methods:Fifty patients were selected for this study (25 males and 25 females). From the above sample, 10 males and 10 females had undergone orthodontic treatment and their casts were retrieved for sex determination analysis and stability of rugae patterns pre- and post-treatment.Results:Changes occur in bony structures during fixed orthodontic treatment but rugae patterns remain stable. Kappa stats and Chi square test were used to analyze agreement between the two evaluators, and 95% correct matches were achieved.Conclusion:Palatal rugae are unique to every individual and can be used as an indicator in forensic odontology.

OBJECTIVE:To investigate the effect of different intracoronal bleaching methods on the shear bond strength and site of failure of ceramic brackets.MATERIALS AND METHODS:Sixty freshly extracted human maxillary incisors were randomly divided into four groups (n = 15). Endodontic access cavity was prepared and root canals were filled, root fillings were removed 2mm apical to the cementoenamel junction, and a 2-mmthick layer of glass ionomer cement base was applied. Group 1 served as the control. Intracoronal bleaching was performed with 35% carbamide peroxide in group 2, sodium perborate in group 3, and 37.5% hydrogen peroxide in group 4. The teeth were immersed in artificial saliva for 4 weeks before bracket bonding. Ceramic brackets were bonded with composite resin and cured with LED light. After bonding, the shear bond strength of the brackets was tested with a universal testing machine. The site of bond failure was determined by modified ARI (Adhesive Remnant Index).RESULTS:The highest value of shear bond strength was measured in control group (18.67 ± 1.59 MPa), which was statistically significant from groups 2,3, and 4. There was no significant difference between groups 2 and 4. The lowest shear bond strength was measured in group 3. ARI scores were not significant from each other.CONCLUSIONS:Intracoronal bleaching significantly affected the shear bond strength of ceramic brackets even after 4 weeks of bleaching. Bleaching with sodium perborate affects shear bond strength more adversely than does bleaching with other agents like hydrogen peroxide and carbamide peroxide.

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OBJECTIVES:The aim of the study was to clinically evaluate and compare 0.016-inch superelastic nickel-titanium (NiTi) and 0.016-inch heat-activated nickel-titanium (NiTi) archwires in terms of alignment efficiency, root resorption, and pain intensity. METHOD:A total of 20 patients requiring fixed orthodontic treatment, having Little's irregularity index of 5-8, and requiring first premolar extractions were recruited. They were randomly allocated to receive two different archwires (0.016-inch superelastic NiTi or 0.016-inch thermoelastic NiTi). Good-quality impressions were taken of the lower arch before archwire placement (T0) and at every month after that till the alignment was complete. The rate of tooth alignment was measured on casts by determining Little's irregularity index. The pain experienced by the patient was assessed 24 hours and 1 week after the placement of the archwire on a visual analogue scale. Cone beam computed tomographic radiographs of lower anterior teeth were taken before and after alignment to assess root resorption. Data obtained were subjected to statistical analysis using the SPSS software (version 20.0). The level of significance was kept at 5%. RESULTS:The repeated measures ANOVA indicated that there was no significant difference in the aligning efficiency of superelastic and heat-activated NiTi wires. (p = 0.45). The Mann Whitney U test showed that superelastic NiTi wires had statistically significant higher VAS scores than heat-activated NiTi at 24 hours and 1-week interval (p < 0.05). Student's t-test indicated greater root resorption with superelastic NiTi but the difference was not statistically significant. CONCLUSION:Both the wires showed similar aligning efficiency and resulting root resorption. Superelastic NiTi was observed to produce more pain compared to heat-activated NiTi in the aligning phase.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the contributory factors of external apical root resorption. Materials and Methods: Sixty subjects who had undergone complete orthodontic treatment were selected. The difference of the root length between pre and post-treatment was measured. The degree of root resorption was scored according to the index proposed by Levander and Malmgren. 1 The mean root resorption score (MRRS) was calculated. Mann Whitney test was done to compare the groups. Pearson correlation was applied. Results: There was no statistically significant difference in root resorption among males and females. Tooth extraction was correlated with MRRS. Except for upper posterior teeth, the duration of treatment was positively correlated with MRRS. For overjet, there was a positive correlation between upper and lower anterior teeth and MRRS. Conclusion: Orthodontic treatment should be carefully performed in patients who need extraction, great retraction of maxillary incisors and prolonged therapy.