Dental trauma is a significant public health problem because of its frequency, impact on economic productivity and quality of life. It is not a disease and no individual is ever at zero risk of sustaining these potentially life-changing injuries. The aim of this article was to review the literature on the prevalence, incidence, aetiology, prognosis and outcomes of dental trauma. The importance of standardized reporting, oral health policy, adjunctive research methods, prevention and education will also be discussed. A search for relevant articles appearing in databases such as Medline, Cochrane and SSCI formed the basis of this review. Epidemiological studies indicate the annual incidence of dental trauma globally is at about 4.5%. Approximately one-third of children and toddlers (primary teeth) and one-fifth of adolescents and adults (permanent teeth) sustained a traumatic dental injury. The majority involved the maxillary central incisors, mainly from falls in toddlers at home and contact sport in adolescents. Despite these trends, there is considerable variation between studies within and across jurisdictions. There is a need to standardize research with a consistent approach to reporting, classification and methodology. This will improve research and form a greater basis for predicting prognosis. This research basis will assist in consent and clinical management.

The maxillary central incisors were the most commonly injured teeth in both the primary and permanent dentitions. Uncomplicated crown fractures were the most common injury followed by luxations and subluxations. No significant differences in frequency were reported for the different days of the week, the different months or seasons of the year. Only one-third of the patients presented for dental treatment within 24 h of the injury while the remainder delayed seeking treatment for varying times up to 1 year.

Objectives: To evaluate the premise that skeletal anchorage with SAS miniplates are highly successful and predictable for a range of complex orthodontic movements. Materials and Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional analysis consisted of 421 bone plates placed by one clinician in 163 patients (95 female, 68 male, mean age 29.4 years 6 12.02). Simple descriptive statistics were performed for a wide range of malocclusions and desired movements to obtain success, complication, and failure rates. Results: The success rate of skeletal anchorage system miniplates was 98.6%, where approximately 40% of cases experienced mild complications. The most common complication was soft tissue inflammation, which was amenable to focused oral hygiene and antiseptic rinses. Infection occurred in approximately 15% of patients where there was a statistically significant correlation with poor oral hygiene. The most common movements were distalization and intrusion of teeth. More than a third of the cases involved complex movements in more than one plane of space. Conclusions: The success rate of skeletal anchorage system miniplates is high and predictable for a wide range of complex orthodontic movements. (Angle Orthod. 2018;88:27-34.)

Acoustic neuroma, also known as vestibular schwannoma, is a rare benign brainstem tumour involving the abnormal growth and proliferation of Schwann cells surrounding the vestibular division of the eighth cranial nerve. Although the most common symptoms are non-dentally related, there are instances where diagnosis of this potentially life-threatening condition is triggered by an emergency presentation to the dentist for the most trivial of reasons. A 56-year-old male presented to a dental clinic complaining of a toothache. Following history taking, examination and radiographs a carious lower right molar was extracted. The patient reported relief but later described post-extraction numbness on the opposite side (left) of his lower jaw that could not be explained by anatomical principles or previous dental history. Further investigations revealed an acoustic neuroma as the underlying cause. This case highlights that not all signs and symptoms that occur in the mouth are abnormalities within the mouth. In particular, this case underscores the importance of recognizing that the spontaneous onset of certain symptoms may be due to significant non-dental pathology. Any numbness over the distribution of the trigeminal nerve must be investigated. The importance of the basic sciences and referring will also be emphasized.

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