Tomoo Kaneko |
Hokkaido University Hospital Central Clinical Facilities Center for Advanced Oral Medicine |
Lecturer |
Purpose: Recently, the occurrence of acquired anterior open bite subsequent to temporomandibular joint (TMJ) closed lock (AAOB-SCL) has attracted attention. However, the actual state has not been clarified. The present study examined retrospectively the clinical characteristics of AAOB-SCL.
Methods: The subjects were 24 patients who were diagnosed as AAOB-SCL. Twenty-four TMJ closed-lock patients without AAOB-SCL also participated in this study as a control group. Patients with anterior open bite due to rheumatoid osteoarthrosis were excluded.
Results: Most cases of AAOB-SCL occurred more than three months after the emergence of TMJ closed lock.
For 5 patients of the AAOB-SCL group, an occlusal splint had not been applied and the rate of the cases without splint was not significantly different from that of the control group.
Posterior open bite was found except the most posterior tooth, more frequently on the contra-affected side, in addition to anterior teeth. The mean maximum mouth opening range was significantly larger than that in the control group.
Condyles on the affected side were deformed in all subjects and the rate of deformity was significantly larger than that in the control group.
Conclusions: It was suggested that AAOB-SCLs tended to appear in the chronic phase, i.e., the phase in which mouth-opening limitation improved or was improving, on the anterior teeth and posterior teeth more frequently on the contra-affected side except the most posterior tooth. An occlusal splint was not always used before the emergence of AAOB-SCL.
The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of aromatherapy in alleviating toothache associated with orthodontic treatment. Forty-eight patients (19 men and 29 women; mean age, 26 years 5 months) undergoing tooth separation of the mesiodistal left and right first molars of the upper jaw in orthodontic treatment were categorized by the method of minimization for allocation to clinical trials into three groups: the lavender, peppermint, and placebo (purified water) groups. The three groups received aromatherapy 48 h after the initiation of the tooth separation procedure. A visual analogue scale (VAS) was used to assess spontaneous pain at 0, 3, 6, 12, 24, and 48 h after the initiation of tooth separation and 30 min and 1 h after beginning aromatherapy. Percussion pain was assessed with VAS 0 h and 48 h after the initiation of tooth separation and 30 min and 1 h after beginning aromatherapy. In addition, the amount of oxidized/reduced hemoglobin in the blood was observed during 1 h of aromatherapy by performing near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). Aromatherapy was preceded and followed by a survey of the Profile of Mood States (POMS). Assessment with VAS and NIRS showed a toothache-alleviating effect that lasted for the first 30 min in the lavender group; the peppermint group showed a longer and more intense effect than the lavender group. Comparison of the rate of change between the groups with analysis of variance did not show a significant difference. Assessment with POMS showed a decrease in all items after inhalation. These results suggest that aromatherapy inhalation has an effect on alleviating toothache during tooth separation.