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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Sabina Saccomanno

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Guest Editor

Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, Università dell'Aquila, 67100 L'Aquila, Italy
Interests: posture; functional therapy; OSAS; nanotechnology; osteopathic treatment; aligners; DTM’s; multidisciplinary; prevention; frenum; atypical swallowing; rapid expansion; telemedicine; sindrome eagle; down sindrome; treatment of cranial malformations
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The following Special Issue, of which I am the Guest Editor, will be published in Healthcare (Oral Care) and it is now open to receive submissions of peer-reviewed articles for possible publication.

Orthodontics is the branch of medicine that studies dental occlusal relationships and the skeletal relationships of the jaws. A fundamental aspect in orthodontic treatment is to first evaluate the etiopathogenesis of various malocclusions, masticatory dysfunction, TMJ and orofacial pain disorders, salivary disorders, oral breathing (day time and night time) and orofacial myofunctional disorders, which can be of genetic or environmental origin, or habitual and lifestyle-dependent. Due to the intertwined nature of dental occlusion with all other oral functions and breathing, treatment becomes multidisciplinary, particularly when dealing with pediatric patients. The orthodontist must place equal importance on preventing malocclusions as well as on the treatment of the patient, because, from birth, it is the orofacial and nasal functions that determine the proper and optimal growth and development of the jaws and the overall face.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to share articles pertaining to the following:

The effect of orthodontic devices used in various treatments;
Analyzing the records collected during therapy and compare them with those already present in the literature;
The health of oral and perioral tissues following orthodontic treatments;
The results of osteopathic treatment on occlusion;
The results of myofunctional treatment with or without adjunct orthodontic treatment;
The results of various treatments (including orthodontic) on pediatric and adult sleep-disordered breathing;
The effects of different treatments (dental, osteopathic, myofunctional, etc.) on the general posture of the body;
The results of various dental, myofunctional or osteopathic treatments on orofacial/TMJ pain disorders.

Dr. Sabina Saccomanno
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Healthcare is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

posture
temporomandibular joint disorders
osteopathic treatment
myofunctional therapy
orthodontic treatment
tongue
oral breathing
sleep apnea
atypical swallowing
short frenum
orofacial pain
aligner therapy
functional therapy
nanotechnology
multidisciplinary
TMJ

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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10 pages, 3385 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Efficacy of Home Oral-Hygiene Protocols during Orthodontic Treatment with Multibrackets and Clear Aligners: Microbiological Analysis with Phase-Contrast Microscope

by Paolo Caccianiga, Alessandro Nota, Simona Tecco, Saverio Ceraulo and Gianluigi Caccianiga

Healthcare 2022, 10(11), 2255; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare10112255 - 10 Nov 2022

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2000

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyze the microbiota of patients undergoing orthodontic treatment with multibrackets and transparent aligners. The second goal is to evaluate the effectiveness of the oral irrigator on the oral hygiene and periodontal health of orthodontic patients. Fifty patients (27 F, 23 M; mean age 21.5 years) were recruited for the study, then divided into two groups. Group A underwent fixed orthodontic therapy with multibracket, and a home protocol that included manual orthodontic toothbrush, interdental brushes, and one-tuft brushes. Group B used transparent aligners for 22 h a day and a home protocol that included a manual brush with soft bristles and dental floss. After 3 months, all patients of the two groups, A and B, underwent plaque evaluation with a phase-contrast microscope. If the test result showed non-pathogenic bacterial flora, the subject continued with the traditional home oral-hygiene protocol. If the test detected pathogenic flora, the subject changed the home protocol, with a sonic toothbrush and oral irrigator, while the microbiological analysis continued to be performed after 3 months. After 3 months, 10 out of 25 patients treated with multibrackets (group A) and only 3 out of 25 patients with aligners (group B) passed from non-pathogenic flora to pathogenic flora. After 6 months, using the oral irrigator and a sonic toothbrush for 3 months, all subjects returned to non-pathogenic flora. This study confirms that in patients treated with multibrackets, the risk of developing unfavorable microbiota increases compared to those treated with clear aligners. The use of an oral irrigator combined with the sonic toothbrush seems to be able to restore good oral hygiene in subjects with pathogenic flora and therefore to be effective at reducing the risk of caries and gingivitis in orthodontic patients. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Oral Diseases and Conditions: Prevention and Orthodontic Treatment)

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Review

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12 pages, 426 KiB

Open AccessReview

Incidence of Gingival Black Triangles following Treatment with Fixed Orthodontic Appliance: A Systematic Review

by Zhwan Jamal Rashid, Sarhang Sarwat Gul, Muhammad Saad Shaikh, Ali Abbas Abdulkareem and Muhammad Sohail Zafar

Healthcare 2022, 10(8), 1373; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare10081373 - 24 Jul 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2993

Abstract

This systematic review aimed to investigate the relation between orthodontic treatment (OT) and the incidence of the gingival black triangle (GBT) after completing treatment with a fixed orthodontic appliance, as well as the associated risk factors and the level of alveolar bone. Electronic and hand searches were conducted in three electronic databases for relevant articles published up to March 2022. Retrieved articles went through a two-step screening procedure, and the risk of bias (RoB) was assessed by the Joanna Briggs Institute checklists. The incidence of GBT after OT was set as the primary outcome, while the secondary outcomes were the risk factors associated with GBT and alveolar bone loss following OT. Out of 421 papers, 5 were selected for the final analysis. The RoBs of three studies were moderate and the remaining two were low. The incidence of GBT following OT ranged from 38% to 58%. In addition, three studies reported that alveolar bone loss was reduced significantly following OT and associated with GBT, while one study found the opposite. Regarding the risk factors associated with GBT, the reported results attributed GBT to several factors including age, tooth-related factors, treatment duration, and soft tissue factors. The analysis indicates an increased incidence of GBT following OT; however, a firm conclusion cannot be drawn. Additionally, it was not possible to reach a consensus on risk factors associated with GBT due to the heterogeneity of the data. Therefore, further randomized clinical trials are highly recommended to draw a firm conclusion. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Oral Diseases and Conditions: Prevention and Orthodontic Treatment)

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