Spring, 2017
A recent article† by lead author Benjamin Pliska, assistant professor, Division of Orthodontics, was featured on the cover of the December 2016 issue of the American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics. The article reports on the thesis project of UBC Dentistry graduate Isaac Tam, MSc Dip Ortho 2014.
The aim of this study was to examine the effects of orthodontic treatment, with and without extractions, on the anatomic characteristics of the upper airway in adults. The researchers used 3D methods (specifically cone beam computed tomography) to determine the volume and minimal cross-sectional area of the upper airway in adult patients. The paper concludes that orthodontic treatment in adults does not cause clinically significant changes to the volume or to the most constricted area of the upper airway. Results also suggest that dental extractions in conjunction with orthodontic treatment have a negligible effect on the upper airway in adults.
†Pliska BT, Tam IT, Lowe AA, Madson AM, Almeida FR. (2016). Effect of orthodontic treatment on the upper airway volume in adults. American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics. doi:10.1016/j.ajodo.2016.05.013.
The cover of the March 2017 issue of International Endodontic Journal boasts images from Dr. Jeffery Coil’s former graduate student Agmar Schroeder, MSc Dip Endo 2014. Coil is an assistant professor and director of the graduate specialty program in Endodontics.
The micro-CT images are of before and after post space preparations of a gutta-percha obturation sample with no deviation, a GuttaCore obturation sample with no deviation, and a Thermafil obturation sample with deviation.
The study concluded that deviation of post space preparation occurred significantly more often in the Thermafil group than it did in the GuttaCore and gutta-percha groups. Micro-CT imaging was performed in the Centre for High-Throughput Phenogenomics.
†Schroeder AA, Ford NL, Coil JM. (2017). Micro-computed tomography analysis of post space preparation in root canals filled with carrier-based thermoplasticized gutta-percha. International Endodontic Journal. doi: 10.1111/iej.12618.
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