Oral Aesthetics Research Articles

Shepherding the Chants Home: Language and Mmanwu Minstrelsy in Ezenwa–Ohaeto's Poetry

The essay discusses Ezenwa–Ohaeto's use of the masquerade () minstrel as a paradigm in his experimentation with language in his poetry. Such experimentation with local African oral aesthetics is common in postcolonial African literature, and has been one way that African writers have hoped to create authenticity for their writings. Ezenwa–Ohaeto in his poetry, however, does not practise this experimentation as a mere identification and use of for the minstrel (for instance in the use of proverbs, paradoxical expressions, etc. culturally associated with the persona), but reworks and re-contextualizes the local expressions. His attention to language, though not entirely successful, reveals the project on the localization of the language of African poetry as being worth-while if it treats the local sayings as raw materials from which something new must be created. The African poet who is able to take language beyond what the indigenous sources have provided is the real "shepherd" of chants.

Malocclusion: Esthetic impact and quality of life among Brazilian schoolchildren

The objectives of this study were to assess the esthetic impact of malocclusion on the daily life of Brazilian schoolchildren and to test the association between esthetic impact due to malocclusion and biopsychosocial variables. The sample comprised 333 randomly selected subjects aged 10 to 14 years. The oral impact on daily performance (OIDP) instrument was used to assess the esthetic impact, and the dental aesthetic index (DAI) was used for clinical assessment. The subjects were further evaluated as to their self-esteem (global self-evaluation) and self-perception of oral esthetics (oral aesthetic subjective impact scale). Other variables were assessed through questionnaires. Multiple logistic regression was used in the data analysis. Twenty-seven percent of the children reported an esthetic impact on their daily lives due to malocclusion. The following variables were independent risk factors for an esthetic impact: female sex, maxillary anterior crowding of 2 mm or more, normative need for treatment considered elective and highly desirable, negative self-perception of oral esthetics, low self-esteem, and intermediate economic level. The esthetic impact of malocclusion significantly affects the quality of life of schoolchildren in Belo Horizonte.

Prevalência da maloclusão e necessidade de tratamento ortodôntico em escolares de 10 a 14 anos de idade em Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brasil: enfoque psicossocial

The objectives of this cross-sectional study were to assess the prevalence of malocclusion and to verify the association between normative orthodontic treatment need and certain psychosocial aspects. The sample (n = 333) was representative of the population of adolescents (10-14 years) in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. The dependent variable "normative orthodontic treatment need" was evaluated through the Dental Aesthetic Index (DAI) and the independent variables (gender, age, mother's schooling, economic status, parent's perception of the child's oral aesthetics, parent's perception of the child's orthodontic treatment need, and the adolescent's desire for orthodontic treatment) were evaluated through questionnaires. Descriptive, bivariate, and logistic regression (stepwise forward procedure, p <or= 0.05) analyses were performed. Malocclusion prevalence was 62.0% and normative orthodontic treatment need was 52.2%. The variables adolescent's orthodontic treatment desire and parents' perception of the child's oral aesthetics were significantly associated with normative orthodontic treatment need. These results suggest that psychosocial factors should be considered in making the decision to undergo orthodontic treatment.

Self-perceived orthodontic treatment need evaluated through 3 scales in a university population

To evaluate the self-perceived orthodontic treatment need in a university population evaluated through 3 scales that used different approaches. Cross-sectional survey. University dental clinic, Lima, Peru, 2001. Questionnaires that gathered perceptions on dentofacial aesthetic perception and orthodontic treatment need were applied to a randomly selected sample (329) of first year university students (729). Subjects undergoing orthodontic treatment at the time of examination were excluded. Aesthetic component (AC) of the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN), Oral Aesthetics Subjective Index Scale (OASIS) and a visual analogue scale (VAS) were used. Descriptive statistics, Spearman correlation test, Kruskall-Wallis test and Mann-Whitney U-test were used. For the AC, 87.5% were in the "without treatment need" category, 10.6% in the "borderline need" category and 1.8% in the "treatment need" category. The mean AC score was 3.02 (+/-1.49). The mean OASIS score was 11.81 (+/-4.84), and the VAS score was 40.16 (+/-18.16). Correlations between the 3 self-assessment scales were moderate (AC-OASIS 0.416, AC-VAS 0.541 and OASIS-VAS 0.457). Gender or previous orthodontic treatment had no influence (p<0.05) on the scales. Differences in the approaches used by each scale to evaluate the self-perception of the aesthetical arrangement of the front teeth may explain the moderate correlation values.

Oral World and Written Word: Ancient Israelite Literature (review)

Hebrew Studies 39 (1998) 201 Reviews (both Corinth and Ephesus are claimed as the site of Paul's longest stay in a place), rare misspellings (Pansanius for Pausanius? [po 363]) and some inexplicable glitches (Athens discussed without mention of Alexander's empire building) are relatively minor problems. The volume is sturdily presented on quality paper, yielding better photo reproduction than some selections of photos present. It can be used in Religious Studies classes at parish, synagogue, high school, and perhaps college courses. It seems a bit thin for seminarians unless they are relatively blank slates on Middle Eastern history and culture. Roger S. Boraas Upsala College East Orange, NJ 07017 ORAL WORLD AND WRITTEN WORD: ANCIENT ISRAELITE LITERATURE. By Susan Niditch. Library of Ancient Israel. Pp. xi + 170. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1996. Cloth. The modem study of folklore and the modem study of the Hebrew Bible have often traveled hand in hand. It was Herder who first joined these two fields together, rhapsodizing about the wisdom of das Volk and the pure, untrammeled spirituality of the "shepherd's stories" in Genesis. Hermann Gunkel raised the folkloric analysis of the Hebrew Bible to a new level, particularly by inventing the task of Form Criticism in seeking the original setting (Sitz im Leben) of biblical literature in the daily life of the people. Gunkel's massive influence, primarily through his great commentaries on Genesis and Psalms, has had the unfortunate consequence in biblical scholarship of reifying folkloric analysis to its state of the art in ca. 1910 (the date of the third edition of his Genesis commentary). As a result, many biblical scholars still think (following Gunkel) that oral tradition in ancient Israel consisted of simple, short forms of narrative and poetry, wisdom, and law, suitable for the simple purity of primitive rural folk. The road from these simple forms to the complexity of the literature of the Hebrew Bible must have been long and complicated indeed-so attest such monuments of biblical scholarship as Martin Noth's History of Pentateuchal Traditions. But the study of folklore and oral traditions has burgeoned in the last half-century or so, and it behooves biblical scholars to try to catch up. This is the task that Susan Niditch has engaged in several books, including Hebrew Studies 39 (1998) 202 Reviews Underdogs and Tricksters: A Prelude to Biblical Folklore (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1987) and Folklore and the Hebrew Bible (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1993). Her latest book, Oral World and Written Word, continues this rapprochement between biblical scholarship and folklore studies. Her chief aim is to break down the traditional (mis-)conception of the difference between "oral" and "written" mentalities that has ruled biblical scholarship since Gunkel. Rather than seeing this contrast as one of "primitive and simple" versus "worldly and complex," she aims to show that oral tradition may also be stylistically sophisticated and that the opposition between oral and written mentalities is better redefmed as a continuum. Her agenda and challenge to other scholars is to ascertain the degree to which the written texts of the Hebrew Bible partake of the attitudes and aesthetics of the predominantly oral world of ancient Israel. To achieve these impressive aims, Niditch's book is structured into three parts. In the first she explores the question of oral-traditional style and what it means to say that a written text partakes of an "oral aesthetics" or "oral register." In my view this is the most accomplished and important section of the book. Most such studies attempt to discern whether particular biblical texts were originally orally composed, but, as Niditch notes, these studies have not yielded many clear conclusions. Niditch turns this kind of inquiry to better use in letting the written text be written and by asking instead whether it is shaped by an oral aesthetics or oral style. She discusses various features that are typical of oral style-repetition, formulas, epithets , type-scenes, and traditional story patterns-and identifies such aspects of the "oral register" in the written texts. This is a significant move in the application of folklore methods to biblical studies. If sensitivity to the nuances of oral literature allows us to perceive better the...

Natural and Restorative Oral Esthetics Part III: Fixed Partial Dentures

Natural and Restorative Oral Esthetics Part III: Fixed Partial Dentures

Natural and restorative oral esthetics. Part II: Esthetic treatment modalities.

A previous article, Journal of Esthetic Dentistry, Volume 5, Number 4, 161‐173 (Part I) described the basic strategies for successful esthetic rehabilitation, including the knowledge about natural oral esthetics and the interactive relationship between patient‐clinician‐technician. This article presents the actual choice of current esthetic treatment modalities. Constantly evolving due to continuous improvement of materials and techniques, the treatment alternatives include a “crescendo” of methods that stretch from the very conservative (chemical treatments, direct composite resins) to the more invasive and sophisticated (laminate veneers, full ceramic FPDs). Using selected clinical cases, a rationale is described for the choice of the appropriate technique related to a specific clinical situation.

Natural and restorative oral esthetics. Part I: Rationale and basic strategies for successful esthetic rehabilitations.

Natural and restorative oral esthetics. Part I: Rationale and basic strategies for successful esthetic rehabilitations.

Correction of facial-skeletal deformities in two patients with facio-scapulo-humeral muscular dystrophy

The genetic etiology, pathophysiology, natural progression, prognosis, and complications of Landouzy-Dejerine facio-scapulo-humeral benign muscular dystrophy are presented, as well as the risks of anesthesia and surgery. Patients with relatively benign myopathies may be candidates for reconstructive orthognathic surgery to improve oral function, facial esthetics, social interchange, and general quality of life. The surgery can be a gratifying experience for the patient, the family, and the surgeon, but the procedure, the anesthesia, and the postoperative care must be carefully planned to minimize the genuine risks.