Orofacial Deformities Research Articles

Comparison of tongue functions between mature and tongue-thrust swallowing—an ultrasound investigation

Many studies have proved that tongue thrusting plays a significant role in the etiology of some orofacial deformities. To learn more about the relationship between tongue function and the form of orofacial structures, it is important to recognize patients with abnormal swallowing patterns. A cushion scanning technique in combination with M-mode ultrasound was applied to measure and compare tongue movements between mature swallowing and tongue-thrust swallowing. Forty subjects with a mature swallowing pattern (23 female, 17 male, aged 21.8 ± 6.1 years) and 15 subjects with a tongue-thrust swallowing pattern (8 female, 7 male, aged 13.6 ± 6.6 years) were included in this study. Duration, range, speed, and reproducibility for each of the swallowing subphases were calculated and compared. Tongue-thrust swallowers had a longer late transport phase than mature swallowers ( P < .0009), and the tongue speed was faster in the early final phase ( P < .05) compared with mature swallowers. Distinctly different movements can be positively differentiated with the method used.

Incidence of temporomandibular joint disorders in patients with orofacial deformities

Incidence of temporomandibular joint disorders in patients with orofacial deformities

Limited mouth opening and shortened flexor muscle-tendon units: ‘Trismus-pseudocamptodactyly’

The association of hand and oro-facial deformities is not uncommon. A case is reported, the literature reviewed and a plea made to discard the term Trismus-Pseudocamptodactyly in favour of the original or a more descriptive title.

The orthodontist's role in surgical correction o f dentofacial deformities

M ost surgical techniques in use today for the correction of orofacial deformities and malocclusion are modifications of procedures developed before World War II by oral and plastic surgeons, primarily in Europe and to a lesser extent in the United States. In spite of the voluminous literature on the subject, diagnosis, treatment planning, and evaluation of treatment results have received scant attention, and only recently have these parameters been defined with greater precision, primarily because orthodontists have been included in the surgical team. The orthodontist has contributed to the assessment of dentofacial morphology and malocclusion by emphasizing the need for careful correlation of clinical findings, cephalometric analysis, and evaluation of dental casts to arrive at an analytical diagnosis and a basic approach to treatment. The orthodontist has also been able to predict treatment results and document anticipated changes with considerable accuracy. Moreover, meaningful evaluation of facial prognathism in lateral head radiography and profile photography has been facilitated through the use of “natural head positioning “I and the grid method of cephalometric analysis.2 The collaboration between orthodontist and oral surgeon results in an objective approach to the selection of therapeutic measures in which all aspects of diagnosis, prognosis, therapeutic modifiability, indications, and contraindications for treatment are jointly considered. Present surgical methods are essentially variations of three basic approaches, namely, cosmetic or masking procedures, maxillary dentoalveolar techniques, and several mandibular operations (Fig. 1). Cosmetic surgery is often the simplest and least traumatic kind of correction, and it includes genioplasties (reshaping), chin implants (allogenic and autogenic), labioplasties, and rhinoplasties (requiring the services of a plastic