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The science of dental tissue grafting is evolving, with an increased understanding of factors influencing graft behavior. Despite the widespread clinical use of soft tissue grafts, the histological characteristics of different gingival harvesting sites are still underexplored. This study aimed to fill this gap by analyzing 50 tissue samples harvested from 25 patients across three sites: the hard palate, maxillary tuberosity, and palatal rugae. Each sample underwent thorough histological and histomorphometric analysis. Conventional statistical analysis was performed using SPSS, while predictive modeling was conducted with RapidMiner Studio. The study identified significant histological differences among the graft sites, with notable variations in total graft height, epithelial height, and interdigitation perimeter. These findings underscore the importance of donor site selection in influencing graft success. Pair plots and principal component analysis (PCA) further highlighted the distinct histological features of each tissue type. The random forest classifier identified total graft height, epithelial height, and perimeter as the most influential factors in predicting graft site behavior. This study offers valuable insights into the histological characteristics of soft tissue grafts, potentially leading to more predictable clinical outcomes.

This study presents a scanning electron microscopy analysis of a failed PEEK retainer in an orthodontic patient. After 15 months of use, the patient reported a gap opening between teeth 41 and 42. The PEEK retainer was removed and sent for electron microscope analysis. To investigate the failure, scanning electron microscopy was employed to assess the microstructure and composition of the retainer at various magnifications. These findings suggest that the failure of the PEEK retainer was multifaceted, implicating factors such as material defects, manufacturing flaws, inadequate design, environmental factors, and patient-related factors. In conclusion, this scanning electron microscopy analysis offers valuable insights into the failure mechanisms of PEEK retainers in orthodontic applications. Further research is necessary to explore preventive strategies and optimize the design and fabrication of PEEK retainers, minimizing the occurrence of failures in orthodontic practice.

This study assessed the masticatory function of participants wearing clear aligners in order to determine whether these devices can be worn even when eating and therefore worn to extend treatment time and boost treatment effectiveness. An intercontrol test was conducted on 20 patients who received Invisalign ® treatment. Each participant was instructed to chew two pieces of Hue-Check Gum ® chewing gum (one pink and the other blue) in 5, 10, and 20 cycles both with and without aligners. After being removed from the oral cavity, the gum was dried and pressed using a 1 × 50 × 50 mm model that was 3D printed with a transparent layer in between. After being scanned on both sides with a flatbed scanner at 600 dpi, the samples were saved as jpg files and subjected to an optoelectronic examination using ViewGum software. To validate the procedure, a control group from a different institution (University of Bern) was used. A statistical analysis of the data was carried out. The Shapiro-Wilk test was used to confirm the normality of the samples. A one-way ANOVA test, a homogeneity of variance test, and a t-test did not reveal statistically significant differences between the two control groups, thus validating the methodology employed. In summary, clear aligners do not radically change the masticatory function while they are worn. As a result, clinicians can exploit the aligners for chewing to obtain a better fit of the plastic material to the dental surface and to attachments. Treatment times for patients could also be shorter.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the masticatory function of subjects with clear aligners and to propose a simple and repeatable method for the clinical and experimental evaluation of masticatory function. For the testing we used almonds, a natural substance that can be easily found and stored, has intermediate consistency and hardness, is insoluble in saliva, and has the ability easily lose the moisture absorbed in the mouth. Thirty-four subjects using the Invisalign ® (Align Technology, Santa Clara, CA, USA) protocol were randomly selected. This was an "intercontrol test", i.e., all subjects under the same conditions acted as controls but also as cases whilst wearing the clear aligners. Patients were asked to chew an almond for 20 s, once with aligners and once without aligners. The material was then dried, sieved, and weighted. Statistical analysis was performed to investigate any significative differences. In all our subjects, the efficiency of chewing with clear aligners was found to be comparable to the efficiency of chewing without clear aligners. In detail, the average weight after drying was 0.62 g without aligners and 0.69 g with aligners, while after sieving at 1 mm, the average weight was 0.08 g without aligners and 0.06 g with aligners. The average variation after drying was of 12%, and after sieving at 1 mm, it was 25%. In summary, there was no substantial difference between chewing with or without clear aligners. Despite some discomfort in chewing, the clear aligners were well tolerated by most subjects, who wore them without difficulty even during meals.

This preliminary retrospective study evaluates how effective the OrthoPulse ® (Biolux Technology, Austria) is in increasing the predictability of orthodontic treatment in patients treated with Invisalign ® clear aligners (Align Technology Inc., Tempe, AZ, USA). A group of 376 patients were treated with Invisalign ® orthodontic clear aligners in association with an OrthoPulse ® . The OrthoPulse ® was prescribed for 10 min a day for the entire duration of the orthodontic treatment. The OrthoPulse ® App remotely tracked the percentage compliance of each patient. The number of aligners planned with the ClinCheck software at the beginning of the treatment and the number of total aligners (including the adjunctive aligners) used to finish the treatment were then considered. After applying inclusion/exclusion criteria, a total of 40 patients remained in the study and were compared with a control group of 40 patients with the same characteristics as the study group. A statistical analysis was carried out to investigate whether using OrthoPulse ® led to a statistical reduction in the number of adjunctive aligners, thus leading to a more accurate prediction of the treatment. The statistical analysis showed that patients who used OrthoPulse ® needed fewer finishing aligners and a greater predictability of the treatment was obtained. In fact, in the treated group the average number of additional aligners represented 66.5% of the initial aligners, whereas in the control group 103.4% of the initially planned aligners were needed. In conclusion, in patients treated with clear aligners, OrthoPulse ® would appear to increase the predictability of orthodontic treatment with clear aligners, thus reducing the number of finishing phase requirements.