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Who does refer patients for an orthodontic consultation? Which are the main reasons for the referral? Does the visit of the orthodontic specialist confirm these reasons or reveal undiagnosed problems? Is there the risk that only evident dental problems are addressed, while craniofacial malformations remain underdiagnosed? This cross-sectional epidemiologic study aims to answer these questions, analysing the clinical data collected during the orthodontic visits of 500 Caucasian young patients referred to a public health structure of northern Italy. All patients were visited by the same expert specialist in orthodontics. Clinical data were collected, analysing both dental and skeletal features. The reasons for the referral of the visit were analysed and compared with the specialistic diagnoses. In our sample, dentists, relatives/friends and paediatricians were the major source of the referrals, followed by family doctors and other facial specialists. In most cases, the reasons for the referral were dental irregularities, but approximately 80% of dental irregularities were associated with undiagnosed facial dysmorphism. Skeletal facial anomalies need an early diagnosis to prevent the development of severe facial malformations that would require invasive and expensive treatments. These findings reveal poor diagnostic skills regarding skeletal anomalies in dentists and paediatricians and the need for better specific training.

This study investigates the reliability and precision of anthropometric measurements collected from 3D images and acquired under different conditions of head rotation. Various sources of error were examined, and the equivalence between craniofacial data generated from alternative head positions was assessed. 3D captures of a mannequin head were obtained with a stereophotogrammetric system (Face Shape 3D MaxiLine). Image acquisition was performed with no rotations and with various pitch, roll, and yaw angulations. On 3D images, 14 linear distances were measured. Various indices were used to quantify error magnitude, among them the acquisition error, the mean and the maximum intra- and inter-operator measurement error, repeatability and reproducibility error, the standard deviation, and the standard error of errors. Two one-sided tests (TOST) were performed to assess the equivalence between measurements recorded in different head angulations. The maximum intra-operator error was very low (0.336 mm), closely followed by the acquisition error (0.496 mm). The maximum inter-operator error was 0.532 mm, and the highest degree of error was found in reproducibility (0.890 mm). Anthropometric measurements from alternative acquisition conditions resulted in significantly equivalent TOST, with the exception of Zygion (l)–Tragion (l) and Cheek (l)–Tragion (l) distances measured with pitch angulation compared to no rotation position. Face Shape 3D Maxiline has sufficient accuracy for orthodontic and surgical use. Precision was not altered by head orientation, making the acquisition simpler and not constrained to a critical precision as in 2D photographs.

The authors report a combined orthodontic-surgical correction of an adult patient’s malocclusion affected by Moebius Syndrome (MS). The treatment was conducted at the Dentistry Unit and the Maxillofacial Surgery Unit of the University Hospital of Parma. Treatment of malocclusion was performed after the correction of facial mimic mobility with smile surgery. The postoperative stability and orthodontic results were good and the correction of the morphological problems related to the syndrome was very satisfactory.