Abstract

Much of what is known about Edward Hartley Angle, MD, DDS (1855–1930), the acknowledged “father” of modern orthodontics, has been derived from secondary sources, accounts written by his contemporaries and others. New historical research using primary sources, largely the recently published four-volume sourcebook of Angle's correspondence and business transactions from 1899 to 1910, gives a broad view of the personality, interests, and activities of this prime mover in the evolution of orthodontics. This three-part article highlights aspects of Edward H. Angle's life and persona, based on new findings culled from his letters and other personal documents. Part 3 presents a biographical chronology of Angle's remarkable life.

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate reliability of a system that performs automatic recognition of anatomic landmarks and adjacent structures on lateral cephalograms using landmark-dependent criteria unique to each landmark.

Materials and Methods: To evaluate the reliability of the system, the system was used to examine 65 lateral cephalograms. The area of each system-identified anatomic structure surrounding the landmark and the position of each system-identified landmark were compared with norms using confidence ellipses with α = .01, which were derived from the scattergrams of 100 estimates obtained according to the method reported by Baumrind and Frantz. When the system-identified area overlapped with the norm area, anatomic structure recognition was considered successful. In addition, when the system-identified point was located within the norm area, landmark identification was considered successful. Based on these judgment criteria, success rates were calculated for all landmarks.

Results: The system successfully identified all specified anatomic structures in all the images and determined the positions of the landmarks with a mean success rate of 88% (range, 77%– 100%).

Conclusion: With the incorporation of the rational assessment criteria provided by confidence ellipses, the proposed system was confirmed to be reliable.

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate intra-examiner and inter-examiner reliability of 3D CBCT-generated landmarks previously used in traditional 2D cephalometry.

Materials and Methods: Twenty-four CBCTs NewTom 3G (Aperio Services, Verona, Italy) were randomly selected from patients participating in a clinical trial involving maxillary expansion treatments. The principal investigator located the landmarks five times, and four other investigators located the same landmarks once. Intra-examiner and inter-examiner reliability values were determined using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). To assist in interpretation of the clinical significance of landmark identification differences, average mean differences for x, y, and z landmark coordinates were determined from the repeated assessments. Landmarks then were separated into groups with respect to the region they represented and then were compared via repeated measures ANOVA and multiple comparisons via Bonferroni corrected α.

Results: Intra-examiner and inter-examiner reliability for x, y, and z coordinates for all landmarks were acceptable, all being greater than 0.80. Most of the mean measurement differences obtained from trials within the principal investigator in all three axes were less than 1.5 mm. Inter-examiner mean measurement differences generally were larger than the intra-examiner differences.

Conclusions: Based on this, the best landmarks for use in verifying expansion treatment results are Ekm, buccal surface, and apexes of upper molars, upper premolars and upper canines, and buccal surfaces of lower molars and lower canines. Foramen Spinosum, ELSA, Auditory External Meatus, and Dorsum Foramen Magnum demonstrated adequate reliability for determining a standardized reference system.

Opinions of American and Swedish Orthodontists about the Role of Erupting Third Molars as a Cause of Dental Crowding

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In his 1961 farewell address, President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned us to “Beware the military-industrial complex.” This term, written by the President's speechwriter, Malcolm Moos, has many parallels in history. The crux of the matter is that, as a society develops, a complex and variable relationship between suppliers and consumers will also evolve.

Today we are hearing talk of a health care-industrial complex. A leading story of the moment is Iowa's United States Senator Grassley, a prominent figure in health care reform, proposing more sunshine and disclosure of physicians' financial relationships with health care industries.

Currently, the Senator sent a