CONTENTS

Editor’s Choice

David L. Turpin, Editor-in-Chief

Facial growth prediction: Acomparison of methodologiesBrad J. Turchetta and Leonard S. Fishman

Interest in maxillary and mandibular growth predic-tion has never been greater, and there is increased empha-sis on the efficiency of timing Class II treatment with theadolescent growth spurt. The purpose of this study was tocompare 3 methodologies for predicting facial growthrelative to both incremental and positional changes. Theauthors used serial lateral cephalometric radiographs andhand-wrist films of 50 untreated subjects from the Burl-ington Growth Center to compare predictions made withthe Ricketts analysis, the Johnston grid analysis, and theFishman maturational analysis.

After analyzing the data, the authors found that theFishman system of maturation assessment provides thebest means of predicting both short-term and long-termgrowth. The Ricketts and Johnston systems are based onthe subject’s chronologic age, whereas the Fishman sys-tem is based on maturational age. The authors concludedby noting, “For many patients, the proper timing oftreatment relative to growth expectations can provide amore desirable result in a shorter period of time.”

Preoperative acetaminophen versusibuprofen for control of pain afterorthodontic separator placementSuzanne E. Bird, Karen Williams, and Katherine S. Kula

Most clinicians know that patients rank pain as theworst aspect of orthodontic treatment, and that fear of painis often used as a reason for not seeking orthodontic care.With these thoughts as a starting point, the objective ofthis randomized, double-blind clinical trial was to com-pare the pain-control effectiveness of acetaminophen withthat of ibuprofen when taken 1 hour before the placementof separators. Researchers at the University of Missouri atKansas City asked patients to record their discomfort usinga 100-mm visual analog scale during several activities: teeth

Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop 2007;132:12A0889-5406/$32.00Copyright © 2007 by the American Association of Orthodontists.

doi:10.1016/j.ajodo.2007.08.004

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not touching, chewing, and fitting back teeth together. Theyalso selected words to describe their pain at 5 time intervals.

The results showed that pain increased in the hoursafter the separators were placed, then lessened somewhat,only to increase again to a peak the next morning. Thewords most often selected to describe the pain were“annoying,” “sore,” and “tight.” The researchers found nosignificant difference in pain after separator placement inpatients taking acetaminophen or ibuprofen.

Researchers in the United Kingdom took a slightlydifferent approach to this problem and compared ibupro-fen and paracetamol (known in the US as acetaminophen)taken preoperatively and postoperatively. They found thatibuprofen taken before and after separator placement wasa more effective pain reliever than paracetamol.

Use of conventional tomography toevaluate changes in the nasal cavitywith rapid palatal expansionJacqueline Palaisa, Peter Ngan, Chris Martin, ThomasRazmus, and Erdogan Gunel

Your first examination of the day is a young patientwith mouth breathing (possible nasal airway insuffi-ciency) and a developing Class I malocclusion. As muchas you want to talk about the benefits of rapid palatalexpansion, you are reminded that its clinical use forlong-term rhinological effects is controversial. In the past,posteroanterior cephalograms and occlusal films couldonly demonstrate the morphology of the nasal cavity in 2planes of space. Although computed tomography canprovide 3-dimensional images to determine changes in thenasal cavity, it is expensive and exposes the patient to arelatively large dose of radiation. Conventional tomogra-phy is an alternative approach to computed tomography; itcan provide similar diagnostic information, but with lessradiation exposure.

After 19 patients received rapid palatal expansion,significant increases in area were found in the anterior,middle, and posterior parts of the nasal cavity. Signif-icant increases in volume were also found 3 monthsposttreatment. These data suggest that rapid palatalexpansion is usually accompanied by increases in areaand volume of the nasal cavity, and these changes

remain stable 3 months after treatment.