To evaluate the efficacy of a new orthodontic primer (Ambar APS Ortho; FGM Dental Products, Joinville, SC, Brazil) on shear bond strength (SBS) and degree conversion (DC) of metallic brackets bonding. 240 sound maxillary premolars were randomized into 24 experimental groups based on: (1) Orthodontic primer (Ambar APS Ortho, Orthoprimer and Transbond XT); (2) Light-curing time (3-seconds and 10-seconds); (3) Light-curing unit (Valo Cordless and Quazar); and (4) Storage condition (immediate time [IT] and after thermocycling [TC]). After each storage time, specimens were subjected to SBS testing at a crosshead speed of 1 mm/min until failure, and values were recorded in MPa. For DC (
Third molar development is widely used for dental age estimation (DAE) in late adolescence and young adulthood; however, agenesis of one or more third molars can compromise its reliability in forensic practice. The prevalence of third molar agenesis is known to vary across population groups, yet its practical impact on forensic age assessment remains insufficiently explored. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and distribution of third molar agenesis in Black South Africans (BSA) and White South Africans (WSA) and to assess its impact on DAE according to sex, tooth position, and birth cohort. A retrospective analysis was conducted on orthopantomograms (OPGs) from 2536 individuals comprising 1688 BSA and 848 WSA. Third molar agenesis was evaluated by tooth position, sex, population group, and birth cohort. Statistical analyses were performed to identify significant intergroup and intragroup differences. Third molar agenesis was significantly more prevalent in WSA (28.42 %) compared to BSA (6.81 %). The overall prevalence of at least one missing third molar was 14.92 % in males and 13.33 % in females. Agenesis occurred slightly more frequently in the maxillary arch (2.48 %) than in the mandibular arch (1.93 %), with no consistent sex- or side-related differences. Birth cohort analysis demonstrated a declining trend in the prevalence of agenesis over time, potentially reflecting demographic and evolutionary influences. The prevalence of third molar agenesis varies significantly between South African population groups, highlighting the influence of genetic ancestry and population-specific factors on dental development. Sole reliance on third molar assessment for DAE may result in inaccurate age estimation, particularly in multi-ethnic populations. Population-specific reference data for third molar development are essential to improve the accuracy and reliability of forensic dental age estimation. Incorporating such data can reduce misclassification and enhance the validity of medico-legal assessments.
Studies have relied on conventional imaging and traditional morphometric analyses of the maxillary sinuses (MS) for sex and age estimation, but little is known about the performance of deep learning models. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) and Vision Transformers (ViTs) in classifying individuals by sex and age through the radiographic assessment of the MS. Panoramic radiographs of individuals aged 6–22.99 years were sampled. Twenty-one CNNs and two Transformer-based architectures were tested. Tasks consisted of binary sex and age (≤ 15 vs. >15 years) and multiclass (sex + age) classifications. For sex classification, the highest accuracies were achieved by DeiT (0.807), ViT (0.806), and EfficientNetV2M (0.781), while for age classification, YOLOv11 (0.953), ViT (0.949), and DeiT (0.946) showed the best performance. The multiclass task yielded accuracies of 0.754, 0.753 and 0.734 by YOLOv11, DeiT, and ViT, respectively. Transformers consistently outperformed conventional CNNs, while YOLOv11 and EfficientNetV2M also demonstrated competitive performance. The studied artificial intelligence models may be useful as adjuncts for binary sex and age classification, but multiclass applications are still premature needing further research before their use in forensic practice can be recommended.
Dental morphological traits provide valuable insights into global human variation and population structure. The Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System (ASUDAS) has long been a cornerstone for documenting crown and root morphology, yet recent discussions have questioned its reliability for characterising population differences. This study aimed to (i) identify the ASUDAS traits most commonly analysed in recent research, and (ii) compare their reported frequencies with those documented in the foundational work of Turner and Scott. A systematic review identified 43 eligible studies comprising 36,919 individuals representing all major subdivisions of humankind. Thirty variants across 27 distinct traits were recorded most frequently, and 29 of these were subjected to meta-analysis using random-effects models. Nearly all traits showed significant between-group and within-group heterogeneity, indicating strong discriminatory potential but also substantial population-level variability. While broad patterns remain consistent with classic ASUDAS expectations, several traits exhibited expanded regional ranges, reflecting both greater sample diversity and admixture effects. These findings reaffirm the value of ASUDAS traits for describing broad-scale morphological patterns while underscoring the need for multi-trait, population-specific, and context-specific approaches when interpreting dental morphology in anthropological research.
As mídias sociais consolidaram-se como ferramentas relevantes para o compartilhamento de informações. Atualmente, não é mais necessário ser especialista em tecnologia para reconhecer que a internet está plenamente integrada ao cotidiano. A troca de experiências, busca por orientações e o compartilhamento de informações sobre os cuidados com os filhos, transformaram as mídias sociais em um importante meio de comunicação entre grupos de pais. Diante desta necessidade de compreender como as mães buscam e recebem informações sobre o uso do flúor, esta pesquisa, teve como objetivo relacionar a eficácia e a segurança das informações recebidas por mães de crianças em idade de 0 a 4 anos através de mídias sociais sobre a utilização de fluoretos. Trata-se de um estudo transversal realizado através de questionário, elaborado na plataforma Google Forms e distribuído pelo aplicativo Whatsapp a grupos de mães. De modo geral, constatou-se, que a imprecisão das informações sobre flúor, disseminadas pelas mídias sociais, compromete o discernimento das mães quanto à sua autenticidade. A percepção materna acerca do flúor demonstra forte associação com as informações disseminadas nas redes sociais. Entretanto, as orientações fornecidas durante as visitas regulares ao cirurgião-dentista apresentam influência no processo de tomada de decisão quanto a veracidade das informações. Palavras-Chave: Desinformação; Flúor; Mídias Sociais.
