Purpose: Recently, deep learning techniques have been introduced for age estimation, with automated methods based on radiographic analysis demonstrating high accuracy. In this study, we applied convolutional neural network (CNN) techniques to the lower dentition area on orthopantomograms (OPGs) of children to develop an automated age estimation model and evaluate its accuracy for use in forensic dentistry. Methods: In this study, OPGs of 2,856 subjects aged 3-14 years were analyzed. The You Only Look Once (YOLO) V8 object detection technique was applied to extract the mandibular dentition area on OPGs, designating it as the region of interest (ROI). First, 200 radiographs were randomly selected, and were used to train a model for extracting the ROI. The trained model was then applied to the entire dataset. For the CNN image classification task, 80% of OPGs were allocated to the training set, while the remaining 20% were used as the test set. A transfer learning approach was employed using the ResNet50 and VGG19 backbone models, with an ensemble technique combining these models to improve performance. The mean absolute error (MAE) on the test set was used as the validation metric, and the model with the lowest MAE was selected. Results: In this study, the age estimation model developed using mandibular dentition region from OPGs achieved MAE and root mean squared error (RMSE) values of 0.501 and 0.742, respectively, on the test set, and MAE and RMSE values of 0.273 and 0.354, respectively, on the training set. Conclusions The automated age estimation model developed in this study demonstrated accuracy comparable to that of previous research and shows potential for applications in forensic investigations. Increasing the sample size and incorporating diverse deep learning techniques are expected to further enhance the accuracy of future age estimation models.

Purpose: This report presents a unique case featuring real, ghost, and pseudo-ghost images on the panoramic radiograph of a patient wearing earrings. It also explains the formation of these images in an easy-to-understand manner.Material and MethodsOne real image and two ghost images appeared on each side of a panoramic radiograph of a patient wearing earrings on both sides. Of the two ghost images on each side, one was considered a typical ghost image and the other was considered a ghost-like real image (pseudo-ghost image). The formation zones of the real, double, and ghost images were examined based on the path and angles of the X-ray beam from the Planmeca ProMax. To simulate the pseudo-ghost and typical ghost images on panoramic radiography, a radiopaque marker was affixed to the right mandibular condyle of a dry mandible, and the position of the mandible was adjusted accordingly. Results: The center of rotation of the Planmeca ProMax extended beyond the jaw area, and the area of double image formation also reached beyond the jaw. The radiopaque-marked mandibular condyle, situated in the outwardly extending area of double image formation, exhibited triple images consisting of real, double (pseudo-ghost), and ghost images. These findings helped to explain the image formation associated with the patient's earrings observed in the panoramic radiograph. Conclusion Dentists must understand the characteristics and principles of the panoramic equipment they use and apply this understanding to taking and interpreting panoramic radiographs.

In children and adolescents, dental age estimation is performed with the development of the teeth. Various statistical analysis methods have been used to determine the relationship between age and dental maturity and develop an accurate method of age calculation. This study attempted to apply a neural network model for the statistical analysis of dental age estimation in children and evaluated its applicability. This study used 1196 panoramic radiographs of patients aged 3–16 years, and 996 and 200 were randomly classified into training and test sets, respectively. The dental maturity of the mandibular left teeth was evaluated using Demirjian's method, the neural network model using the backpropagation algorithm was derived using training sets, and the errors were evaluated using 100 radiographs of each male and female as test sets. In addition, multiple linear regression analysis was conducted on the same training set, and the error was calculated by applying it to the test set and comparing it with the error of the neural network model. In the neural network model, the mean absolute error (MAE) and root mean squared error (RMSE) were 0.589 and 0.783 in male subjects and 0.529 and 0.760 in female subjects, respectively. In the multiple linear regression model, the MAE and RMSE were 0.600 and 0.748 in male subjects and 0.566 and 0.789 in female subjects, respectively. When applying the neural network model to the statistical analysis of the dental developmental stage, the results were as accurate as those of conventional statistical analysis methods. This study’s approach is expected to be useful for estimating the ages of children.

Given that tooth loss is a degenerative change, the number of residual teeth may be used to specify a particular age range as a marker for age estimation. This study examined changes in the number of teeth with age using a nationwide oral survey database and derived the age distribution of the Korean population according to the number of teeth. Data on the number of teeth and age were extracted from the oral examination data of the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) from 2016 to 2018. Statistical analyses of a complex sample survey were performed using weighted values. The distribution range of the number of teeth by age was broad. The proportion of young people decreased progressively as the number of remaining teeth decreased. In contrast, the proportion of those from the older age group decreased slightly as the number of teeth increased. The number of teeth was subdivided into groups of four, age was categorized into 5-year intervals, and the distribution of age groups by the number of teeth was analyzed. We attempted to determine the age group threshold at approximately 95th percentile for age. In summary, we found that if there were ≤4, 5-12, and 13-20 residual teeth, the estimated age was ≥60, ≥55, and ≥50 years, respectively, with an approximately 95% probability. When many teeth are lost and it is difficult to apply conventional dental age estimation methods, our method may assist in narrowing the age range, although it is not an accurate age determination method.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical efficacy of enhancing deficient interdental papilla with hyaluronic acid gel injection by assessing the radiographic anatomical factors affecting the reconstruction of the interdental papilla. METHODS: Fifty-seven treated sites from 13 patients (6 males and 7 females) were included. Patients had papillary deficiency in the upper anterior area. Prior to treatment, photographic and periapical radiographic standardization devices were designed for each patient. A 30-gauge needle was used with an injection-assistance device to inject a hyaluronic acid gel to the involved papilla. This treatment was repeated up to 5 times every 3 weeks. Patients were followed up for 6 months after the initial gel application. Clinical photographic measurements of the black triangle area (BTA), height (BTH), and width (BTW) and periapical radiographic measurements of the contact point and the bone crest (CP-BC) and the interproximal distance between roots (IDR) were undertaken using computer software. The interdental papilla reconstruction rate (IPRR) was calculated to determine the percentage change of BTA between the initial and final examination and the association between radiographic factors and the reconstruction of the interdental papilla by means of injectable hyaluronic acid gel were evaluated. RESULTS: All sites showed improvement between treatment examinations. Thirty-six sites had complete interdental papilla reconstruction and 21 sites showed improvement ranging from 19% to 96%. The CP-BC correlated with the IPRR. More specifically, when the CP-BC reached 6 mm, virtually complete interdental papilla reconstruction via injectable hyaluronic acid gel was achieved. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the CP-BC is closely related to the efficacy of hyaluronic acid gel injection for interdental papilla reconstruction.
Esthetics, Dental ; Gingiva* ; Humans ; Hyaluronic Acid* ; Male ; Needles ; Treatment Outcome

PURPOSE: The 2005 guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) caution that effective compression is essential (Class I) and chest compression (CC) by rescuers should be switched every 2 minutes to avoid rescuer's fatigue. It is controversial how long effective CC by a single individual can be provided. There are few reports about CPR quality, especially when rescuers perform CC for more than 10 minutes. The mean CPR period was about 30 minutes in Korea. We investigated the quality of CC and rescuer's fatigue after about 30 minutes. METHODS: From April 2009 to July 2009, health care providers (HCPs) were recruited into this study. The study simulated 2 person, in-hospital CPR. On the test day, which had been randomly assigned, each participant performed 7 CCs for about 30 minutes. The period of each CC was 2 minutes, and the period of each circulation check was 5 seconds. Participants' heart rates (HR) and visual analogue scale (VAS) scores for fatigue were obtained before and after each CC. Data for each 2 minutes CC was obtained with the use of Resusci Anne(R) with the Laerdal(R) PC skill reporting system. We used one-way repeated measures ANOVA for comparison of quality and fatigue of each CC and multiple linear regression for finding the predictors for correct CC. SPSS 17.0 was used for analysis. RESULTS: Among a total of 30 HCPs, data from 27 were analyzed. All participants were certified as a BLS provider and some were certified as BLS instructors. The rate of effective compression was 83.8+/-24.3%. Despite 2 min CC tasks were repeated alternatively for about 30 minutes, there were no differences in the number of correct CCs, depth and velocity of compression, and the number of incorrect CCs. CONCLUSION: During in-hospital CPR, HCPs may provide effective chest compressions on shifts with minimal effect of fatigue, even if they provide CC for 30 minutes.
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation ; Fatigue ; Health Personnel ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Korea ; Linear Models ; Manikins ; Thorax

A 35-year-old woman suffered from elementary visual symptom that was confirmed as nonconvulsive simple partial status epilepticus arising from the right occipital lobe. 99mTc-ECD SPECT and 18F-FDG PET were done during the ictal and interictal phase, respectively, which were documented by EEG. Subtraction images of SPECT and PET were overlayed on the MRI by SISCOM to compare the area of metabolic change with that of perfusion change. There was no definite mismatch between the hypermetabolic area and the hyperperfusion area during nonconvulsive status epilepticus.
Adult ; Electroencephalography ; Female ; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18* ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Occipital Lobe* ; Perfusion ; Status Epilepticus* ; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon*

Idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome (IHES) is a rare disease characterized by peripheral blood eosinophilia and eosinophilic infiltration of multiple organs, including the nervous system. The neurologic manifestations in hypereosinophilic syndrome are variable, but eosinophilic meningitis as a manifestation has not been well documented in IHES. We report a case of eosinophilic meningitis associated with IHES, which showed a good response to steroid treatment.
Eosinophilia ; Eosinophils* ; Hypereosinophilic Syndrome* ; Meningitis* ; Nervous System ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Rare Diseases

Recently, interest has been increased on the role of catecholamines in extrarenal potassium homeostasis. This study has undertaken to investigate the effects of epinephrine added to lidocaine for axillary block in HR, MAP, ABG, blood sugar and electrolytes (Na+, K+), and the effects of propranolol, beta-adrenergic blocker, on the data. The patients admitted to our hospital for operation of upper extremities were divided into three groups. Group I was 10 patients blocked with lidocaine 30 ml. Group II was 14 patients blocked with lidocaine 30 ml with epinephrine 0.3 mg(1:100,000). Group III was 10 patients pretreated with propranolol (10u/kg) and blocked with lidocaine 30 ml with epinephrine. After block, the results were as follows. 1) MAP decreased in all group and group III decreased more than group I. 2) HR increased all group and group III decreased more than group I. 3) ABG showed hypoventilatory pattern due to sedative effect by diazepam (0.15mg/kg). 4) Blood sugar value was increased in group I and II, showed increasing tendency in group III, but this tendency was not significant. 5) Blood K+ concentration decreased significantly and the maximal decrease was 0.5 mEq/L in 30 min after block, but there was not significant decrease in group III. This results indicate that clinical dose of epinephrine(1;100,000) decrease blood K+ concentration significantly and propranolol (10u/kg) pretreatment prevent K+ decreasing effect of epinephrine. In clinical practice, it is suggested that much care must be paid to use of local anesthetics with epinephrine to hypokalemic patients.
Anesthetics, Local ; Blood Glucose ; Brachial Plexus* ; Catecholamines ; Diazepam ; Electrolytes ; Epinephrine* ; Homeostasis ; Humans ; Hypnotics and Sedatives ; Lidocaine* ; Potassium ; Propranolol* ; Upper Extremity

Recently, interest has been increased on the role of catecholamines in extrarenal potassium homeostasis. This study has undertaken to investigate the effects of epinephrine added to lidocaine for axillary block in HR, MAP, ABG, blood sugar and electrolytes (Na+, K+), and the effects of propranolol, beta-adrenergic blocker, on the data. The patients admitted to our hospital for operation of upper extremities were divided into three groups. Group I was 10 patients blocked with lidocaine 30 ml. Group II was 14 patients blocked with lidocaine 30 ml with epinephrine 0.3 mg(1:100,000). Group III was 10 patients pretreated with propranolol (10u/kg) and blocked with lidocaine 30 ml with epinephrine. After block, the results were as follows. 1) MAP decreased in all group and group III decreased more than group I. 2) HR increased all group and group III decreased more than group I. 3) ABG showed hypoventilatory pattern due to sedative effect by diazepam (0.15mg/kg). 4) Blood sugar value was increased in group I and II, showed increasing tendency in group III, but this tendency was not significant. 5) Blood K+ concentration decreased significantly and the maximal decrease was 0.5 mEq/L in 30 min after block, but there was not significant decrease in group III. This results indicate that clinical dose of epinephrine(1;100,000) decrease blood K+ concentration significantly and propranolol (10u/kg) pretreatment prevent K+ decreasing effect of epinephrine. In clinical practice, it is suggested that much care must be paid to use of local anesthetics with epinephrine to hypokalemic patients.
Anesthetics, Local ; Blood Glucose ; Brachial Plexus* ; Catecholamines ; Diazepam ; Electrolytes ; Epinephrine* ; Homeostasis ; Humans ; Hypnotics and Sedatives ; Lidocaine* ; Potassium ; Propranolol* ; Upper Extremity