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Biomedical subjects

K K Lew

Publications and source records attributed to K K Lew.

47 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Profile changes following anterior subapical osteotomy in Chinese adults with bimaxillary protrusion.

Nineteen adult Chinese patients, aged 18 to 28 years, who sought treatment for bimaxillary protrusion were treated with combined maxillary and mandibular anterior subapical osteotomy and the extraction of one premolar in each quadrant. Intraoral cephalograms were taken pretreatment and an average of 19.8 months posttreatment. Significant cephalometric soft tissue changes (P less than .01) included increase at the nasolabial angle, reduction of both the upper and lower lip protrusions, lengthening of the upper lip, and decrease in the interlabial gap. The predictable success and the fact that these improvements in facial profile usually can be achieved in as little as 3 to 9 months make this mode of addressing bimaxillary protrusion a viable alternative to orthodontic treatment of adult patients with bimaxillary protrusion.

Adolescent↗

Biological responsiveness to the phorbol esters and specific binding of [3H]phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, a manipulable genetic system.

Because of its suitability for genetic studies, the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans was examined for its responsiveness to the phorbol esters. Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate had three effects. It inhibited the increase in animal size during growth; it decreased the yield of progeny; and it caused uncoordinated movement of the adult. The effects on nematode size, progeny yield, and movement were quantitated. Concentrations of phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate yielding half-maximal responses were 440, 460, and 170 nM, respectively. As was expected from the biological responsiveness of the nematodes, specific, saturable binding of phorbol ester to nematode extracts was found. [3H]phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate bound with a dissociation constant of 26.8 +/- 3.9 nM. At saturation, 5.7 +/- 1.4 pmole/mg protein was bound.

Animals↗

Changes in lip contour following treatment of maxillary protrusion with esthetic orthodontic appliances.

With the advent of acid etching techniques and the elimination of unesthetic band materials, direct bonding of orthodontic attachments kindled a desire for cosmetic appliances such as labial ceramic brackets and lingual orthodontics. Owing to the esthetic nature of our combination upper-lingual lower-ceramic orthodontic approach, adults who would have normally avoided orthodontic treatment are now seeking treatment. This study evaluated the cephalometric changes in the soft tissue lip profile following treatment of Class II Division 1 malocclusion with upper first bicuspid extractions with our esthetic orthodontic appliance approach. Serial lateral cephalograms (pretreatment and posttreatment) of 16 adult patients with a mean age of 22.1 +/- 3.2 years were studied. The mean upper incisor retraction, upper lip retraction, upper lip lengthening, and lower lip retraction were 5.75 +/- 1.91 mm, 2.8 +/- 1.4 mm, 1.5 +/- 0.6 mm, and 1.4 +/- 0.6 mm, respectively. All these changes were statistically significant (p < 0.01). The nasolabial angle increase of 10.8 +/- 3.0 degrees was also statistically significant (p < 0.01). The upper lip retraction to upper incisor retraction was 1:2.1, while the upper lip lengthening to upper incisor retraction was 1:3.8. The correlation coefficients (r) were 0.91 (p < 0.01) and 0.57 (p < 0.01), respectively. This study shows that significant esthetic changes in lip profile are possible with this cosmetic orthodontic appliance approach. The treatment results in this study appear comparable to those published with labial metal brackets. With very few exceptions, patients were able to adapt within 2 weeks, with almost no trauma to the tongue.

Adult↗

Ranking of facial profiles among Asians.

The purpose of this study was to determine the facial profile preferences in a sample of 1,189 Asian teenagers (aged 15.3 +/- 3.2 years). Five facial profile types were computer-generated by trained personnel (orthodontists and oral maxillofacial surgeons) to represent distinct facial types. Subjects were asked to rank the profiles in descending order of attractiveness. The ranking was as follows: orthognathic profile, bimaxillary retrusive profile, bimaxillary protrusive profile, mandibular retrognathic profile, and mandibular prognathic profile. The differences in rank scores between all the profile types were statistically significant (p < 0.05). Assessment of profile types among lay personnel could provide clinicians an indication into the relative attractiveness among profile types and health care workers in treatment prioritization among dysmorphic facial types.

Adolescent↗