358 Reviews and abstracts Am. J. Orthod. Dentofac. Orthop. October 1987

to join up without paying the price of admission. Fur- thermore, they are unwilling to concede curricular time, faculty lines, facilities, and patient loads to establish a new agenda for the next generation of dentists. Yet they would burden academic orthodontists with the guilt of all past sins of omission.

Come, let us reason together. There are no shortcuts to excellence. “Dolling up six anterior teeth” does not meet the criteria of curricular improvement, proper health care delivery, or state-of-the-art accountability for professional services. Therefore, with the zeal and passion for excellence possessed by both G. V. Black and Edward H. Angle-yet without the imperialism of either-let us solve the problem of dental health care delivery to an open, free, and pluralistic society by a competent, caring, and ethical dental profession.

Tom Zwemer

REFERENCES Bohannan HM. Introduction to the symposium. J Dent Educ 1985;49:339. Morris AL, Bohannan HM. Oral health status in the United States: Implications for dental education. J Dent Educ 1985;49:436. Hayes S. Orthodontic treatment in the British National Health Service. A quantitative study of the contribution of specialists and general practitioners in Scotland 1966-1979. Eur J Orthod 1981;3:41-5. Little RJ. A survey of attitudes and professional activities of graduates of the University of British Columbia and the University of Washington presently engaged in general dental practice [Ph.D. dissertation]. University of Washington, 1974.

Three-Dimensional Cranial Surface Reconstructions Using High-Resolution Computed Tomography Michael W. Vannier, Glenn C. Conroy, Jeffrey L. Marsh, and Robert H. Knapp Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 1985;67:299-311

New computer imaging techniques provide the physical anthropologist a sophisticated tool to recon- struct three-dimensional images from sequential series of narrowly collinated high-resolution computed to- mographic scans of the skull. Once these data are en- tered into the computer, images of the reconstructed skull can be viewed from any direction. Furthermore, the geometric data generated are dimensionally precise and can be converted into linear distances, angles, areas, and volumes that have been denied to previous analytic systems.

The authors demonstrate the versatility and power of CT scanning by examining a fossil mammal skull, the skull of a gorilla, a living subject with Treacher Collins syndrome, and a subject with unilateral coronal synostosis .

Comment: The clinical application of this tool to orthognathic surgery is obvious. Magnetic resonance imaging is equally promising without the hazards of radiation. These new techniques remain largely un- tapped by the orthodontic community. Given the well- rehearsed limitations of classic planar radiographic cephalometry, it seems strange that we remain content to debate the limitations of classic systems while new technologies are begging to be applied. “Time makes ancient good uncouth.”

Tom Zwemer

Soziographische Untersuchungen uber die Stellung des Kindes mit Lippen-Kiefer-Gaumen-Spalte in der Klassengemeinschaft H. G. Sergl and K. Korn Fortschr. Kieferorthop. 1986;47:574-7

In a sociographic study, 19 school classes were stud- ied; each class included one child with cleft lip and palate. The popularity and their roles within the group were determined for all 502 students. It was shown that children with clefts were integrated into the class struc- ture to the same extent as the noncleft students.

Alex Jacobson

On Direct Currents and Bone Formation in Demineralized Bone Transplants Jan Wittbjer, Per-Olof Glantz, Madeleine Rohlin, and Karl-G&an Thorngren Acta Odontol. Stand. 1984;42:141-51

This study was designed to test the hypothesis that electricity can accelerate bone formation in bony de- fects. A 12 mm piece of the radius of adult rabbits was resected, demineralized, and reimplanted in the defects around which cathode electrodes were wrapped in a triple-helix. A constant current of 20 PA was applied for 28 days following implantation. Similar surgery and reimplantation with electrodes were conducted on the contralateral side to which no current was applied. Both sites were examined at 14 days by means of radiographs and scintigraphy. At 28 days, the animals were killed and the same evaluation was performed, supplemented with autoradiography.

The mean relative activity at the site of the passive electrode was greater than at the active electrode site