Mandibular incisor extraction--postretention evaluation of stability and relapse.

Pretreatment, posttreatment and 10-year postretention dental cast and lateral cephalogram records of 42 patients were evaluated. Each patient had undergone edgewise orthodontic treatment following removal of one or two mandibular incisors and various maxillary teeth. Seven of 24 patients (29%) in the single-incisor extraction group and 10 of 18 (56%) patients in the two-incisor extraction group demonstrated unacceptable mandibular incisor alignment at the postretention stage. This result was considerably more favorable than the results of previously reported premolar extraction cases (70% unacceptable alignment at postretention). Intercanine width decreased during treatment and continued to decrease postretention in most cases. Overbite and overjet remained acceptable. No associations could be found to predict the amount of relapse.     

Relapse in Angle Class II Division 1 Malocclusion treated by tandem mechanics without extraction of permanent teeth: A retrospective analysis.

Ideal orthodontic treatment should achieve long-term stability of the occlusion. The mandibular incisor segment has been described as the segment that is most likely to exhibit relapse after treatment and retention. Therefore, relapse of this is a challenge that clinicians need to address. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the amount of relapse that may occur in Angle Class II Division 1 patients, treated orthodontically with tandem mechanics. All cases in this study were treated without extraction of permanent teeth, and the patients were followed for at least 2 years after the end of the retention phase of treatment. Six predictors were investigated at pretreatment, posttreatment, and postretention periods. A synopsis of this study shows the correction of lower incisor crowding as measured by the irregularity index was stable over 5.2 years of postretention follow-up; but longer follow-up time revealed increased relapse of incisor irregularity. Intermolar width increased during treatment and remained stable in the follow-up period. Overjet and overbite corrections and changes in the lower incisor to mandibular plane angle were also stable in the follow-up period. In addition, the amounts of overjet correction and loss of expansion of intercanine distance after treatment were associated with increased irregularity index in the follow-up period. It appears the discrepancies between this and previously published works are sufficiently dramatic that the whole question of treatment philosophy and long-term stability may need to be reevaluated.     

Orthodontic relapse in subjects with varying degrees of anteroposterior and vertical dysplasia.

Fifty seemingly well-treated orthodontic cases were studied by means of pretreatment, posttreatment, and postretention dental casts, lateral cephalograms, and other orthodontic records. The sample was restricted to cases exhibiting anteroposterior and/or vertical dysplasia as revealed by pretreatment dental casts. The sample was divided into a stable group and a relapse group. Each group contained twenty-five cases. A double-blind design was used. The raw data were analyzed by the stepwise discriminant analysis and by the multivariate analysis of variance. On the basis of the results obtained from this study, the following conclusions can be drawn: 1. In seemingly well-treated orthodontic cases, relapse or stability can neither be predicted nor judged from one set of records alone. 2. Relapse or stability of an orthodontic case can be predicted by comparing the posttreatment variables with the pretreatment variables. 3. Relapse or stability of an orthodontic case can be judged by comparing the postretention variables to the posttreatment variables. 4. The PP-GoGn angle and the mandibular intercanine width are the two most important variables associated with orthodontic relapse. 5. Changing the PP-GoGn angle, either by treatment or by growth, was associated with relapse. In other words, changes in the PP-GoGn angle tended to be unstable. This suggests that decreasing the PP-GoGn angle should be avoided. 6. In both the stable and the relapse groups, the mandibular intercanine width decreased postretention. This decrease was associated more with the relapse group than with the stable group. 7. The mandibular intercanine width tended to relapse toward its original pretreatment value. This suggests that, at the end of active treatment, the mandibular intercanine width should be maintained as originally presented. 8. There was no significant interaction between orthodontic relapse (or stability) and Angle Class I and II cases. 9. There was no significant interaction between relapse (or stability), of an orthodontic case, and the sex of the patient. 10. There was no significant interaction between orthodontic relapse (or stability) and whether or not extraction was included as a part of the mechanotherapy. Thus, the pretreatment deep overbite is not necessarily a contraindication to extraction.     

Nonextraction orthodontic therapy: posttreatment dental and skeletal stability

To assess the long-term stability of nonextraction orthodontic treatment, the dental cast and cephalometric records of 28 cases were evaluated. Thirty cephalometric and seven cast parameters were examined before treatment, posttreatment, and an average of almost 8 years postretention. Results showed overall long-term stability to be relatively good. Relapse patterns seen were similar in nature, but intermediate in extent, between untreated normals and four first premolar extraction cases. Significant decreases were seen in arch length and intercanine width during the postretention period despite minimal changes during treatment. Incisor irregularly increased slightly postretention; intermolar width, overjet, and overbite displayed considerable long-term stability. Mandibular incisor mesiodistal and faciolingual dimensions were not associated with either pretreatment or posttreatment incisor crowding. Class II malocclusions with large ANB values and shorter mandibular lengths showed increased incisor irregularity, shorter arch lengths, and deeper overbites at the postretention stage, suggesting that the amount and direction of facial growth may have been partially responsible for maturational changes seen during the postretention period.     

Mandibular second premolar extraction--postretention evaluation of stability and relapse

The dental casts and cephalometric radiographs of 46 patients, treated with mandibular second premolar extraction and edgewise orthodontic mechanotherapy, were evaluated for changes over a minimum 10-year postretention period. The sample was divided into two groups: early (mixed dentition) extraction of mandibular second premolars and late (permanent dentition) extraction of mandibular second premolars. Results showed no difference in long-term stability between the two groups. Arch length and arch width decreased with time and incisor irregularity increased throughout the postretention period. No predictors or associations could be found to help the clinician in determining the long-term prognosis in terms of stability. The sample was regrouped according to the postretention degree of incisor irregularity. Statistically significant differences in cephalometric measurements were found between the minimally crowded group and the moderately to severely crowded group.     

Mandibular growth rotation effects on postretention stability of mandibular incisor alignment

OBJECTIVE: To test the hypotheses that pronounced forward and backward mandibular growth rotation may be risk factors for postretention relapse of mandibular incisor alignment, and that morphologic parameters at adolescence may be predictive of the remaining type of mandibular growth. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cephalograms and study models were made before (T1) and after (T2) active treatment and at a minimum of 10 years postretention (T3) of three groups of orthodontic patients with acceptable occlusion at the time of appliance removal. The groups were short facial height (n = 46), angle between the sella-nasion line and the mandibular plane (SN/MP) or= 38 degrees at T2. RESULTS: The groups were similar regarding age at T2, gender ratio, incisor irregularity (IRI), intercanine (3-3) width at T1, change of 3-3 width from T1 to T2, and time from T2 to T3 (P > .05). IRI increased in all groups from T2 to T3 (P < .05), but there were not any intergroup differences in this increase (P > .05). Minor differences were detected among the groups in mandibular growth rotation from T2 to T3. Males experienced more forward rotation than females (P < .001) and more increase in IRI from T2 to T3 (P < .01). Male gender, T1-T2 increase in 3-3 width, and T2-T3 reduction in 3-3 width were included in the model explaining T2-T3 increase in IRI. CONCLUSION: High-angled and low-angled facial patterns at time of appliance removal are not associated with increased risk of postretention relapse of mandibular incisor malalignment, and in adolescent orthodontic patients are poor predictors of type of posttreatment growth.     

The mandibular dental arch: Part I, lower incisor position.

The position of the lower incisor with respect to hard tissue references has been evaluated. Two samples were used for this purpose: one containing 78 patients with posttreatment records having a postretention period of at least 4 years, and the other composed of 82 normal occlusions. The results indicated: 1) There was no significant difference in relapse of lower incisor crowding between cases where the lower incisor had been moved lingually, labially, or held in the same relative position during treatment. 2) The position of the maxilla should be considered when placing the lower incisor. The APo plane adequately serves as a guide to this purpose, whereas other reference lines such as mandibular plane or facial plane do not. 3) The positions of the incisors with respect to popular cephalometric reference lines such as APo, NB, or mandibular plane were not correlated with the relapse of mandibular crowding. Therefore, other clinical guides might be more successful for determining stability.     

Relapse of incisor crowding: A visit to the prince of salina

The management of the retention period after comprehensive orthodontic treatment is of great importance, as a primary goal of clinician. Considerable controversy still surrounds the problem of stability after the retention period. Many studies analyze factors associated to the presence of crowding or incisor irregularity and find predictive features on its relapse. Most studies have reported little o no correlation between the treatment changes in the biological parameters - clinical, biometric (irregularity index, intermolar width, intercanine width, arch length, overjet, overbite), or cephalometric variables- that ocurred and the posttretament and postretention changes that may predict their future development. This article provides a bibliographical overview on the relapse of dental alignment in treated cases. In a brief historical introduction, the first studies on the long-term stability of orthodontic results are analysed. The article then goes on to assess studies that focus attention on anteroinferior alignment before finally studying relapse of upper crowding. It concludes by making some final comments in the light of the bibliography provided and the differents schools regarding retention needs and methods. Key words:Retention, stability, irregularity, dental alignment.     

Evaluation of posttreatment changes in Class II Division 1 patients after nonextraction orthodontic treatment: cephalometric and model analysis.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate changes in patients with Class II Division 1 malocclusions treated with cervical headgear and full fixed orthodontic appliances and without extractions. METHODS: Lateral cephalograms and dental casts of 18 patients were obtained at the beginning and the end of treatment and at the postretention period. Pretreatment records were taken at 11.9 +/- 2.6 years, and the mean treatment time was 2.8 +/- 1.2 years. All patients were asked to use maxillary and mandibular Hawley retainers for 1 year. The average postretention interval was 5.3 years. RESULTS: The assessment of cephalometric findings showed that maxillary growth was restricted; maxillary incisor inclination, overjet, and overbite were decreased; the mandibular incisors were proclined; and a slight mandibular posterior rotation occurred at the end of treatment. At the postretention period, the maxilla remained stable, the mandible moved anteriorly, and the overjet increased slightly (1.25 mm, P < .01). The dental cast changes indicated that both maxillary and mandibular irregularity index values decreased significantly during treatment but increased after 5 years. Mandibular intercanine width decreased 0.47 mm ( P < .01) during the postretention period. CONCLUSIONS: The redirection of maxillary growth remained stable in patients with Class II malocclusions treated with cervical headgear and fixed orthodontic appliances and without extractions, but treatment-induced mandibular rotations tended to return to their original patterns. Various dental changes occurred during the postretention period.     

Repair and revision 8. Relapse of lower incisors: retreatment?

Research into the long-term stability of orthodontic treatment at the University of Nijmegen (the Netherlands) until 10 years after retention has shown that nearly 50% of the total relapse takes place the first two years after retention. After that period certain stability is reached except for the lower front teeth. Ten years after the retention phase their position is even worse than at the start of treatment. The changes in lower front teeth alignment are the result of relapse, but also of normal physiological changes during ageing of the dentition. Therefore it is questionable whether late mandibular incisor irregularity should be (re)treated. Relapse of mandibular incisor alignment shortly after debonding can be restored by tightly tying the rotated incisor(s) to the C-C bar with a steel ligature, by using a spring-retainer or by rebonding of brackets to the lower front teeth. After correction of the incisor position the C-C bar should be bonded to all lower front teeth. (Re)treatment of mandibular incisor irregularity at an older age asks for more complicated treatment mechanics.     

A long-term study of the relationship of third molars to changes in the mandibular dental arch

The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship of third molars to changes in the mandibular dental arch. The sample for this study consisted of four groups and subgroups. The groups consisted of premolar extraction treated, nonextraction treated with initial generalized spacing, nonextraction treated, and serial extraction untreated subjects. The subgroups were divided into persons who had mandibular third molars that were either impacted, erupted into function, congenitally absent, or extracted at least 10 years before postretention records. The mean postretention time interval was 13 years, with a range of 10 to 28 years. The mean postretention age was 28 years 6 months, with a range of 18 years 6 months to 39 years 4 months. Two-way analysis of variance with repeated measures was used to compare the changes over time (before treatment, at end of active treatment, and after retention) of groups and third molar subgroups. With time, mandibular incisor irregularity increased while arch length and intercanine width decreased. The eruption patterns of mandibular incisors and first molars were similarly dispersed in all groups studied. The findings between the subgroups in which mandibular third molars were impacted, erupted into function, congenitally absent, or extracted 10 years before postretention records revealed no significant differences between any of the subgroups for the parameters studied. No significant differences in mandibular growth were found between the third molar subgroups; this suggests that persons with third molars erupted into satisfactory function do not have a significantly different mandibular growth pattern than those whose third molars are impacted or congenitally missing. In the majority of cases some degree of mandibular incisor crowding took place after retention, but this change was not significantly different between third molar subgroups. This finding suggests that the recommendation for mandibular third molar removal with the objective of alleviating or preventing mandibular incisor irregularity may not be justified.     

Posttreatment and postretention changes following orthodontic therapy.

This investigation was performed to determine the changes which occurred in treated orthodontic cases out of retention. The material consisted of 103 cases, of which 74 cases were treated nonextraction and 29 were treated with the extraction of four first premolars. The treatment was accomplished by the full-banded edgewise bioprogressive technique. Five measurements were taken: intercanine, inter-first premolar, intersecond premolar and inter-first molar widths, and incisor to molar distance. The measurements were made on the mandibular arch of the pretreatment, posttreatment, and prostretention casts. The postretention model was obtained a minimum of one year after all retaining devices were removed with an average of 5.2 years. The following conclusions were drawn from the changes in dimensions: 1. The intercanine width was expanded during treatment, but had a strong tendency to return to or close to its original pretreatment width in both nonextraction and extraction cases. 2. The inter-first premolar width showed the greatest treatment increase in width with only a minimal amount of postretention decrease. 3. The second premolar width for nonextraction cases showed a significant amount of increase with a slight tendency for postretention decrease. 4. The second premolar width for extraction cases showed a decrease with treatment and a slight continued decrease postretention. 5. The intermolar width of nonextraction cases showed a significant increase in width with treatment. The extraction cases showed a significant decrease with treatment. However, there were no changes in either extraction or nonextraction cases postretention. 6. The incisor to molar distance decreased with treatment and had a slight tendency to continue to decrease postretention.     

A 15-year follow up of an orthodontic treatment including a lower incisor extraction and keeping the maxillary canine–premolar transposition

Lower incisor extraction is an effective option for treating lower anterior crowding in patients with a good facial profile, Class I molar occlusion, and narrow upper incisors. This report describes the successful treatment of an adolescent patient with lower anterior crowding and a transposed maxillary canine and premolar treated by extracting a lower incisor and keeping the transposed positions of the teeth. With the use of retainers, treatment results were stable up to the 2-year postretention visit. However, upon a 15-year postretention appointment, the fixed retainer had been removed and the removable retainer was no longer in use, which resulted in relapse of lower anterior alignment. Moreover, the transposed canine had extruded during this period, causing occlusal interference and gingival recession, as well as loss of tooth vitality, which indicates the importance of maintaining orthodontic retainers for long-term stable occlusion.     

Predictors of postretention stability of mandibular dental arch dimensions in patients treated with a lip bumper during mixed dentition followed by fixed appliances

Objective:To identify which dental and/or cephalometric variables were predictors of postretention mandibular dental arch stability in patients who underwent treatment with transpalatal arch and lip bumper during mixed dentition followed by full fixed appliances in the permanent dentition.Materials and Methods:Thirty-one patients were divided into stable and relapse groups based on the postretention presence or absence of relapse. Intercuspid, interpremolar, and intermolar widths; arch length and perimeter; crowding; and lower incisor proclination were evaluated before treatment (T0), after lip bumper treatment (T1), after fixed appliance treatment (T2), and a minimum of 3 years after removal of the full fixed appliance (T3). Logistic regression analyses were performed to evaluate the effect of changes between T0 and T1, as predictive variables, on the occurrence of relapse at T3.Results:The model explained 53.5 % of the variance in treatment stability and correctly classified 80.6 % of the sample. Of the seven prediction variables, intermolar and interpremolar changes between T0 and T1 (P = .024 and P = .034, respectively) were statistically significant. For every millimeter of increase in intermolar and interpremolar widths there was a 1.52 and 2.70 times increase, respectively, in the odds of having stability. There was also weak evidence for the effect of sex (P = .047).Conclusions:The best predictors of an average 4-year postretention mandibular dental arch stability after treatment with a lip bumper followed by full fixed appliances were intermolar and interpremolar width increases during lip bumper therapy. The amount of relapse in this crowding could be considered clinically irrelevant.     

An evaluation of changes in mandibular anterior alignment from 10 to 20 years postretention

Pretreatment, end of treatment, 10-year postretention, and 20-year postretention records of 31 four premolar extraction cases were assessed to evaluate stability and relapse of mandibular anterior alignment. Crowding continued to increase during the 10- to 20-year postretention phase but to a lesser degree than from the end of retention to 10 years postretention. Only 10% of the cases were judged to have clinically acceptable mandibular alignment at the last stage of diagnostic records. Cases responded in a diverse unpredictable manner with no apparent predictors of future success when considering pretreatment records or the treated results.     

Long-term stability of orthodontic treatment

Aim of this study was to assess long-term stability of orthodontic treatment in a sample of 1016 patients until 10 years postretention. Treatment outcome was measured with the PAR-index at 6 different stages. The mean age of the patients was 12.0 +/- 3.1 year at the start of treatment to 26.3 +/- 2.9 year 10 years postretention. The results show that 67% of the orthodontic treatment result, as measured with the PAR-index, was maintained 10 years postretention. The PAR-scores for the midline and the open bite remained about the same over the years. However, the scores for the lateral occlusion, overjet, reversed overjet, overbite, and contact point displacement of the upper and lower front teeth increased gradually over time. Nearly 50% of the total relapse took place the first two years after retention. The largest change was found for the position of the lower incisors. Ten years postretention their position was even worse than at the start of treatment.     

预防矫治后前牙旋转拥挤复发的临床研究

目的　评价改良嵴上纤维切断术(MSF)及邻面去釉接触区成形术(CPR)防止矫治后前牙旋转拥挤复发的有效性及可行性。方法　129例前牙旋转拥挤患者随机分为实验组和对照组。对照组81例仅作固定矫治;实验组 48例患者除作固定矫治外,其中23例行上下前牙MSF和CPR,余25例只作上下前牙MSF;术后3组均戴维持器1·8~ 2·3年。所有患者在安放固定矫治器前(T1期)、去除固定矫治器时(T2期)和去维持器后2·4年(T3期)各取牙模1副, 比较3组患者的不整齐指数(IRID)。结果　实验组拥挤旋转复发率平均低于对照组21·6%(P<0·001);实验组内:双因素组(MSF+CPR)下颌复发率较单因素组(MSF)低6·56%(P<0·05),但两组在防止上颌拥挤复发上无显著性差异 (P>0·05)。结论　MSF能较有效地防止矫治后前牙拥挤旋转复发,MSF配合CPR对维持下前牙矫治后的稳定具有显著效果。     

A retrospective study of Angle Class I malocclusions treated orthodontically without extractions using two palatal expansion methods.

The correction and relapse of mandibular anterior crowding was evaluated in a population of 58 patients with Angle Class I malocclusion who were treated orthodontically without extraction of permanent teeth. The subjects were retrospectively evaluated from records taken before treatment, posttreatment, and postretention. The postretention period averaged 8 years (minimum of 4 and maximum of 20 years). All cases in Groups A and B were given orthopedic treatment to develop the maxillary apical base in the transverse and anteroposterior planes. Group A was treated with expansion of the inner bow of the face bow appliance (Kloehn), and Group B was treated with the Haas palatal expansion appliance. Both groups were then treated orthodontically with tandem mechanics. The response variables measured were: overbite, overjet, intercanine distance, intermolar distance, and irregularity index. Study groups A and B were not significantly different for subject age, retention, or postretention time. Moreover, the groups did not show significant difference for any of the response variables before treatment. However, there was a statistically significant difference in the treatment times (P =.0133). A statistically significant treatment effect was observed for most response variables in the groups. Overbite, overjet, and irregularity index were significantly reduced, intermolar distance was significantly increased, and intercanine distance showed no significant change in Groups A and B. In the postretention period, there was a tendency for variables to change slightly toward their before treatment values but no compromise of orthodontic correction was noted. The irregularity index in Group A was corrected from 4.8 to 1.1 mm and remained at 1.1 mm in the postretention period. The irregularity index in Group B was corrected from 5.1 to 1.2 mm (P =.0001) and changed slightly from 1. 2 to 1.7 mm (P =.0540) in the postretention period. We concluded that mandibular incisors tended to become more crowded postretention. However, in contrast to previous reports, we calculate this relapse to be small. Neither before treatment nor posttreatment variables were predictive of relapse.     

Mandibular incisor dimensions and crowding

Previous authors have suggested that well-aligned mandibular incisors are narrower mesiodistally than incisors which crowd and that reducing mesiodistal dimensions of the mandibular incisors to fit a specific size range will prevent future malalignment. This study examined 164 cases from the records of the University of Washington Department of Orthodontics, 134 of which had been orthodontically treated and were a minimum of 10 years postretention. Measurements were made from the postretention plaster casts and from serial cephalometric head films. Statistical tests showed that there was a weak association between incisor widths or MD/FL dimensions ratio and irregular alignment over the long term. Mean dimensional differences between crowded and uncrowded incisors were small in the few pooled or segregated groups in which statistically significant differences were found. When incisor dimensions were combined with pretreatment, posttreatment, or long-term cephalometric and cast measurements, only weak and not clinically useful associations were found with long-term incisor alignment. While there was a weak tendency for narrower incisors to be associated with better alignment in some instances, narrower mesiodistal widths of mandibular incisors did not ensure long-term stability in orthodontically treated cases.     

The effectiveness and long-term stability of overbite correction with incisor intrusion mechanics.

BACKGROUND: Correction of deep overbite with subsequent achievement of long-term stability is difficult. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness and long-term stability of overbite correction with incisor intrusion mechanics. METHODS: The treated group consisted of 25 subjects (13 female, 12 male) with deep overbite of at least 4 mm (mean overbite, 5.9 mm). The orthodontic treatment was initiated in the late mixed or early permanent dentition, and all patients were treated nonextraction. All patients had lateral cephalometric radiographs taken at pretreatment (T1), posttreatment (T2), and postretention (T3). The treatment included cervical headgear and lever arches to intrude mainly the maxillary incisors and occasionally the mandibular incisors. Premolars were not included in the fixed appliances during the treatment. The untreated group consisted of 25 age- and sex-matched subjects from the Bolton Growth Study. RESULTS: The mechanics used were effective in overbite correction. During the posttreatment period, overbite increased by 0.7 mm. CONCLUSIONS: Although this change was statistically significant, the amount was small and is considered clinically insignificant, given the severity of the overbite pretreatment. Furthermore, a net overbite correction (T3-T1) of 3.3 mm and postretention overbite on 2.6 mm is an excellent clinical outcome.