Comparison of the efficiency of initial dental alignment with Invisalign® aligners changed every 7 or 14 days in mature adults: Randomized clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the anterior crowding correction after sequential use of the first 5 aligners between two aligner exchange protocols (7 and 14 days) in mature adult patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-six patients over 35 years who received orthodontic treatment with Invisalign® were randomly allocated to two different aligner replacement sequence protocols: Group 1: exchange every 7 days (n = 18); and Group 2: exchange every 14 days (n = 18). All patients were scanned with iTero Element 5D® (Align Technology) in two treatment times: at pre-treatment (T1) and after using the first five aligners (T2). Little's Irregularity Index (LII) and arch widths were evaluated with OrthoCAD software. Intra and intergroup comparisons were performed with the dependent and independent t-tests. The results were considered significant for P < .05. RESULTS: Thirty-five patients completed the study. Both groups' maxillary and mandibular Irregularity Indexesi were significantly lower at T2. There was no significant difference in inter-canine, inter-premolar, and intermolar distances. G2 (14 days) presented a greater decrease in mandibular irregularity than G1 (7 days). CONCLUSION: Both exchange protocols (7 and 14 days) effectively correct anterior crowding in the initial phase of orthodontic treatment with aligners in mature adult patients. However, the 14-day exchange protocol provided a greater correction in mandibular anterior crowding in the evaluated period than the 7-day exchange protocol.

Orthodontic treatment alternative to a class III subdivision malocclusion.

Class III malocclusions are considered one of the most complex and difficult orthodontic problems to diagnose and treat. Skeletal and/or dental asymmetries in patients presenting with Class III malocclusions can worsen the prognosis. Recognizing the dentoalveolar and skeletal characteristics of subdivision malocclusions and their treatment possibilities is essential for a favorable nonsurgical correction. Therefore, this article presents a nonsurgical asymmetric extraction approach to Class III subdivision malocclusion treatment which can significantly improve the occlusal and facial discrepancies.

Extreme dentoalveolar compensation in the treatment of Class III malocclusion.

The orthodontic treatment of an adult patient with a skeletal Class III malocclusion, increased anterior facial height, negative overjet, and bilateral posterior crossbite is presented. Treatment options included mandibular first premolar or third molar extractions with dentoalveolar compensation or combined surgical-orthodontic treatment. Mandibular third molar extraction with dentoalveolar compensation was the treatment choice. Biofunctional brackets, with accentuated lingual crown torque on the maxillary incisors and accentuated buccal crown torque on the mandibular incisors, were used. The anterior crossbite was corrected with intermaxillary elastics from the palatal aspect of the maxillary incisors to the labial aspect of the mandibular incisors. Class III elastics moved the maxillary teeth mesially and assisted in retruding the mandibular teeth. Patient compliance with the elastics was excellent, and satisfactory dentofacial esthetics were achieved. This treatment protocol has rigorous indications, and it is not a routine plan. The mechanotherapy and the pros and cons of this approach are discussed.

Occlusal changes of Class II malocclusion treatment between Fränkel and the eruption guidance appliances.

The objective of this study was to compare the occlusal changes of Class II malocclusion treatment provided by two different types of appliances. Group 1 comprised 25 patients treated with the Fränkel appliance and group 2 comprised 30 patients treated with the eruption guidance appliance. Evaluations were performed on the initial and final study models of the patients using the peer assessment rating (PAR) index. The final mean PAR index, the mean PAR change, and the percent PAR reduction of each group were compared using the Student's t-test. Results demonstrated that there were no statistically significant differences between the final PAR index, the PAR changes, and the percent PAR reduction of the two groups. Therefore, it was concluded that the occlusal changes provided by the two appliances are similar, as evaluated by the PAR index.