A clinical approach to managing open-bite malocclusion associated with severe crowding.

Open bite has been identified as one of the most challenging malocclusions in orthodontics. The treatment approach is complex, the resulting esthetics may not meet the patient's expectations, and the chance of recurrence is high. A 13-year-old girl presented a skeletal Class II malocclusion associated with anterior and posterior open bite, maxillary transverse deficiency, severe anterior crowding, and a hyperdivergent facial pattern. Orthodontic treatment was performed with a Haas expander and subsequent standard edgewise appliances, and the 4 first premolars were extracted. The vertical control of facial growth was undertaken with vertical pull chincap therapy, mini-implants associated with a titanium-molybdenum alloy cantilever on the right and left buccal sides, and a stainless steel alloy transpalatal arch. Posttreatment records showed a bilateral Class I molar relationship, ideal overbite and overjet, and improved facial profile and gingival health. The cephalometric analysis revealed a good balance of the skeletal pattern and facial profile, with an appropriate inclination of the maxillary and mandibular incisors. After a 7-year retention period, the outcome was pleasant facial esthetics and smile and stability of the dental occlusion. This case shows that the clinical approach was adequate, with treatment outcomes achieving positive aspects of function, esthetics, and stability.

A Importância dos Métodos de Determinação das Idades Esquelética e Dentária na Ortodontia e Odontopediatria ­ uma Revisão de Literatura / The Importance of Methods for Determination of Squeletal and Dental Age in Orthodontics and Pediatric Dentistry ­ a Literature Review

O estágio de desenvolvimento humano é intimamente relacionado à sua maturidade óssea ou dentária, sendo essencial para a escolha do tratamento de alterações dentofaciais em crianças e adolescentes por ortodontistas e odontopediatras. Existem diversos indicadores biológicos para determinar a maturação do indivíduo, como a idade cronológica e as alterações hormonais, porém esses indicadores podem sofrer interferências. Visando uma determinação de desenvolvimento e dos picos de crescimento mais precisa, para um melhor diagnóstico e plano de tratamento, foram desenvolvidos diversos métodos para determinar a idade esquelética e a idade dentária, sendo estes a avaliação da maturação carpal, da morfologia das vértebras cervicais, da fusão óssea da sincondrose esfeno-occipital e da sutura palatina mediana, bem como dos estágios da calcificação dentária. A avaliação das radiografias de mão e punho é o padrão ouro da predição da idade esquelética, e sua correlação com outros métodos já é evidente. Sendo assim, é possível utilizar a avaliação das vértebras cervicais e das idades dentárias de Nolla e Demirjian.

The stage of human development is closely related to bone or dental maturity, being essential for the choice of treatment for dentofacial changes in children and adolescents by orthodontists and pediatric dentists. There are several biological indicators to determine an individual's maturation, such as chronological age and hormonal changes, but these indicators can suffer interference. Aiming at a more accurate determination of development and growth peaks, for a better diagnosis and treatment plan, several methods have been developed to determine skeletal age and dental age, these being the assessment of carpal maturation, the morphology of the cervical vertebrae, bone fusion of the spheno-occipital synchondrosis and the median palatal suture, as well as the stages of dental calcification. The evaluation of hand and wrist radiographs is the gold standard for predicting skeletal age, and its correlation with other methods is already evident. Therefore, it is possible to use the assessment of cervical vertebrae and dental ages by Nolla and Demirjian.

Alinhadores Ortodônticos Removíveis Versus Aparelhos Ortodônticos Fixos: uma Revisão da Literatura / Removable Orthodontic Aligners Versus Fixed Orthodontic Appliances: a Literarture Review

Com intuito de pontuar os paralelos entre as técnicas ortodônticas com aparelhagem fixa e alinhadores transparentes, este estudo propôs revisar a literatura científica sobre alinhadores ortodônticos removíveis versus aparelhos ortodônticos fixos. Foram selecionados artigos de 2005 a 2021, utilizando as bases de dados PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Clinical Trials e Opengrey. Os artigos abordavam temáticas como sensação dolorosa, saúde periodontal, higiene, microbiota, reabsorção radicular, qualidade de vida e efetividade do tratamento. Os alinhadores apresentaram maior aceitabilidade pelos pacientes e vantagens claras em relação à dor, higiene, qualidade de vida, reabsorção radicular e saúde periodontal, sendo inferior aos aparelhos ortodônticos fixos na efetividade do tratamento e na interferência na fala.

In order to point out the parallels between orthodontic techniques with fixed appliances and transparent aligners, this study proposed to review the scientific literature on removable orthodontic aligners versus fixed orthodontic appliances. Articles from 2005 to 2021 were selected, using the PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Clinical Trials and OpenGrey databases. The articles addressed issues such as pain, periodontal health, hygiene, microbiota, root resorption, quality of life and treatment effectiveness. Aligners showed greater acceptability by patients and clear advantages in relation to pain, hygiene, quality of life, root resorption and periodontal health, being inferior to fixed orthodontic appliances in terms of effectiveness and speech capacity.