Dentoskeletal effects produced by a Jasper Jumper with an anterior bite plane.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the dentoskeletal effects produced by a modified Jasper Jumper with an anterior bite plane for the correction of Class II division 1 malocclusion. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A sample of 32 growing patients (mean age  =  11.9 ± 1.4 years) with Class II division 1 malocclusion and increased overbite were treated with a modified Jasper Jumper (JJ) and anterior bite plane protocol and compared with a matched control group of 30 subjects with untreated Class II malocclusion (mean age 12.2 ± 0.8 years). Lateral cephalograms were taken before treatment (T1) and at the end of comprehensive treatment (T2). Mean treatment duration was 2.1 ± 0.4 years. The T1-T2 changes in the two groups were compared with Student's t-tests for independent samples. RESULTS: The JJ group was successfully treated to a Class I occlusal relationship with a significant reduction in overjet (-3.9 mm, P < .001) and overbite (-3.1 mm, P < .001). The JJ group exhibited a significant increase in mandibular length and a significant improvement in maxillomandibular sagittal skeletal relationships. The lower incisors were significantly proclined, while the lower first molars demonstrated significant movement in a mesial direction. CONCLUSIONS: Use of a modified JJ appliance and anterior bite plane is an effective protocol for the treatment of Class II malocclusion with increased overbite and greater skeletal (75%) than dentoalveolar (25%) effects mainly at the mandibular level.

Orthodontic treatment of periodontal defects. Part II: A systematic review on human and animal studies.

Several studies have been published focusing on the possibility to treat patients affected by periodontal defects by means of orthodontic treatment. The aim of this systematic review is to evaluate the efficacy of the orthodontic treatment applied to the therapy of infraosseous defects, gingival recessions, and furcation lesions. An electronic and a manual search were performed based on a PICO assessment worksheet. Both human and animal studies were selected for this review. The electronic search (from January 1966 to December 2009) and the hand search (from January 1988 to December 2009) were conducted by 3 independent reviewers. A total of 197 articles were found and only 29 were considered eligible for this review. In particular, 22 studies dealing with infrabony defects, 1 gingival recession, and 6 furcation defect treatments. Due to the weak evidence and the controversial and unclear results, it appears important to encourage the researchers to produce Randomized Controlled clinical Trials aimed to investigate the efficacy of the orthodontic treatment for the correction of periodontal defects.

Changes in clinical crown height as a result of transverse expansion of the maxilla in adults.

The risk of developing bony dehiscence and gingival recession may lead clinicians to prefer extraction to expansion in borderline cases. The purpose of this research was to compare changes in clinical crown height that occur at the buccal aspect of the maxillary lateral teeth of adult patients in which the transverse dimension was increased with those occurring if no expansion had been performed. Secondly it was the intention to identify factors increasing the risk of development of gingival recessions. The material comprised the pre- and post-treatment study casts from two groups of 50 adult patients. In one group an average transverse expansion of 3 mm was performed while in the other no change in the arch width was generated during treatment. Clinical crown heights of the two groups before and after treatment were compared with a Student's t-test and correlation analysis was used to determine whether any demographic or treatment-related parameters could be applied to predict an increase in clinical crown height. The increase in transarch width was greater in males (2.4-3.4 mm) than in females (1.8-2.5 mm), and greater at the level of the premolars than at the molars. No significant increase in buccal crown height could be identified. The increase in width was, however, related to buccal tipping as a positive correlation was found between the amount of expansion and tipping (P < 0.01). No detrimental effect of slow maxillary expansion could be demonstrated.