ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: To investigate the skeletal and dentoalveolar effects of Invisalign's G5 protocol with virtual bite ramps in the treatment of adults with skeletal deep bites. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective study was conducted on consecutively treated adults presenting with skeletal deep bites as defined by the Overbite Depth Indicator (ODI). Subjects were divided into 2 groups: Invisalign group (n = 24) treated with the Invisalign G5 protocol and a full fixed appliance (FFA) group (n = 24) treated with edgewise FFAs and matched to the Invisalign group by ODI, sex, type of malocclusion, and non-extraction treatment. Pretreatment (T1) and post-comprehensive treatment (T2) lateral cephalograms were obtained and analyzed. RESULTS: Both the Invisalign and FFA groups showed significant changes from T1 to T2 in ODI and other skeletal and dentoalveolar measurements. The mean change in ODI was -1.5° (P < .001) for the Invisalign group and -2.0° (P < .001) for the FFA group. The mean decrease in overbite was 1.3 mm (P < .001) and 2.0 mm (P < .001) for the Invisalign and FFA groups, respectively. The mean increase in mandibular plane angle (Sn-GoGn) was 0.65° (P = .003) for the Invisalign group and 1.15° (P < .001) for the FFA group. When the groups were compared with each other, both ODI (P = .03) and overbite (P = .003) were significantly different in addition to other measurements. CONCLUSIONS: Although FFA treatment had more apparent skeletal changes for deep bite adult patients when compared with Invisalign, both systems were effective in opening deep bites at dentoalveolar and skeletal levels.