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.

A comparative investigation in dogs: 2-year morphometric results of the dental implant--bone interface.

One hundred twenty titanium and ceramic root-form and titanium blade implants were placed into 30 dog mandibles. Twenty-four implants in six control dogs (in situ for 5 months) did not receive prostheses. Ninety-six implants in 24 dogs supported prostheses for 6, 12, 18, or 24 months. Computerized morphometry data presented the percent of the implant surface apposed directly by bone. A three-way factorial analysis of variance was used to assess significance. Individual implant means ranged from 0% (mobile implant) to 71% bone adaptation. From these data, two-stage titanium root-form implants were shown to be apposed by more bone than the other five systems, and overall, titanium implant systems were apposed by more bone than ceramic systems. Between 41% and 50% of the surface of integrated ceramic implants were apposed by bone, whereas between 50% and 65% of the surfaces of titanium implants were apposed by bone. Also, two-stage surgery for blade implants appears important for implant success. Furthermore, the use of Nomarski differential illumination appears to be useful for examining the quality of interfacial bone to correlate with the amount of bone quantified by morphometric protocols.