Korean J Orthod
Copyright © The Korean Association of Orthodontists.
Bruni A.a, Gallo V.b, Parrini S.c, Litsas G.d, Cugliari G.e, Castroflorio T.b, Deregibus A.c
a Surgical, Medical and Dental Department, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41124 Modena, Italy
b Private Practice, Italy
c Department of Orthodontics, CIR Dental School, Università degli Studi di Torino, Torino, Italy
d Department of Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, School of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
e Department of Medical Sciences, University of Torino, Torino, Italy
Objective: This prospective study evaluated the effectiveness of clear aligner treatment (CAT) in achieving dentoalveolar upper arch expansion in mixed dentition patients with transverse maxillary deficiency.
Materials and Methods: Forty mixed dentition patients with transversal discrepancy ≤5mm were treated using clear aligners. Pre- and post-treatment digital dental models were measured using specific landmarks and compared with the programmed expansion in the virtual treatment plan. Statistical analysis included the inter-class correlation coefficient (ICC) to evaluate inter-rater reliability. Paired t-test was employed to compare pre- and post-treatment values, examining the significance of changes. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to estimate the relationship between the prescribed and the observed measurements stratifyied by tooth.
Results: Excellent reproducibility of measurements was observed. The accuracy of dentoalveolar maxillary arch expansion varied across tooth regions. Inter-canine accuracy was 87.7% at the cusp level and 82.7% at the gingival level. Inter-first deciduous molars had an accuracy of 84.9% (cusp level) and 80.5% (gingival level). Inter-permanent molars showed an accuracy of 77.8% (cusp level) and 67.9% (gingival level). Significant differences were found between planned and obtained measurements in specific tooth regions.
Conclusions: CAT demonstrates reliable predictability for achieving dentoalveolar expansion of the maxillary arch in mixed dentition patients. Higher accuracy is observed in the anterior region compared to the posterior region. These findings suggest that CAT could be an effective option for treating transverse maxillary deficiencies in mixed dentition patients with moderate inter-arch transversal discrepancy, with consideration of tooth-specific predictability differences.
Keywords: Expansion, Aligners, Predictability, Digital models
Korean J Orthod
First Published Date November 4, 2024
Copyright © The Korean Association of Orthodontists.
Bruni A.a, Gallo V.b, Parrini S.c, Litsas G.d, Cugliari G.e, Castroflorio T.b, Deregibus A.c
a Surgical, Medical and Dental Department, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41124 Modena, Italy
b Private Practice, Italy
c Department of Orthodontics, CIR Dental School, Università degli Studi di Torino, Torino, Italy
d Department of Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, School of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
e Department of Medical Sciences, University of Torino, Torino, Italy
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Objective: This prospective study evaluated the effectiveness of clear aligner treatment (CAT) in achieving dentoalveolar upper arch expansion in mixed dentition patients with transverse maxillary deficiency.
Materials and Methods: Forty mixed dentition patients with transversal discrepancy ≤5mm were treated using clear aligners. Pre- and post-treatment digital dental models were measured using specific landmarks and compared with the programmed expansion in the virtual treatment plan. Statistical analysis included the inter-class correlation coefficient (ICC) to evaluate inter-rater reliability. Paired t-test was employed to compare pre- and post-treatment values, examining the significance of changes. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to estimate the relationship between the prescribed and the observed measurements stratifyied by tooth.
Results: Excellent reproducibility of measurements was observed. The accuracy of dentoalveolar maxillary arch expansion varied across tooth regions. Inter-canine accuracy was 87.7% at the cusp level and 82.7% at the gingival level. Inter-first deciduous molars had an accuracy of 84.9% (cusp level) and 80.5% (gingival level). Inter-permanent molars showed an accuracy of 77.8% (cusp level) and 67.9% (gingival level). Significant differences were found between planned and obtained measurements in specific tooth regions.
Conclusions: CAT demonstrates reliable predictability for achieving dentoalveolar expansion of the maxillary arch in mixed dentition patients. Higher accuracy is observed in the anterior region compared to the posterior region. These findings suggest that CAT could be an effective option for treating transverse maxillary deficiencies in mixed dentition patients with moderate inter-arch transversal discrepancy, with consideration of tooth-specific predictability differences.
Keywords: Expansion, Aligners, Predictability, Digital models