A Long Term Comparison Of Periodontal Effects In Non Extraction And Premolar Extraction Edgewise Therapy In African Americans PDF Download

Malocclusions involving anterior open bites (AOB) remain one of the most difficult subsets in orthodontics to treat and retain. Several treatment modalities have been proposed and executed by clinicians throughout the years, however, there is still no consensus on which non-surgical treatment modality is most efficient. This study compared the treatment efficiency and cephalometric outcomes that occurred (a) when treating AOB with the extraction of four first premolars compared to the use of the multiloop edgewise archwire (MEAW) technique without extractions and (b) between genders when using the MEAW technique only. Comparison 1: MEAW versus Extraction therapy in females: 11 females treated with MEAW (mean age 20.17 +/-6.48 years) were compared with 12 females treated with four first premolar extractions (mean age 15.92 +/- 2.84 years). Comparison 2: Males vs. females treated with MEAW: 11 males (mean age 20.48 +/- 4.51 years) were compared with 11 females (mean age 20.17 +/- 6.48 years). Pre-treatment and post-treatment patient records and lateral cephalograms were obtained and analyzed for comparing groups. Unpaired t-tests and Mann-Whitley U tests were used to compare differences between groups. The MEAW technique corrected anterior open bites 31% faster than extraction of four first premolars. There was no evidence of sex differences in the efficiency of addressing open bite malocclusion using MEAW.