Anticipating root displacements: unlocking new prospects.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to visualize and quantify root displacements in the bone base of a patient before orthodontic treatment and obtain an optimal set-up that would include information on both coronal and root movements.

MATERIAL AND METHOD: Data from a patient's scan records, the initial plaster model and scanned set-up are migrated into the Amira® software for advanced mesh and surface analysis. Using this software, each tooth of the initial 3D-reconstruction scan is isolated then superimposed over that of the initial model. The set-up is then positioned onto the initial model at second molar level and dragged onto the initial 3D reconstruction. Lastly, the roots are repositioned on the crowns on the set-up.

RESULTS

This study enabled the visualization and quantification of dental displacements (crowns and roots) from initial to expected final position in a three-dimensional space reconstruction.

DISCUSSION-

CONCLUSION

This technique, carried out routinely thanks to the advent of cone beam tomography, can help optimize orthodontic treatments, notably by anticipating root proximity issues during set-up preparation.