Deep bite malocclusion correction with SmartForce Aligner Activation in three adolescent patients.

BACKGROUND

Deep bite is a common malocclusion characterized by reclining upper front teeth in adolescents and adults. Few studies using Clear Aligners (CA) have successfully corrected severe deep bites. The therapeutic failure was caused by the natural biting force of the patients. Align Technology® (Santa Clara, CA) introduced a specific protocol for Deep Bite correction based on SmartForce Aligner Activation. Specific regions of CA are designed to realize strategic contact areas between CA and the dental element to maximize the predictability of treatment. This study aims to investigate the skeletal and dentoalveolar effects of the SmartForce Aligner Activation Invisalign® G8 protocol in three adolescent patients (two females and one male, aged 11 to 14 years) with severe deep bites.

CASE PRESENTATION: For each patient, intraoral and extraoral photographs, orthopantomographies, and teleradiographies were compared before and after orthodontic therapy using CA and SmartForce Aligner Activation. After two phases using CA, worn 20/22 hours daily, all patients reached a bilateral molar and canine Class I and flattened Spee curves. Post-treatment lateral teleradiographies showed skeletal, dental, and aesthetic improvements. Moreover, new photographs were collected with a one-year follow-up to appreciate the stability of the results.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on these findings, the SmartForce Aligner Activation protocol may be successful in the orthodontic management of deep bite growing patients.