Long-term relapse of anterior teeth in orthodontic patients treated with and without premolar extractions using a 3-dimensional surface mesh analysis.

INTRODUCTION

The study evaluated the long-term postretention changes in patients with borderline crowding treated with and without premolar extractions using 3-dimensional surface registration analyses and 2-dimensional (2D) conventional measurements.

METHODS

The study sample comprised 29 nonextraction patients (nonextraction group [NG]) and 33 extractions (extraction group [EG]). Cephalometric radiographs and dental models of the included patients were used from pretreatment, posttreatment, and postretention. Retention durations were 3.76 ± 1.26 years and 4.52 ± 1.94 years in the NG and EG, respectively. The postretention follow-up period was 17.06 ± 5.83 years for the EG and 14.30 ± 5.70 years for the NG, with similar long-term observations. Maxillary and mandibular superimpositions were performed using 3-dimensional digital scans of the dental models and commercial software. In addition, conventional 2D model measurements and the irregularity index were also assessed.

RESULTS

The investigated parameters regarding the surface changes showed nonsignificant differences (P >0.05) between the 2 groups in the maxillary and mandibular anterior 6 teeth, except for the under tolerance value (the percentage of mesh points that is less than the lower tolerance limit) in mandibular surface registrations (P <0.044). In both groups, the maxillary and mandibular irregularity index and maxillary and mandibular intercanine distances showed significant relapses (P <0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Comparable surface change outcomes were observed in the NGs and EGs. However, the percentage of meshes exceeding the negative threshold value (-1 mm) of the mandibular dentition in the NG exceeded the EG, indicating more significant lingual movement and relapse of the incisors. In addition, the 2D conventional linear relapse measurements were well below the 3.5 mm threshold value reported in the literature. This finding indicated that both treatment approaches provide acceptable long-term stability in borderline patients when similar retention regimens are employed.