Investigation and comparison of patient experiences with removable functional appliances.

OBJECTIVES

To compare patients' experiences with the Invisalign Teen with Mandibular Advancement® (ITMA) and Twin Block (TB) appliances, both initially and after several months of wear.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

Sixty-eight patients completed an anonymous survey after at least 2 months of wearing ITMA or TB. Forty-five patients treated with ITMA (18 boys, 27 girls, mean age 13.6 years, SD ± 1.54) and 23 patients treated with TB (13 boys, 10 girls, mean age 10.60 years, SD ± 1.92) were included.

RESULTS

More patients using the TB found their appliance to be visually intimidating as compared with patients using the ITMA (21.7% vs 8.9%). TB was more noticeable than the ITMA (69.6% vs 25%). Appliance insertion was more difficult for TB patients (21.8% vs 4.44% for ITMA). After several months, there were more reports of tooth soreness and lip/cheek soreness in the ITMA group. TB patients were more embarrassed even after several months (14.3% vs 0% for ITMA). More TB patients required extra appointments for breakage (50% vs 22.2% for ITMA). Speech, drooling, and jaw and lip/cheek soreness worsened initially for both groups but improved over time. There were no differences between the groups regarding visible facial changes, satisfaction with treatment experience, or time to acclimatize to the appliance.

CONCLUSIONS

TB and ITMA patients shared similar experiences for most of the parameters measured, but there were significant differences between the groups regarding appliance wear and management, discomfort, and function.