Soft tissue profile changes in Angle class II patients treated with Twin Force or intermaxillary elastics-a comparison.

PROPOSITION: This study aimed to compare soft tissue profile changes in Angle class II malocclusion patients treated with a Twin Force appliance (Ortho Organizers, Inc., Carlsbad, CA, USA) or class II elastics.

METHODS

The sample comprised 47 class II malocclusion patients treated orthodontically without extractions, divided into two groups. Group 1 (Twin Force): 25 patients were treated with the Twin Force, with initial and final mean ages of 17.91 and 20.45 years, respectively, and mean treatment time of 2.53 years. Group 2 (elastics): 22 patients were treated with class II elastics, with initial and final mean age of 15.87 and 18.63 years, respectively, and mean treatment time of 2.75 years. The lateral cephalograms were evaluated at the initial and final stages. Intragroup comparisons were performed with dependent t-tests and intergroup comparisons were performed with independent t-tests.

RESULTS

Treatment-related changes in the Twin Force group included reduction of facial convexity, retrusion of the upper lip, increase of the H‑Nose distance, and decrease in Sn‑H distance, indicating improvement in facial profile. In the elastics group, treatment resulted in an increase in nasolabial angle, retrusion of the upper lip, increase of the H‑Nose distance, and decrease in Sn‑H distance, indicating improvement in facial profile. The Twin Force group showed a greater reduction of the facial convexity with treatment than the elastics group.

CONCLUSIONS

Class II patients treated with the Twin Force appliance showed greater reduction in facial convexity than patients treated with class II elastics. The other soft tissue changes were similar for both groups.