Is mild dental invagination a risk factor for apical root resorption in orthodontic patients?

The purpose of this retrospective study was to assess if dental invagination is a risk factor for root resorption during orthodontic treatment. The sample consisted of 91 patients (32 males, 59 females) with a mean age of 13.1 years (range 9.3-32.1 years) with complete orthodontic records, including periapical radiographs of the maxillary incisors before and after treatment. Forty-nine patients had at least one maxillary incisor invaginated, whilst the remaining 42 patients were free of dental invaginations. Variables recorded for each patient included gender, age, Angle classification, extraction or non-extraction therapy, ANB angle, overjet, overbite, trauma, habits, agenesis, tooth exfoliation, treatment duration, Class II elastics, body-build, general factors, impacted canines, and root form deviation. Crown and root length of the maxillary incisors were measured on pre- and post-treatment long cone periapical radiographs corrected for image distortion. The percentage of root shortening and root length loss in millimetres was then calculated. Most of the invaginated teeth were minor type 1. Statistical analysis revealed no significant difference in the severity of apical root resorption between invaginated and non-invaginated incisors in patients without dental invaginations, nor was the extent of dental invagination related to the severity of apical root resorption. However, invaginated teeth had malformed roots more often than non-invaginated teeth. Dental invagination, and particularly type 1, cannot be considered a risk factor for apical root resorption during orthodontic tooth movement.