A Novel Digital Technique to Quantify the Area and Volume of Enamel Removal after Interproximal Enamel Reduction

Martina Triduo,Purificación Vicente-Galindo,Álvaro Zubizarreta-Macho,Alberto Albaladejo Martínez,Clara Guinot Barona,Jorge Alonso Pérez-Barquero,Alfonso Alvarado Lorenzo

doi:10.3390/app11031274

Abstract

The aim of this study was to show a novel and accurate digital measurement protocol by analyzing the area and volume for interproximal tooth enamel surface reduction. In total, 14 lower teeth from all dental sectors were embedded into an epoxy resin and distributed as the lower dental arch, keeping the contact points. The experimental model was submitted to an intraoral digital impression before and after interproximal tooth enamel surface reduction using air-rotor strips and then re-contouring and polishing the interproximal enamel surfaces. These steps helped obtain standard tessellation language (STL) digital files. Furthermore, each tooth in the preoperative and postoperative full-arch STL digital files was segmented individually and aligned to analyze the area and volume of the interproximal tooth enamel surface reduction using engineering morphometry software. Descriptive analysis of the area and volume of the interproximal tooth enamel surface reduction was performed using a Student t-test. Higher enamel reduction area (3.53 ± 3.08 mm2) and volume (0.32 ± 0.22 mm3) values were shown on the distal surface compared with the area (2.97 ± 3.05 mm2) and volume (0.22 ± 0.16 mm3) of the enamel reduction on the mesial surface measured using the morphometric measurement digital protocol. The morphometric measurement protocol is an accurate digital measurement protocol for analyzing the area and volume of interproximal enamel surface reduction.

Highlights

Interproximal enamel reduction (IER) or stripping is considered an irreversible technique used to remove controlled amounts of interproximal enamel surfaces to achieve a reduction in the mesiodistal length of interproximal dental surfaces
IER is considered a more conservative orthodontic therapy than dental extractions [3] and, it is used to increase the available space without tooth extractions, allowing for teeth alignment and correct labioversion of the incisors [4] with a mild or moderate bone-dental discrepancy (BDD)
The distal surface of the teeth submitted to the interproximal enamel reduction proThe results in the present study showed that the morphometric cedure showed a high enamelobtained reduction volume mm3) compared to the enamelmeasurement protocol allowed for an accurate measurement technique to analyze area and volume reduction volume of the teeth submitted to the mesial surface in the interproximalthe enamel of the enamel removed after the interproximal enamel reduction procedure reduction procedure (0.22 ± 0.16 mm )

Summary

Introduction

Interproximal enamel reduction (IER) or stripping is considered an irreversible technique used to remove controlled amounts of interproximal enamel surfaces to achieve a reduction in the mesiodistal length of interproximal dental surfaces. The result is an increase in the available space in the dental arch [1,2]. IER is considered a more conservative orthodontic therapy than dental extractions [3] and, it is used to increase the available space without tooth extractions, allowing for teeth alignment and correct labioversion of the incisors [4] with a mild or moderate bone-dental discrepancy (BDD). IER is recommended to improve the unaesthetic appearance caused by the loss of the interdental papilla, which is a consequence of bone loss or occlusal interproximal tooth contact [7]. IER procedures are not recommended in small teeth, hypoplasia, severe tooth rotations, high risk of caries, poor oral hygiene, and young patients with large pulp chambers [9]

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