Assessment of Dental Arch Changes and Buccal Bone Thickness in Patients treated with Self-ligating Brackets.

Abstract

To evaluate changes in transverse dimensions of upper arch and thickness of the buccal bone plate in patients undergoing orthodontic treatment during the leveling phase. Sixteen patients aged between 11 and 30 years, presenting with class I and II malocclusion, with minimum of 2 mm crowding treated without extraction, were divided into two groups: GI (n = 8), self-ligating brackets (Easyclip Aditek), and GII (n = 8), conventional preadjusted brackets (3M Unitek). The intercanines, interpremolar, and intermolar widths were measured in dental casts using a digital caliper, before (T1) and after 6 months of treatment (T2). Measurements of the thickness of the bone plate were performed by using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans and Dolphin three-dimensional program. Paired and nonpaired t tests were applied to analyze the results in and between the groups for the changes in the transversal arch dimensions and buccal bone thickness. In all statistical tests, the significance level was set at 5%. A nonsignificant increase in transverse dimensions and a slight reduction on thickness of the buccal bone plate were observed in both groups. The dimensional changes of transverse and thickness of the bone plate during the initial phase of treatment were similar, regardless of the bracket design. It should be noted that the bracket design does not influence the treatment course regarding transversal dimensions and buccal bone thickness.