Evaluation of the Therapeutic Efficacy of Functional Devices of Planas: Longitudinal Study of a Population of Young Children Aged 7 to 9 Years, Presenting Incisor Crowding Associated with Skeletal Class I or Class II

Abstract

Objects: Evaluate at the beginning of mixed dentition, the effect of planas plates tracks on disharmony between tooth and jaw size and transverse dimensions of maxillae, on mandibular retrognathia and mandibular growth direction, and on masticatory function. Material and Methods: The study was carried out on a population of 82 school children, aged 7 to 9 years, from the city of Blida, presenting incisor crowding on a skeletal class I or class II. They were divided, by drawing lots, into two comparable groups: a control group and a group having received treatment with track plates associated with selective grinding. Measurements on mouldings, on photos and on face and profile teleradiographies, were performed on each patient before and after one year of follow-up. Results: A significant difference was noted between the two groups concerning the dento-alveolar and masticatory parameters. For the skeletal parameters, the difference is not statistically significant between the two samples. Conclusion: The results confirm the effectiveness of the Planas appliance in the treatment of dento-maxillary disharmony, by expansion and plead in favor of an early treatment, in mixed dentition of this malocclusion. They also show the restoration of chewing function. With regard to the shift of the skeletal bases, if the clinical observations showed its reduction, the measurements did not demonstrate it, due to an excessively small sample size.