Retrospective study on the relationship between alveolar-bone morphology at the mandibular incisors and their inclination in adults with low-angle, skeletal class III malocclusion

Abstract

Background and Aim: The orthodontic tooth movements should be such that the tooth moves safely within the alveolar bone. The alveolar bone around the mandibular central incisors of patients with skeletal class I and II malocclusion is thicker in comparison to those with skeletal class III malocclusion. The present study aimed to investigate an association between low angle inclination skeletal class-III malocclusion and the alveolar bone morphology around it. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study was carried out on 75 malocclusion patients in the Orthodontics Department of a Tertiary Care Hospital of Islamabad, Pakistan from January 2020 to December 2022. The malocclusions were confirmed in the patients via cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) imaging. The low angle, skeletal class III malocclusions were categorized into three different groups: Group-I (lingual-inclination), Group-II (upright), and Group-III (labial-inclination). Outcomes such as height of alveolar bone and area of cortical as well as cancellous thickness were determined independently on each side. Results: The labial cancellous bone thickness, thickness of labial cortical bone, alveolar bone total thickness, labial alveolar bone total area, and labial alveolar bone height were highest in group-III (labial-inclination). There was a positive correlation between mandibular central incisors and other aforementioned variables.