Treatment Of Open-bite Malocclusion Research Articles

Diagnosis, etiology, and management strategies of open bite malocclusions

Open bite malocclusion is a condition where the upper and lower incisors do not overlap vertically. It involves factors like structure, dental issues and functional challenges. This review offers an overview of diagnosing, understanding the causes and managing bite malocclusions. The condition is noticeable by the gap between incisors, difficulties in biting and speech and habits like tongue thrusting. In children thumb sucking is often associated with this issue underscoring the importance of intervention. Diagnosis relies on assessments, cephalometric analysis and categorization based on dental or skeletal elements. The causes can be attributed to factors, environmental influences or behavioral habits. Various management strategies are available with treatments playing a role using methods like fixed appliances clear aligners, and innovative temporary anchorage devices (TADs). Surgical interventions such as surgery address discrepancies when necessary. Considering that open bites are age conditions, behavioral modifications along with intervention using orthopedic appliances are crucial for effective treatment. Advanced diagnostic tools like cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) contribute to treatment planning. The retention phase ensures stability of results while patient cooperation remains essential throughout the process. Collaboration between orthodontist’s maxillofacial surgeons and other specialists is vital for care. The field of orthodontics is continuously advancing and with research we can expect improvements in our understanding and treatment of open bite malocclusions.

Masticatory Muscle Exercise as an Adjunctive Treatment for Open Bite Malocclusions

The article distinguishes between dental open bite and skeletal open bite malocclusions and reviews the etiologic factor and possible treatment options. The addition of light masticatory muscle exercise on two mixed detention cases is illustrated. The patients were treated with a bonded rapid palatal expander followed by a transpalatal arch and a mandibular lingual arch, high-pull headgear therapy and light masticatory muscle exercises for 1 minute five times per day. A third case illustrates an increase in the clenching exercises of at least 5 minutes per hour for 6 hours. This patient had changed her mind on orthognathic surgical treatment plans. Treatment results suggest that clenching exercises helped to control the vertical dimension and assist in closure of open bite malocclusions. More clinical research is required to ensure the optimum level of masticatory muscle exercise for the treatment of open bite malocclusions.

Early orthodontic treatment of skeletal open-bite malocclusion: a systematic review.

The aim of this study was a systematic review of the literature to assess the scientific evidence on the actual outcome of early treatments of open-bite malocclusions. A literature survey was done by applying the Medline database (Entrez PubMed). The survey covered the period from January 1966 to July 2004 and used the MeSH, Medical Subject Headings. The following study types that reported data on the treatment effects included: randomized clinical trials (RCT), prospective and retrospective studies with concurrent untreated as well as normal controls, and clinical trials comparing at least two treatment strategies without any untreated or normal control group involved. The search strategy resulted in 1049 articles. After selection according to the inclusionary/exclusionary criteria, seven articles qualified for the final review analysis. No RCTs of early treatment of anterior open bite have been performed. Two controlled clinical trials of early anterior open bite have been performed, and these two studies indicated the effectiveness of treatment in the mixed dentition with headgears or functional appliances (or both). Most of the studies had serious problems of lack of power because of small sample size, bias and confounding variables, lack of method error analysis, blinding in measurements, and deficient or lack of statistical methods. Thus, the quality level of the studies was not sufficient enough to draw any evidence-based conclusions.