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Systematic review of self-ligating brackets.

Stephanie Shih-Hsuan Chen¹, Geoffrey Michael Greenlee, Jihyun-Elizabeth Kim

¹Department of Orthodontics, University of Washington, Seattle, 98195-7446, USA.

American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics : Official Publication of the American Association of Orthodontists, Its Constituent Societies, and the American Board of Orthodontics

|August 6, 2010

Summary

Self-ligating brackets offer minimal advantages over conventional ones, primarily reducing chair time and slightly decreasing mandibular incisor proclination. Evidence for other claimed benefits, including long-term stability, remains insufficient.

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Area of Science:

Orthodontics
Dental Materials Science

Background:

Self-ligating brackets have gained popularity, with numerous claimed advantages over conventional systems.
This systematic review evaluates the orthodontic literature on self-ligating bracket efficiency, effectiveness, and stability.

Purpose of the Study:

To systematically review and analyze the orthodontic literature comparing self-ligating brackets with conventional brackets.
To assess treatment efficiency, effectiveness, and stability outcomes.

Main Methods:

Conducted an electronic search of 4 databases (1966-2009) and supplemental hand searching.
Included 16 studies (2 RCTs, 10 cohort, 4 cross-sectional) with quality assessment and data extraction.
Calculated weighted mean differences for comparative analysis.

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Published on: July 24, 2018

Main Results:

Self-ligation showed a significant advantage in reduced chair time.
A small, statistically significant difference of 1.5 degrees less mandibular incisor proclination was observed with self-ligating systems.
No significant differences were found in overall treatment time or occlusal outcomes; no studies addressed long-term stability.

Conclusions:

Current evidence supporting the claimed advantages of self-ligating brackets is generally limited.
The primary evidenced benefits include shortened chair time and slightly reduced mandibular incisor proclination.
Further research is needed, particularly on the long-term stability of orthodontic treatments using self-ligating systems.