Crowding and spacing in the dental arches: long-term development in treated and untreated subjects

The purposes of this study were to analyze long-term changes in anterior spacing and crowding and to compare the development in orthodontically treated and untreated subjects.

The sample comprised 308 adolescents in the late mixed or early permanent dentition who were examined clinically at the ages of 7 to 17 years and again 25 years later. The treated subgroup of 58 subjects had received orthodontic treatment with fixed or removable appliances or both. All subjects had a full complement of teeth, except for 19 who had premolar extractions as part of their orthodontic treatment plan.

The prevalence of maxillary anterior spacing was substantially and significantly reduced in both the untreated and treated groups from the first examination to the second. The prevalence of mandibular crowding increased significantly in the untreated and the nonextraction treated groups. The prevalence of mandibular crowding in patients treated without extractions increased by 25.6%, significantly more than in the untreated controls. The prevalence of maxillary crowding decreased by 15.8% in patients treated with maxillary premolar extractions, significantly more than in the untreated controls.

Long-lasting developmental factors seem to result in universally reduced maxillary anterior spacing, orthodontic treatment notwithstanding. Compared with untreated subjects, the long-term development of mandibular anterior crowding was unfavorable in subjects treated without extractions. Compared with untreated subjects, the long-term development of maxillary anterior crowding was favorable when treatment included extraction of the maxillary premolars.