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The impact of spur therapy in dentoalveolar open bite
Philipp Meyer-Marcotty1, Janka Kochel2, Angelika Stellzig-Eisenhauer2
1Department of Orthodontics, Dental Clinic of the Medical Faculty, University of Wuerzburg, Germany. Meyer_P1@klinik.uni-wuerzburg.de
Aim:
A longitudinal casecontrol study, designed to analyse the isolated effect of attached palatal spurs in patients displaying a dentoalveolar anterior open bite, is presented.
Methods:
Thirty-one patients (mean age of 13.3 years +/- 3.17 years) underwent a standardised treatment protocol with fixed anterior spurs for 8.3 months. Lateral cephalograms and plaster casts were analysed before (T1) and after spur therapy (T2). The data were tested using paired t-tests with a significance level of p < 0.05.
Results:
The cephalometric analysis showed significant elongation of the height of the maxillary (mean +1.22 mm) and the mandibular (mean +1.39 mm) alveolar processes, as well as uprighting of the lower anterior teeth. The plaster cast analysis showed an increase in maxillary intermolar width (mean +0.98 mm) and a decrease in intercanine distance (mean -0.96 mm). The mandibular anterior width and dental arch length reduced. Overall, spur therapy resulted in a significant increase in overjet and overbite.
Conclusion:
The use of spurs produced a resolution of the open bite in all patients. Therefore, spurs could be considered an effective mechanism for the management of anterior open bite in selected adolescent patients.
