A prospective, split-mouth, clinical study of orthodontic titanium miniscrews with machined and acid-etched surfaces

To determine whether the success rate and primary stability of surface-treated miniscrews differ from those of nontreated miniscrews.

Patients who required one or more miniscrews for the same reason in each quadrant were recruited into a single-blinded, split-mouth, randomized, controlled trial with a 1:1 allocation ratio. Self-drilling miniscrews with two surface types were used: those with no surface treatment, and those with an acid-etched surface treatment. The cumulative success rate and primary stability of each type of miniscrew were examined, and factors potentially affecting the success and failure of miniscrews were investigated.

Forty patients were included in the study, with a total of 98 orthodontic miniscrews. The overall success rate was 88.8%, and the respective success rates for acid-etched and machined surface miniscrews were 91.8% and 85.7%. The respective mean insertion torques were 13.62 ± 5.95 N·cm and 13.38 ± 4 N·cm, and periotest values measured immediately after insertion were -0.50 ± 2.77 for acid-etched miniscrews and -0.28 ± 3.36 for machined surface miniscrews. There was no significant difference in the mean insertion torques and periotest values according to surface treatment and jaw.

Neither the success rate nor the primary stability of acid-etched surface miniscrews and machined surface miniscrews differed significantly. There is a high possibility that miniscrews will fall out in patients who have an open bite or those who require total distalization.