External apical root resorption in African American orthodontic patients

External apical root resorption (EARR) is a side effect of orthodontic treatment that results in root shortening. However, this condition has yet to be evaluated in African Americans. The aim of this study was to determine the EARR prevalence within this ethnicity and investigate how patient and treatment-related factors contribute to root resorption.

The records of 336 African Americans treated at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Dentistry Department of Orthodontics were retrospectively analyzed with Dolphin Imaging software. Pre-treatment and post-treatment panoramic radiographs were used to measure EARR. Resorption was recorded when final roots were at least 2 mm shorter after orthodontic treatment. Additionally, moderate and severe EARR was reported when 20% and 50% or more of the root structure was lost for any of the four maxillary incisors, respectively. The Pearson chi-square test was used to evaluate the associations of individual patient and treatment-related factors with EARR.

The prevalence of root resorption with 2 mm or greater of root structure loss was 51.8%. The prevalence of ≥ 20% EARR was 29.8%. Only one patient displayed severe resorption (0.3%). The associations between the patient-specific and treatment-specific variables and EARR were not statistically significant (P > .05).

More than half of the African American patients exhibit at least 2 mm of root resorption with orthodontic treatment. However, in this ethnicity, patient-related factors such as age, gender, dental malocclusion, and skeletal classifications, as well as treatment-related factors do not indicate a significant correlation with the risk of developing EARR.