A comparative evaluation of corticotomy-assisted and conventional maxillary anterior en-masse retraction: A clinical...

Orthodontic patients often experience prolonged treatment duration and anchorage loss during maxillary anterior en-masse retraction. This drawback has prompted the need for techniques that can accelerate tooth movement. Therefore, it is of interest to evaluate the effectiveness of corticotomy-assisted versus conventional maxillary anterior en-masse retraction in adult patients. It was conducted in the Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopaedics, Manipal College of Dental Sciences, Manipal, Karnataka, India. Twelve patients with Class I bimaxillary protrusion were divided equally into two groups and treated with identical orthodontic mechanics. The rate of tooth movement, anchorage loss and incisor torque control were assessed at defined time intervals during space closure. Corticotomy-assisted retraction showed a significantly higher rate of tooth movement and reduced overall treatment time with less anchorage loss. No significant difference in torque control was observed between the two treatment modalities.