Long-term post-treatment evaluation of rapid palatal expansion and maxillary protraction in skeletal Class III cases

概要

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Long-term stability of the treatment results was evaluated in two patients whose skeletal Class III malocclusions had been treated by employing rapid palatal expansion and maxillary protraction. Both patients had been initially characterized with anterior crossbite due to skeletal Class III relationship, arch length discrepancy in the upper arch, posterior crossbite and lingual inclination of the lower anterior teeth, which indicated lateral expansion treatment for their upper arch. It was during the period of permanent dentition that they were treated with a rapid palatal expander, a maxillary protractor and a multi-bracket appliance without any tooth extracted. Following the active treatment, both of them wore Hawley-type retainers in the upper and lower arches for about three years in Case 1 and two years in Case 2 respectively. The two cases were followed up for ten years (Case 1) and seven years (Case 2) out of retention respectively. They are both showing remarkable stability in the corrected overjet and overbite as well as in the improved skeletal pattern. The minor crowding in case 1 may be due to post-treatment lingual inclination of the anterior teeth or some unavoidable age-related factors. It is suggested that this favorable long-term stability of their treatment results might be due to employing rapid palatal expansion and maxillary protraction in the permanent dentition.
日本矯正歯科学会の論文