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The purpose of the present study was to compare the effects of Gjessing's canine retraction arch with a sectional arch including a reverse closing loop, which are both used for canine retraction in extraction cases. Our study involved both the maxilla and the mandible independently. After upper first premolar extractions and levelling of the teeth with 0.018-inch slot standard Edgewise appliances on 12 subjects, with a mean age of 15 years, the right maxillary canines were retracted by 0.016 x 0.022-inch sectional arches including a reverse closing loop, for a mean period of 7.75 months whereas the left maxillary canines were retracted by 0.016 x 0.022-inch Gjessing retraction arches for a mean period of 6.25 months. Following lower first premolar extractions and levelling of the teeth in eight subjects with a mean age of 13 years 7 months, the right mandibular canines were retracted by 0.016 x 0.022-inch sectional arches with reverse closing loop for a mean period of 7.75 months and the left mandibular canines were retracted by 0.016 x 0.022-inch Gjessing arches for a mean period of 6 months. The present study was carried out on 40 lateral cephalometric films of 20 subjects taken prior to and at the end of canine retraction. The differences between the mean changes of the sectional arch including reverse closing loop and Gjessing retraction arch groups were found to be statistically significant for the amount of upper canine crown retraction, mesial movement of upper first molar crown and duration and rate of upper canine distal movement.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of the spring-loaded bilateral posterior occlusal bite-block on the maxillo-facial morphology, with emphasis on the response of the facial structures to the progressively increased vertical dimension. Our sample consisted of two groups: eleven open-bite subjects having a mean age of 10.30 years, treated with spring-loaded posterior bite-blocks over a mean period of 0.49 +/- 0.08 years (6 months); and twelve open bite subjects with a mean age of 9.84 years, treated by means of passive posterior bite-block and vertical chin-cap for a mean period of 0.67 +/- 0.03 years (8 months). The average daily use of the appliances was 16 hours. The study was carried out on lateral head films taken prior to and after treatment, which was concluded when an overbite of 1-1.5 mm was achieved. The results did not reflect any statistically significant difference between the groups when considering the changes in the horizontal growth pattern of the mandible, the decrease of the lower and the total anterior facial heights, or the overbite achieved by the two types of posterior bite-blocks. The artificial increase of the vertical dimension contributed to a statistically significant increase in the ramal inclination in both groups, though greater in the spring-loaded posterior bite-block group.

In this study, the effects of cervical headgear (CHG) use on the transverse dimension of the maxillary dental arch were evaluated in patients in the permanent dentition. Thirteen girls and 12 boys (mean age: 13.41 +/- 0.52 years) with a bilateral full cusp Class II molar relationship comprised the study group. Fifteen girls and 10 boys with a Class I normal occlusion comprised the controls. In the treatment group, CHG with an expanded inner bow was used for a mean period of 11.2 +/- 5.6 months. The headgear was used for molar distalization and the force magnitude was 196.1 cN. After CHG treatment, the patients underwent non-extraction fixed orthodontic treatment for 14.1 +/- 2.5 months. During this period, the control group received regular dental check-ups. Dental casts obtained at the beginning (T1) and end (T2) of headgear use and at the end of orthodontic treatment (T3) and posteroanterior cephalograms taken at T1 and T2 were evaluated. A Student's t-test was used for intergroup comparison at T1, T2, and T3 and a Mann-Whitney U-test with a Bonferroni correction for comparison of treatment/observation changes. At T2, intercanine (0.96 +/- 0.56 mm), interpremolar (1.6 +/- 0.55 mm for the first premolar, 1.74 +/- 0.65 mm for the second premolar), and intermolar (2.31 +/- 0.75 mm) widths increased, while the distance between the intersection of the zygomatic process and the maxillary alveolar process on the right (JR) and left (JL) did not change. Fixed orthodontic treatment did not have any effect on any of the measurements. With the intentional expansion of the inner bow of CHG, the amount of maxillary dental arch expansion achieved in the permanent dentition was statistically significant (P < 0.017).