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This retrospective investigation aims to evaluate the dentoskeletal and soft tissue changes after the distalization of the mandibular dentition using the ramal plates in nonextraction camouflage treatment of severe Class III malocclusion with a full-cusp discrepancy or more at the first molars. The sample consisted of pre- (T1) and post-treatment (T2) lateral cephalograms from 25 adult patients who were treated with the ramal plates for mandibular total distalization. The skeletal, dental, and soft tissue variables were analyzed from T1 to T2 in order to determine the effects of mandibular dentitional distalization. The mandibular first molars distalized 3.65 mm at the crown and 1.81 mm at the root. Similarly, the mandibular incisors retracted 3.32 mm at the crown and 0.81 mm at the root. Skeletally, the Wits appraisal displayed a significant increase of 1.56 mm. Also, soft tissue changes showed a significant lower lip retraction of 1.26 mm. These findings suggest that the ramal plates exhibited effective mandibular distalization in treating severe Class III malocclusion, which may be considered a viable alternative to the orthognathic surgical approach in some patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to assess speech perturbation and adaptation for patients wearing modified C‐palatal plates (MCPPs) over time. Methods: The sample consisted of 40 patients, 20 wearing MCPPs as the experimental group (age: 20.7 ± 5.8 years) and 20 patients wearing a transpalatal arch (TPA) as the control group (age: 21.5 ± 6.4 years). The sounds /t/, /d/, /s/, /n/, /r/, /tʃ/. and /j/ were recorded for each patient at six time points: immediately before (T0) and after (T1) appliance placement; then 1, 2, 3 and 4 weeks after placement (T2–T5). Acoustic analysis of pitch and voice onset time (VOT) was performed by Praat software. Repeated measures analysis of variance (RM‐ANOVA) was used to assess changes in the pitch and VOT over time and the difference between the appliances. Results: With the MCPP appliance, /n/, /r/, /tʃ/ and /j/ decreased in VOT starting in the first week while /t/ and /s/ almost returned to pre‐treatment levels after 2 weeks. VOT for the /d/ sound did not change between T0 and T3, but it decreased after 3 weeks. There were no significant differences in pitch and VOT between the two groups at any time point. Conclusions: Wearing an MCPP device caused patients to initially distort the articulation of several sounds, but the distortion dissipated within 1 to 2 weeks. It is recommended that patients and/or their parents be advised during pre‐treatment counselling of the possibility of temporary speech changes with MCPP placement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a triangular‐shaped corticotomy on the protraction of second and third molars in patients with missing mandibular first molars. Subjects and Methods: The corticotomy and non‐corticotomy groups consisted of sixteen first molars in fifteen patients (28.6 ± 9.4 years) and nineteen first molars in fifteen patients (26.6 ± 8.4 years), respectively. A triangular‐shaped corticotomy was performed between the second premolar and molar. Temporary skeletal anchorage devices (TSADs) were placed between the first and second premolars in both groups. Mandibular dentition variables were measured on the pre and post‐treatment panoramic radiographs and lateral cephalograms. Analysis of covariance was performed. Results: The corticotomy group exhibited 2.8 mm more inter‐radicular correction between the second molar to second premolar roots (P <.001) and 1.6 mm more inter‐radicular distance correction between the third molar to second premolar roots compared to the non‐corticotomy group (P <.01). The corticotomy group required 5.5 months less treatment time for space closure (P <.05), but the total treatment time was the same for both groups. Conclusions: The inter‐radicular distance between the mandibular second premolar and molar and treatment times for space closure was significantly reduced in the corticotomy group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]