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Objectives: To clinically compare the effects of broader archwires to standard archwires, using conventional brackets in both cases, on the transverse and incisor changes in maxillary and mandibular arches during leveling and alignment., Materials and Methods: Fifty-two patients presenting with crowding were allocated into two groups; one group received the broad Damon archwires while the other received standard 3M OrthoForm III Ovoid archwires. All participants were treated with conventional brackets using similar archwire sequences (0.014, 0.018, 0.016 × 0.022/0.016 × 0.025, 0.019 × 0.025 NiTi/CuNiTi archwires). Digital casts were obtained from alginate impressions before treatment (T0) and six weeks after inserting 0.019 × 0.025 NiTi archwires (T1). Pretreatment (T0) and post-alignment (T1) lateral cephalograms were obtained for each patient. The primary outcomes were the changes in the transverse arch dimensions and incisor inclination. The secondary outcomes were the horizontal and vertical linear changes in incisor position., Results: Complete data were collected for 47 patients. There was a significant increase in arch width during treatment within each group, except for upper inter-molar width in 3M group (P = 0.071). Damon wire induced a statistically significant increase in maxillary inter-second premolar width (P = 0.042), and mandibular inter-first premolar (P = 0.043), inter-second premolar (P = 0.008) and inter-molar widths (P = 0.033) compared to 3M group. The increase in incisor proclination and the linear change in incisor position were significant within each group, with less mandibular incisor proclination (P = 0.004) and horizontal advancement (P = 0.038) in the Damon group., Conclusions: Damon archwires created a comparatively greater increase in the maxillary inter-second premolar width and the mandibular inter-first premolar, inter-second premolar, and inter-molar widths, and less proclination and horizontal advancement in mandibular incisors. The study provides invaluable evidence that using broad archwires with self-ligating brackets is the reason behind any greater expansion observed in this system rather than the unique mechanical and biological features exerted by the self-ligating system., Clinical Relevance: Our results suggest that Damon archwire might be a better alternative compared to the narrower standard archwires that are usually used with conventional brackets, especially in the mandibular arch, in cases where mild to moderate crowding is planned to be resolved with a non-extraction approach. However, as arch expansion in the absence of posterior crossbites raises the question of long-term stability, the reported advantage of the use of wide wires should be interpreted with caution and should be considered in the retention phase, bearing in mind that achieving a good post-treatment occlusion is important for enhancing post-treatment stability., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Introduction: The aims of this research were to study the prevalence of palatally displaced maxillary canines (PDCs) in subjects with congenitally missing maxillary lateral incisor (MxI2) teeth and to assess the dental and occlusal features associated with this displacement in these subjects., Methods: The material for this study consisted of the pretreatment orthodontic casts of 246 subjects (78 male, 168 female) with missing MxI2 teeth. These were divided into 2 groups: subjects with PDC (displacement group) and subjects with no PDC (nondisplacement group). A nondisplacement comparison group was selected by matching the displacement group according to age, sex, type of malocclusion, and unilateral or bilateral absence of the MxI2 teeth., Results: Of 246 subjects, 31 (12.6%) were found to have PDC. Sex distribution and type of congenital absence of MxI2 teeth were not different in the displacement and the nondisplacement groups. There was no significant difference between the dental and occlusal features in the displacement and the comparison groups., Conclusions: There was a strong association between PDC and missing MxI2; this supports the guidance theory. In subjects with MxI2 agenesis, no other dental or occlusal features were found to play a role in PDC., (Copyright © 2011 American Association of Orthodontists. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.)

The aim of this study was to investigate the magnitude of mandibular incisor retraction to be expected during full fixed appliance mechanotherapy in Class II Division 1 malocclusions treated with premolar extractions when mandibular incisor retraction was not part of the treatment plan. The material consisted of pretreatment and posttreatment cephalometric films and dental casts of 70 Class II Division 1 malocclusion patients (33 males and 37 females) treated with the preadjusted edgewise appliances. The mandibular first premolars were extracted in 31 subjects, and the mandibular second premolars were extracted in 39. The pretreatment factors that suggested a basis for the extraction choice in the mandibular arch in these patients were found to include the ratio between posterior and anterior facial heights, the maxillary-mandibular plane angle, and the residual space in the mandibular arch. The mandibular incisors were retracted in only 65% of the patients. On average, the mandibular incisors were retracted by 1.02 mm relative to the nasion-pogonion line; there was no significant difference between the 2 extraction groups. Multiple regression analysis showed that the change in the mandibular incisor position is significantly correlated with the residual space in the mandibular arch, the initial distance between the mandibular incisor and the nasion-pogonion line, maxillary-mandibular angle, and the duration of crown labial torque in the mandibular incisors. In combination, these 4 factors could explain 61% of the change in the mandibular incisor position.

Talon cusp is a rare dental anomaly manifested as an accessory cusplike structure on the tooth crown. This article reports four cases of talon cusp that caused clinical problems related to appearance, occlusal interference, tooth displacement, caries, and tongue irritation. The cases presented were associated with other dental abnormalities, suggesting per se that genetic inheritance may be the causative factor. Clinical and radiographic characteristics of this developmental anomaly and modes of treatment are described.