The skeletal, dental and soft tissue changes induced by forsus appliance used in late adolescence

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the skeletal, dental and soft tissue changes in late adolescent patients treated with the Forsus? (3M Unitek, St. Paul, Minn.) appliance.The study sample consisted of 27 subjects (15 treated and 12 control) with skeletal and dental Class II malocclusion. Our study was carried out on 54 lateral cephalometric films which were taken before placement and after removal of the Forsus? appliance in the treatment group and at the beginning and six months after in the control group. The patient selection criteria were as follows: skeletal and dental Class II malocclusion due to retrognatic mandible, normal or low-angle growth pattern, post-peak growth period and no extracted or congenitally missing permanent teeth.In order to evaluate the changes that took place in the treatment and control groups, 24 cephalometric points and 36 cephalometric measurements were analyzed. Non-parametric Wilcoxon and Mann-Whitney U tests were used for statistics. In order to detect any method errors 20 cephalometric films were digitized again by the same researcher after 20 days and correlation coefficients of all parameters were controlled.The statistical assesment of the data suggested the following conclusions: No saggital skeletal changes were induced. There were no statistically significant vertical changes. The mandibular incisors were protruded and intruded while the maxillary incisors were retruded and extruded. The occlusal plane was rotated in clockwise direction as a result of these dentoalveolar changes. Overbite and overjet were reduced in all patients. Soft tissue profile improved significantly.The results revealed that, in late-adolescent patients Forsus? appliance corrected Class II discrepancies through maxillary and mandibular dentoalveolar changes. It is suggested that this treatment method could be an alternative to orthognatic surgery in borderline Class II cases.