ORIGINAL ARTICLE   

Minerva Dental and Oral Science 2022 October;71(5):270-6

DOI: 10.23736/S2724-6329.22.04696-4

Copyright © 2022 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Elastodontic treatment with oral bio-activators in young children

Paola M. MARRA ¹ ✉, Luca FIORILLO ^{2, 3, 4}, Gabriele CERVINO ², Filippo CARDARELLI ⁵, Marco CICCIÙ ², Luigi LAINO ³

¹ Complex Operative Unit of Stomatological Surgery in Developmental Age, Luigi Vanvitelli University of Campania, Naples, Italy; ² Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging, University of Messina, Messina, Italy; ³ Multidisciplinary Department of Medical-Surgical and Odontostomatological Specialties, Luigi Vanvitelli University of Campania, Naples, Italy; ⁴ Department of Implantology, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Aldent, Tirana, Albania; ⁵ Department of Interdisciplinary Medicine, Aldo Moro University of Bari, Bari, Italy

BACKGROUND: Elastodontic therapy can correct bad oral habits and malocclusions in young patients by guiding jaw growth, eliminating functional disorders, and improving tooth position. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of bio-activator therapy on the presence of atypical swallowing with tongue thrust in growing patients.
METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted. Data regarding the early orthodontic treatment of 40 consecutive patients with atypical swallowing and tongue thrust (23 males and 17 females) were assembled from January 2019 to January 2020. All patients (≥7 and ≤15 years of age) were monitored for 1 year in a private practice in Isernia, Italy.
RESULTS: The mean age at commencement of orthodontic treatment was 8.5 years (range=7.1-14.9 years), and the mean total duration of therapy was 1 year (range=11 months-1 year). Final lateral radiographs demonstrated a mean of improvement of 8° for upper and lower incisor proclination (I/SN) and 3.5° for incisor mandibular plane angle (IMPA) in 36 patients, and 5° of I/SN and 2° of IMPA in the remaining 4 children after 1 year of treatment.
CONCLUSIONS: Bad oral habits in younger patients must not be ignored. The duration of treatment can differ depending on the severity of the open bite and the patient’s cooperation. This study demonstrates the short-term efficacy of these myofunctional appliances in the treatment of atypical swallowing. In order to quickly eliminate factors which endanger healthy development of dento-skeletal structure, it is important to closely monitor patients during their development phase.

KEY WORDS: Pediatric dentistry; Orthodontic appliances; Malocclusions