Efficacy of 2 finishing protocols in the quality of orthodontic treatment outcome.

INTRODUCTION The objectives of this prospective clinical study were to evaluate the quality of treatment outcomes achieved with a complex orthodontic finishing protocol involving serpentine wires and a tooth positioner, and to compare it with the outcomes of a standard finishing protocol involving archwire bends used to detail the occlusion near the end of active treatment. METHODS The complex finishing protocol sample consisted of 34 consecutively treated patients; 1 week before debonding, their molar bands were removed, and serpentine wires were placed; this was followed by active wear of a tooth positioner for up to 1 month after debonding. The standard finishing protocol group consisted of 34 patients; their dental arches were detailed with archwire bends and vertical elastics. The objective grading system of the American Board of Orthodontics was used to quantify the quality of the finish at each time point. The Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to compare changes in the complex finishing protocol; the Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare changes between groups. RESULTS The complex finishing protocol group experienced a clinically significant improvement in objective grading system scores after treatment with the positioner. Mild improvement in posterior space closure was noted after molar band removal, but no improvement in the occlusion was observed after placement of the serpentine wires. Patients managed with the complex finishing protocol also had a lower objective grading system score (14.7) at the end of active treatment than did patients undergoing the standard finishing protocol (23.0). CONCLUSIONS Tooth positioners caused a clinically significant improvement in interocclusal contacts, interproximal contacts, and net objective grading system score; mild improvement in posterior band space was noted after molar band removal 1 week before debond.