Influence of premolar extractions on the facial profile evaluated by the Holdaway analysis Influência de exodontias de pré-molares no perfil facial avaliada pela análise de Holdaway

Methods: For this study, 87 patients (31 boys and 56 girls) were selected from the private practices of three dentists certified by the Brazilian Board of Orthodontics and Facial Orthopedics. These patients were treated with fixed edgewise appliance and divided into three groups, according to the sequence in which premolars were extracted “Group 40” comprised 22 patients treated with extractions of the first two superior premolars, adopted as the control group; “Group 44” comprised 43 patients treated with extractions of the four first premolars; and “Group 45” comprised 22 patients treated with extractions of first superior premolars and second inferior premolars. The Holdaway analysis was used to quantify and compare the group profiles before and after treatment.