Dentoskeletal effects of class II malocclusion treatment with the modified Twin Block appliance

Abstract

Background The purpose of this study was to prospectively assess the dentoskeletal effect of a modified Twin Block appliance for treatment of class II malocclusions. Material and Methods Lateral cephalograms of 25 Class II malocclusion patients were compared to evaluate skeletal, dentoalveolar and soft tissue changes pre- and post-treatment with a modified Twin Block appliance. A total of 33 angular and linear variables were used for analysis. The differences were calculated at the start and end of treatment. The paired T test was performed to compare the cephalometric measurements before and after treatment. Results Compared the pre- and post- treatment measurements, there was a significant increase in SNB (P<0.001), CO-Gn (P<0.001), ANS-Me (P=0.001), Mandibular base (P<0.001), Lower 1 to NB (°) (P=0.004), Lower 1 to NB (mm) (P<0.001), and Z-angle (P=0.001) following functional therapy with modified Twin Block appliance. On the other hand, a significant decrease was observed in ANB (P<0.001), NA-Pog (P<0.001), overjet (P<0.001), and overbite (P=0.007), Upper 1 to palatal plane (P=0.007), UL-E-line (P<0.001), LL-E-line (P=0.001), and H-angle (P=0.002) after treatment with modified Twin Block appliance. Conclusions The modified Twin-Block improves facial esthetics in Class II malocclusion by a combination of changes in skeletal as well as dentoalveolar structures. The increase of mandibular unit length was observed to be due to a true mandibular growth not just a repositioning of the mandible. The modified appliance, however, did not show any superior effects in terms of less dental compensation compared to the conventional Twin–Block appliance. Key words:Dentoskeletal effect, Modified Twin Block, Class II malocclusion.