CBCT study of the alveolar bone remodeling after retraction of the maxillary incisors assisting with micro-implant anchorage in maxillary protrusion adults

To study the remodeling of alveolar bone after retraction of the maxillary incisors assisting with micro-implant anchorage in adult patients with maxillary protrusion by CBCT.

Forty patients who were treated with extraction of the maxillary first premolars with microimplant anchorage meeting the inclusion criteria were selected. The CBCT data before and after treatment were collected, and the Dolphin Imaging 3D measurement software was used to measure and analyze the height and thickness of the alveolar bone of the 80 upper central incisors and the 80 lateral incisors.

After retraction of the incisors assisting with microimplant anchorage, the labial alveolar bone height of the maxillary central incisors decreased (0.11 ± 0.33) mm, and the lingual alveolar bone height of the maxillary central incisors decreased (0.85 ± 1.23) mm. The labial alveolar bone height of the maxillary lateral incisors decreased (0.18 ± 0.42) mm, and the lingual alveolar bone height of the maxillary lateral incisors decreased (1.13 ± 1.14) mm. The reduction in the lingual alveolar bone height was greater than that of the labial side, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). The labial alveolar bone thickness of the maxillary central incisors increased (the root cervix, the root media and the root apex), and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.001). The labial alveolar bone thickness of the maxillary lateral incisors also increased (P < 0.05), while the lingual alveolar bone thickness and the total alveolar bone thickness of the maxillary central and lateral incisors decreased (P < 0.001).

In adults with maxillary protrusion, the microimplant was used to assist the reduction of the anterior teeth. The alveolar bone height of the maxillary incisors was reduced, and the palatal alveolar bone height decreased more than that of the labial side. The alveolar bone of the labrum was thickened, and the palatal alveolar bone thickness and the total alveolar bone thickness of the maxillary incisors were reduced after treatment.