Anterior open bite: limited evidence for current treatment approaches

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While 22 studies were included in this review of the treatment of anterior open bite, only 3 were RCTs. The RCTs and the other included studies were of low quality and a wide range of treatment approaches and appliances were used. Further high quality trials are needed to guide clinical practice.

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Fixed functional appliances for class II malocclusions

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This review of fixed functional appliances for treatment of class II malocclusion included 9 studies, only one of which was a RCT. The findings suggest that fixed functional appliances are effective at producing short term improvements in class II malocclusions but should be interpreted with caution because of the quality of the available evidence.

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Anterior crossbite: is fixed or removable treatment most cost effective?

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This cost minimisation study was based on a small RCT comparing fixed or removable appliances for the treatment of anterior crossbite in Sweden. The overall costs were €678 for fixed appliances and €1031 for removable appliances.

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Orthodontic bonding: is primer necessary?

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This review of in-vitro studies included 9 studies and found photo-curing time, force location, bracket area, and crosshead speed of the testing machine affected sheer bond strength. Use of adhesive resin primer did not affect bond strength.

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Self-ligating orthodontic bracket system did not increase treatment efficiency

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This 3-centre randomised trial, involving 138 patients, found no clinically significant difference in treatment efficiency between treatment with a self-ligating bracket system and a conventional ligation system.

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Orthodontic treatment: limited research on effectiveness of surgical interventions to accelerate treatment

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This Cochrane review only identified 4 small short-term trials providing limited evidence for the effectiveness of surgical approaches to accelerate orthodontic treatment. Further research with longer follow up is needed to confirm any possible benefit.

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Lingual orthodontic retainers – a lack of evidence

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This review focused on lingual orthodontic retention including 27 studies (9 RCTs; 6 prospective and 12 retrospective studies). However, the quality of evidence was low, providing little evidence for the best treatment protocols.

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Orthodontic appliances: may help break thumb-sucking habits

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This Cochrane review included 6 small studies at high risk of bias and found that orthodontic appliances or psychological intervention seems to be effective to help children stop sucking that does not have a feeding purpose.

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Class II malocclusion: an overview of reviews of functional treatment

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This overview brings together 14 systematic reviews of varying quality on a range of appliances for the management of class II malocclusions. There is some evidence of some benefit from some types of appliance but more studies of a higher quality are needed.

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Interceptive orthodontics: limited evidence available

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This review of interceptive orthodontic treatments included 22 studies. However, there were only a small number of studies available for the range of interventions in use. Consequently there is a lack of evidence on whether there is a benefit over and above commencing treatment later.

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