Effects of a hinged expansion screw for median mandibular distraction treatment on the lower first molars regarding tooth inclination and intermolar transverse distance.

OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study was to assess the extent to which median mandibular distraction via a cemented and screw-retained full-coverage splint appliance employing a hinged expansion screw causes inclination changes in the lower first molars and widens the dental arch. METHODS: Our study included 17 patients (12 females and 5 males; average age 16 years and 3 months) who presented with transverse space deficits and pronounced dental crowding. Baseline and final mandibular casts reflecting the situations before and after 6 weeks of median distraction therapy were created, scanned, and matched via their coordinate systems. Perpendiculars were drawn at the geometric centers between the cusp tips of teeth 36 and 46 and projected against the frontal plane. The intersection angles yielded single-tooth and total inclination values for both molars, and the difference between the intermolar distances measured at the geometric centers of both teeth provided the amount of transverse expansion. RESULTS: An intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of >0.99 was obtained in a series of three measurements. After distraction treatment, the total inclination values between teeth 36 and 46 changed by +2.93 ± 9.14°. The corresponding single-tooth inclinations changed by +0.68 ± 6.32° and -2.25 ± 4.33°, respectively. Both molars underwent similar degrees of buccal or lingual tipping. Compared to a mean expansion of +6.9 ± 1.83 mm at the distraction screw, a distance increase of only +3.77 ± 1.27 mm along the transversal connecting teeth 36 and 46 was recorded. Pearson's correlation coefficient was 0.336 between total tipping and intermolar expansion (p=0.187) and -0.426 between total tipping and patient age (p=0.088). CONCLUSION: Expansion amounts were approximately twice as long at the expansion screw as between the first molars. This V-shaped expansion pattern was due to the hinged connections between each expansion screw and the full-coverage splints. The buccal and lingual tipping of molars measured may be due to varying heights of the posterior alveolar ridge during mixed dentition or to anatomy-related differences in the expansion-screw position. In all cases we observed a mainly parallel opening of the distraction gap on the vertical plane.

Rapid maxillary expansion screws on the test bench--a pilot study.

In order to apply high, short-term forces during rapid maxillary expansion (RME) to the sutures of the maxilla with minimum loss of force and without causing unwanted side-effects (dentoalveolar tipping, etc.), the appliance should be as rigid as possible. The retention arms of the RME screws, representing a particularly vulnerable and stressed weak point of RME appliances, were the focus of this laboratory technical study. Retention arms of 16 types of RME screws comprising four arms and one with eight arms were examined using a three-point bending test. According to their ability to absorb the applied bending loads, the screws were classified in product groups from 1 (highest) to 6 (lowest). Fifteen of the tested retention arms (stainless steel), despite having the same diameter (1.48-1.49 mm), differed up to 69.81 per cent between the highest (288.0 N) and lowest (169.6 N) maximum force parameters and up to 66.40 per cent between the highest (3325.9 N/mm(2)) and lowest (1998.7 N/mm(2)) maximum bending stress parameters. Due to optimum formability, though reduced rigidity, a titanium screw for nickel-sensitive patients (group 6) displayed the lowest force and bending tension values. The stainless steel double arms of the eight-arm screw device welded on both ends displayed the highest force data. The mean ductilities of the groups with the most and least rigid single steel arms differed by 22.77 per cent. Statistical analysis using the Pearson correlation coefficient revealed a significant indirect correlation between ductility and both maximum force (r = -0.780, P < 0.001) and maximum bending stress (r = -0.778, P < 0.001). The SUPERscrews, the Tiger Dental four-arm screw (group 1), and the eight-arm screw displayed the highest capacity to absorb an applied bending load. The screws in groups 3-6 appear acceptable for RME during the pre-pubertal period, whereas in the pubertal and post-pubertal period, groups 1 and 2 are sufficient. In early adulthood only the screws in group 1 and especially the eight-arm screw seem advisable, as mechanical demands increase with age.