Comparison of the skeletodental effects of miniscrew-anchored and tooth-anchored facemask treatment in growing patients with skeletal class III malocclusions.

Introduction: This retrospective study aimed to evaluate the skeletal and dental effects of the miniscrew-anchored facemask in skeletal Class III growing patients and compare them with those of conventional tooth-anchored facemasks.

Methods: Retrospectively a total of 50 patients with skeletal Class III (mean ANB: -1.12°) were investigated and divided into two groups according to the treatment modality. Twenty-five patients were treated using the conventional tooth-anchored facemask (T group: mean age 9.3 ± 1.1 years, mean ANB: -0.93°) whereas the other 25 were treated using a miniscrew-anchored facemask (M group: mean age 9.7 ± 1.3 years. mean ANB: -1.61°). Two miniscrews were placed on the palate for bone anchorage. In both T and M groups, facemasks applied a force of 20-30° down on the occlusal plane, and the force increased from 200 g to 300-350 g per side throughout the treatments. The patients were instructed to wear facemasks for at least 14 h per day. A total of 16 angular and 11 linear cephalometric measurements were analysed to determine the skeletal and dental changes before and after facemask treatment. A paired t-test was used to verify the effects before and after treatment in each group.

Results: All miniscrews were well maintained during treatment. The values of SNA, SN-ANS, ANB and A to N-Perp, which indicate anterior protraction of the maxilla, were significantly higher in the M group compared with the T group (P < .05). Proclination of the maxillary incisors, extrusion and mesialization of the maxillary molars were significantly greater in the T group (P < .05).

Conclusions: Miniscrew-anchored facemask treatment increased the amount of maxillary protraction and reduced the dental side effects compared with conventional tooth-anchored facemask treatment in growing patients with skeletal Class III malocclusion.