Dentoskeletal effects produced by removable palatal crib, bonded spurs, and chincup therapy in growing children with anterior open bite.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the dentoskeletal effects of different anterior open bite treatment modalities in children. MATERIALS AND METHODS This cephalometric study assessed changes resulting from different treatment approaches on 77 growing children with anterior open bite. A control group (n = 30) was used for comparison. Lateral cephalograms were available before treatment and after 12 months. The sample was divided into four groups: removable palatal crib associated with a chincup (G1), bonded spurs associated with a chincup (G2), chincup (G3), and nontreated control (G4). Statistical comparisons among the four groups were performed on T1 and the treatment changes using analysis of variance with Tukey's post hoc tests. RESULTS No statistically significant changes in skeletal variables were found among the groups, except for lower anterior face height (LAFH) increase in G1. Overall, effects in all of the treated groups were exclusively dentoalveolar. A larger overbite (OB) increase was observed in G1 and G2 when compared with G3 and G4. The maxillary incisors in G1 showed increased palatal tipping, retrusion, and more vertical dentoalveolar development as well as increased lingual tipping among mandibular incisors. There was less vertical development of maxillary and mandibular molars in G3. CONCLUSIONS A removable palatal crib provided an improvement in OB (97.5%), followed by the bonded spurs (84.5%). Conversely, the chincup-only group did not have positive OB effects.