A posteriori registration and subtraction of periapical radiographs for the evaluation of external apical root resorption after orthodontic treatment

Abstract

PurposeThis study employed a posteriori registration and subtraction of radiographic images to quantify the apical root resorption in maxillary permanent central incisors after orthodontic treatment, and assessed whether the external apical root resorption (EARR) was related to a range of parameters involved in the treatment.Materials and MethodsA sample of 79 patients (mean age, 13.5±2.2 years) with no history of trauma or endodontic treatment of the maxillary permanent central incisors was selected. Periapical radiographs taken before and after orthodontic treatment were digitized and imported to the Regeemy software. Based on an analysis of the posttreatment radiographs, the length of the incisors was measured using Image J software. The mean EARR was described in pixels and relative root resorption (%). The patient's age and gender, tooth extraction, use of elastics, and treatment duration were evaluated to identify possible correlations with EARR.ResultsThe mean EARR observed was 15.44±12.1 pixels (5.1% resorption). No differences in the mean EARR were observed according to patient characteristics (gender, age) or treatment parameters (use of elastics, treatment duration). The only parameter that influenced the mean EARR of a patient was the need for tooth extraction.ConclusionA posteriori registration and subtraction of periapical radiographs was a suitable method to quantify EARR after orthodontic treatment, and the need for tooth extraction increased the extent of root resorption after orthodontic treatment.

External Root Resorption after Orthodontic Treatment with Invisalign®: A Retrospective Study

“…Current samples included cases treated with aligners without relation to conventional fixed appliance cases, however other studies conducted on root resorption following orthodontic treatment with fixed conventional appliance proved compatible results. In our study, 72% of the teeth demonstrated root resorption, in agreement with a study done by Handem et al (2016) that stated root resorption will accompany fixed conventional orthodontic treatment in 50.3% of the cases, whilst according to Kreich et al (2016) all patient demonstrated a degree of root resorption on different scales. In a comparison done in 2017 by Iglesias-Linares et al (2017) concluded that patients treated with fixed conventional orthodontic treatment were as half as less susceptible to EARR compared to patients treated with removable aligners.…”

“…This study was not directed towards data differentiation on the bases of gender nor age, since previous studies reported that gender and age have no statistical significance when it comes to root resorption incidence (Iglesias-Linares et al, 2017;Kreich et al, 2016).…”