A Three Dimensional Assessment of the Treatment Success of Impacted Permanent Maxillary Canines

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the treatment success of impacted permanent maxillary canines using cone-beam computed tomography. The primary objectives were: 1) to utilize a novel method to localize the precise position of impacted maxillary canines using CBCT images, 2) to quantify the predicted difficulty of each impacted canine, 3) and to compare this experimental group’s duration of treatment to control groups. The treatment group consisted of 17 patients with unilateral or bilateral maxillary canine impaction who had initial and progress CBCT scans taken and were treated with SureSmileTM in a private practice setting. Three planes were constructed on each image using stable skeletal landmarks. Linear and angular measurements were recorded for the initial and progress CBCT images. The treatment duration of the treatment group was compared to that of impaction and non-impaction controls. This study concludes that the initial vertical distance of the apex was moderately correlated to duration of treatment. The frontal view angle between the long axis of the tooth and sagittal axis was also moderately correlated with both duration of alignment and duration of treatment. The treatment group had significantly shorter treatment duration than all of the canine impaction controls and all but two of the non-impaction controls. Further research is necessary to determine the cause of these findings.