Short Root Anomaly in a Hispanic Population: Risk for Orthodontic Root Resorption

INTRODUCTION: One of the most common side effects of orthodontic treatment is root resorption, a reactive process in which the length of the dental roots become progressively shortened during treatment. A phenomenon of developmentally-short dental roots, known as Short Root Anomaly (SRA) has been observed in many orthodontic patients of Hispanic descent in the UIC Orthodontic clinic. Studies have reported a predisposition to root resorption in Caucasian patients with developmentally short roots. While the presentation of SRA in Hispanic patients has been described previously, it is not known if this population is predisposed to increased orthodontic root resorption. METHODS: Maxillary and mandibular central and lateral incisors and second premolars of 40 Hispanic patients with SRA (19 male, 21 female) and 40 Caucasian patients (19 male, 21 female), matched for age and extractions, were evaluated for root resorption following comprehensive orthodontic treatment. Panoramic radiographs were measured digitally and relative root length was calculated before and after orthodontic treatment. RESULTS: The results from paired sample t-tests demonstrate that, while there was statistically significant root resorption in the control group following comprehensive orthodontic treatment, orthodontic root resorption was not significant in the Hispanic group (P> 0.05). When genders were separated, Hispanic females did experience a mild degree of root resorption in the upper incisors. Caucasian females experienced greater root resorption than Caucasian males. CONCLUSION: These data indicate that Hispanic SRA patients may be safely treated with orthodontics and could be at no more risk of root resorption than Caucasian patients with normal initial root length. Although more studies are needed, these findings can be used in making educated treatment decisions regarding this specialized population of orthodontic patients. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to evaluate the response of Hispanic patients with SRA to orthodontic treatment.