Digital radiographic evaluation of root resorption during orthodontic treatment. An in vivo study

Resumo

To present two null hypothesis: (1) The absence of orthodontically induced inflammatory root resorption (OIEARR) in maxillary incisors during orthodontic treatment indicates that it does not occur in other teeth. (2) The teeth that don’t present root resorption at the first 6 months of orthodontic treatment, they will not present until the end of treatment. Material and methods: Digital periapical X-rays of 37 patients. The periapical radiographs were evaluated following phase alignment and leveling (time 1), and at the end of orthodontic treatment (time 2). Results: Despite OIEARR was not evident in the maxillary incisors, Grade 4 resorption was evident in the maxillary and mandibular teeth. The only teeth which showed statistical significance for the incidence of OIEARR were the maxillary lateral incisors and the mandibular incisors during both periods (p<0.05). Conclusion: The null hypothesis (1) was rejected, because there was OIEARR in the other teeth despite it doesn’t occur in the maxillary and mandibular incisor. The second hypothesis (2) was also rejected because there were teeth that did not present OIEARR at 6 months after the beginning of treatment and presented at the end. There was no relationship among root shape, sex, age and OIEARR; but the greater degree of crowding, the greater tendency of OIEARR.