A comparative study on the alignment efficiency of a lingual system

Abstract

AIM: The Incognito lingual system is characterized by customized brackets and wires, and thus can improve patient comfort and save chair-side time for orthodontists. However, treatment efficiency has not been studied, especially for Asian patients, whose teeth are commonly of a smaller size and lingual surface area. The objective of this study was to evaluate the alignment efficiency of the Incognito lingual system in Asian patients. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: Twenty-one Asian patients treated with the Incognito lingual system were compared with a randomly selected group of 21 adult Asian patients treated with labial fixed appliances. Each arch was considered as independent, thus the sample number was 42 in both the study and control group. Two indices were used to evaluate the alignment efficiency: the treatment period (TP) was the total treatment time (months) from the date of full mouth bonding to the date when the rectangular stainless steel wire was fully engaged, and crowding release efficiency (CRE) = crowding (mm) in individual arch/corresponding TP. Statistical differences were analyzed using a t-test. RESULTS: The Incognito system showed higher CRE during the alignment stage compared with the labial straightwire appliance (2.5 ± 0.2 mm versus 1.8 ± 0.35 mm per month), and shorter TP of the alignment stage (4 6 ± 0.5 versus 6.2 ± 0.75 months). The difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The Incognito lingual system is more efficient in the alignment stage compared with commonly used labial straightwire system.