Successful closure of edentulous spaces with clear aligners (CAs) is influenced by many factors. CAs are tailored orthodontic devices whose predictability may have relevant medico-legal implications. This study presents a scoping review about missing molar space closure (MMSC) with CAs and a clinical case. This study aims to highlight the feasibility of molar space closure by mesialization with CAs without hybrid supports. Following PRISMA Sc-review guidelines, English-written randomized/non-randomized/observational clinical studies on PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane and Lilacs were searched. An 18-year-old patient, with upper and lower edentulous spaces due to the loss of two first molars, was rehabilitated with CAs (Sorridi®, Sorridi srl, Latina, Italy) without hybrid supports and attachments. The therapy was carried out over 10 months. Currently, there are no studies documenting MMSC by mesialization with only CAs. Existing articles document the closure of premolar or incisor spaces. The upper and lower left second molars replaced the missing first molars, and erupting third molars replaced adjacent teeth. The biomechanical effects in space closure with CAs related to extraction cases appear as priorities of clinical/medico-legal interest. Our case turns attention to this movement of CAs without attachments/hybrid supports, indicating that even such a complex treatment can be comfortable for patients and safely predictable for specialists.

Orthodontic space closure of extraction sites can be initiated early, within 1-week post-extraction, or it can be delayed for a month or more.
This systematic review aimed to evaluate the effect of early versus delayed initiation of space closure after tooth extraction on the rate of orthodontic tooth movement.
Unrestricted search of 10 electronic databases was conducted until September 2022.
Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating the initiation time of space closure of extraction sites in patients undergoing orthodontic treatment were included.
Data items were extracted using a pre-piloted extraction form. The Cochrane\'s risk of bias tool (ROB 2.0) and the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach were used for quality assessment. Meta-analysis was undertaken if there are at least two trials reporting the same outcome.
Eleven RCTs met the inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis revealed that early canine retraction resulted in a statistically significant higher rate of maxillary canine retraction when compared to delayed canine retraction [mean difference (MD); 0.17 mm/month, 95% CI: 0.06 to 0.28, P = 0.003, 4 RCTs, moderate quality]. Duration of space closure was shorter in the early space closure group, but not statistically significant (MD; 1.11 months, 95% CI: -0.27 to 2.49, P = 0.11, 2 RCTs, low quality). The incidence of gingival invaginations was not statistically different between early and delayed space closure groups (Odds ratio; 0.79, 95% CI: 0.27 to 2.29, 2 RCTs, P = 0.66, very low quality). Qualitative synthesis found no statistically significant differences between the two groups regarding anchorage loss, root resorption, tooth tipping, and alveolar bone height.
Based on the available evidence, early traction within the first week after tooth extraction has a minimal clinically significant effect on the rate of tooth movement compared to delayed traction. Further high-quality RCTs with standardized time points and measurement methods are still needed.
PROSPERO (CRD42022346026).

OBJECTIVE: Surgical techniques in orthodontics have received widespread attention in recent years. Meanwhile, biomaterials with high molecular content have been introduced, such as platelet concentrates (PCs), which may accelerate orthodontic tooth movement (OTM) and reduce periodontal damage. The present systematic review aimed to answer the following PICO question: \"In patients in whom orthodontic surgical techniques are performed (P), what is the effectiveness of using PCs over the surgical site (I) when compared to not placing PCs (C) to achieve faster tooth movement (O)?\"
METHODS: A search was performed in 6 databases. The criteria employed were those described in the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses declaration. The present review included studies with a control group that provided information about the influence of PCs on the rate of OTM.
RESULTS: The electronic search identified 10 studies that met the established criteria.
CONCLUSIONS: The included studies were very diverse, making it difficult to draw convincing conclusions. However, a tendency was observed for OTM to be accelerated when PCs were used as an adjuvant for canine distalization after premolar extraction when distalization was started in the same session. Likewise, studies seem to indicate an association between PC injection and the amount of canine retraction. However, it is not possible to affirm that the use of PCs in corticotomy shortens the overall treatment time, as this question has not been studied adequately.
BACKGROUND: PROSPERO Identifier: CRD42021278542.

Decreasing orthodontic treatment duration is at the forefront of innovation for clinical orthodontics. This network meta-analysis aimed to determine the relative efficacy and safety of treatments for accelerated orthodontic tooth movement (OTM) in patients undergoing extraction of maxillary first premolars followed by canine retraction in any orthodontic setting. MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane CENTRAL, CINAHL and SCOPUS were searched (from inception to 20 April 2020). Study selection and data extraction were performed in duplicate. Eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were meta-analysed to estimate the rate of tooth movement, 95% credible interval and surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) in the first 3 months following the application of the adjunctive accelerative method. Eligible RCTs were assessed by Cochrane risk of bias tool, and quality of evidence was assessed by GRADE approach, obtained from CINeMA web application. Interventions were ranked for efficacy and reviewed for safety. Nineteen studies pertaining to eight interventions, with data from 415 patients were included. Quality of evidence was very low to moderate. Very low-to low-quality evidence suggests that corticotomy is an efficacious and safe adjunctive treatment to accelerate OTM in comparison with conventional treatment in the first 2 months of treatment. Low-quality evidence suggests that piezocision and micro-osteoperforations (MOP) are efficacious and safe adjunctive treatments only in the first month of treatment. Frequent MOP in conjunction with low-level laser therapy appeared to be an efficacious and safe adjunctive treatment only in the first month following its initial application but not thereafter.

BACKGROUND: Effective management of Missing lateral incisor has remained a challenge for the clinicians. A multi-disciplinary approach involving orthodontist, restorative dental specialist, pediatric dental specialist, periodontist, oral surgeon and general dentist has proved ideal. Our aim is to review the ultimate esthetic success, and long term survival results between the orthodontic and restorative management of missing lateral incisor.
METHODS: Following the PRISMA guidelines, a systematic review of the published articles pertaining to the topic of interest was done. Searches were carried out in four different databases since February 2021 to April 2021.
RESULTS: A total of 580 references were found from searches conducted in PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane and Web of Science, and 19 articles were selected and analyzed fully, after screening the title and abstract, 6 articles were included for the study.
CONCLUSIONS: An essential orthodontic space closure in combination with modern aesthetic prosthetic tooth replacement techniques has been reported to achieve greater success.

BACKGROUND: Information about the functional and morphological consequences that occur following the premature loss of anterior teeth is still insufficient.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the consequences in children\'s speech and arch integrity following premature loss of primary anterior teeth compared to those without premature losses.
METHODS: Electronic searches were performed based on the PECO criteria. Observational studies in children (P) who suffered premature loss or extraction of primary anterior teeth (E) compared to children presenting normal occlusion development (C) and the consequences to speech and dental arch perimeter (O) were included. Risk of bias and data extraction were performed. The meta-analysis evaluated the influence of premature loss of primary anterior teeth in articulatory speech disorders (distortion, omission, and substitution) and space loss in the dental arches. Random- and fixed-effect models were used, and heterogeneity was tested. The certainty of evidence was estimated using the GRADE approach.
RESULTS: From a total of 2.234 studies, six studies were included in the qualitative synthesis, and four in speech disorders meta-analysis. Despite it was not possible to perform space loss meta-analysis due to the absence of available data, qualitative analysis showed that there was no space loss after premature loss of mandibular primary incisors; a space loss, however, could be observed in children who lost primary canines at an early stage of dental development. For speech disorders results, children who lost anterior tooth presented higher chance of suffering speech distortion, than children without tooth loss (OR 5.466 [1.689, 17.692] P = .005) with low certainty of evidence. On the other hand, there were no statistically differences between premature loss of primary anterior teeth and omission (OR (a) 1.157 [0.439, 3.049] P = .767 and (OR (b) 1.393 [0.434, 4.70] P = .577) or substitution (OR (a) 1.071 [0.581, 1.974] P = .827 and OR (b) 1.218 [0.686, 2.163] P = .5), both with very low certainty of evidence.
CONCLUSIONS: Premature loss of primary anterior teeth may affect children phonation causing speech distortion. Consequences of space loss to primary dental arch still need to be further studied. Despite the speech distortion results, included articles present low-level evidence-based quality, thus new studies should be performed.

BACKGROUND: This review aims to compare the effectiveness of en masse and two-step retraction methods during orthodontic space closure regarding anchorage preservation and anterior segment retraction and to assess their effect on the duration of treatment and root resorption.
METHODS: An electronic search for potentially eligible randomized controlled trials and prospective controlled trials was performed in five electronic databases up to July 2017. The process of study selection, data extraction, and quality assessment was performed by two reviewers independently. A narrative review is presented in addition to a quantitative synthesis of the pooled results where possible. The Cochrane risk of bias tool and the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale were used for the methodological quality assessment of the included studies.
RESULTS: Eight studies were included in the qualitative synthesis in this review. Four studies were included in the quantitative synthesis. En masse/miniscrew combination showed a statistically significant standard mean difference regarding anchorage preservation - 2.55 mm (95% CI - 2.99 to - 2.11) and the amount of upper incisor retraction - 0.38 mm (95% CI - 0.70 to - 0.06) when compared to a two-step/conventional anchorage combination. Qualitative synthesis suggested that en masse retraction requires less time than two-step retraction with no difference in the amount of root resorption.
CONCLUSIONS: Both en masse and two-step retraction methods are effective during the space closure phase. The en masse/miniscrew combination is superior to the two-step/conventional anchorage combination with regard to anchorage preservation and amount of retraction. Limited evidence suggests that anchorage reinforcement with a headgear produces similar results with both retraction methods. Limited evidence also suggests that en masse retraction may require less time and that no significant differences exist in the amount of root resorption between the two methods.

The aim of this study is to explore the effectiveness of nickel titanium closing springs (NiTi-CS) and elastomeric power chains (EPC) in orthodontic space closure and to assess the adverse periodontal effects, cost efficiency and patient-centred outcomes between both of these methods.
METHODS: An electronic search of online databases (Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus, LILACS and Web of Science), reference lists and grey literature as well as hand search were conducted without language restriction up to November/2017. Two authors blindly and in duplicate were involved in study selection, quality assessment and the extraction of data. Only randomized clinical trials (RCTs) were included. The quality of the studies was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration\'s risk of bias tool. 95% confidence intervals and mean difference for continuous data were calculated. A meta-analysis that generated a random-effect model for the comparable outcomes was conducted, and heterogeneity was measured using I2 statistic.
RESULTS: Of 187 records, 4 RCTs met the criteria and were included in the quantitative synthesis featuring 290 test quadrants. Faster space closure with NiTi-CS was observed with a mean difference of (0.20 mm/month, 95% CI: 0.12 to 0.28). Loss of anchorage appears to be similar within both groups when synthesized qualitatively. With exception to anchorage loss, secondary outcomes could not be investigated in the included trials.
CONCLUSIONS: There is a moderate quality of evidence suggesting a faster orthodontic space closure with the NiTi-CS when compared to EPC. A comparable amount of anchorage loss was observed regardless of the utilized method of space closure. Further high-quality RCTs with parallel-groups, reporting on the adverse effects and patient-centred values, are recommended.

OBJECTIVE: Self-ligating brackets (SLBs) were compared to conventional brackets (CBs) regarding their effectiveness on transversal changes and space closure, as well as the efficiency of alignment and treatment time.
METHODS: All previously published randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs) dealing with SLBs and CBs were searched via electronic databases, e.g., MEDLINE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, EMBASE, World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure. In addition, relevant journals were searched manually. Data extraction was performed independently by two reviewers and assessment of the risk of bias was executed using Cochrane Collaboration\'s tool. Discrepancies were resolved by discussion with a third reviewer. Meta-analyses were conducted using Review Manager (version 5.3).
RESULTS: A total of 976 patients in 17 RCTs were included in the study, of which 11 could be produced quantitatively and 2 showed a low risk of bias. Meta-analyses were found to favor CB for mandibular intercanine width expansion, while passive SLBs were more effective in posterior expansion. Moreover, CBs had an apparent advantage during short treatment periods. However, SLBs and CBs did not differ in closing spaces.
CONCLUSIONS: Based on current clinical evidence obtained from RCTs, SLBs do not show clinical superiority compared to CBs in expanding transversal dimensions, space closure, or orthodontic efficiency. Further high-level studies involving randomized, controlled, clinical trials are warranted to confirm these results.

BACKGROUND: Defining the best treatment for maxillary lateral incisor agenesis is a challenge. Our aim in this study was to determine, with the evidence available in the literature, the best treatment for maxillary lateral incisor agenesis in the permanent dentition, evaluating the esthetic, occlusal (functional), and periodontal results between prosthetic replacement and orthodontic space closure.
METHODS: Electronic databases (CENTRAL, PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and LILACS) were searched in September 2014 and updated in January 2015, with no restriction on language or initial date. A manual search of the reference lists of the potential studies was performed. Risk of bias was assessed by the Newcastle Ottawa Scale.
RESULTS: The search identified 2174 articles, of which 1196 were excluded because they were duplicates. Titles and abstracts of 978 articles were accessed, and 957 were excluded. In total, 21 articles were read in full, and 9 case-control studies were included after applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data were extracted from the articles selected, and a table was compiled for comparison and analysis of the results. There were no randomization and blinding, and the risk of bias evaluation found gaps in compatibility and outcome domains in almost all selected studies.
CONCLUSIONS: Tooth-supported dental prostheses of maxillary lateral incisor agenesis had worse scores in the periodontal indexes than did orthodontic space closure. Space closure is evaluated better esthetically than prosthetic replacements, and the presence or absence of a Class I relationship of the canines showed no relationship with occlusal function or with signs and symptoms of temporomandibular disorders.