Upper Lateral Incisor Agenesis, orthodontic treatment and temporomandibular disorders [Agenesia degli incisivi laterali superiori, trattamento ortodontico e disordini temporomandibolari]

Objectives. Many authors agree that orthodontic treatment should be considered the gold standard for Upper Lateral Incisor Agenesis (ULIA) rehabilitative options. However negative effects, such as Temporo-Mandibular Disorders (TMD), have been postulated as a long term outcome of orthodontic cuspid mesialization. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the null hypothesis that orthodontic treatment of ULIA does not have any effect on the score of the four sections of Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP) questionnaire for TMD. Materials and methods. The study group consisted of 10 randomly selected patients affected by ULIA and treated with orthodontic space closure (Group A). The control groups were: 10 orthodontic patients without ULIA (Group B), 10 ULIA patients prosthodontically treated with Fixed Partial Dentures (FPD) or single tooth implants (Group C) and 10 patients not orthodontically treated (Group D). Statistical analysis was made using Kruskal-Wallis test (non-parametric ANOVA) and Dunn's multiple comparison test. Results and conclusions. There was no statistically significant difference between study group and control groups. It was confirmed the hypothesis that orthodontic treatment of ULIA does not have any effect on the score of the four sections of OHIP questionnaire found related to TMD.