A Protocol for Treatment of Minor Orthodontic Relapse During Retention.

OBJECTIVES: Successful orthodontic treatment presupposes that the esthetic and functional outcomes are maintained. Bonded retainers on the incisors and canines provide this stability. Failure of one or two units exposes the teeth to a relapse. This article describes the use of a retainer wire and an elastic device to provide rapid, effective and esthetic correction of incipient crowding.

CLINICAL ASPECTS: After removing the retainer, a fixed appliance comprising a replacement retainer and a clear elastic are positioned. This device exerts a free tipping force on malpositioned teeth. The space required to realign the contact points is obtained by stripping. When the misaligned teeth are corrected, they are bonded to the retainer and the height of the incisal edges is equalized.

CONCLUSIONS: The combination of a new elastic-activated retainer and stripping makes it possible to ensure rapid and effective correction of moderate relapsed crowding.

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: This article demonstrates the efficacy of a retainer used to correct incipient relapsing crowding. The esthetics of the anterior alignment is restored by means of an almost invisible device. This solution also permits functional guidance to be restored with minimal intervention on the dental tissues while avoiding conventional esthetic techniques involving lingual brackets. (J Esthet Restor Dent 28:359-366,2016).