An analysis of the dental arch and skeletal characteristics in adult patients exhibiting open bite

Lee, Jin Woo

Abstract

It is the purpose of this study to characterize oral symptoms and to comprehend the cause and the relapse possibility of patients with open bite. This case study examines the orthodontic treatment of a group of female patients with open bite and Angle's Class I malocclusion. A cephalograph of the patient was taken and tracing of the radiograph was completed. In addition to Bjork and Ricketts analysis, additional measurements of specific areas were taken. The occlusal plane was determined by drawing a line connecting the mesiobuccal cusp tip of the maxillary first molar and the incisal edge of the maxillary central incisors. Patients were divided into two groups depending on the relationship between the marginal ridge of the maxillary first premolar and the drawn line. Those patients with marginal ridges above the occlusal plane were placed into Group 1, while Group 2 subjects exhibited marginal ridges lower than the occlusal plane. The common characteristics within each group and the characteristic differences between each group both prior to and after orthodontic treatment were examined, and finally, the functional oral volume of each patient was analyzed. The results of the case study were as follows: 1. An examination of the skeletal relationship and anatomical form for both Group 1 and 2 showed that all subjects exhibited hyperdivergent skeletal forms, but Group 2 subjects generally demonstrated underdevelopment of the mandible and a smaller articular angle, resulting in an anterior positioning tendency of the mandible. 2. An analysis of the maxillary arches of Group 1 subjects prior to and after orthodontic treatment showed that the antero-inferior direction had changed to an antero-superior directional tendency, while the maxillary arches of the Group 2 patients showed a trend from an antero-superior direction to an antero-inferior relationship. The mandibular arches in both groups showed a change to an antero-superior direction. 3. Functional space analysis showed that Group 2 patients exhibited a greater tendency of having palatal planes that drop in a postero-inferior direction, resulting in a more severe open bite than their Group 1 counterparts. The results of this case study show that although patients belonging to either Group 1 or 2 exhibited few external differences in the appearance of open bite, an examination of the dental and skeletal relationships by analyzing patient cephalographs showed that patients presenting with flat maxillary occlusal planes exhibited more severe open bite relationships than patients with curved occlusal planes.