Abstract:

Objective  This study was performed to determine the feasibility of digital virtual positioning of braces in clinical applications. Methods  We determined the positions of brackets in 28 teeth of 15 cases according to positioning methods that use bracket height or root information. Final status was generated by OrthoRx software. Treatment results were assessed with American board of orthodontics objective grading system (ABO-OGS). Results  The deduction points in the marginal ridge height were significantly decreased after treatment using the two methods (P<0.05). However, no statistically significant difference was found in the deduction points in the marginal ridge height between the two methods (P>0.05). No improvement was found in the deduction points in root parallelism with both methods. No statistical significance was found in the deduction points in root parallelism before and after treatments using both methods. The deduction points in alignment and the three scoring components were significantly decreased after treatment using the two positioning methods. In addition, statistically significant differences were found in the deduction points in alignment between two methods (P<0.05). Conclusion  By using OrthoRx software, we achieved effective therapeutic treatment in reconstructing three-dimensional digital modes using two different bracket-positioning methods. The positioning method that used root information is more accurate compared with the bracket height positioning method. This study provides an experimental basis for bracket accuracy in the mouth.

Key words: bracket positioning, American board of orthodontics objective grading system, indirect bonding, self-ligating brackets