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Review
. 2023 Nov 17;10(11):1821.
doi: 10.3390/children10111821.

Elastodontic Appliances for the Interception of Malocclusion in Children: A Systematic Narrative Hybrid Review

Vincenzo Ronsivalle  1 , Ludovica Nucci  2 , Nicolò Bua  1 , Giuseppe Palazzo  1 , Salvatore La Rosa  1
Affiliations
Review

Elastodontic Appliances for the Interception of Malocclusion in Children: A Systematic Narrative Hybrid Review

Vincenzo Ronsivalle et al. Children (Basel). .

Abstract

Background: Interceptive orthodontic treatment aims to eliminate factors that prevent the harmonious development of the maxillary and mandibular arches during childhood, and elastodontic appliances (EAs) represent a group of devices with an increasingly important role. This systematic narrative hybrid review (HR) aims to provide an overview of the clinical indications for the use of EAs according to the available evidence and to identify potential research areas for unexplored applications.

Materials and methods: To assess the available literature on the subject, selective database searches were performed between July 2023 and September 2023. With the assistance of a health sciences librarian, a search strategy that utilized terms related to elastodontic therapy was developed. Embase, Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science were the databases used.

Results: The current literature addressing the usability of EAs is scarce and mostly limited to case reports and case series. After 2168 citations were found through the searches, 13 studies were ultimately included. In this regard, information about the clinical use and effectiveness of EAs are reported in a narrative form, defining specific domains of the application that are clinically oriented, including sagittal and transversal discrepancies, atypical swallowing, teeth malposition, two-phase orthodontics and a lack of teeth retention.

Conclusions: Within the intrinsic quality limitation of the available literature, it seems that EAs may represent a promising treatment alternative for managing mild-to-moderate malocclusion in children as an adjuvant therapy to the interruption of spoiled habits.

Keywords: elastodontics; interceptive ortodontics; narrative review; pediatric dentistry.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart of the study selection.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Elastodontic device in a female class III patient (a mean age of 6 years old) with anterior cross bite. (A) Lateral view of the patient with the elastodontic device. (B) Frontal view of teeth before treatment. (C) Profile view before treatment. (D) Lateral view of teeth before treatment.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Elastodontic device in a female class II patient (mean age 6 years old) with crowding and high overjet and overbite. (A) Lateral view of the patient with the elastodontic device. (B) Frontal view of teeth before treatment. (C) Profile view before treatment. (D) Lateral view of teeth before treatment.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Elastodontic device in a female class II patient (mean age 8 years old) with atypical swallowing. (A) Frontal view of the elastodontic device in the mouth. (B) Frontal view of the teeth before treatment. (C) Frontal view of the patient before treatment. (D) Lateral view of the teeth before treatment.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Elastodontic device in a male patient (mean age 7 years old) with atypical swallowing and hyperdivergence. (A) Frontal view of the patient before treatment. (B) Frontal view of the elastodontic device in the mouth. (C) Frontal view of the teeth before treatment. (D) Lateral view of the teeth before treatment.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Elastodontic device in a female patient (mean age 8 years old) with teeth malposition. (A) Frontal view of the patient before treatment. (B) Frontal view of the teeth before treatment. (C) Lateral view of the teeth before treatment. (D) Frontal view of the elastodontic device in the mouth.
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