Occlusal contacts: comparison of orthodontic patients, posttreatment patients, and untreated controls.

Orthodontic treatment may severely alter tooth contacts during early treatment, but after its completion the number of contracts increases with settling of the occlusion. Long-term changes are sparsely documented and this investigation examined changes by comparing adequate control groups before treatment, during treatment, and several years after treatment. Although the number of contacts is gradually elevated after orthodontic treatment, the present data suggested that orthodontic patients may not realize the same number of contacts as untreated controls despite prolonged periods out of retention. The functional significance of this finding remains unknown and suggests the need for further research.