Removable orthodontic appliance with nickel-titanium spring to reposition the upper incisors in an autistic patient.

A newly designed removable appliance with a shape-memory wire was used for the orthodontic treatment of the anterior teeth in an 11-year-old child who had autism and intellectual disability. The device was designed to reduce the lateral incisor crossbite and the central incisors' labial rotation. The child was treated for 1 year with this removable appliance. Tooth movement was analyzed using cephalograms and surface data were derived from study models. This device proved to be very durable. The lateral incisor crossbite was corrected, and the inclination of the upper central incisors and the interincisal angle were improved. This appliance exerts light and continuous orthodontic force, without requiring any adjustments of the spring wire. The appliance also facilitated orthodontic treatment in a child with intellectual disability in whom treatment with a standard orthodontic device would be unsuitable. ©2012 Special Care Dentistry Association and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.