Postorthodontic dental changes: a longitudinal study.

The conventional adolescent orthodontic patient is treated during a phase of active growth, but growth of the skeletodental complex continues after treatment and into adulthood at a much slower pace. Selection of orthodontic diagnostic and treatment regimens that produce stable and esthetic dental relationships is a continual endeavor for the orthodontic specialist. Patients should be recalled for long periods of time and the results evaluated. The present longitudinal study was completed on 36 individuals, all of whom had received comprehensive orthodontic treatment. Dental changes were assessed from cephalograms for the in-treatment period (ca. 12 to 15 years of age), posttreatment to first recall (0 = 22 years of age), and first to second recall period (0 = 30 years of age). There was considerable change in the absolute locations of the teeth, but, in reality, these changes are almost wholly attributable to growth of the bony reference structures, not dental changes per se. Growth proceeded at a very slow pace after the first recall (ca. 22 to 30 years of age ). Dental relationships, eg., FMIA, IMPA, 6L angulation, exhibited no systematic change after treatment.