Treatment effects after maxillary total arch distalization using a modified C-palatal plate in patients with Class II malocclusion with sinus pneumatization.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the treatment effects after molar distalization using modified C-palatal plates in patients with Class II malocclusion with maxillary sinus pneumatization. METHODS: This study consisted of 70 lateral cephalograms derived from cone-beam computerized tomography images of 35 patients with Class II malocclusion (mean age 22.3 +/- 7.4 years) who had undergone bilateral total arch distalization of the maxillary dentition using modified C-palatal plates. The samples were divided into 2 groups according to sinus pneumatization; group 1 (n = 40), cephalograms with sinus pneumatization and group 2 (n = 30) cephalograms without sinus pneumatization. Paired t tests and independent-sample t tests were used to compare the changes in each group and between groups. RESULTS: The distal movement of the maxillary first molars was 4.3 mm for group 1 and 3.5 mm for group 2, with the intrusion of 1.4 mm and 2.5 mm, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between the 2 groups. Group 1 showed 3.5 degrees of distal tipping of the maxillary second molars, which was significantly greater than the 0.2 degrees in group 2 (P <0.05). The total treatment period, including distalization, was 2.2 years for group 1 and 1.9 years for group 2, but the difference was not significant. CONCLUSIONS: There was no significant difference in the amount of distal movement and intrusion of the maxillary first molars between groups 1 and 2. Therefore, these results suggest that regardless of sinus pneumatization, molar distalization using temporary skeletal anchorage devices in Class II patients can be performed as a nonextraction treatment.