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

Date Published: 2023-11-17

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.

Introduction:
Malocclusion is defined as any alteration of the physiological relationship between dental arches with or without an irregularity of the teeth [1] and represents a condition with a high prevalence and treatment needs [2]. Some types of malocclusions are self-correcting with age, especially if they are not caused by bad habits (such as atypical swallowing or thumb sucking, or mouth breathing) or skeletal disorders that may compromise the function of the oral cavity. For the remaining part of malocclusions that do…

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