Effects of tongue tamers and customized bonded spurs as an early treatment of anterior open bite: a randomized clinical study

BackgroundAnterior open bite is a challenging condition for pediatric dentists and orthodontists as it causes aesthetic, speech, feeding, and psychological problems; this emphasizes the need for early diagnosis and interception of this malocclusion.AimThis study aimed to evaluate the effects of prefabricated metal-bonded tongue tamers and customized bonded spurs in the early treatment of anterior open bite.Materials and methodsA sample of seventy-five children aged 7-9 years were assigned into three groups in which anterior open bite was treated using tongue tamers (group-I), customized composite bonded spurs(group-II), and conventional fixed palatal cribs (group-III). Study model and cephalometric x-ray evaluations were done before and after a three-month follow-up. Data was gathered and statistically analyzed using ANOVA and Bonferroni tests.ResultsModel overbite at central and lateral incisors was increased in all groups. The highest increase was found in group-I(3.16 +/- 1.17, 2.81 +/- 0.94)and group-III(3.08 +/- 1.10,2.99 +/- 1.00) though the difference was not statistically significant. Also, cephalometric overbite was non-significantly increased in all groups with a high increase in group-III(3.13 +/- 1.10). Overjet decreased in all groups, with the greatest reduction observed in group-I(-2.58 +/- 1.02 and -2.47 +/- 0.80 in model and cephalometric respectively) and was significantly different from group-II using pairwise analysis. There was a decrease in SNA and ANB in all groups with more significant improvement in groups-I(-1.20 +/- 0.88,-1.65 +/- 0.74) and -III(-1.31 +/- 0.92, -1.62 +/- 0.75) than group-II(-0.63 +/- 0.46, -0.90 +/- 0.43). Moreover, FMA measurements decreased significantly in group-I (-2.6 +/- 1.11). Regarding SNB measurement, there was a non-significant increase in all three groups with the highest increase in group-I(0.49 +/- 0.48) followed by group-III(0.34 +/- 0.63). The U1/FHP and L1/GoGn angles were non-significantly decreased in all tested groups with the highest decrease in group-I(-1.76 +/- 1.00 and-2.54 +/- 0.87 respectively).ConclusionEarly treatment of anterior open bite, along with tongue tamers' simplicity and aesthetics promoted the malocclusion correction and occlusal function restoration.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov, NCT05792553, "Effects of Tongue Tamers as an Early Treatment of Anterior Open Bite", Retrospectively registered: 31/03/2023.