Treatment of Skeletal Anterior Open Bite Using Absolute Anchorage: A Case Report and Review

Background and purpose: Skeletal anchorage is a new aid for the correction of moderate anterior open bite. This study aimed at treating moderate anterior open bite using posterior intrusion via mini implants. In addition, a review of studies carried out on open bite correction using absolute anchorage was performed. Materials and methods: The following keywords were used: open bite, camouflage, extraction, surgery, bone-anchor intrusion, posterior intrusion, mini screw, mini plate, and absolute anchorage. A review of articles was performed in PubMed, Embase, Google Scholar, and Cochrane. The time span of article search was from January 2011 to April 2021. In the case presented in this study, an anterior open bite was corrected with mini implants. Results: Twelve studies were selected from 42 articles that met the initial eligibility criteria. In most studies, the reduction in mandibular plane angle (SN-GoGn and FMA) was less than 2◦ following counterclockwise rotation. But, in some studies the changes ranged between 2.3 and 3.9◦. In all studies following mandibular autorotation, facial convexity decreased, chin contour improved, and lower anterior face height decreased. Our patient also showed a decrease of 2° in the mandibular plane angle and a decrease of 1°in facial convexity. Conclusion: According to this study, intrusion of posterior teeth with the aid of moderate skeletal anchorage is a non-invasive camouflage treatment. Also, in the patient studied here it corrected overbite, improved facial appearance, and reduced the need for surgery