A RADIOGRAPHIC STUDY ON THE VARIATIONS IN CANINE ANGULATION AFTER DENTO-ALVELAOR DISTRACTION WITH A RIGID MAXILLARY INTRAORAL DISTRACTOR

Introduction: Prolonged treatment time is the main problem of orthodontic patients. In order to shorten the total time of orthodontic treatment, canine retraction was introduced by dento-alveolar distraction osteogenesis. Objective: To evaluate the canine angulation using dento-alveolar distraction osteogenesis to achieve rapid canine retraction. Place and Duration: In the Orthodontic department of Dental Section Allied Hospital, Faisalabad for one-year duration from June 2019 to June 2020. Material and Method: The study sample consisted of 20 maxillary canines in 10 adult patients (mean age 19.53 years). First, premolars were removed, a custom-made rigid intraoral distractor was placed, and distraction osteogenesis was performed. Result: Complete retraction of canines was achieved in a mean time of 9.23 days with minimal loss of anchorage. The mean change in canine angle was 10.13o ± 3.44o. Canine body movements were observed with a minimum tilt of 7.11o (range 6o-8o). No radiographic or clinical complications were encountered. Conclusion: There was a significant change in angulation in canine after distraction. Keywords: canine distraction, canine rotation and angulation, dento-alveolar distraction, rigid distraction apparatu