Effect of facemask protraction on the development of impacted maxillary canines: a retrospective study.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to evaluate if maxillary protraction with facemask increases the risk of maxillary canine impaction. Materials and method: The records of 76 skeletal Class III subjects with a cervical vertebral maturation stage between CS1 and CS3 and a displaced maxillary canine were retrospectively collected. Intraoral photographs, orthopantomography and lateral cephalograms were collected, and patients were divided into three groups depending on the type of treatment received – a Rapid Palatal Expander (RPE), a RPE in conjunction with a facemask (RPE-FM), or a Class III functional appliance (FA). The patient’s records were used to determine if the maxillary canines were correctly erupted after that phase of treatment. A binary logistic regression was used to evaluate the effect of treatment modality and skeletal maturation stage on the chance of maxillary canine impaction. Results: No effect of the three different treatment modalities and of the skeletal maturation stage on the risk of canine impaction was observed. Conclusions: The protraction facemask can be used in growing skeletal Class III subjects without increasing the risks of maxillary canine displacement.