title: Long-term effectiveness of the continuous and the sectional archwire techniques in leveling the curve of Spee.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The correction of a deep overbite with the subsequent achievement of long-term stability is a difficult problem for orthodontists. The role of leveling the curve of Spee (COS) in bite opening and the success of orthodontic treatment has been well documented in the literature. The aim of this study was to investigate whether leveling the COS, by using 2 orthodontic treatment techniques, produces stable results on a long-term basis.
  
  
  METHODS
  We compared the long-term stability of leveling the COS with the straight-wire Alexander technique and the bioprogressive sectional-arch technique. The randomly selected subjects for this retrospective study were obtained from the private practices of Drs R. G. Alexander and Ruel Bench. Study models taken 2 months before treatment (T1), 2 months after treatment (T2), and after retention (T3) were evaluated. Measurements of the COS were made on the mandibular casts with a commercially available palatometer. Mandibular intercanine width, overbite, overjet, mandibular incisor irregularity, and mandibular arch length were also recorded.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Both techniques produced highly significant reductions in the COS (T1 to T2). Statistically significant, but clinically insignificant, postretention relapse of the COS occurred (T2 to T3). For both techniques, a statistically significant difference was seen in the incidence of the relapse of the COS between patients who were completely leveled posttreatment and those who were not. We did not find a correlation between pretreatment COS and relapse in any of the other occlusal traits studied.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthodontics, School of Dental Medicine, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14214-3008, USA. cbp@buffalo.edu
authors.forename: C Brian
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Preston
authors.forename: M Brent
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Maggard
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lampasso
authors.forename: Orfan
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Chalabi
mesh_terms: D002508:Cephalometry; D002648:Child; D003724:Dental Arch / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008312:Malocclusion, Angle Class II / Q000628:therapy*; D003765:Models, Dental; D009969:Orthodontic Wires; D009971:Orthodontics, Corrective / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D012008:Recurrence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014716:Vertical Dimension