title: Serial extraction: 20 years of follow-up.
abstract: This paper reports a case treated by a serial extraction program at the mixed dentition stage followed by a corrective orthodontic treatment, with a long-term follow-up period. Twenty years after the interceptive treatment, a harmonious face was observed along with treatment stability in the anterior posterior direction, deep overbite (which has been mentioned as a disadvantage of the serial extraction program), and a small relapse of anterior tooth crowding. All these conditions have been regarded as normal occurrences for most orthodontic treatments with a long-term follow-up period. This case report demonstrated that the establishment of a serial extraction protocol determined relevant esthetic changes that afforded an improvement of the patient's self-esteem, with a positive social impact. Furthermore, the low cost of this protocol permits the use of this therapy with underprivileged populations. It is important to emphasize that an early correction of tooth crowding by this protocol does not guarantee stability, but small relapses do not invalidate its accomplishment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthodontics, University of North Paraná, Londrina, PR, Brazil.
authors.forename: Renato Rodrigues de
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Almeida
authors.forename: Marcio Rodrigues de
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Almeida
authors.forename: Paula Vanessa Pedron
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: Oltramari-Navarro
authors.forename: Ana Cláudia de Castro Ferreira
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Conti
authors.forename: Ricardo de Lima
authors.initials: Rde L
authors.lastname: Navarro
authors.forename: Karen Regina Siqueira de
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Souza
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002985:Clinical Protocols; D003818:Dentition, Mixed; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008310:Malocclusion / Q000628:therapy; D009971:Orthodontics, Corrective / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology; D011861:Radiography, Dental; D012690:Serial Extraction / Q000379:methods*; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome