The Use of High Frequency Vibration and Clear Aligners in Management of an Adult Patient with Class III Skeletal Malocclusion with Open Bite and Severe Bimaxillary Protrusion: Case Report

Abstract

Adult orthodontic patients with skeletal Class III malocclusion, open bite and bimaxillary dentoalveolar protrusion are complex problems that normally require surgical intervention to correct. This is a report of an adult female with a skeletal Class III jaw relationship; in addition, the patient had anterior open bite and bimaxillary dentoalveolar protrusion. The patient also had three premolars in the lower left quadrant. Treatment involved extracting the extra premolar distal to lower left canine, retraction of lower anterior teeth, closing extraction space and anterior open bite utilizing Invisalign clear aligners. The patient initially changed aligners every week before this was changed to 3–5 days after starting to use a high frequency vibration (HFV = 120 Hz) device. Satisfactory results were achieved in a relatively shorter period. Comparing before and after treatment cone beam computed tomography revealed that new bone has been formed labial to the lower incisors after their retraction/correction of their initial proclined position and the use of HFV and myofunctional therapy without gingival graft. The present case report shows the comprehensive multidisciplinary team approach in treatment for such cases and the advantage of using HFV to improve bone formation.