IMPACT OF ORTHODONTIC TREATMENT ON ALVEOLAR BONE THICKNESS USING CBCTS: A META ANALYSIS

AIM: To survey challenges in alveolar bone thickness around the orthodontically treated teeth estimated with CBCT. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An electronic hunt was directed in PubMed, Scopus, Embase and Cochrane Library, utilizing search terms, with no restriction on distribution date, up to July 2020. The articles chose for examination included randomized controlled trials, case-control studies and cohort investigations of patients treated with fixed orthodontic appliance, which had estimated alveolar bone thickness with CBCT when treated. RESULTS: Out of 150 articles, only 50 were related to the subject. After proper title and abstract reading, only 9 articles were found to be fit for the meta-analysis. All the articles were found to be of medium quality with the change in alveolar bone thickness around cervical third in labial portion of the teeth, presenting increases of 0.4-0.64 mm with considerable results on the palatal sides. CONCLUSION: On patients experiencing diverse orthodontic treatment strategies, there was a noteworthy decrease in bone thickness, for the most part on the palatal side. These findings were significant and must be considered in determination and arranging of tooth development, so as to forestall the event of dehiscence and fenestration in alveolar bone. KEYWORDS: Alveolar Bone Thickness, CBCT, Orthodontic Treatment, Thickness