A total of 19 adult patients (1 men, 18 women; mean age: 28.7 ± 5.35years) were selected from those who started orthodontic treatment at Department of Orthodontics, School of Stomatology, The Fourth Military Medical University using Invisalign clear aligners from January 2018 to January 2021. There were 4 cases of extraction of premolars. Inclusion criteria were (1) permanent teeth, second molars erupt, (2) good compliance, every two weeks to replace the one-step aligner, wear not less than 22 hours a day, (3) good hard palate development and clear palatal rugae, (4) the crown was intact, without abnormal attrition and bad prosthesis. Exclusion criteria were (1) the morphological changes of palatine rugae caused by trauma and other reasons, (2)changes in crown shape due to restorative treatment, (3) patients with periodontal disease or who had undergone periodontal surgery. Qualified pre-treatment dental cast and post-treatment dental cast after staged treatment were made by professionals using alginate film for all cases. A total of 124 teeth were measured. This project was approved by the ethical committee of The Fourth Military Medical University Hospital of Stomatology(IRB-REV-2022047).
The Model scanner R700(3Shape, Denmark, No.Y14A004969) was used to scan pre-treatment dental cast and post-treatment dental cast after staged treatment, and the digital model was obtained in stereolithographic files[14]. The stage was divided by the main tooth movement forms in this treatment stage, such as arch expansion stage, anterior tooth retrusion stage. The digital models were imported into the MaterialiseProPlanCMF3.0 software. The pre-treatment digital model was set as a fixed object, and the stage digital model was set as a moving object, so as to carry out three-dimensional superimposition. The palatal rugae surface was selected as the mark surface for model superimposition (Fig. 1), and the superimposing model was exported. The superimposing model was then imported into Geomagic Studio 2013 (3DSystem, USA) software, and the model superimposition matching was detected using chromatographic deviation analysis (Fig. 2).
The global coordinate system was established using the Geomagic Studio 2013 (3DSystem, USA) software. The pre-treatment maxillary 3D digital model was taken as the reference model, and the origin of the coordinate system (projection of the incisive papilla on the XY plane), XY plane, ZY plane and XZ plane were positioned. X-axis, Y-axis and Z-axis represent transverse, sagittal and vertical directions respectively, as shown in Fig. 3. In the anterior area, the midpoint of the incisal ridge and the cusp of the canine were selected as measuring mark. In the posterior area, one cusp that could be clearly identified in the Invisalign Progress Assessment was selected for each posterior teeth as measuring mark. The three-dimensional coordinates (X,Y,Z) of the measuring mark before and after stage treatment were obtained, denoted as pre-stage treatment (T0) and post-stage treatment (T1), and their coordinate differences (ΔX = XT1 -XT0,ΔY = YT1-YT0,ΔZ = ZT1-ZT0) represented the three-dimensional displacement of the measuring mark after stage treatment[15]. Calculate the projection movement data of measuring mark on the XY plane (ΔLXY=√(ΔX²+ΔY²)), which represented the actual tooth movement data in horizontal plane. The distance between the cusp of the two sides of the maxillary and mandibular canine was the width of intercanine, and the distance between the most protruding points of the buccal surface of the first molars was the width of intermolar.
After a period of treatment, stage dental casts were taken during the follow-up visit of patients, and oral scan was performed to obtain the digital model of the current dentition, then the oral scan data were uploaded into Invisalign Progress Assessment. The model analysis data in Invisalign Progress Assessment were recorded, and the model was adjusted to the same Angle of XY plane of the actual model superimposition, then screenshots were taken to obtain the horizontal plane image of maxillary dentition. Image analysis software ImageJ (National Institutes of Health, USA) was used to measure the horizontal distance of measuring mark of the maxillary teeth (Fig. 4).
The obtained data were compared with the actual tooth movement data in horizontal plane. If the Invisalign Progress Assessment showed that the tooth movement direction was opposite to the actual measurement, the tooth movement data in horizontal plane measured by ImageJ was recorded as negative.
The measurement indexes and grouping are as follows. Invisalign Progress Assessment shows the horizontal movement distance of maxillary, denoted as iTero group; Actual tooth movement distance in horizontal plane of maxillary, denoted as AM(Actual Movement) group; Maxillary intercanine width in Invisalign Progress Assessment, denoted as A1 group; Maxillary intercanine width of actual measured values, denoted as A2 group; Maxillary intermolar width in Invisalign Progress Assessment, denoted as B1 group; Maxillary intermolar width of actual measured values, denoted as B2 group; Mandibular intercanine width in Invisalign Progress Assessment, denoted as C1 group; Mandibular intercanine width of actual measured values, denoted as C2 group; Mandibular intermolar width in Invisalign Progress Assessment, denoted as D1 group; Mandibular intermolar width of actual measured values, denoted as D2 group.
Statistical Analysis
SPSS22.0 statistical software was used for statistical analysis. All models were measured by the same person. Two weeks later, 20% of patients were randomly selected and re-measured, and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used for consistency analysis. K-S normality test was performed on all data, P<0.05 indicated that this group of data did not obey normal distribution (Table 1). As shown in the Table 1, iTero group and AM group do not obey normal distribution, so Wilcoxon rank-sum test was used for iTero group and AM group, and t-test of paired samples was used for other groups. Data conforming to normal distribution are expressed as mean ± standard deviation(\(\stackrel{-}{X}\)±s), and data that do not conform to the normal distribution are expressed as median (upper quartile, lower quartile). Test level α = 0.05, P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Table 1
K-S normality test for each group of data
Group
|
iTero*
|
AM*
|
A1
|
A2
|
B1
|
P-value
|
0.000
|
0.000
|
0.200
|
0.128
|
0.200
|
|
B2
|
C1
|
C2
|
D1
|
D2
|
|
0.200
|
0.200
|
0.200
|
0.082
|
0.052
|
Note: * in the table represents P < 0.05, that is, this group of data does not conform to normal distribution.