Objective: To compare the dental and skeletal changes in patients with Class II division 2 malocclusion treated with self-ligating and conventional bracket systems.
Methods: Forty patients with Class II division 2 malocclusion were treated non-extraction. Half of them were treated with self-ligating brackets and the others were treated with conventional brackets. The dental casts and lateral cephalometric radiophotographs were analyzed before and after treatment.
Results: Significant increase in inter premolar widths, arch lengths, U1-NA, L1-MP and arch perimeters were noted after orthodontic treatment in both groups. Statistically greater increase in upper inter-first premolar [(4.45 ± 2.60) mm] was found in self-ligating group than in conventional group [(2.41 ± 2.74) mm, P < 0.05]. Stepwise regression analysis indicated that the increase in arch length and arch width contributed to the increase in arch perimeter.
Conclusions: There were an overall increase in arch widths and lengths in patients treated with self-ligating and conventional bracktets. However, more arch width increase was found in self-ligating group than in conventional group.