Objectives: To evaluate the quantitative effects of miniscrew supported appliances for maxillary molar distalization in Class II malocclusion.
Materials and methods: The systematic search included MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsychINFO, Scopus, and key journals and review articles. The date of the last search was January 30, 2017. Methodological quality of the retrospective studies was graded by means of the Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies, developed for the Effective Public Health Practice Project (EPHPP) and prospective studies by means of Newcastle-Ottawa Scale.
Results: In total, 298 studies were identified for screening, and 14 studies were eligible. The Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies rated all of the four included retrospective studies as moderate. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale rated seven studies as high quality and three studies as low quality. The mean molar distalization values varied from 1.8 mm to 6.4 mm. Mean distal tipping of molars varied from 1.65° to 11.3°. The mean distal movement of premolars and incisors varied from 1.75 mm to 5.4 mm and 0.1 mm to 2.7 mm, respectively.
Conclusions: Miniscrew-supported appliances are effective in molar distalization with distal movement of premolars with minimal anchorage loss and distal tipping of the molar teeth.
Keywords: Class II malocclusion; Miniscrew; Molar distalization; Systematic review.