FREQUENCY OF ROOT RESORPTION AFTER FIRST SIX MONTHS OF ACTIVE ORTHODONTIC TREATMENT

Introduction: External apical root resorption is a common clinical complication of orthodontic treatment,characterized by permanent shortening of the end of the tooth root that can be seen on routine dental radiographs.Root resorption can be detected on radiographs after inital 5-6 months of orthodontic treatment. This study wasaimed to determine the frequency of root resorption of maxillary incisors and mandibular incisors after the first sixmonths of orthodontic treatment . Material and Methods: This Quasi-experimental study was carried out atDepartment of Orthodontics, Altamash Institute of Dental Medicine, Karachi. Non-probability purposive samplingtechnique was used. Eighty five patients with age ranging from 18 – 25 years were selected. Periapical radiographs,using paralleling technique were taken before the start of treatment and at the end of the study period (after 6 months)and inciso-apical length of all the incisors were measured using vernier caliper. Results: In upper incisors, 47patients showed minimal root resorption, 32 patients showed acceptable while 6 patients showed non acceptable root resorption. In lower incisors, 42 patients showed minimal, 37 patients showed acceptable and 6 patients showed nonacceptable root resorption. Significant association between age and resorption was seen in upper and lower incisors Conclusion: Root resorption can be observed during the early stages of orthodontic treatment. More root resorption was seen in patients above 21 years of age, while greater number of patients between 17- 20 years of age showed level 2 of root resorption in their upper and lower incisors.