Timing of Myofunctional Appliance Therapy

OBJECTIVE: To identify the stage of skeletal maturity, as depicted by the Cervical Vertebrae Maturity Index at which the maximal response to myofunctional therapy could be expected. DESIGN: The soft copies of pre and post treatment lateral cephalometric radiographs of the sample comprising of 48 subjects, on myofunctional therapy, were traced on 'Nemotec Dental Studio NX'software. Three groups were formed based on the stages of skeletal maturity and comparison was done. RESULTS: The treated samples were compared with control samples consisting of subjects with untreated Class II malocclusions, also selected on the basis of stages in cervical vertebrae maturation. Inter-group comparison of the treated samples revealed statistically significant changes in Group II (Stages 3 to 4 of Cervical Vertebrae Maturity Index). CONCLUSION: Maximum response to myofunctional therapy can be expected in patients during the stages 3 to 4 of cervical vertebrae maturation index, i.e., during or slightly after the pubertal peak.