Assessment of anchorage loss with conventional versus contemporary method of intraoral anchorage: A prospective clinical study

Background: Anchorage control is a major concern in the design of orthodontic treatment planning. Even the best known methods to reinforce the anchorage result in taxing of the anchor unit. Control of anchorage is primarily important in “critical anchorage” situations where no anchor loss is acceptable. Temporary anchorage devices (TADs) offer to solve one of our greatest dilemmas of “anchorage control” and have been compared in this study with conventional intraoral anchorage in situ. Materials and Methods: The study involved a total of 60 subjects; 26 males and 34 females with a mean age of 16.7 years having Angle's Class I malocclusion with severe crowding who were divided randomly into two groups; Group A - TADs and Group B - Nance palatal button (NPB) for anchorage preparation. Amount of anchor loss was determined at maxillary first molar using the pre- and post-treatment lateral cephalograms. Results: The mean range of difference between pre- and post-values of the maxillary molar position in Group A was 0.02–0.09 mm (P = 0.005) and in Group B was 1.18–1.26 mm (P = 0.0001). Hence, the anchorage loss during the initial phase of leveling and alignment was approximately 1.22 mm with the use of NPB and minimal when TADs were placed and engaged before leveling and alignment. Conclusion: Minimal mesial movement of the maxillary first molars was observed when TADs were placed and engaged before leveling and alignment, thus proving their efficacy in maximum anchorage situations.