Avaliação da dimensão fractal da estrutura dentária e do osso alveolar adjacente de incisivos maxilares com e sem reabsorção radicular do mesmo pacienteo ortodôntico

Abstract

Introduction: Apical root resorption (ARR) is a common consequence of the orthodontic treatment. Its etiology is multifactorial but has not yet been entirely clarified. The fractal dimension analysis is a quantitative method that describes and caracterizes the complexity of images or, more precisely, their textural composition. Objective: The aim of this observational cross-sectional study was to assess the quality of the dental tissue and the adjacent bone of the root apical third of maxillary incisors with ARR in patients under orthodontic treatment by determining the fractal dimension in cone beam computed tomography images and compare them with the images of the corresponding contralateral teeth without ARR in the same individual. Methodology: The study sample consisted of 20 patients under orthodontic treatment with edgewise appliance, who presented apical root resorption in a maxillary incisor (experimental group) and absence of root resorption in the corresponding contralateral incisor (control group), identified through routine periapical dental radiographs. The fractal dimension of two regions in the apical third of the root and four in the adjacent alveolar bone of incisors with ARR and their contralateral teeth without ARR was determined and compared. Results: In all bone and dental regions evaluated, except the coronal slice of the apical third of the root, the incisors without ARR had higher FD values than incisors with ARR, but there was no significant difference. Conclusion: No statistical difference was found between the quality of the radicular and bone tissues of the apical region of the maxillary incisors with and without apical root resorption of the same orthodontic patient.