Clinic of Orthodontics, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Lukšos-Daumanto st. 6, LT-5016, Kaunas, Lithuania.
Prog Orthod. 2017 Oct 9;18(1):31. doi: 10.1186/s40510-017-0185-x.
The objectives of this study were to evaluate retention procedures and protocols which are used by the orthodontists in Lithuania and to identify commonly used types of dental retainers.
One hundred seven questionnaires in total with 28 multiple-choice questions were sent to all members of the Lithuanian Orthodontic Society. The questionnaire was organized into eight sections representing specific information about socio-demographic status of the respondents, selection of a retention system, details of commonly used fixed and removable retainers, the duration of the retention period, supervision of the retainers, instructions for patients, and necessity of common retention guidelines.
The overall response rate was 75.7%. All of the respondents prescribed retainers after the orthodontic therapy. More than 40% of the respondents combined fixed and removable retainers in different clinical situations, but the first-choice option after an expansion of the maxillary dental arch was the removable retainer (54.3%); meanwhile, a fixed retainer was used after a correction of any rotations of the mandibular anterior teeth (49.4%). The Hawley retainer was preferred by 90.1% of the respondents for a maxillary dental arch, and 74.1% of them preferred it for a mandibular dental arch. The most preferable fixed retainer was the retainer bonded to all six anterior teeth (in the upper dental arch-by 71.6%; in the lower one-by 80.2%). There was no consensus on the duration of a retention period. Most of the orthodontists checked up retainers three times during the first year (fixed ones-by 42.0%; removable ones-by 30.0%) and once per year after the 1-year retention period (fixed ones-by 44.4%; removable ones-by 40.7%). All orthodontists gave instructions for taking care of an orthodontic retainer. It was observed that the orthodontists with less than 10 years of experience used a protocol based on the skills learned during their postgraduate studies, while orthodontists with more than 10 years of experience used retention procedures based on their orthodontic work practice (p < 0.05).
A combination of fixed and removable retainers was the most often used in an orthodontic retention. Evidence-based guidelines are desired for a common retention protocol.
本研究的目的是评估立陶宛正畸医生使用的保留程序和方案，并确定常用的牙齿保持器类型。
总共向立陶宛正畸学会的所有成员发送了 107 份问卷，共 28 个多项选择题。问卷分为八个部分，代表了受访者社会人口统计学状况的具体信息、保留系统的选择、常用固定和可移动保持器的详细信息、保留期的持续时间、保持器的监督、患者的医嘱以及常见保留指南的必要性。
总体回复率为 75.7%。所有受访者在正畸治疗后都开具了保持器。超过 40%的受访者在不同的临床情况下结合使用固定和可移动保持器，但上颌牙弓扩张后的首选保持器是可移动保持器（54.3%）；同时，下颌前牙任何旋转的矫正后使用的是固定保持器（49.4%）。上颌牙弓的受访者中有 90.1%更喜欢 Hawley 保持器，而 74.1%的人更喜欢下颌牙弓的 Hawley 保持器。最受欢迎的固定保持器是粘在上颌六个前牙上的保持器（在上牙弓中为 71.6%；在下牙弓中为 80.2%）。对于保留期的持续时间没有共识。大多数正畸医生在第一年检查保持器三次（固定保持器为 42.0%；可移动保持器为 30.0%），在 1 年保留期后每年检查一次（固定保持器为 44.4%；可移动保持器为 40.7%）。所有正畸医生都给出了佩戴正畸保持器的注意事项。观察到，经验不足 10 年的正畸医生使用基于研究生学习期间所学技能的方案，而经验超过 10 年的正畸医生则使用基于正畸工作实践的保留程序（p<0.05）。
在正畸保持中，固定和可移动保持器的组合使用最为常见。需要有循证指南来制定通用的保留方案。
