Department of Life, Health & Environmental Sciences, Postgraduate School of Orthodontics, University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy.
Dentistry Unit, Cittadella Hospital, Health District n. 15 Veneto Region, Cittadella (PD), Italy.
Eur J Paediatr Dent. 2018 Jun;19(2):145-150. doi: 10.23804/ejpd.2018.19.02.09.
The aim of the study was to investigate how widespread is the use of the 2 x 4 appliance among Italian general dentists and specialists in orthodontics, as well as the type of treatment employed and length of use.
We conducted a nationwide cross-sectional survey from July 14, 2016 to January 12, 2017 using an online questionnaire of 8 multiple choice questions, created by the SurveyMonkey® Company, on a population of Italian dentists and specialists in orthodontics affiliated with the Italian Society of Paediatric Dentistry (SIOI). This was made to assess how many clinicians knew and used this device in their clinical practice. We included 200 Italian dentists, 99 specialists in orthodontics and 101 general dentists of a mean age of 45 ± 15 years.
Results show that 93.94% of orthodontists have knowledge of and use this device in their clinical practice, while only 51.49% of the general dentists have knowledge of and use it (p<0.001). The 51.92% of dentists and the 52.13% of orthodontists used the 2x4 appliance to treat both space management and incorrect overjet. Most of general dentists and orthodontists combined the 2x4 appliance with pre-adjusted brackets and accessory components such as coil springs and power chains. While most of dentists (45.90%) used the 2x4 in association with appliances for space management, most of specialists (46.15%) applied the 2×4 in combination with both appliances for space management and high-pull headgear. Statistically significant differences were found also for the answers to the question "what is the average time of treatment?" among general dentists: the 32.79% used the 2 x 4 for less than 6 months of treatment, and the 67.21% used the 2 x 4 for more than 6 months of treatment. On the other hand 49.46% of orthodontists used the 2 x 4 for less than 6 months of treatment, and 50.54% of them for more than 6 months of treatment (p=0.041).
We conclude that the 2 x 4 appliance is widespread among orthodontists and about half of the general dentists, 93.94% and 51.49% (p<0.001) respectively. We found that 67.21% of general dentists used the 2 x 4 for a more than 6 months of treatment. As far as the orthodontists, 49.46% used the device for less than 6 months of treatment and 50.54% of them for more than 6 months of treatment. These differences were statistically significant (p=0.041).
本研究旨在调查意大利普通牙医和正畸专家对 2×4 矫治器的使用情况及其治疗类型和使用时间。
我们于 2016 年 7 月 14 日至 2017 年 1 月 12 日期间，通过 SurveyMonkey®公司创建的 8 个多项选择题的在线问卷，对意大利儿童牙科协会（SIOI）的意大利牙医和正畸专家进行了一项全国性横断面调查，以评估有多少临床医生在他们的临床实践中了解和使用这种设备。我们纳入了 200 名意大利牙医、99 名正畸专家和 101 名普通牙医，平均年龄为 45±15 岁。
结果显示，93.94%的正畸医生在临床实践中了解并使用该设备，而只有 51.49%的普通牙医了解并使用该设备（p<0.001）。51.92%的牙医和 52.13%的正畸医生使用 2x4 矫治器来治疗间隙管理和不正确的覆𬌗。大多数普通牙医和正畸医生将 2x4 矫治器与预调整托槽和附件组件（如螺旋弹簧和动力链）结合使用。虽然大多数牙医（45.90%）将 2x4 与间隙管理器具一起使用，但大多数专家（46.15%）将 2×4 与间隙管理器具和高拉力头帽结合使用。普通牙医对“治疗平均时间是多久？”这一问题的回答也存在显著差异：32.79%的人使用 2x4 的治疗时间少于 6 个月，67.21%的人使用 2x4 的治疗时间超过 6 个月。另一方面，49.46%的正畸医生使用 2x4 的治疗时间少于 6 个月，50.54%的人使用 2x4 的治疗时间超过 6 个月（p=0.041）。
我们得出的结论是，2x4 矫治器在正畸医生中很常见，大约有一半的普通牙医（分别为 93.94%和 51.49%（p<0.001））了解并使用它。我们发现，67.21%的普通牙医使用 2x4 的治疗时间超过 6 个月。至于正畸医生，49.46%的人使用该设备的治疗时间少于 6 个月，而 50.54%的人使用该设备的治疗时间超过 6 个月。这些差异具有统计学意义（p=0.041）。
