
Miltiadis A. Makrygiannakis
AUTHORS
Miltiadis A. Makrygiannakis, Dimitrios Konstantonis, Heleni Vastardis, Athanasios E. Athanasiou, Demetrios J. Halazonetis
TITLE
ALTERATIONS IN PALATAL RUGAE SHAPE FOLLOWING ORTHODONTIC TREATMENT
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND/AIMS: Palatal rugae, located on the mucosa of the hard palate, serve as significant anatomical landmarks with various applications in forensics, mini-screw insertion, and superimposition. Until now, the extent of changes in palatal rugae following orthodontic treatment remains unclear. This study aimed to examine alterations in the shape and complexity of palatal rugae following orthodontic treatment, with and without extractions.
MATERIALS & METHODS: Pre- and post-treatment plaster models of maxillae from 28 cases involving first premolar extractions (17 females, 11 males) and 33 non-extraction cases (19 females, 14 males) were digitally scanned and analyzed. Patients’ ages ranged from 10 to 29 years. A sequence of methodological steps; namely mesh cropping, ball pivoting, distance mapping, contour cropping of rugae, best-fit superimposition, and fractal dimension (FD) analysis were applied. Mean distance between corresponding pre- and post-treatment rugae outlines (indicating shape change) and disparities in pre- and post-treatment FDs (reflecting shape complexity) were computed.
RESULTS: The mean distance between pre- and post-treatment outlines was 0.415±0.117 mm and 0.302±0.13 mm for the extraction and non-extraction groups, respectively, indicating a statistically significant difference between them (p<0.001). Additionally, pre-treatment FDs averaged 1.499±0.031 for the extraction group and 1.485±0.037 for the non-extraction group, with post-treatment FDs averaging 1.498±0.04 and 1.484±0.043, respectively. Nevertheless, differences between pre- and post-treatment fractal dimensions were not significant within or between groups.
CONCLUSIONS: Palatal rugae undergo shape changes during orthodontic treatment, while their shape complexity, as assessed by fractal dimension, remains unaffected. A more pronounced effect was observed after extraction treatment in comparison to non-extraction treatment. Although these changes are minimal, caution is advised when employing rugae for superimposition and forensic dentistry purposes.