Digital Correction of Occlusal Force Imbalance: T-scan III Assessment before and after Guided Equilibration in Postorthodontic Patients

Aim: To evaluate changes in closure occlusal force distribution in postorthodontic patients before and after T-scan III-guided occlusal equilibration by comparing bilateral and quadrant percentage forces at baseline (T0), immediately postequilibration (T1), and 1 month later (T2).Materials and methods: Thirty Lebanese dental students were selected (mean age 22.7 years).The T-scan III computerized occlusal analysis system was used to record a multibite closure for each participant.The initial occlusal contact location, the bilateral percentage force distribution, the percentage force in the anterior and posterior quadrants, and the individual tooth force percentages were calculated for all participants.Three readings were recorded for each participant (T0 control group) and accordingly, occlusal equilibrium was done for each participant.A second T-scan analysis was taken immediately after occlusal equilibrium (T1 group).After 1 month, a third T-scan analysis was taken for each participant (T2 group).All three analyses were compared for differences, and a one-way ANOVA was used to analyze the differences between the three groups.Results: Analyzing the percentage distribution of occlusal forces using paired t-tests between the left and right jaw halves at three time groups.Mean occlusal forces between the left and right sides at T0 was 11.32% to be statistically significant (p = 0.0079).Regarding T1 and T2, the mean differences were found to be 2.46 and 2.11%, respectively, and found to be statistically insignificant (p = 0.3655) and (p = 0.6395).Finally, this analysis shows a statistically significant imbalance in occlusal forces favoring the right side initially, which appears to be resolved by T1 and T2 based on no statistically significant difference in means.Moreover, there was an insignificant change in occlusal forces over time in both right and left sides.Conclusion: A significant occlusal force discrepancy was found in the postorthodontic subjects.T-scan III-guided occlusal equilibrium improved the balance in occlusal forces in all participants.Digital occlusal analysis may be recommended for orthodontic case finishing, to make visible to the clinician the severity of the orthodontically created occlusal force imbalance, such that it can be minimized during orthodontic case finishing.Clinical significance: Digital occlusal analysis (T-scan III) can reveal clinically undetected postorthodontic force imbalances and guide precise equilibration.In this cohort, the mean left-right difference decreased from 11.3% at baseline to ~2% immediately and at 1 month, supporting the incorporation of computerized occlusal analysis into orthodontic case finishing to optimize bilateral force balance and functional stability.