WALA ridge changes in orthodontic patients treated with conventional fixed appliances and Damon self-ligating appliances

<p> </p><p> </p><p><bold>ABSTRACT</bold></p><p> </p><p><bold>Objectives:</bold> To evaluate and compare the changes in the WALA ridge and the distance from the FA point to the WALA ridge in the mandibular arch of patients treated with a conventional fixed appliance and a Damon self-ligating appliance. </p><p> </p><p><bold>Materials and Methods:</bold> The investigation included pre- and post-treatment mandibular study models of 63 subjects, with 33 subjects in Group I (MBT prescription) and 30 subjects in Group 2 (Damon Self-Ligating appliance). Reference planes were generated on the maxillary study model and the WALA ridge, and FA points were marked on the mandibular models. Scanning of models was performed using a 3-dimensional laser scanner. The changes in WALA ridge position and the distances between the FA point and the WALA ridge were assessed using a dental cast analysis software.</p><p> </p><p><bold>Results:</bold> There was a significantly greater increase in WALA ridge dimensions in Group 2 (<italic>P</italic><0.001) relative to Group 1. Intergroup comparison of changes in FA-WALA distances revealed buccal movement of all teeth in Group 1, except for the central incisor and first premolar. In contrast, buccal movement was noted only in the first molar region in Group 2. However, this variation among the groups was not statistically significant (<italic>P</italic>>0.05).</p><p> </p><p><bold>Conclusions:</bold> There was a significant increase in WALA ridge dimensions with the Damon self-ligating appliance relative to the conventional fixed appliance, demonstrating that the WALA ridge is not immutable.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>