Extraction vs no treatment: Long-term facial profile changes

• Profiles of a sample of extraction patients who were treated 25 years ago were compared with profiles of a matched control sample of adults who had no treatment.
• No substantive esthetic differences were found between treated and control groups.
• Soft tissue changes for both groups were the greatest for the lips and chin.
• Growth was more forward in extraction patients, more downward in untreated controls.
• Extraction treatment does not have a deleterious impact on the facial profile.

IntroductionLong-term soft tissue response to extraction orthodontic treatment has been a subject of interest for years. The purposes of this study were to investigate long-term soft tissue profile changes in an extraction sample and to compare them with profile changes in an untreated sample.MethodsA premolar extraction–treated sample (n = 47) and an untreated control sample (n = 57) were studied. Descriptive statistics were collected, and individual t tests were used for comparison and contrast of the treated and untreated samples.ResultsWe found that the untreated soft tissue profile changed in the downward and forward direction. The treated soft tissue profile change was similar, but with more of a forward component than in the untreated sample. Most noteworthy was the finding that the soft tissue profiles of both the untreated and the treated samples were similar at the end point.ConclusionsThe following conclusions were derived from the study. (1) There was no substantive difference in the soft tissue profiles of the samples, but there were some differences in the directional changes between them. (2) The changes for the untreated sample were the greatest for the lips and the chin, with the change occurring in the downward and forward direction. (3) The soft tissue profiles of the extraction sample also had the greatest measurable changes in the lips and the chin, but the changes had more of a forward component than they did in the untreated sample. (4) Extraction treatment does not adversely impact soft tissue profile changes over time.