Current evidence on clinical performance of miniscrew implants in orthodontic treatment

Miniscrew implants (MIs) have been widely used for anchorage reinforcement in orthodontics and have been extensively studied, especially during the last few years. However, evidence regarding their survival and clinical effectiveness is modest at the time. This article presents data from systematic reviews of prospective studies on the use of MIs. Limited but strong evidence supports the superior effectiveness of MIs compared to conventional anchorage. The average failure rate of MIs is relatively low, but the factors affecting it have not been adequately studied until recently. MI prognosis is independent of patient's gender, patient's age, and insertion side. In contrast, MIs inserted in the mandible are at a higher risk of failure than in the maxilla. However, although there are many issues based only on weak scientific evidence, some trends are already evident and are presented in this paper. Further high-quality large-scale studies are needed to clarify the association of the various factors with MI failures.