Retention considerations in the assessment of long-term stability in early versus late orthodontic treatment

Post-treatment stability is one of the most challenging aspects of orthodontic treatment and is a concern to all orthodontists. There are some important post-treatment factors that could influence the result, such as normal maturational changes, post-treatment tooth alterations, and persistent imbalance in the neuromuscular environments. Thus, early treatment brings about many benefits including better use of the patient's growth potential, less risk for adverse iatrogenic effects, better patient compliance, and potentially better outcomes, some with and others without retention management.