• The korean journal of orthodontics
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.325-333
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• 2010

Objective: The aim of this study was to illustrate the circumferential comfortable retainer (CCR) as a removable maxillary retainer with good potential patient compliance and to evaluate the discomfort of the retainers including distorted speech, gagging sensation and appliance discomfort. Methods: Sixty-six orthodontic patients (male, 23; female, 43; mean age, $23.42{\pm}10.19$ years) who received orthodontic treatment with fixed orthodontic appliances were randomly assigned to two groups after debonding, a conventional wraparound retainer (CWR) group that fully covers the palate with an acrylic plate and a highly polished surface, and a circumferential comfortable retainer (CCR) group which has a horseshoe shaped base plate with three folds on the anterior region. A questionnaire that had a visual analog scale (VAS) which consists of a 100-mm horizontal line with 2 end-points labeled "no discomfort" on the left and "worst discomfort" on the right, with regard to distorted speech, gagging sensation and discomfort, was administered to patients after 4 weeks of retainer wear. The Mann-Whitney test was used to test the hypothesis that there was no difference between the two retainers. Results: Comparing distorted speech and discomfort, the CCR group significantly had lower values than the CWR group ($p$ < 0.05). Comparing gagging sensation, the CCR group had lower values than the CWR group but there were no statistically significant differences between groups ($p$ = 0.146). Conclusions: In conclusion, the results suggest that the circumferential comfortable retainer (CCR) might facilitate patient compliance and thereby improve the maintenance of the fixed orthodontic treatment outcome.

• The Journal of the Korean dental association
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• v.45 no.12 s.463
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• pp.753-760
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• 2007

Recently orthodontics in elderly people is continually increasing due to aging of the society arising from decrease of birth rate as well as death rate. As the elderly population grows, needs for oral health care increases, and elderly patients with poor teeth alignment need more attention with orthodontic treatment. Our study analyzes various treatment protocols for different cases of aged orthodontic patients, and following are considerations in orthodontic treatment of elderly patients. 1. Periodontal treatment should be preceded before orthodontic treatment. 2. Periodontal condition should be considered when selecting teeth for extraction 3. In dealing with the residual prosthesis, condition of prosthesis, anchorage availability, and need for size reduction, patient seconomic status should be taken into consideration. 4. Fixed retainers are recommended for retention.