A Retrospective Study Assessing the Frequency of Patient’s Requiring TPA/LSA During Orthodontic Therapy- An Institutional Study

Abstract

TPA, also known as Transpalatal Arch is used as an adjunctive equipment during orthodontic therapy to regulate anchorage in the vertical, transverse and sagittal (antero-posterior) dimensions. TPA have many uses such as space maintenance, retention and molar anchorage after rapid maxillary expansion. TPAs have eminent versatility, appearing as a stand-alone appliance or as an accessory appliance to fixed appliances. Hence the aim of this study is to assess the number of patients who required TPA/LSA during an orthodontic therapy. Retrospective cross sectional study was carried out and the case records of patients requiring TPA/LSA was collected by reviewing patient records and analyzing the data of patients between June 2019- April 2020. The collected data was subjected to Chi-square test for statistical analysis and correlation using the SPSS software. The findings of this study showed female predilection with a percentage of 53% and males with a percentage of 47%. It also revealed that the prevalence of patients requiring TPA during an orthodontic therapy was 32% and LSA was 26%. This study shows that 32.24% of the patients required TPA and 25.75% of the patients also required LSA during an orthodontic treatment and this was found to be statistically significant.