Effectiveness of Preformed Myofunctional Devices in the Treatment of Malocclusions: A Pilot Study

Introduction: Preformed myofunctional appliances are increasingly being studied in orthodontics and are typically used to address oral function anomalies as well as malocclusions and development defects of the jaws. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of a protocol based on the use of preformed devices and myofunctional therapy for the correction of malocclusions. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a preformed myofunctional devices in correcting certain orthodontic problems related to overbite, overjet, and cross-bite. Thirty-six patients in the mixed dentition phase were analyzed along with their clinical records, photos, and scans. Overjet, Overbite, and Crossbite were measured by analyzing the files exported in the Standard Tesselation Language format (Stl) of patients’ arches using Zeiss Inspect^® software (version 2025.1.0.1985). Results: The data analysis reveals a statistically significant improvement in the correction of deep bite, overjet, and crossbite. Specifically, regarding the overbite (OVB), the initial measurement at T0 showed an average of 2.52 mm. The average OVB decreased to 1.73 mm at T1. The overjet had an initial average of 3.59 mm at T0, which decreased to 1.77 mm at T1. In this case as well, the difference between the measurements at T0 and T1 was statistically significant. Finally, the crossbite was evaluated by comparing the difference between mandibular and maxillary intermolar widths at T0 and T1. The average difference decreased from 5.84 mm at T0, to 1.68 mm at T1. Conclusions: Preformed myofunctional appliances represent a valid alternative in interceptive orthodontics for correcting and preventing orthodontic issues, especially of mild severity.