Palatal bone thickness for mini-implant insertion in different vertical growth patterns: a systematic review

Introduction: The purpose of this systematic review was to identify, evaluate, and provide information about palatal bone thickness in different vertical growth patterns for the placement of orthodontic anchorage devices. Methods: We performed a systematic review of the published data in Medline via PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Scopus from January 2000 to August 2022 using eligibility criteria. Data collection analysis and data extraction were performed independently by three reviewers. Sensitivity analyses were performed with the Cochrane risk of bias tool and the ROBINS-I tool was used for non-randomized studies. Results: A total of 343 articles were identified. The inclusion criteria included palatal bone thickness and vertical facial growth. However, both variables were found in 4 studies and only 2 had a control group. The different studies evaluated palatal bone thickness according to sex (male 14.1 mm; female 9.68 mm) and vertical malocclusion (normal 2.2 -12.6 mm; open bite 1.9 -13.2mm) with heterogeneous results. Likewise, the vertical growth pattern with a low angle (9.39 mm) was greater than the normal (8.55 mm) and high angle (7.53 mm). Conclusions: Palatal bone thickness varies according to different vertical growth patterns, with the greatest thickness being found near the incisive foramen in hypodivergent individuals.